4 silver linings to Dwyane Wade’s season-ending injury

It’s never a good thing to have one of your key players injured. But in the case of the Chicago Bulls, losing Dwyane Wade may have some benefits.

Injuries are the worst part of sports. They’re the unfortunate byproduct of athletes pushing their bodies to the limit on a daily basis. As fans, you become desensitized and accept them as “part of the game,” forgetting that a player’s livelihood is directly tied to their physical well-being.

On Thursday, the Chicago Bulls shut down Dwyane Wade for the rest of the regular season, after an MRI revealed sprained ligaments and a fractured elbow.

Wade suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. During the postgame interview, he told reporters he “heard a couple of pops” while going up for a rebound against Zach Randolph – which, in case you needed it, is more proof why you should never mix it up with Zach Randolph.

For Wade himself, this means (in addition to some rehabbing) he gets to start his summer early and spend more time with Gabrielle Union, instead of toiling away on a mediocre team that’s gone 3-7 over its past ten games. Let’s take a look at how the Bulls can make the best of a bad situation.

4. Fred Hoiberg, untethered (well, almost)

Head coach Fred Hoiberg was famed in his time at Iowa State for deploying an NBA-ready, pace-and-space offense that attacked the rim and shot a healthy dose of 3-pointers. The roster he inherited when he arrived in the Windy City certainly didn’t play to the strengths of his system. That became amplified with this summer’s acquisitions of Wade and Rajon Rondo, two notoriously bad shooters. One had made just 28.7 percent of his career 3-point attempts and the other shoots like he’s allergic to jump shots.

Up to this point, the rosters Hoiberg’s worked with have been the antithesis of everything he planned to build in Chicago. Losing Wade won’t be the panacea that turns them into the Midwest version of the Warriors, but it should unlock some of the spacing tension the Bulls have grown accustomed to.

Hoiberg would now have an open spot in the starting lineup and 30 minutes a game freed up to use at his disposal. He can start to trot out lineups that aren’t totally devoid of shooting and hopefully generate more ball movement. Which brings us to the next point…