The most encouraging aspect of Dwyane Wade’s dominant performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday is that it almost seemed normal – Flash has been close to this good all season long. Watch the Miami Heat legend use his classic blend of skill and agility to split a pick-and-roll trap and finish with a powerful slam, squashing the ‘Wolves last-gasp run and sealing a win in the process.
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Vintage Wade.
The future Hall-of-Famer finished with 25 points (11-16 FGs) and eight assists in just 30 minutes of play, pushing his season-long averages to 19.7 points and 6.3 assists per game on 51.1 percent shooting. But even those awesome raw stats bely the truly impressive nature of Wade’s performance in 2014-2015. Despite the near consensus notion that he’d have to play more minutes without LeBron James in South Beach, the 32 year-old is notching just 31.5 minutes a night – the lowest mark of his career, and 1.4 minutes fewer than he did in 2013-2014.
Rate statistics, then, are a far better indicator of Wade’s play. He’s scoring 22.5 points and doling-out 7.2 assists per-36 minutes, the latter number of which is a career-high. How? Wade is using 29.9 percent of Miami’s possessions, the most ball-dominating he’s done since 2011-2012. His 24.8 Player Efficiency Rating is also his best since that season, not to mention the second-highest mark of all shooting guards.
So much for Wade being unable to carry an offense, basically. He’s getting tons of help from a similarly resurgent Chris Bosh, and Erik Spoelstra’s brilliant offensive system always puts him in the best position to succeed.
But this explosive sequence is just the latest indicator that Wade’s dominant post game, underrated merit as a mid-range shooter, and canny playmaking aren’t the only facets of his game that continue make him so, so effective. The key, of course, is sustaining this level of play, health, and athleticism throughout 2014-2015. It’s far too early to say whether or not that’s possible, and recent history suggests it isn’t. With every pick-and-roll split, Euro step, crossover, and acrobatic finish, though, it’s easier and easier to believe that Wade isn’t just an elite player again, but will also be one for the foreseeable future.
Good to have you back, Flash.
*Statistical support for this post provided by basketball-reference.com
(GIF via r/nba schrutebeetfarms)
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