Dean Wade has missed the Cleveland Cavaliers’ last three games due to personal reasons, and Cavs star Donovan Mitchell recently offered some context behind the forward’s absence.
Donovan Mitchell just confirmed on his live feed on instagram that Dean Wade is a new father. #LetEmKnow
Wade is back with the #Cavs in Houston, as they held practice today at Rice University.
— Ethan Sands (@EjElite1) March 15, 2024
The 27-year-old Wade is surely very excited about the new chapter in his life as he looks to help the Cavaliers make it to the NBA Playoffs for the second straight season.
So far this season, Wade has appeared in 54 games and made 32 starts. He’s averaging 5.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest while knocking down 41.4 percent of his shots from the field and 39.1 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Just 10 days ago, Wade led the Cavs to a thrilling comeback victory over the Boston Celtics. Cleveland was down 22 points before Wade scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to help the Cavs win the game 105-104.
The Kansas State University product outscored the Celtics by himself in the final period and later received support from former Celtics star Kevin Garnett after Paul Pierce said that Wade needed to change his name.
Wade’s return should provide the Cavs with a boost ahead of their matchup against the Houston Rockets on Saturday afternoon.
The Cavs have been struggling a bit since the All-Star break, going 6-7 in their last 13 games. Despite those struggles, they are in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 42-24 record, just half a game back of the Milwaukee Bucks for the conference’s No. 2 seed.
Mitchell recently made his own return to the lineup after missing seven games with a knee injury. While Cleveland is surely happy it now has Mitchell and Wade back in the fold, the team is still missing starters Evan Mobley and Max Strus. Mobley has missed the team’s last five games, while Strus has missed the last six.
Thankfully for the Cavs, they don’t have such a tough schedule to finish off the regular season, ranking 20th in remaining schedule strength, according to Tankathon.
Three of Cleveland’s remaining games come against the Charlotte Hornets, who rank 13th in the East with a 17-49 record.
Perhaps becoming a father will make Wade have some newfound energy and motivation once he takes the court for Cleveland again. The Cavs certainly hope so.
