Dwyane Wade: "The Clinic"
Does anyone have a better highlight reel than D Wade? You would be hard pressed to find one. His arsenal of moves includes: the spin-around to his left mid-range fader, the pump fake and-1 mid-range jump shot, the euro-step in transition, the behind the back/through the legs split of a double team, the "look the complete opposite way of the basket while falling down" layup, the rip over from the right of the defender to the left in full stride, the block on a player that is much taller than him, the steal to him hitting a buzzer beater, and the spin move to dunk along the left baseline.
How many people boast that kind of repertoire? Most NBA players have one of those moves, at best. I have watched Dwyane Wade since he came into the league and he has become criminally underrated. Why? Because the average NBA fan only watches the playoffs, where D Wade has "struggled" because of injuries. Yes, he has disappeared at times during the playoffs, but he has still produced 3 rings. He averaged 21, 5, and 5 during the 2012-2013 regular season on 52% shooting, incredibly efficient for a shooting guard. D Wade is not declining; he is merely viewed that way because of the "group think" phenomenon taking place with sports fans. Sports Center rules the sports world and without many other reliable sports media outlets, fans are highly impacted/influenced by Sports Center's agendas. One of those agendas during the 2013 playoffs was that Dwyane Wade was no longer an elite player.
Wade did have a horrible start to the 2013 Playoffs by his standards, that much is true. In the last 4 games of those same playoffs, the games that mattered the most, D Wade averaged 24, 6, and 5. Wade has been slowed by knee injuries in the last two playoffs, but he has still managed 2 rings and produced in clutch time.
Now, lets take a look at the snapshot of Dwyane Wade's career
Looking at his stats, the decline in ppg jumps off the page. That can be directly attributed to Lebron's arrival in Miami. The decline in ppg corresponds with less shot attempts, but he has done more with those shot attempts, given the higher fg%. Examining this table, realizing that D Wade is presently playing with one of the greatest basketball players ever, it is evident that he is not declining; he is simply being asked to be a highly efficient second option that doesn't get the looks he did pre-Lebron.
Dwyane Wade is a top-20 player of all-time (see 2008-2009 season and his 3 rings), so don't trivialize what he has done by a couple of bad playoff games. Appreciate what he and The Heat are doing because we are all witnessing history. And remember, look at the big picture when discussing sports.
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Wade did have a horrible start to the 2013 Playoffs by his standards, that much is true. In the last 4 games of those same playoffs, the games that mattered the most, D Wade averaged 24, 6, and 5. Wade has been slowed by knee injuries in the last two playoffs, but he has still managed 2 rings and produced in clutch time.
Now, lets take a look at the snapshot of Dwyane Wade's career
Looking at his stats, the decline in ppg jumps off the page. That can be directly attributed to Lebron's arrival in Miami. The decline in ppg corresponds with less shot attempts, but he has done more with those shot attempts, given the higher fg%. Examining this table, realizing that D Wade is presently playing with one of the greatest basketball players ever, it is evident that he is not declining; he is simply being asked to be a highly efficient second option that doesn't get the looks he did pre-Lebron.
Dwyane Wade is a top-20 player of all-time (see 2008-2009 season and his 3 rings), so don't trivialize what he has done by a couple of bad playoff games. Appreciate what he and The Heat are doing because we are all witnessing history. And remember, look at the big picture when discussing sports.
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