Dwyane Wade at this Moment is Completely Overrated

Even as I wrote that title, I felt myself calling myself a hippocrit. Because I sounded like Skip Bayless. You know, the Skip Bayless that has made arguments that Kobe is overpaid. Yes, the Kobe that just became the 5th player to score 30,000 points. Incase you missed it, here it is. 

So why am I making this argument? Because what we have seen from Dwyane Wade in 2012 is not the 2006 Dwyane Wade. However, that is the Wade he is getting credit for. The guard who had no problem guarding anyone. The one that would slash to the lane, take the hit, and pop back up and walk to the free throw line. The one that always seemed to make the right pass when it was needed. The one that adjusted his game to make the 2006 Heat work when Shaq started to fill the lane. So why has Wade changed?

In Miami's loss to Washington on Tuesday, Miami can primarily blame their loss on not being able to execute on the offensive end. They had plenty of chances to hit a three, or drive to the lane to tie the game late, and simply settled for bad shots or missed. On one possession both Miller and Allen missed pretty much wide open threes. When I heard of the loss, I decided I had to go back and watch the 4th quarter to see what went wrong. What did I see? A star player who flopped on multiple occasions and then didn't get back on D. Wade on three occasions in the fourth quarter drove the lane and got medium to low end contact when going up; certaintly nothing foul worthy. Instead of getting off the floor and rushing to stop fast breaks, Wade threw his body on the ground, and then complains to the refs while the Wizards executed on the other end. One two out of those three occasions, it is Wade's man who scores or gets an option shot for the Wizards.

(We've seen this alot lately.)

Flash forward to Thursday against the Knicks. Now I will be the first to say that Wade isn't the reason the Heat lost. The Knicks shot the lights out, and are playing the best team basketball in the NBA right now.(Did I really just say a team with JR Smith on it's roster is playing good team basketball? What is going on this year?) But in a nationally televised game, where you are rested, and your opponents are on a back to back on the road, you have to show up if you are going to call yourself a superstar. Wade? 3-13 from the field, 4 TO's to 1 assist. The most telling stat? A (-33) for Wade in the game in the plus minus category. A (-33)!!! That cannot be ignored. In a game where you lose by 20, your team is giving up 33 more points than making when you are on the floor. It simply cannot be ignored.

Now many people are saying that Wade simply hasn't recovered from the knee surgery that kept him out of the Olympics last year. If that's true, you give him a pass. However, his stat numbers are telling. Wade is currently under is career numbers in every category except for FG%. He is averaging six less PPG, one less rebound, and he is making less than one three a game. Could Wade be a crutch for this team later in the year? If this bad play continues, does Spo have the gall to sit him? Time will only tell, but it will be interesting to see where Dwyane Wade goes. 


Until next time, here is your NBA YouTube Clip!(Looks, it's my old pal Skip!)

 

-Bford