Dwayne Wade Puts the "Value" in MVP

This entire year, everyone has been talking about how Kobe, LeBron and CP3 would be battling for the MVP trophy. But down in Florida, another superstar has quietly been making his case.

 

Well at least it was quiet, until Monday night’s single-handed beat-down of the Chicago Bulls…

Dwyane Wade most likely will not win the MVP award. Not in a year where Kobe and LeBron both will most likely finish at the top of their conferences. But the degree to which he is carrying the Miami Heat is like nothing I have ever seen before.

Let’s dive in…

Dwyane Wade is the top points and assists man on his team. Now all you Cavs, Lakers, and Hornets fans may be saying “well our guy is the top points and assists man too!” And as a matter of fact you would be right. But I would like to introduce a margin of victory clause.

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have both actually seen their numbers slightly decrease since last season. That is due to their very strong supporting casts. The Lakers have a slew of scorers, and the Cavs have an all-star in Mo Williams to back up LeBron, along with a number of great defenders. In New Orleans, David West is averaging only a point less per game than Chris Paul, who is known significantly better for his totally unrivaled ball movement.

But in a year where MVP candidates have seen their team blossom around them, Dwyane Wade has literally been carrying peat-moss on his back for 63 games, all the while, wrecking the entire league.

Dwyane Wade leads the NBA in scoring; which is nice. What is scary is the fact that on his own team, Dwayne Wade is the Heat's highest scorer by more than 16 points per contest.

Well at least someone is dishing him the ball right? Well, not exactly. Wade leads the team in assists, averaging nearly eight per game. Despite the strong rookie campaign of Mario Chalmers, Wade is averaging more than three dishes per game than the rookie. Dwyane wade is not just the center of the offensive scoring, but the center of the Heat’s offensive production in every element.

Oh yeah, he also is a significantly better defender than every guard in the league sans Chris Paul. In fact, Wade is the only player in the NBA to be in the top 10 in scoring, assists and steals.

You can make the argument that if Kobe or LeBron went missing, their teams would miss their playoffs. But if Wade went missing, the Heat wouldn’t win a game. And that point is made in arguably the most compelling number in Dwyane Wade’s season: his minutes.

Some will argue that Wade’s numbers are inflated by the amount of court time he sees every game. I disagree, and here’s why. LeBron is 20th in the league in MPG and Kobe is 40th. Perhaps, just perhaps; it is because they are not needed on the floor as badly as Wade, who has yet to miss a game this season and still plays more than 38 minutes a game. Essentially, all of Miami has declared that without Wade, they are totally useless; and that he must be a part of every contest.

And every single element of that was on display, when Wade notched 48 points, 12 assists and a steal turned buzzer-beater in double overtime Monday night against the Chicago Bulls. Meanwhile, no other member of the Heat broke 20 points and was held to single digits in every other major statistical category.

I urge you to also factor in the Heat’s poor attendance. I am willing to guarantee you that Miami is one of the teams that needed a financial bailout; which means that in addition to carrying the team on the court, Dwyane Wade may actually be fiscally keeping this team afloat.

If that doesn’t sell you on the word VALUE in MVP, I don’t know what will.