Kenny Atkinson shares what he wants Dean Wade to do before returning from injury

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade has already been ruled out for Cleveland’s matchup against the Boston Celtics on Sunday night, and an ankle injury has kept him on the bench since he last played on Nov. 17.

Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson revealed that he wants to see Wade withstand some contact while practicing with the team before the 28-year-old makes his return to the lineup.

How the Cavaliers fared in their previous two games suggests that they could use Wade’s presence in their contest against an Eastern Conference heavyweight like Boston on Sunday. The Cavaliers are riding a two-game losing streak, with both losses in that span coming against the Atlanta Hawks.

Plus, Wade has had big games against the Celtics in the past. He was key to Cleveland’s 105-104 win over Boston back in March, when he dropped a career-high 23 points off the bench on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range.

It’s worth noting that Wade came up huge for the Cavaliers in the final frame of that contest, as he scored 20 of his 23 points across the last 12 minutes of action.

Whether he’s started or come off the bench, Wade has given the Cavaliers unspectacular albeit productive minutes in his sixth season with the squad. He’s averaging 5.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game so far in the 2024-25 regular season, and Cleveland owns a fantastic 13-0 record with him in the lineup.

Wade’s top performance of the campaign to this point came in just the Cavaliers’ second game of the campaign, which was against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 25. He scored a season-high 19 points and also buried five of his seven 3-point attempts in the game.

The former Kansas State University star is hoping that he will watch the Cavaliers pick up a win on Sunday, but Cleveland will have its hands full against the Celtics.

Boston is on a league-best seven-game winning streak, with its most recent loss coming to the Hawks on Nov. 12. The Celtics also could usurp the Cavaliers as the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory.