NBA Finals 2012: Why Is Dwyane Wade Immune to Criticism?

No matter how fantastically LeBron James plays, he remains the media's favorite punching bag—a supreme irony when juxtaposed with the free pass issued to co-star Dwyane Wade through thick and thin.

Perhaps it's his charm or seniority. Maybe having a title under his belt has something to do with it.

For his part, Wade does his best to avoid the fray, and that certainly can't hurt his cause (via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman):

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"I know every individual guy in this locker room is a good individual person," Wade said before Thursday's Game 6 of these Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. "Whether you like us together as a group, that's for you to decide. But as individual people, we're not bad people at all.

"You can't really necessarily worry about it. We understand that's the world we live in and whether we help the cause or not, it is what it is."

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But it can't be the attitude and comments that set Wade apart. James has used all the same lines at one point or another.

There has to be something more to the double-standard, some explanation for why Robin can get through a postseason unscathed while Batman can't catch a break.

One reason may be that James has a history of putting his foot in his mouth at the worst possible time. Recall when he made the fatal mistake of engaging his critics on an all too personal level (via the New York Daily News' Mitch Lawrence):

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“All the people that were rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day, they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today,’’ he said. “They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that.’’

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Of course, LeBron may have been entirely correct in his assessment. The problem wasn't the substance of his sentiment. It's the fact that he shared that sentiment when the rules of public relations forbid superstars from getting in the trenches.

Fair or not, James was supposed to be the "bigger man" in these kind of squabbles. They're supposed to be below him.

More than any one-off comment though, James will always be remembered as the guy who broke Cleveland's heart.

While Wade was the one orchestrating the recruiting effort behind the scenes, he's instantly forgiven on account of the fact that he never actually changed zip codes. He got the best of both worlds, benefiting from James' relocation without suffering the fallout.

It won't help matters that Wade has put the Heat in LeBron's hands. That kind of deference cuts both ways. James will take his share of the credit, but he'll also get more than his fair share of the scrutiny.

Meanwhile, Wade will stand by and watch, hoping for his teammate's sake that there isn't much to scrutinize.