I'm now picking the Heat to beat the Pistons in the ECFs if they meet. Despite getting virtually nothing from the center position, the Heat won because Dwayne Wade is out of his mind. What a player! Dwayne Wade is the MVP of the Heat, not Shaq (and I love Shaq). This series makes me wonder how good the Heat would have been without the Shaq trade because Wade is sooooo much better than last year. During the year, Wade seemed to always step up his game when Shaq was out so don't tell me Shaq was the reason he has developed his game so much this year. I like Shaq. I love Wade. I like the Heat to win it all. If Detroit vs. Indiana goes 6 games (finishing next Thursday) and they continue to beat each other up, it will be tough to face a rested Heat team with a hopefully healthy Shaq. The big man will have something to prove if he comes back from the thigh injury near full strength.
Wade is great. I love the way he drives to the basket. It's like no one can stop him....BUT, the wizards have a pathetic defense and the Nets had no shotblockers.....so let's see what he does against a good interior defense
wade is an amazing player and its only his 2nd year in the league, but the teams he has played have allowed him to get in the lane. detroit or indiana wont make it so easy to score all those layups. but i like the heats chances this year than the lakers last year because wade generally will not force the issue like kobe did
I think the changes in the rules (no hand checking in the perimeter, etc) are at least partly to thank for Wade's improvement this year.
This year's Heat team is a hell of a lot better than the Lakers team that faced the Pistons, especially in the frontcourt C: Who was Shaq's backup last year? Zo is good enough to start at center for most teams in the league, and Doleac is well suited for his role PF: Remember, Malone was injured in the finals. Haslem (and maybe Zo?) is much better than Slava "defense?" Medvedenko, and Laettner is a decent backup SF: Eddie isn't that great, but he's better than Luke Walton and Devean George SG: With the way Wade is playing right now, I'd say he's about as good as Kobe PG: Lakers have the edge here, since Payton played well and Fisher was a great backup. Jones can't make his own shot, but has deadly 3-pt. aim, and Dooling has been a nice surprise so far.
Wade is awesome and I love to watch him play. But on ESPN the other day I forget who it was but someone said that Dwayne Wade has proven that he is the best player in the NBA that's not a big man (I think it was Wilbon from PTI). He said he's better than Kobe, Iverson, T-Mac and Lebron. You've got to be kidding me. Let's all remember that he plays with Shaq, even if he's not at full strength, he still is the focal point of any opposing defense. Beating the Washington Wizards without Shaq was nice, but it pales in comparison to some of the big games Kobe, Iverson and T-Mac have played in. And Lebron is on another level, just imagine if he played with Shaq in Miami, they would easily win it all. That being said, his basketball IQ is one thing I really like. He's always looking to get his teammates involved, and if he's gonna shoot, he'll always look to drive in for the easy score instead of settling for a jumper. Other guards in the NBA need to learn that from him.
In all fairness, the Wizards are terrible. I mean they REALLY SUCK. That team has the basketball IQ equivalent of Francis and Mobley melting on ecstacy. Forget the fact that they play zero defense, but their shot selection on offense practically gives the Heat easy transition layups on the other end. Hughes, Arenas, and especially Jamison all jack up shots with total disregard to the clock, their teammates, the coach, the defense, the moon, star alignment, etc, etc. The Wizards are living breathing proof that after the Pistons, Heat, and Pacers, the East Conference just plain sucks. So in summary, Wade is good but he aint that good!
I've always like Shaq's teams. I'd rather they beat the Spurs than the Pistons. They might have an offputting attitude, but with Shaq as body guard, what teammate can't resist?
watching wade, I just wonder how good Francis would be if he had a brain. Wade looks like a rich man's francis. They do exactly the same thing but Wade seems faster, stronger, and much smarter.
Wade still amazes me. I NEVER thought he would be this good. I thought he would have been a solid guard role player, but he is playing like a FRANCHISE player. You gotta love anyone that would much rather drives to the basket, welcome contact, than take a 3ptr and shy away from the contact. That's basketball! We keep hearing the Media with the LeBron/Carmello rivalry. To me that really shafts Wade. Wade clearly is one of the most underrated players in the NBA at least in terms of how the Media treats him. That probably will change as the Heat march to the NBA finals. I think we have to start talking about Wade in the same breath as we do LeBron, Kobe and Tmac in terms of dynamic swingmen. Just imagine when Wade fully develops a solid 3pt shot to go with his driving skills!
We ARE talking about Wade in the same breath as the others. I would still take T-Mac before Wade because he is a slightly better passer, his defense is much better, he is taller & long limbed, he can shoot the 3 and T-Mac isn't nearly as careless with turnovers. But he has only played 2 years so this may change. In a couple of years, Wade could be voted the MVP of league. Also, isn't it beautiful to see a player like Wade realize his limitations and not jack up a bunch of inappropriate 3 pt shots?
They aren't even in the same class of players! Wade is the equivelant of these swingmen in the league: Kobe, T-Mac, and Lebron. He isn't any less than those guys. He IS a franchise player just like all those guys. no less. I can probably go even further by saying that Wade is more of a mature person/player than any of those guys I just mentioned, despite him being younger. His game is so old skool, I absolutely love it. The bad thing is he will probably at one point have a major injury because he drives inside too much. He has to develop a dependable mid-range shot so he can mix it up out there. His health just won't hold up for too long with all that pounding he takes inside.
We had one in Houston, most people didn't love him. I think it goes to show just how much Shaq helps his game out. One thing about Wade though that Francis doesn't come close to in his game is defense. Wade makes a lot turnovers with that same wreckless play but he makes up for it on the defensive end.
Every Shaq hater has said that in the past, until Shaq moved on to another team and WHOOPS, wut da ya know, they are stuck in mediocrity.