For all the talk about how great Chris Bosh has been, the Heat need Dwyane Wade to stay healthy to do anything substantial this season. If this wasn't clear before the season, it certainly was made so over the past two weeks. Wade was forced to miss seven games with a hamstring injury and the Heat went 3-4.
Dwyane Wade’s return gets Heat back on track
Dwyane Wade reminded everyone why he’s a three-time champion and future Hall of Famer, leading Miami to a much-needed win in New York.
Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
On Sunday night, Wade returned to the lineup and the Heat promptly got back on track. He scored 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting and led Miami to an 86-79 road win over the Knicks. Thirteen of Wade's 27 points came in the fourth quarter.
It will shock no one to find out the Heat's offense has been much more efficient when Wade plays. On the season Miami is scoring 104.9 points per 100 possessions, a number which puts them close to league average. When Wade's on the court, though, that number jumps to 109.3, a mark that would be third in the league. (It should also be pointed out Miami's defense slips slightly when Wade plays, but, overall, the team has been much more efficient and effective with him in the lineup.)
The reasons for this are obvious. With LeBron James gone, Wade is the only Heat player who can create off the dribble. Chris Bosh is great, but he's more of a spot-up shooter. Mario Chalmers played well in Wade's absence, but no one expects or would even ask him to carry an offense for an extended period of time. That's something that only a handful of players in the league can do, and a healthy Wade is one of them.
Most impressively, Wade’s been able to up his scoring while remaining almost as efficient as he was last year, when he shot 55 percent from the field. The 32-year-old Wade is shooting 52 percent this season and scoring about 21 points per game. His minutes are about the same as they were last year (32), though his usage rate (an estimate of the percentage of possessions a player finishes while he was on the floor) has gone up from 28 to 31. Not bad for an old geezer.
Wade has figured out a way to blend the player he was before LeBron with the player he became over the past few years. He can carry an offense, but picks his spots. He doesn’t force many shots. He still scores at the rim, as his shot chart from Sunday night’s win over the Knicks shows.
In fact, Sunday’s game against the Knicks was a perfect example of the player Wade is. He only played 32 minutes, yet left his footprints all over the game. When the Heat needed some late scores to stave off a Knicks’ rally, Wade delivered them. He connected on six of his eight fourth-quarter shots and hit Chris Bosh for a game-sealing three with a little more than a minute left in the game.
Of course, when it comes to Wade, the question is always going to be about his health. But if he can give the Heat around 60 games this year and they can go about .500 without him, Miami could find themselves hosting a series in the playoffs. The Heat won’t reach the championship level they were at the past four years, but with Bosh and Wade, they still have two stars. Any team that can say that is one that others don’t want to face.
★★★
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