Miami Heat: 5 Reasons Dwyane Wade Is Officially LeBron James' Sidekick

The alpha-dog quality is so prevalent in today's NBA culture. It has interwoven itself as a quantifiable statistic like free-throw percentage or offensive rebounds.

It is a quality that at least one player on every team must possess if success is to be had. When Miami put together their version of a big three, there seemed to be two alpha-dogs put into one pen.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had previously each led their very own teams through the NBA playoffs and into the NBA finals. James was the dominant player in Cleveland, while Wade called the shots in Miami.

From 2003 to 2010, the NBA was exciting and their match-ups were always thrilling theatre. Then they teamed up in South Beach, acting seemingly in defiance of NBA history.

The problem arose in year one of their plan, two alpha-dogs in one locker room, in one half court, in the same colored uniform. Things faltered short of a championship in year one.

In year two, something tangible changed: LeBron James started separating himself. He posted his third MVP season and quite possibly his most impressive.

In doing so, he not only led the Heat to a NBA championship, he forever banished Wade to the role of sidekick.

Age

Dwyane Wade already crested the 30-year-old plateau. Despite both being members of the 2003 draft class, Wade is a few years older than LeBron James. By virtue of two seasons at Marquette, Wade is now 30, while James is 27. 

We have already seen the effect age is having on Wade. The way he plays the game is very similar to LeBron. However, those extra 2.5 years have meant more hard fouls, and more times hitting the hardwood under the basket.

Wade missed 17 games this past season, and you could tell he was limited in the postseason. Along with those missed games, Wade submitted his weakest statistical season since his rookie year.

His 22 points per game were the lowest since the 16 he put up as a rookie. His playing time was also slashed a full four minutes from last season.

All of this shows that Wade is going to be the first to decline, and it may already be starting. LeBron just submitted maybe the most impressive season of his career. Wade did the opposite and that is going to relegate him to sidekick faster than you can say Robin.

Injury Risk

LeBron James is a remarkable athlete. His skills on the basketball court as a whole are unmatched right now. However, his most impressive trait may be that he simply does not get hurt.

James missed four games this past season, but that included being benched to rest in three of the season's final four games.

All told in his eight seasons in the NBA, James has missed just 29 games. If you subtract the 12 games from that group that were missed after playoff seeding was wrapped up, you get 17 games missed.

That is simply remarkable. Wade missed 17 games this past season itself (including the final three of regular season). The way Wade plays is so violent and takes such a toll on his body that he simply can't sustain it after 10 seasons of college and professional basketball.

James plays a similar style, but with an extra three years of aging and a much larger body, he is able to take the punishment that comes with it. While Wade goes under the knife for surgery on his damaged knee, James will continue on playing for Team USA in the Olympics.

Clutch Situation

I choose to look at the whole clutch situation a little differently than most. In my opinion, a clutch player involves more than a buzzer-beater three or icing free throws. Yes, those are important, but the end-all question to ask of any particular player is: do they make you feel hopeless?

Go back to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Boston Celtics were leading the series 3-2 and playing Game 6 on their home court.

Unfortunately for Boston, the game was over after about six minutes. LeBron made the Celtics look and feel hopeless. There is nothing you can do as a player when your opposition is doing what James did in Game 6.

In some way, he answered that question affirmatively throughout the playoffs. That is the only explanation for final numbers like 30 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Those went along with 50-percent shooting from the field, 74-percent from the line and 5.6 assists and two steals per game. Those numbers make any defending team hopeless.

I have never felt, especially recently, that Dwyane Wade has made the opposing team feel hopeless, as if they have zero chance of winning.

Fan Point of View

Sports fans will always have a "what have you done for me lately" attitude about their favorite teams and players. Sure, there is sometimes a grace period, but it doesn't last as long as one might think.

What Dwyane Wade did six years ago in his fantastic run to through the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA finals is a distant memory.

With the creation of this new era of the Heat, a new era of Miami Heat fan was born. This fan only associates winning with the combination of Wade and LeBron James, there was no B.L. (Before LeBron).

Even long-term fans had the sour taste of three straight first-round exits after Shaquille O'Neal left and before James and Chris Bosh showed up. Fans view LeBron with fresh eyes, almost as if he was a rookie last season and finally blossomed this year with the MVP award and championship.

Wade still has a hint of the stench protruding from that four-game sweep with which he followed up the 2006 Title. Two more one-and-dones followed that.

In terms of "what have you done for me lately," James brought a championship to South Beach; Wade was just along for the ride.

Overall Talent

In terms of these two players in pure comparison with each other, there really is no comparison. One is a great player in today's NBA, the other a legendary player in the entire historical landscape of the NBA.

Wade's best statistical season came in 2008-2009. He posted his highest point, assist, block and steal clips. However, even at his statistical peak, Wade could only lead his team to a Game 7 loss in the first round at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks.

In reality, without Shaquille O'Neal or LeBron James by his side, Wade couldn't lead a team through the playoffs.

On the contrary, James' 2008 season was not his finest, yet still his numbers are on par with Wade's. James has competed in four of the past six Eastern Conference Finals series, twice with Wade, twice without. While he never won a championship without Wade, he was on the cusp and overall, he is more talented.

Another remarkable statistic that you won't find in a box score; James has never been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. With James, it never mattered so much who was by his side, his team was making a run in the postseason and were never an easy out.

If that doesn't tell you who is numero uno and numero dos for El Heat, then I don't know what will.