Report: Dwyane Wade received game-day hyperbaric chamber treatment on knees for months

If it looked like Dwyane Wade was worn down during the NBA Finals, it's because he was.

After the Miami Heat spent most of the season working to ensure Wade would remain fresh for the playoffs, often playing him short minutes or resting him for a few games entirely, Wade still wasn't at 100 percent when it mattered most.

He did his best to be ready, however, according to a report from ESPN's Tom Haberstroh.

From the report:

Behind the scenes, Wade went through a grueling regimen to prepare for the Finals. A source close to the situation tells ESPN.com that Wade's health became such an issue that he underwent hour-long hyperbaric chamber treatments on his knees on game-days over the last few months. That was in addition to extended stretching and strengthening work with his personal trainer Tim Grover, who has also worked with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. And still, Wade was running -- err, jogging -- on fumes at the end.

For the second consecutive NBA Finals, Wade was even a drain on teammate LeBron James, and the Heat performed better without Wade than with him.

Prior to the finals, though, Wade had looked decent, and finished the playoffs averaging 17.8 points on 50 percent shooting, better numbers than in 2013. It's unclear what more the Heat could do to keep Wade fresh considering he had a third of games off this season and averaged a career-low in minutes.

What's more, Wade and his Big Three partners may not be willing to take pay cuts again, depending on what Miami's offseason plan is. It's a really tough situation to navigate if you're Wade and the Heat, one that may require some creativity to resolve.