Dwyane Wade: How Long Can He Play with Reckless-Abandon Style of Play?

After eight seasons of playing the same exact way, it's tough to tell someone to get out of their habits to finish off their career.

When it comes to Dwyane Wade however, he doesn't have much of a choice. He's regarded as one of the best players in the league today, but he's still only a few seasons removed from having the consensus of the NBA world believe that he would never return to the form he was at in 2006. Wade suffered a myriad of injuries throughout the beginning of his NBA career and it added up in the 2006-'07 season when he dealt with injuries all year and only played in 51 games.

The next year would be no different as he suffered from numerous injuries throughout the course of the season. Eventually, coach Pat Riley would shut him down for the rest of the season after only playing in 51 games for the second consecutive season. After two injury laden seasons, it was believed that Wade would never revert back to the player he was in 2006 when he put a team on his back and won the Heat their first championship in franchise history.

2007-'08 was especially trying considering that Wade only averaged 25 points per game on 47% from the field, the lowest it has been since his rookie season. It was the same year where the team finished 15-67 and dealt with injuries to Shaquille O'Neal and Udonis Haslem as well.

After the worst individual season and suffering the worst record in his time at the NBA level, or any level for that matter, there were plenty of doubts surrounding Wade and how much longer he could play with his regular style of play of attacking the basket by any means necessary. Dwyane had a jump shot and a lethal bank shot that he could rely on, but it was his slashing and driving that won the Heat games and made him recognized as one of the best players in the league.

He wasn't at his strongest like he is today, but he was one of the NBA's quickest and it was difficult for any guard in the game at that time to keep up with him. With players setting pick's for him and Shaquille O'Neal drawing attention for him in the middle, Wade could pick and choose shots as he pleased with little to no resistance. It all eventually began to add up though as he kept driving, kept hitting the deck, and kept running into players that were a whole lot bigger than him.

Wade would suffer a number of injuries with a separated shoulder in a game against the Houston Rockets during the 2006-'07 season being the worst by far. He was already ailing from a shoulder injury prior and this most recent injury was this one that kept him out until nearly the end of the season. He would choose to undergo surgery to repair the shoulder and another knee injury after the season.

Dwyane would then miss the first seven games of the following season after recovering from the surgeries that took place following the 2006-'07 campaign. It appeared as if he rushed his comeback as he still didn't appear to be the same player he was before. He wasn't scoring at as high as rate, wasn't finishing at the rim like he had been before, and wasn't getting enough arc on his jump shot either.

Possibly one of the best moves of Wade's career was being benched for the final 21 games of the season so that he may undergo treatment on the same knee that required injury prior to the start of the season.

He would make his triumphant return in the 2008 Olympics as the sixth man on the United States national team. Wade shocked us all when completing dunks like these in the exhibition games as it was a clear indication that he had just about returned to championship form following the myriad of treatments and surgeries. He would continue to prove doubters wrong by actually leading the team in scoring off the bench and scoring 27 points in the teams gold medal victory over Spain.

Next season would be huge for Wade as it was his first season back with full health and a brand new mindset. Despite all the surgeries on his shoulder, knees, and other ailing body parts, Wade was the same exact person with a flat jump shot and with an even higher tendency to attack the basket. He was getting to the rim at all costs and it led Wade to lead the league in scoring for the first time in his career at 30 points per game to go along with nearly eight assists and five rebounds per.

He played in 79 games and averaged 38 minutes a night as the teams greatest offensive threat and most reliable slasher.

On a team where a rookie Michael Beasley and Udonis Haslem were the most reliable options, Wade led the team to the post season for two consecutive seasons with the same aging veteran and rookie laden roster. He wouldn't match the production he had the previous season the next year, but he would still average a solid 27 points per game.

Now with LeBron James and Chris Bosh on his side, life becomes a little easier for Wade as he can now allow other players to take the spotlight on offense. He allows a high volume scorer in Bosh to handle business in the post and in the mid-range while also allowing James to take over some of the scoring duties as well. James could carry a similar fate that Wade met as he too drives at will, but he's protected by his freakish athleticism and strength.

Even with the two superstars on his team, Wade is, and always has been, still putting his body at risk. His three-point shot has never been all there and his mid-range game has been severely lacking since the championship season, take a look at how flat his free throws are compared to before, so it occurs to Wade that the only way he can score the majority of his points is by putting his body at risk and driving it on players that usually have five to six inches of height on him and possibly 50 pounds as well.

Wade is playing an extremely dangerous game with the way he still constantly drives to the basket as he is always under the threat of suffering the same type of injuries that limited him between 2006 and 2008. He's a player with great will, a great understanding of the game, and high ambition and he's not the type of person that's going to prevent from being who he is because of the threat of those injuries recurring again.

However, he might have to begin limiting his slashing within the very next few seasons. He'll be an old 30 years old by mid-January and injuries and soreness aren't going to heal as quick as they usually do. He's not going to be able to walk away fine from hitting the deck after propelling himself in an attempt to dunk or lay up on a player much bigger than him that could knock him to the floor. There's a great chance opposing defenses could expose this as they could possibly knock him down to send a message and make him a step slower than usual.

The NBA almost lost Wade before at an early age and they, nor the Miami Heat and its fans, don't want to go through that trying period again. Three or four seasons from now, Wade needs to start deferring to James when he's in his prime and allowing someone else took take a hold of the scoring duties for the team. If at all possible as well, he needs to develop the jump shot that he had between 2003 and 2006. It adds another dimension to his game, would keep defense's always on their toes on the threat of a jump shot or a drive, and most importantly keeps him out of harms way.

For now, just try and appreciate the ambition that it takes Wade to constantly drive and put his body at risk because this is way of playing that most players wouldn't be able to take for nearly eight seasons at the NBA level. Unless he begins injuring himself in places that have already been injured, keep expecting Wade to drive until his body absolutely says no more. Until that happens, Wade's going to keep attacking and being recognized as one of the games best finishers around the basket.

It's not healthy basketball, but when has Wade ever taken a backseat to risk?