Lance Stephenson Hopes To Make Dwyane Wade’s Creaky Knee “Flare Up”

All season long the Heat have held Dwyane Wade on the second night of back-to-backs, or after a particularly strenuous overtime games, in an effort to prevent his janky right knee from the normal wear and tear of the regular season. As a result, Dwyane is healthier than he’s ever been for a Finals run since LeBron first came to town before the 2010-11 season. Today Pacers wing Lance Stephenson said he’s ready to “make him run,” and “make his knee flare up.”

Per the Palm Beach Post, comes Stephenson’s riff on matching up opposite Wade in the Eastern Conference Finals with Game 1 in Indiana tipping off on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET tomorrow:

“D. Wade — I think his knee is messed up, so I’ve got to be extra aggressive and make him run and have him running around and make his knee flare up or something,” he said after the Pacers practiced this afternoon. “I’ll do anything as much as possible.”

Welp, the Pacers are back to underdog status, and Stephenson is back to providing locker room fodder for a team, the Heat, who have been there and done that on their way to three successive Eastern Conference titles. Still, Stephenson is the type of player who could thrive on this sort of back-and-forth.

Wade and Stephenson briefly scuffled during a regular season matchup a month ago where both picked up technicals; it was the second one for Stephenson — who was ejected.

Meanwhile, we’re picturing Wade reading the above quote with a plasticine smile on his face, nodding slowly before slowly taking a breath and whispering the pronouncement HIMYM’s Barney made famous:
“Challenge accepted.”

(Palm Beach Post)

Who wins the D-Wade—Stephenson matchup?

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