A day that was full of excitement and confusion finally turned into night, meaning it was time for the Miami Heat and New York Knicks to collide for the first time this season. The confusion came from our old buddies at ESPN, who prematurely put out a report early in the afternoon that Dwyane Wade would not be playing in the night's game.

The Heat instantly disputed the report, saying that they would make their decision later in the day. Well, turns out that D-Wade would be good to go, and he made his comeback against the Knicks and did it in a big way. Dwyane was a difference maker on both ends of the floor, picking up 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line ad 5 dunks.

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Erik Spoelstra announced to the South Florida Media that Dwyane Wade would in fact be in the lineup tonight and will be playing against the New York Knicks. Contrast to earlier reports from ESPN that said that Wade would be missing tonights game, D-Wade will be dressed and in the lineup tonight for the home team. This turn of events certainly will create an even greater buzz surrounding the AAA tonight as the fans are already swarming around the Bayside Shops area while heavily anticipating what should be a pretty awesome atmosphere inside the AmericanAirlines Arena tonight.

Wade will join his usual starting five of Mario Chalmers, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony, but the support coming off the bench is a little different then the last time Wade was in the lineup. Now he has a healthy Mike Miller out there drilling triples, not to mention Eddy Curry who gradually has been showing us all how valuable he can end up being to this team if given some time.

The Miami Heat are 8-1 without one of their three stars, but that doesn't mean they don't want Dwyane Wade back on the court. Head coach Erik Spoelstra went so far as to deny reports that Wade would miss Friday's game against the New York Knicks.

AP writer Tim Reynolds tweeted this news:

Spoelstra said Wade is day-to-day, indicating decision would be made in afternoon. Heat do not know where report came from saying he's out.

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) January 27, 2012

Wade suffered an ankle sprain in a loss to the Denver Nuggets on January 13 and hasn't played since.

The New York Knicks will be without one of their stars as Carmelo Anthony is expected to miss the next two games to "rest his injuries".

Wade is averaging 19.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season. He's played in nine out of 18 games for the Heat this season.

For the first time this season the Miami Heat will match up against their archrival as the New York Knicks make their first visit of the season to South Florida. Before the season the Knicks were viewed as one of the teams to contend with the Heat for the Eastern Conference crown, but instead New York has hit an extremely rough patch, dropping 7 of their last 8 games.

The Knicks added Tyson Chandler to their roster in the offseason, teaming him up with Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire to create their own version of the Big 3. Similar to the Heat last season, the Knicks are going through serious growing pains. With the talent in their starting lineup, you have to think that eventually New York will start winning on a regular basis, but for now its trial by error for the Knickerbockers.

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When most teams lose their franchise player, it usually leads to more losses then wins. Fortunately for the Miami Heat, they have three guys on their roster that many teams would consider building their club around. That being the case, they have been able to not only survive without Dwyane Wade in the lineup, but still play at an elite level.

Miami has gone an impressive 8-1 with D-Wade on the shelf, allowing their star ample time to heal up after suffering a scary ankle sprain in a loss to the Nuggets earlier this month. There was finally some hope of a return on Tuesday when he accompanied the team on their road trip to Detroit.

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A couple a days ago, Fox Sports' Sam Amico posted an article that has gotten quite a bit of attention from both Heat and NBA fans alike. With the Heat and Cavaliers playing each other earlier this week, it provided an opportunity for writers and journalists to exploit the popularity of LeBron James and Miami's big three. Amico did just that, seizing the opportunity to grasp NBA fans' attention by creating a highly unlikely situation.

The article suggests that LeBron James will opt out of his contract following the 2013-14 season (when he is eligible), and then re-sign with his hometown Cavaliers. It's well known throughout the league that Pat Riley runs a tight ship in Miami, and Amico brings up the idea that James doesn't care for the disciplined, hard working brand that the Heat incorporates.

Of course LeBron has never said anything negative about the Heat organization, nor has there been any reports of him being unhappy with the way things are run in Miami. Even though there is nothing concrete to back up this article, its more then done its purpose of generating a lot of chatter and surely getting plenty of hits. If you haven't already read it, you can check it out here.

This has been a rough season for Dwyane Wade. The injury bug has bitten D-Wade on several occasions, and its gotten to the point where he has missed the same amount of games that he has played in. In his 9 starts this season, Wade is averaging 19.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Not exactly tearing down the rim, but being hurt will slow a guy down.

I wanted to get a professional take on Wade and his injuries, so I spoke to a close friend who is a podiatrist (foot doctor) and asked him to give his opinion on Dwyane's ailments and what is likely being done to get him back on the court. Here is what Dr. Bauman had to say:

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