Of the four superstar scorers featured in the 2012 NBA Finals, one stood out as not holding up his end of the bargain. Dwyane Wade, the only one of the four with an NBA championship ring, scored 19 points on 7-19 shooting in Game 1 on Tuesday, with a True Shooting percentage of just 45 percent. The rest of the Miami Heat, LeBron James included, scored 75 points on 65 shots for a True Shooting percentage of 58 percent. While the Oklahoma City Thunder's defense did a number of things well, only Wade and to a lesser extent Chris Bosh had bad shooting nights.
NBA Finals: Dwyane Wade Struggles In Heat’s Game 1 Loss To Thunder
Wade did take on additional ball-handler duties, picking up eight assists. But as we saw regularly during the East finals, Wade is really struggling to get back on transition defense. Against the Thunder, that’s murder. Oklahoma City ended up with 24 fast break points against the Heat in Game 1 despite just 10 turnovers (a very low number) by Miami. Wade struggled to get back into defensive position to stop the ball even (or especially) on missed shots.
Again, Wade’s the only superstar in this series with a ring. He knows how difficult it is to win on the biggest stage against the best opponents. He needs to be better for Miami to triumph.
For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Thunder, visit Welcome To Loud City.
See More:
