Wade says Lakers are the favorites

[Flo-Rida]

DORAL, Fla. -- Dwyane Wade thinks there's a clear favorite for the 2011 NBA championship. No, it's not the Miami Heat.


“
The Lakers are the champions and we know the Lakers are very good. That's the team that everyone's shooting for and they should be. Not the Miami Heat. The Los Angeles Lakers.

”
-- Dwyane Wade

Even after Wade signed a new six-year deal and had LeBron James and Chris Bosh added to the Miami mix, the 2006 NBA Finals MVP says the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers should be the favorites heading into next season, simply because this Heat team hasn't proved anything yet.

"The Lakers are the champions and we know the Lakers are very good," Wade said Wednesday at a golf tournament he co-hosts with Alonzo Mourning. "That's the team that everyone's shooting for and they should be. Not the Miami Heat. The Los Angeles Lakers."

Oddsmakers in Las Vegas disagree, with some sports books establishing Miami -- a 20-1 pick before Wade, James and Bosh signed -- as an 8-5 choice to win next season's title.

Wade said he still can't believe Miami pulled off the coup of free agency, luring James and Bosh to join him. And he said he's proud not to be the highest-paid player on the Heat, with James and Bosh signing deals worth around $111 million, while Wade took about $107 million for the next six seasons.

Wade took less, in part, to ensure Miami had enough money to re-sign Udonis Haslem, his close friend and teammate for the last seven years.

"We got the big three," Wade said, "and now we've got to continue to build our team."

He credited James with successfully recruiting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who announced Tuesday that he'll leave Cleveland after more than a decade and sign with the Heat this week.

Wade expects free agent sharpshooter Mike Miller, who made 48 percent of his 3-pointers last season, to sign in the coming days. Miller agreed in principle several days ago to a deal that remains unsigned.

Plus, several players have contacted Wade to see if the Heat has space for them on the roster.

"The hard part is out of the way," Wade said. "Trust me, I get a lot of messages from a lot of different guys that want to be a part of this. But it's about putting the right guys in the right situation. Everyone might not have the personality to deal with this. It's got to be the right mix. The locker room has to be right. We've got to be patient to build this team."http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5378876

[MiamiHeat]

Class act.

Always has been, always will be.

He knows HEAT are the best, but he pays the due respects to the defending champions.

You can't declare yourself champ until you dethrone the champ.

Wade, you are a credit to Miami :)

[Flo-Rida]

Class act.

Always has been, always will be.

He knows HEAT are the best, but he pays the due respects to the defending champions.

You can't declare yourself champ until you dethrone the champ.

Wade, you are a credit to Miami :)

Wade = Humble

[Muser]

Well, he has a point.

[Kevin Durant 35]

They are Champions until someone proves em wrong.

[Giuseppe]

Wade = Humble

Wade = Dallas & Forever

[Flo-Rida]

Wade = Dallas & Forever

If u say so guiseppe if you say so

[Giuseppe]

I say so, Flo, I say so.

[Flo-Rida]

I say so, Flo, I say so.

:wakeup

[duhoh]

Wade = Dallas & Forever

cully spittin dat troof!

wade certainly is a likeable star though

[Basketballgirl25]

well he is right and even if he thinks Heat are better till someone beats Lakers in the finals no one is better then them

[Muser]

I know i've given Bynum a lot of shit in the past but the Lakers still have the better big man rotation.

[Killakobe81]

smokescreen ...but at least he is not giving the lakers more ammunition.

[Giuseppe]

smokescreen ...but at least he is not giving the lakers more ammunition.

You mean like Pierce after Game 2?

tee, hee.

[Ashy Larry]

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h166/Teppang/Sasha.jpg


Inglewood's Finest looks pitiful with Sasha all up in his mug ...... dude basically was 0-2 in predictions

1. we're not going back to Orlando

2. we're not going back to L.A.

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

Outside of any of the Spurs players, Wade has always been one of my favorites.

[DMX7]

He's just trying to lower expectations for when the fail.

[hater]

Mr. "We did it" has spoken

[The Gemini Method]

lol class and humility (Gabrielle Union)

[Findog]

Until they get somebody that can guard Pau Gasol, he is right.

[MiamiHeat]

Until they get somebody that can guard Pau Gasol, he is right.

Bosh vs Gasol, I'll take it. They cancel each other out. You might laugh, but Bosh's production is going to go up surrounded with this talent. His talents have been hidden up in Toronto.

and with the huge advantage of Bron-Wade, I love my chances.

32 yr old Kobe going 6-24 won't work against the Heat.

Heat can actually score.

[Giuseppe]

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h166/Teppang/Sasha.jpg


Inglewood's Finest looks pitiful with Sasha all up in his mug ...... dude basically was 0-2 in predictions

1. we're not going back to Orlando

2. we're not going back to L.A.

I thought he might hit Vuj there.

tee, hee.

