Behind Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat Quickly Becoming Most Resilient Team in NBA

The Miami Heat won on the second night of a back-to-back for the first time this season on Sunday night against the Nets, behind another dominant performance from Dwyane Wade (43 points).

This was made even more outstanding due to the fact that they beat the Lakers the night before behind 35 from Wade, and this came off the heels of a three-game losing streak where Wade had his first slump of the season.

Another fact that makes it way more impressive is that they didnt reach NJ until four that morning. The Lakers had the second-best record in the NBA, and the Nets are another team over .500 coming off an impressive victory the night before.

Message sent: The Heat are not going anywhere—except the playoffs.

The Miami Heat are proving to be a very resilient young team. What else would you expect from a team led by Dwyane Wade?

This is the same guy who was looked over by most major colleges before getting into Marquette, and then not allowed to play his first year.  By the end of his time there, he led them to the Final Four and recorded a triple-double in a tournament game—the second player ever to do so. (The first? Magic Johnson.)

This is the same guy who was drafted fifth overall, overlooked as the media and fans praised "real" future stars like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony—then went on to take his team further in the playoffs that rookie year than either of them.

This is the same guy who laughed in the face of an 0-2 Finals deficit, and promptly took over on the way to his first championship, averaging nearly 40 efficient points per game throughout the next four games (all Heat wins) on his way to becoming the youngest finals MVP in NBA history.

This is the same guy who—upon having made it, winning that first title, getting all the big endorsements, playing at a level higher than any player in the NBA in '06-07—got struck down in a cruel turn of events with a terrible injury that wiped him out of the "best player in the world" conversation ever so unfairly.

The same guy who had to limp through a 15-win season last year while watching his other superstar teammate get traded away, his legendary coach resign, and his team finish in last place as he sat on the sideline in a suit.

The same guy who came back even better than before this past summer, as he and Team USA's "Redeem Boys" brought the gold back home where it belongs—bittersweet at times while he had to watch all the Kobe and LeBron praise and two-man-debate over who the best player on the planet was, even as Wade was healthy for the first time in over a year and playing better than either of them.

Yes, its the same Dwyane Wade who is now playing better than anybody once again, and has forced himself right back into that conversation of who's best.

Yes: Wade is the most resilient superstar in the NBA, and his Miami Heat team is quickly becoming the most tough, overachieving, and resilient team in the NBA as the lovable underdog themselves.

They opened the season by getting beat down in MSG by the new-look Knicks. In game two they bounce back and blow out Sacramento in their home-opener.

In game three, Wade sleepwalked through a beatdown in Charlotte—all that did was show him how much was needed of him at that time in eveery phase of the game, from leadership to defense to scoring to playmaking, for his team to win—and he responded the next game, as they blew out the new-look Sixers.

The Heat got beat down in Portland by 40 points. They responded one game later on national TV with a lineup change and a 15-point win over Phoenix in Miami's first game against Shaquille.

One game later, the Heat lose on a controversial last-minute call to the Clippers. They respond with the most resilient win of the year, twice fighting off a sure loss with a miraculous play (Quinn's three-pointer and Beasley's steal) to beat the Warriors in Oakland. They proceed to go on a four-game winning streak.

They come into a showdown with Atlanta on a four-game winning streak and receive a second-half beatdown. Wade goes cold and they lose by 20.  The next two games they lose to subpar teams. Neither game is even close.

How do you think they respond? In true Wade-like fashion, that's how.

They beat the Lakers in Miami for one of the best regular-season wins in franchise history. Wade outduels Kobe, the whole team fights and scraps their way to the thrilling victory. The next night they win again, first win of the season on second night of back-to-back, 106-103 over the Nets in NJ.

So yes, this '08-09 Heat team have truly fell down seven times, but stood up eight—and it isn't hard to tell who they got that from.

This team has quickly become one of my favorite Heat teams of all time. Right up there with the Zo-led '97 team and the Wade-Shaq '04-05 team.

I like this one even more, to tell you the truth. Every single guy on the team has a chip on their shoulder, from Joel Anthony wanting to prove he deserves to be in this league playing center, all the way to Shawn Marion wanting to prove he can succeed outside of Phoenix, and Chalmers wanting to prove he should've been a first-round pick.

No one man has more to prove than Wade though—and boy oh boy, is that a good thing for us and a bad thing for the rest of the league.

I will admit right here and now that after the three-game losing streak i was dejected. Sickened even. Our offense was non-existent, Marion was nowhere to be found, Beasley still not involved creatively, Wade went cold, and we couldnt win without him having a big night.  Miami was looking like a lottery team again, something all of us would get sick over.

Against the Lakers, prospects didnt look too good.  Even if Wade had a huge night, I didn't think we had much of a chance unless we got a huge effort from our defense, which hadn't been the case in the three prior games.

Right from the get-go it was clear that the Heat were back though. Joel was blocking shots and setting picks, Chalmers and Marion were forcing turnovers, Wade was running the break, Haslem was fighting guys twice his size—everyone giving 110-percent effort and energy on every play of the game.  Our defense was better than any team I've seen on any given night this season. THAT is the way we need to play—and we did it in a big way.

The next nights win over the Nets was just icing on the cake, another great win from Dwyane and our South F-L-A boys.

After the three-game losing streak I was thinking that this may really be a lottery team: but i should've known better.

No team led by Dwyane Wade will ever be a lottery team. His will wont allow it. This team has taken on his resilient personality to the 10th degree. They are real fighters—from Haslem all the way down to Magloire, every guy plays a role and gives 110 percent. It should make Zo and Riley proud.

This franchise is quickly transforming from 15-win pushover into playoff contender.  What else would you expect from a team led by the same guy who grew up under a mother struggling with drug addiction, poverty-stricken in urban Chicago, and grew into what he is now.  Wade got a lot of his resilience from his mother, who is now a success story—a preacher that owns her own church that her baby-boy bought for her.

God is good, all the time. And when it comes to basketball or overcoming adversity, so is Wade. The Miami Heat are becoming pretty darn good at it themselves while following his lead.