NBA Finals 2012: Why Dwyane Wade Will Be Key to Miami Championship

The Miami Heat fell just short of a championship last year as Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to their first title in franchise history. And after all of the drama surrounding the acquisitions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010, the Big Three are expected to win nothing short of multiple championships during their tenure in Miami.

Chris Bosh is playing but coming off an abdominal injury that sidelined him for a good portion of the playoffs.

LeBron James is certainly feeling the pressure as he still finds himself in pursuit of an NBA championship.

Dwyane Wade is the key to putting a ring on both of their fingers.

In 2006, Wade and Shaquille O'Neal led the Miami Heat to the franchise’s first ever NBA championship title. The James and Bosh combination can certainly be considered an upgrade to an aging Shaq, and with the Big Three intact, it’s pretty difficult to envision another team with as much potential as the Miami Heat.

However, to this point in the 2012 NBA playoffs, they’ve been tested by both the Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics.

You can count on the Oklahoma City Thunder to give them a run for their money as well, especially if Wade doesn’t step up and take over.

Despite averaging 22.9 points per game in the playoffs thus far, Wade hasn’t quite looked like himself as of late. He’s had a few big games this postseason, but he also played what could arguably be considered the worst game of his career against the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Wade went 2-of-13 from the field, finishing the game with just five points and five turnovers in a 19-point loss at Indianapolis.

Luckily for the Heat, that level of poor performance did not continue.

It'd be unjust to judge a player based of just one game alone, which is why the last series versus Boston may be the biggest sign that something is wrong with Wade.

For whatever reason, Wade couldn’t get anything going early against the Celtics squad. He shot 27.7 percent in the first half of games compared to 57.3 percent shooting in the second half. Odds are this had something to do with the older Celtics team wearing down as the game progressed, not Wade figuring things out late.

What could be the cause of his less-than-stellar performance in the playoffs this year?

Most signs point to a lingering leg injury that has plagued him since the end of the regular season. He had his left knee drained during the Indiana series in order to relieve some of the pressure and fluid.

And injured or not, Wade will need to turn things around before the Heat take on the Oklahoma City Thunder this week. If he can’t get anything going early in the finals, he’ll find it tough to make a late game surge against a team that is as young as the Thunder.

The average age of their starters is less than 25 years old, with the 22-year-old James Harden coming off the bench for more than 30 minutes per game, too. This young squad can be expected to run the court for four straight quarters and keep the game moving at a fast pace.

If the Miami Heat have any hope of winning this series, Wade is going to need to play four strong quarters every game. He needs to be the one with the ball in his hands with the game on the line.

There is no room for error against the Oklahoma City Thunder. You can expect their high-energy style of play to expose any weakness or injury that is in fact bothering Wade.

For the sake of Miami fans everywhere, head coach Erik Spoelstra’s job and LeBron James’ championship dreams, let’s hope Dwyane Wade will return to his usual form for the NBA Finals.

James may be the best player in the NBA, but the Miami Heat is still Wade’s team. If he doesn’t come to play at the top of his game, the Big Three will be going home empty-handed—again.