Why Dwyane Wade Ceding Alpha Dog Role to LeBron James Is Win-Win for Miami Heat

There can only be one alpha dog, even on a team like the Miami Heat that prominently features a Big Three. 

LeBron James has clearly become that No. 1 option over the last two years, and the team's success has been directly correlated to Dwyane Wade's willingness in ceding that role to his talented teammate. It's a trend that must continue, as the quest for a three-peat will inevitably be even tougher than winning either of the first two titles. 

Fortunately, there are no negatives to Wade giving up that alpha dog role even more than he already has.

In fact, there are three major positives. 

LeBron is Just Better

Let's start out with the most obvious explanation. 

If you aren't aware that LeBron is better than Wade at this point in their respective careers, you've been living so far underneath a rock that the Earth's core might start to be creating a little bit of a warm feeling throughout your body. 

Usually, you want the ball to be in your best player's hands as much as possible.

One way that we can look at what's been happening with the LeBron-Wade tandem is simply by analyzing their usage rates, as shown by Basketball-Reference.

It's a little flawed, as assists aren't included in the calculations (if they were, they'd boost LeBron's figures rather dramatically), but it's still a pretty accurate representation.

Here's how the usage rates have progressed since the two became teammates:

And perhaps even more telling, here's the progression during the postseason, which is the closest approximation to "clutch" situations out there when dealing with season-long stats:

Both players have downward-trending numbers because they're getting the rest of the team involved, but notice what happened when LeBron jumped past Wade?

I don't want to imply causation from correlation, but the Heat didn't win a title in 2010-11 and have during each of the past two seasons.

Again, LeBron is better than Wade, and the usages should be adjusted accordingly. It's something that Pat Riely recognized, as relayed by ESPN:

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Dwyane realizes that he's playing with the real deal and that in the biggest moments the ball will be in LeBron's hands. And he realizes that doesn't make a difference. If they keep winning and make sure that's [priority] No. 1, they'll go down as one of the greatest [teams] in history.

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Fortunately, Wade has recognized this as well. 

Keeps Wade Fresh

The Heat shooting guard has to stay fresh, especially with those aging knees.

He clearly wasn't himself during the 2013 postseason, receiving injections before games and even considering the dreaded DNP before one crucial game. 

That didn't end up mattering, as LeBron was able to go into "Cleveland mode" and will the Miami Heat to victory on a consistent basis. The role players also stepped up and helped pick up the slack left by Wade's knees. 

However, that'll be tougher to do in 2013-14. 

The Eastern Conference got stronger, and unless Michael Beasley or Greg Oden break out to the extent that they can become accountable rotation members, Miami did not follow suit. 

Derrick Rose is returning to the Chicago Bulls, ensuring that Tom Thibodeau's squad remains right in the thick of the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the East.

Danny Granger is returning to the Indiana Pacers, and the team also added more depth to shore up the bench.

The Brooklyn Nets added Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to an already dangerous squad. And Carmelo Anthony is still on the New York Knicks. 

Miami is one. Chicago is two. Indiana is three. Brooklyn is four. New York makes five. 

Last I checked, there are four teams that advance to the second round of the postseason. No longer will the first two rounds be de facto pushovers for the Heat. 2014's postseason will bring about one of the truly elite teams in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and then another strong test for the right to advance to the NBA Finals. 

"Cleveland mode" won't cut it this year.

The Heat need Wade to be healthy and—perhaps more importantly—fresh. Even after OssaTron shock therapy during the offseason, Wade's knees are still concerning, and he's one awkward fall away from ruining the progress that he's made over the summer. 

To keep him fresh, he not only has to be rested more than ever before, but he also has to take more of a backseat. 

LeBron is Excellent in the "Clutch"

First of all, "clutch" doesn't really exist. I just have to get that off my chest, and you can read some more fulsome thoughts on the subject here. There's a reason that I'm using quotation marks around the word. 

That said, it is possible for players to experience a decline in performance at the end of games, and LeBron certainly hasn't had that phenomenon affect him.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, no one has been better than the reigning MVP on game-tying and game-winning shots in the last 24 seconds of a playoff game since he entered the league: 

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Since LeBron came into the league in 2003-04, nobody in the NBA has made more game-tying and go-ahead shots in the final 24 seconds of playoff games than LeBron, who is 7-of-16 on those shots. His 43.8 field goal percentage on those clutch shots ranks the best in the NBA since his rookie season among players with at least 10 attempts. The league average is 28.3 percent on those shots. 

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Let's go ahead and compare James' per-36 minute numbers to his stats in two different types of "clutch" situations: last five minutes with teams separated by five points or fewer (Clutch 1) and last 30 seconds of a one-possession game (Clutch 2), courtesy of NBA.com's statistical databases.

Yes, his field-goal percentage is lower when it counts most, but the defensive intensity is also amped up. And it's not just scoring that makes it so necessary for the ball to be in his hands when the game clock is counting down. 

LeBron doesn't subscribe to the ill-advised theories of "hero ball." Instead, he's trained himself to make the right basketball play, even if there isn't glory attached to it. Out of all the quotes he delivered to ESPN's Chris Broussard in an absolutely fantastic interview, this is the most poignant one (and I apologize for its lengths, but the whole bit is necessary): 

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"At the end of the day, I don't feel like we even get to that point [the Finals] if I'm doing what everybody's telling me to do -- 'Why don't he pass the ball to his teammates? Why don't he go out and just think about scoring 40 and 50?' Then I don't see us being the No. 1 team in the East. I don't see us getting to the Finals. I don't see me being who I am. That's not me."

"The so-called gurus of basketball want LeBron to be Bernard King. I'm not Bernard King. I'm not a flat-out scorer like that. That's not all that I do. I do a little bit of everything. I averaged 31 in Cleveland my third or fourth year, and that didn't get us anywhere. I led the league in scoring. People forget that. I led the league in scoring one year, and I think I was second or third behind Kobe and Allen Iverson another year. [James actually has finished second in points per game three times.] I think it's great that you can put up a lot of points, but that ain't my legacy -- being a scorer. When you say LeBron James, you ain't gonna say, 'Ahh, man, he was a flat-out scorer.' I did a little bit of everything. I can score, though [big smile]."

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LeBron went on to state that he could score 35 points—maybe even 40—per night if he wanted to. But that's not his game.

He's arguably the most cerebral superstar on the planet, and it results in him making the correct decisions with almost infallible precision. 

Anyone remember this play? 

It's foolish to judge a play based on the outcome. You can't use a result-based analysis, because the result was unknown at the time of the decision. 

LeBron knew that Haslem was a good shooter from where he spotted up, and he also knew that there was a low percentage awaiting him if he drove to his left and directly into a double-team. He made the right call, even if it didn't work out for the best. 

And at the end of the day, the Heat can trust him to always make the right decision.

It may not always pan out properly, but it's impossible to succeed 100 percent of the time when the game is on the line. That goes with the territory when 50 percent is considered a great shooting percentage.

LeBron knows this, and he's going to demand the ball whenever he needs to.

Not only is he the alpha dog for the Miami Heat, but he's the beta dog as well, and it's not to the chagrin of Wade.

Due to the inherent difference in talent, the need for rest and less wear and tear, the "clutch" play of the reigning MVP and LeBron's ability to make the right decision, Wade doesn't need to be the No. 1 option in Miami.

It's more important for him to be a part of the No. 1 team.