Dwyane Wade’s late-career jump from his longtime home with the Miami Heat to his childhood stomping grounds in Chicago shocked a lot of people, but after the jaws were picked up, questions lingered (and continue to linger) about how well he can wrangle his diminishing ability and ball-dominant tendencies with a new team that has a similar-but-younger player in Jimmy Butler.
There’s no question that Dwyane will have to adjust, but it’s still nice to see him tweet out something self-aware like this:
It's all about learning how to adjust to your age, body now.. The skills don't fade just the bounce has https://t.co/dSTJvZDziR
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) September 20, 2016
Hopefully part of Wade’s recognition of his aging will come with allowing himself to play more off the ball, now that he’s teammates with Butler and Rajon Rondo. Of course, one of the most common ways that leapers adjust to losing their bounce is with a three-point shot, and Wade has completely ignored the deep look for years now. That leaves his game in a curious place, and we’re interested to see where it goes.
Don’t discount the bounce completely, though — remember his putback slam in last year’s playoffs? You can be forgiven if you don’t. Perhaps with fewer post-ups, Wade can salvage some more of those moments for the stretch run. Then again, post-ups are kind of his best offensive attribute at this point. It’ll be a challenge to balance, that’s for sure.