[lefty]

CIA Wade

[Kevin Durant 35]

Bosh vs Gasol, I'll take it. They cancel each other out. You might laugh, but Bosh's production is going to go up surrounded with this talent. His talents have been hidden up in Toronto.

and with the huge advantage of Bron-Wade, I love my chances.

32 yr old Kobe going 6-24 won't work against the Heat.

Heat can actually score.

Yeah the Heat can get to the line too so its going to be a fair FT contest not like Boston

[Kevin Durant 35]

Too late for that. Jame already guaranteed them 8 in a row. Anything less than that and I'm nailing their asses to the Tree of Whoa.

James guarantees alot of things bout time you get used to it.

[Kevin Durant 35]

James over Artest

We know how that will go down.(remember last Christmas?)

[Giuseppe]

The only advantage you guys have is James over Artest, but in big game situations we know that Artest is money, and James quits.

Luva is correct here. James does quit.

[Findog]

Bosh vs Gasol, I'll take it. They cancel each other out. You might laugh, but Bosh's production is going to go up surrounded with this talent. His talents have been hidden up in Toronto.
.

Do you mean field-goal percentage or how many points he is going to score? If you mean the former, then yeah, he is going to get easy looks, much better than trying to create for himself in Toronto. But if you mean he is going to duplicate the numbers he put up in Toronto last year, no effing way. Last year LeBron's usage rate was 33.5%. Wade was 35%. Bosh was at 28.7%. That adds up to about 97%. Bosh is NOT going to score 24 points on 17 shot attempts per game like he did last year with the Raptors. If I had to guess, it will be more like 16-17 points on 11 shot attempts. I wonder if he is going to be happy with that after 2-3 years. Will LeBron eventually chafe at the reality that he has to share credit for championships with Wade?

To me, the biggest obstacle to this working is not other teams or having to fill out their roster with vet minimum slots, but if these guys really understand just how much of their games they are going to have to sacrifice to make this work. Both Wade and Bron are really gifted passers, but they do their best work with the ball in their hands.

As for Bosh vs Gasol, I give the edge to the Lakers there. Gasol has a gifted low-post game, whereas Bosh when push comes to shove is a midrange jump shooter.

[Goran Dragic]

The supporting cast won't be an issue as long as they add a capable starting C. The one thing standing between Miami and a title is whether or not Lebron and Bosh are going to lower their role on offense and be the perimeter/interior anchors on D (and Lebron needs to be a more consistent shooter). I'm actually at this point anxious to see how those two adjust their games. I'm pretty sure Lebron will, Bosh IMO is the major question mark. He's got a lot of strides he needs to make on D before Miami would beat LA in a series.


EDIT: Findog basically just said this in the post above.

[DJB]

Class act.

Always has been, always will be.

He knows HEAT are the best, but he pays the due respects to the defending champions.

You can't declare yourself champ until you dethrone the champ.

Wade, you are a credit to Miami :)

Yeah, because nothing screams "class act" like wearing band aids under your eye that have your name on them. :tu

[OC Lakerfan]

Yeah, because nothing screams "class act" like wearing band aids under your eye that have your name on them. :tu

Funny when Heat fans talk about Wade and Kobe and always say he's an adulterer when Wade did the same.

Or comparing your big trio to the best big trio ever.

[Flo-Rida]

Don't get ya hopes high with this little trio. The Olympics of past years have showed you that you can be stacked of talent, and still lose. Miami has no inside game. Z is done. They can add Shaq but he's done as well. You need good big men down there on the block to win titles, not scrubs.

I wanted chandler i felt like he was the best fit for this team .

[resistanze]

Wade said the back-to-back champions are the team to beat...damn!

[Chillen]

That Miami Heat team hasn't even played 1 game yet together. It takes talent, chemistry, knowledge of the game to win an NBA title and a solid smart coach and lots of defense. Lakers are the favorites in the 2011 season until somebody beats them in the playoffs or say they have some key injurys and fail to qualify for the playoffs, either way they are still the champs of the NBA until someone beats them.

[TheNextGen]

WTF?! Wade is a little bitch. He just doesnt want Miami to be a target. All good...we got Lebron. 8 Peat!

[My Fault]

Just stating facts, defending champs are the team to beat not some team that has yet to prove they can even play together. Regardless of what bandwagoners/homers say. You can't just throw a group of players together and think they'll mesh and play well. Building a team is putting the right talent for the group to work as a team. This isn't fantasy basketball (see 04 Lakers)

[My Fault]

WTF?! Wade is a little bitch. He just doesnt want Miami to be a target. All good...we got Lebron. 8 Peat!

Lol "we"? You bandwagoners are gonna look real foolish when this team fails. Better not disappear afterwards either.

[TheMACHINE]

by the way they've been celebrating and saying they gonna win 8 times...im surprised Wade said this...i guess he wanted to relieve some pressure off Lebron.

[Edward]

WTF?! Wade is a little bitch. He just doesnt want Miami to be a target. All good...we got Lebron. 8 Peat!


TheNextGen, gettin' his San Antonio Heat on.