It brings me great pleasure to notify the fantasy basketball world that Dwyane Wade could be back on the NBA hardwood by the end of this week.

Wade could be back on the NBA hardwood by the end of this week. (Eliot J. Schechter/Stringer/NBAE/Getty Images)

Our good friends at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel are reporting that "the return (is) now possibly to come as early as Nov. 11 in New York."

All summer and throughout the presason, the Heat maintained that Wade would not be cleared for full-contact practice until Nov. 15, at the earliest. This is a major coup for Wade's fantasy owners, because their top dog returned to full-contact practice on Monday, Nov. 5--a full 10 days ahead of schedule. Congratulations if you drafted Wade late in round one or early in round two because that somewhat risky pick is about to reward you.

Wade told the media weeks ago that he would need a full week of practice before returning to live action, but I have a funny feeling that he might not wait that long based on a couple factors.

One, Miami is dying on the vine at 0-3 and they are staring 0-5 smack dab in the face. Miami plays the Spurs in San Antonio on Wednesday night, and there's no way the Heat is winning that game with or without Wade. As such, he wouldn't dare attempt such futile heroics against Bruce Bowen, who is the NBA's answer to Freddy Krueger.

Next up for the Heat, now 0-4, will be the Suns at home on Friday night.

Pat Riley recently said: "(Wade's) conditioning was not really to the level that he needs it to be, for the kind of game we need from him."

As such, it's unlikely that Wade makes his debut on Friday against the Suns, but as Lloyd Christmas said in Dumb and Dumber: "So you're tellin' me there's a chance."

Yes, Lloyd, I'm saying there's a chance that Wade makes his return on Friday night because a) he's a warrior who's sick and tired of watching his team lose and b) Riley sounds like he'll take Wade whenever his star wants to return.

"We're not going to have any kind of watch, probably the day he decides to play is the day you'll know about it," said Riley, when discussing Wade's return with media members over the weekend. Read between the lines, and I'm sayin there's a chance for Friday, and I would be very surprised (barring a setback) if Wade isn't back for the Knicks on Sunday at the Garden.

At the risk of sounding like a Ricky Buckets apologist, I actually think he's going to play a lot better once Wade returns. I've watched all three of Miami's games this year and it's obvious that Ricky is struggling with the new offense, as well as the delicate balance between knowing when to shoot and when to pass. A perfect example came in Sunday's loss to the Bobcats, with the Heat down two in the final seconds, when Davis spun around for a 12-foot fadeaway before spotting Shaq underneath and firing a Nolan Ryan fastball through the big fella's hands. It was Ricky's fifth turnover of the game.

When Wade returns, Davis will settle into his ideal slot in Miami's rotation, which is the third scoring option to complement Wade and Shaq. Davis is better suited at playing off the ball, shooting in rhythm, and beating his man off the dribble when the play breaks down. With Wade driving and kicking, and with Shaq passing to the perimeter out of double teams, Ricky should hit a ton of threes once Miami gets healthy and gets rolling.

I'm even optimistic for The Godfather, who is rounding into form with each passing game. In Thursday's opener against Detroit, Shaq had nine points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes. Then, in the loss to Indiana on Friday, Shaq had eight points, seven rebounds, and FOUR BLOCKS in 28 miunutes. And Shaq looked like Shaq (minus the rim-rattling dunks) on Sunday with 17 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in 32 minutes.

The message to the fantasy world is real simple: chill on Miami this week and then unleash Wade, Shaq, and Davis on your unfortunate opponents in Week 3, when the Heat has four games. Enjoy...

Random Riffs

-- So far so good for the Big Three in Boston, as the Celtics are 2-0 and all three future Hall of Famers are getting their numbers, more or less. Kevin Garnett is averaging 22.5 points, 16.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 3.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks. Sound familiar? Paul Pierce is averaging only 20.5 ppg, but that's temporary because his 4-for-17 against Toronto on Sunday dragged his field goal percentage down to 39 percent. Ray Allen isn't assisting or stealing, yet, but he's averaging 25 points on 62 percent shooting overall. Through two games, Pierce leads the team in FGAs at 18 per, then comes Garnett at 17.5, and Allen is third at 13 shots per game. I've said it once and I'll say it again...enjoy the ride.

-- And since we're on the topic of the Green Team, I want to extend condolences to Doc Rivers, whose father passed away over the weekend in Chicago. For those who don't know, Doc is the definition of a "great guy"...and great guys don't grow on trees, they come from great men, like Doc's dad. Our hearts go out to you and your family, Doc.

-- Amare Stoudemire missed Sunday's game with "discomfort" in his right knee that was surgically repaired on Oct. 2. A team source has informed me that Amare may need a few more days before he's ready to resume his All-NBA First-Team play. Amare is officially listed as day-to-day, which puts his status for Week 2 very much in doubt. Matter of fact, assuming you have some big man depth at this early point of the season, I would advise going away from Amare this week. But he should be ready to roll soon. Freaks, it's a setback, no doubt about it, but don't let it ruin your day. Remember, it's always sunny in Phoenix.

During the regular season, NBA TV fantasy expert Rick Kamla writes a weekly column, Living the Fantasy, on NBA.com. E-mail him at fantasyhoops@nba.com

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