By Jim Zegers, RotoWire.com

Dwyane Wade - MIA [SG]

In the hopes of nailing down the top pick in the lottery -- I mean, getting their superstar fully healthy for next season -- the Miami Heat have ended Dwyane Wade's season.

Wade's injury troubles this year are well-documented. For the entire season, he's been slowed by the after-effects of shoulder and knee surgeries performed last summer. The hope is that, by shutting him down in March, he'll have the time to recuperate and rehab fully in time to participate in a full training camp to prepare for the 2008-09 season -- with the side goal of being healthy enough to play in the Olympics in August.

In the hopes of jump-starting his recovery, Wade underwent OssaTron therapy earlier this week. The OssaTron is a machine that sends shockwaves of energy to the affected tissue, which can help to stimulate blood flow and aid healing. It is used fairly commonly on injuries like plantar fasciitis, heel pain and tennis elbow, when more traditional treatments don't achieve the desired result. Several other NBA players, including Miami teammates Chris Quinn and Alonzo Mourning have used OssaTron therapy to treat tendon injuries, but not in the knee. It sounds like the specific treatment Wade got is a less-common, and more involved -- form of the therapy.

After the therapy, Wade will be limited to pool workouts and other non-weight-bearing therapies for around 30 days before getting back on the court. Look for updates on Wade's status during the playoffs -- and hope you'll see him in camp with Team USA this summer, preparing for the Beijing games.

Knick center Eddy Curry has been diagnosed with a small tear in the meniscus in his right knee. He's reportedly considering theraputic options that may allow him to reduce the swelling, regain movement in the joint and play again this season -- though one has to wonder why he'd bother.

As we've discussed in the past, the meniscus is a piece of tissue that functions to cushion and stabilize the femur and tibia during the stress of exercise. When it is damaged, the mechanics of the knee joint change drastically and the bones aren't protected as well. The other issue is that the meniscus is largely avascular, meaning it has very little blood supply. That's a positive, in that even large tears won't cause that drastic, immediate swelling that you see with a torn ligament (the ACL for example), but the draw back is that it won't heal by itself and may require another surgery.

Curry might be able to get some positive results with treatment and exercise, but this sort of injury will almost certainly require surgery -- usually a minimally-invasive arthroscopic procedure -- at some point. As the Knicks have very little to play for, it's hard to imagine why he wouldn't get that out of the way and begin preparing for next year.

Allen Iverson - DEN [SG]

Unlike the Knicks, the Nuggets have plenty to play for, and as such it's not surprising that Allen Iverson has decided to play with a non-displaced fracture in the tip of his right ring finger.

A non-displaced fracture is exactly what it sounds like -- there's damage to the bone, but all the pieces are where they should be. Iverson will have some discomfort, but the symptoms should subside in a week or so, and the bone will heal fully in a few weeks. The injury might hamper his shooting some, but it didn't prevent him from scoring 28 against the Spurs on Monday.

He did post his worst scoring night of the season on Wednesday, scoring just eight points on 2-of-12 shooting against the Grizzlies. But the problem in that game may have been a bruised knee suffered in the first quarter which robbed him of some of his trademark explosiveness. Watch his progress when the Nuggets play again on Friday night; if Iverson is driving to the basket, that probably means the knee is OK.

Jim Zegers is a certified athletic trainer with a Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology.