Dwyane Wade isn’t the player he used to be. As the 33 year-old Miami Heat legend indicated in a 109-102 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, though, that hardly means he’s not a superstar – or won’t be as his career continues.
Wade scored 40 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished four assists on 14-of-27 shooting during an utterly dominant performance against Stan Van Gundy’s team, joining Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and George Gervin as the only players in league history his age or older to manage that many points without hitting a three-pointer. The victory gave 34-39 Miami some much-needed breathing room in the Eastern Conference playoff race, putting it one and-a-half games up on the eighth-place Brooklyn Nets.
The three-time champion guided the Heat to a 8-6 record in March by averaging 25.2 points and 4.5 assists per game while shooting a stellar 50 percent from the field. It was a wildly encouraging month for Wade, who many deemed finished as a go-to option following a dismal performance in last June’s NBA Finals – a major problem for the Heat considering the summer loss of LeBron James.
But Wade’s been proving doubters wrong since 2014-2015 tipped-off back in late October. Despite upping his usage rate well over six points to 32.6, Wade has remained an efficient scorer and actually decreased his turnover rate in the process. An overhauled Miami offense makes it easy to see why.
“Pace and space” is still name of the game for Erik Spoelstra’s team, but the Heat have largely confined that ideal to the halfcourt – they rank 29th in pace overall this season, and only 22nd since acquiring the go-go Goran Dragic to run the show in late February. Wade simply can’t run like he did during his “Flash” heyday, and the absence of James ensures that he doesn’t have to. Not that it’s entirely necessary, of course; Wade’s prowess as a post playmaking force and pick-and-roll creator makes sure of that.
The latter aspect is of no surprise. He’s been making hay with high ball-screens since he came into the league in 2003. But how Wade is manufacturing looks for himself and his teammates differs drastically from how it did even a half-decade ago. Instead of relying on incredible quick-twitch agility and explosion, Wade has developed what many believe to be basketball’s best “old man game.” He’s a master at exploiting the most subtle defensive missteps – a guard taking one step too many over the screen, a big man opening his hips just a bit too much while retreating, any player’s penchant for reacting to fakes – to get where he wants, and still boasts vision and passing flair normally reserved for point guards.
But Wade is still a special player and capable of performances like Sunday’s because he’s found another way to wreak havoc from the paint: He’s arguably the best back-to-basket wing in the league.
It’s a development years in the making, but one fully fleshed out in 2014-2015. Without James around to produce shots from the block, Spoelstra has replaced him with Wade – to a similarly devastating effect. The 2006 Finals MVP is a thick-shouldered ox with long arms, and the Heat do a good job of getting him early position via cross-screens.
This series of shakes on Tayshaun Prince encapsulates Wade’s post game on a single possession – patience, creativity, and shot-making ability rule the day for Wade down low:
According to Synergy Sports, Wade ranks 26th in the league overall and fourth among guards by scoring .926 points per possession of his own from the post, and 25th overall and fifth among guards by creating .946 points for his team on each of his post touches. Though those numbers are impressive, they also aren’t completely overwhelming.
But what separates Wade from the 20 or so players slightly more efficient than him from the block is that he supplements his effectiveness there with effectiveness elsewhere. He’s one of the game’s top mid-range shooters, a great isolation scorer, and is still very tough to stop in transition. Offensively, there just aren’t many guys in the NBA more versatile than Wade – and that’s despite an ever-glaring lack of three-point shooting range.
All of which is to say that there’s no reason why – health permitting, naturally – he can’t sustain this level of impact for the next couple of seasons. It’s knack, nuance, and skill that has Wade a different sort of dominant in 2014-2015 as opposed to the otherworldly athleticism that carried him to superstardom and MVP contention in the mid and late 2000s.
Can an aging Wade still lead the Heat to a playoff series win? We’re dubious, but he’s more than capable of serving as the primary scorer for a team replete with proven players – like what Miami should be next year with Dragic, Chris Bosh, Luol Deng, and Hassan Whiteside in tow.
For now, let’s just appreciate Wade for the wholly unique player he’s continued to be. And with games like Sunday’s, fortunately, he’s making it especially easy to do so.
[Video via FreeDawkins]
