NBA Finals 2012: Dwyane Wade's Aggressiveness Will Determine Game 2
“LeBron James doesn’t have a lot of help. He’s Michael Jackson playing with a bunch of Tito Jacksons.”
That was what Charles Barkley said on the Dan Patrick Show Wednesday, when speaking about the current state of the Miami Heat.
Right now, you can’t disagree.
His super sidekick Dwyane Wade has been extremely inconsistent in the 2012 postseason and Game 1 of the NBA Finals was just the latest example.
Sure, Oklahoma City Thunder defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha is a sound and disciplined player, but he gave Wade all kinds of fits on Tuesday. It took “Flash” 19 shots to collect 19 points, and he went to the free-throw line a grand total of five times.
This is the same guy that won a championship on his relentlessness in attacking the basket; now he has settled for far too many long jumpers. While it may be true that Sefolosha has decreased D-Wade’s shooting percentage by 10 percent when matched up on him, there is no question he has enough tricks up his sleeve to flip the script.
Wade has arguably the deadliest pump fake in the game this side of Kobe Bryant and an explosive first step that allows him to create the separation necessary to reach the basket, and he can jump out of the gym. Sounds like a player perfectly capable of making a living around the basket.
While his knee may have been drained recently to relieve the discomfort, this is the NBA Finals, and it’s a small miracle to be completely healthy at this point.
He has to put the pain aside and figure out a way to get into the paint. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Miami is just 10-14 this season (including playoffs) when Wade attempts at least 10 shots from such distances, yet 48-13 when he doesn't.
It’s pretty simple: OKC will live with contested long-range jumpers from Wade in the same way Miami will with Russell Westbrook.
Wade needs to stop over-dribbling and settling for jumpers.
Obviously the Heat need Chris Bosh to play better and for the bench to provide something (I don’t count Bosh as a bench player), but it’s the performance of Wade that will be the deciding factor of Game 2.
With LeBron enduring the load for the first three quarters, there is no question he wants to avoid the fourth like the plague. Wade has to acknowledge as much and become the assassin we all know he can be in the final 12 minutes.
While his endless complaining and flopping has made refs swallow their whistles more often than in the past with Wade, in the fourth quarter with the game on the line, he’ll get the calls.
For the first time in his career, Wade is being criticized and questioned. He has a pressure placed on his shoulders that had never existed until the infamous Game 3 stinker in the Indiana Pacers series.
He followed that up with 30 points while shooting 13-of-23 from the field and collecting nine rebounds and six assists in a Heat win.
Expect a similar performance tonight.
