2009 NBA MVP: How Dwyane Wade Got Caught In LeBron James' Shadow

This weekend I was on a website debating which MVP front-runner shows up against top competition the most.

And when I say top competition, I'm talking about the teams with the top 18 records—i.e. possible playoff teams.

I brought up the argument that Wade is more likely to show up and post better numbers against a quality team oppose to the popular belief that LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are better players.

Of course, I was called crazy, because logical thinking seems to be taboo on the Internet.

Too many fans get caught up with following what they hear on TV, instead of just opening their eyes and judging for themselves.

I hear it everyday that Wade can't and doesn't do this or that LeBron can do this. They almost never admit to the shortcomings of the perceived best in the game. People are so blatantly biased and ignorant to the facts that they can sometimes be sickening to a point.

Well I did some research, and pretty much found what I already believed to be true. Wade does extremely better than that of James against the best. Take a look for yourself.

Dwyane Wade averages at least 30 points against seven of the 16 teams in the playoffs:

NYK 42.3
PHO 39.0
ORL 38.0
TOR 37.0
UTA 36.5
OKC 35.0
GSW 34.5
MIN 34.0
NJN 33.0
DET 33.0
CHI 32.8
DEN 32.0
LAL 31.0
NOH 31.0

James has averaged at least 30 against just 10 teams. Six of which are in the playoffs. (UTA, SAS, POR, ORL, MIA and CHI.)

Wade averages between 26 and 30 points per game against eight teams, five of which are playoff teams. 

 CLE 29.0
LAC 29.0
BOS 28.5
SAS 28.5
IND 27.7
CHA 27.3
DAL 26.5
HOU 26.0

Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Portland are the only playoff teams to keep him under 26 per game.

James has averaged 26 against 10 teams, five of which are in the playoffs.

Wade averages 25 or fewer points against six teams.

ATL 25.7
POR 24.0
PHI 23.3
WAS 22.5
MEM 22.0
MIL 19.7

Amazingly, Wade's scoring is lowest against teams that aren't in the playoffs!

James has averaged 25 or fewer against 10 teams, five of which are in the playoffs.

Now let’s look at "The King."

1. James has been held below 26 ppg by seven teams.

DET 25.8
HOU 24.0
CHA 22.7
MEM 22.5
OKC 22.5                                                                                                    NOH 22.0 

LAL 19.5

Five for Wade: WAS, POR, PHI, MIL and MEM.

2. James has been held below 46 percent from the field by nine of the 30 teams. All are playoff teams. Two other hold him right at the 46.2 percent mark (POR and NOH):

ATL 44.3 percent
BOS 44.3 percent
CHI 42.1 percent
DAL 40.5 percent
DET 42.2 percent
HOU 40.9 percent
PHI 44.2 percent
ORL 43.2 percent
PHO 45.2 percent

Five for Wade: CLE, HOU, MEM, MIL and NOH.

That means Wade has shot 46 percent or better against 13 of the 16 playoff teams. That's much better than the eight out of 16 for James.  

3. James has averaged above 50 percent from the floor against 15 teams. Four of these are in the playoffs—the rest are headed to the lottery!

MIN 64.7 percent
SAS 59.1 percent
OKC 58.3 percent
DEN 57.5 percent
UTA 56.3 percent
MIL 56.0 percent
MIA 53.2 percent
WAS 52.8 percent
TOR 52.7 percent
IND 52.6 percent
SAC 52.5 percent
MEM 52.0 percent
NYK 51.4 percent
CHA 50.0 percent

People need to start looking at these two players a little differently, because Dwyane Wade is a better player then LeBron James.