I will never fully understand why, on February 22, 2007, one of the NBA’s toughest competitors (No. 1 goes to Allen Iverson, hands down), Dwyane Wade, was carted off the floor in a wheelchair after separating his shoulder. He didn’t injure his legs, knees, ankles or toes — essential body parts needed for walking — but rather, he injured his shoulder.

I imagine if A.I. were to remark on that injury, the quote would be something along the lines of:

We’re talkin’ bout a shoulder injury. Not a leg, knee or hip. A shoulder. Not a pinky toe, shin or groin. A shoulder injury. Come on? A shoulder injury…

With that said, it’s easier said than done to assume others may have reacted “tougher” if placed in a similar situation, walking off-court using our healthy, functional legs following the same collision. If Wade needed a wheelchair, one of us might have needed an air lift. But I digress.

A nagging knee injury has bothered Wade this season so, with the Heat’s season sitting at 11-51 and any hopes of being admitted attendance to the playoffs in any way/shape/form ruined, the team decided to let the 4-time All-Star, 1-time NBA Finals MVP sit out the remainder of the season.

Good for him; smart planning on the team’s part. The team is easily one of the worst in the league. At the moment, they are the bottom-feeders in the East. They shipped off the Batman/Robin (depending on what angle you prefer) of their ‘06 Championship operation, Shaq, but in return received an all-around hoops animal in Shaun Marion. With the benching of Wade, the rest of the team can get used to playing together and, as you see with coach Pat Riley’s absence, they already started planning for the future.

Listening to Mike & Mike the other morning, Mike Greenberg sounded especially upset at the notion that Dwayne Wade would shut down to nurse his injury, and made note that his kid wears Wade’s shoes and jersey, and that Miami season ticket-holders were being duped.

I smell hypocrisy. Isn’t this the same Mike who saw his favorite quarterback, Chad Pennington, fall to a season-ending injury, and rooted for his Jets to lose the last few games of the season so they could get Reggie Bush in the draft? It’s funny how the mind works sometimes.

Wade has never been a person to just quit on his team. He wasn’t handed the 2006 Sportsman of the Year (over a fan-fave Brett Favre, mind you) because he isn’t a team player. One championship, a finals MVP, 4 All-Star appearances and 3-time All-NBA should earn him that much respect. There’s no use in risking further injury to the team’s best player when the season is beyond lost. Fans of the team and Wade — and even the parents of Wade’s younger fans — should understand this.