spurschick
06-17-2006, 11:21 AM
Web Posted: 06/16/2006 01:05 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
MIAMI — The more you watch them, the more you see the similarities. Dwyane Wade, with English and less wit, could be called The Contusion.
Wade goes to the basket as Manu Ginobili does. He gets hurt as Ginobili does. And when Wade feels it — which both seem to do in big games — then Wade wins as Ginobili does.
The Mavericks, having beaten one of them, now have to find an answer for the other.
Wade didn't have to carry Miami as much as he did Tuesday. This time, Dirk Nowitzki helped, shooting only 2 of 14.
The same Dallas team that appeared headed to a sweep until the final 6 minutes on Tuesday has now set an NBA Finals record for fewest points in a quarter. The Spurs, finding reason to be angry with nearly everything now, will ask this today: Where were these Mavericks last month?
Wade also had his centers with him, with Alonzo Mourning blocking shots and Shaquille O'Neal effective despite only four first-half minutes. And when Jerry Stackhouse whammed Shaq on a fast break? That created the defining moment of Game 4, especially when Shaq got up and threw in both free throws for an 18-point lead.
But Wade was critical even then, sprinting over to pull Shaq from the crowd he had stumbled into. The last thing the Heat needed then was an angry Shaq picking up his second technical foul. Wade made sure that didn't happen.
Helping Shaq stand up was also a role reversal, since Wade seemingly spends half the game pulling himself off the floor. Converse played into that with a commercial; Wade goes down seven times and gets up eight.
Fittingly, there's a spot for Ginobili with a similar theme. Pictured crashing to the floor in last year's Finals, Ginobili hears a message: Getting up is what counts.
These promotional moments go against their personalities. Neither one seeks publicity. The way they play is what attracts attention.
Wade isn't a point guard, just as Ginobili isn't, but both often begin their team's offenses. Wade isn't a pure shooter, just as Ginobili isn't, but somehow both become one when it matters.
A telling stat: Wade has made more 3-pointers this postseason than he made in the entire regular season.
Wade is younger and stronger than Ginobili, and he might very well be beginning a career that laps Ginobili's. Ginobili's final mistake against Dallas in Game 7 leaves a lasting picture, too, that doesn't rank with Wade's image today.
Ginobili, however, has won two titles, and he also beat Wade and the U.S. Olympic team in Athens. As for his Mavericks series: A lot of people forget what he did in Game6 in Dallas, when he finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
Ginobili was then what Wade is now. Wade has come out as fearless and as chaotic, willing himself to the basket and overwhelming the Mavericks. After scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday, he opened with 24 in the first half Thursday on his way to 36 points.
Avery Johnson switched and started Devin Harris, just as Johnson did in the Spurs series. But this move wasn't to quicken the game as much as it was to put a different defender on Wade.
Wade still blazed to the basket. "He has hurt us in the worst way," Johnson said afterward. "We haven't been able to guard him."
It was another remarkable performance, especially considering a knee injury that left him limping Wednesday. Something always seems to be wrong with him — with sore ribs a year ago against Detroit — and it's the byproduct of how he plays. As it is with Ginobili, people question how he will hold up over the length of his career.
But when Wade is right? When he's exploding with a first step, throwing himself around, scoring with an assortment of floaters and jumpers and drives?
Maybe Wade is the next Jordan or the next Magic.
Or maybe he's Ginobili.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA061606.1D.COL.BKNharvey.wade.20295bb.html
San Antonio Express-News
MIAMI — The more you watch them, the more you see the similarities. Dwyane Wade, with English and less wit, could be called The Contusion.
Wade goes to the basket as Manu Ginobili does. He gets hurt as Ginobili does. And when Wade feels it — which both seem to do in big games — then Wade wins as Ginobili does.
The Mavericks, having beaten one of them, now have to find an answer for the other.
Wade didn't have to carry Miami as much as he did Tuesday. This time, Dirk Nowitzki helped, shooting only 2 of 14.
The same Dallas team that appeared headed to a sweep until the final 6 minutes on Tuesday has now set an NBA Finals record for fewest points in a quarter. The Spurs, finding reason to be angry with nearly everything now, will ask this today: Where were these Mavericks last month?
Wade also had his centers with him, with Alonzo Mourning blocking shots and Shaquille O'Neal effective despite only four first-half minutes. And when Jerry Stackhouse whammed Shaq on a fast break? That created the defining moment of Game 4, especially when Shaq got up and threw in both free throws for an 18-point lead.
But Wade was critical even then, sprinting over to pull Shaq from the crowd he had stumbled into. The last thing the Heat needed then was an angry Shaq picking up his second technical foul. Wade made sure that didn't happen.
Helping Shaq stand up was also a role reversal, since Wade seemingly spends half the game pulling himself off the floor. Converse played into that with a commercial; Wade goes down seven times and gets up eight.
Fittingly, there's a spot for Ginobili with a similar theme. Pictured crashing to the floor in last year's Finals, Ginobili hears a message: Getting up is what counts.
These promotional moments go against their personalities. Neither one seeks publicity. The way they play is what attracts attention.
Wade isn't a point guard, just as Ginobili isn't, but both often begin their team's offenses. Wade isn't a pure shooter, just as Ginobili isn't, but somehow both become one when it matters.
A telling stat: Wade has made more 3-pointers this postseason than he made in the entire regular season.
Wade is younger and stronger than Ginobili, and he might very well be beginning a career that laps Ginobili's. Ginobili's final mistake against Dallas in Game 7 leaves a lasting picture, too, that doesn't rank with Wade's image today.
Ginobili, however, has won two titles, and he also beat Wade and the U.S. Olympic team in Athens. As for his Mavericks series: A lot of people forget what he did in Game6 in Dallas, when he finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
Ginobili was then what Wade is now. Wade has come out as fearless and as chaotic, willing himself to the basket and overwhelming the Mavericks. After scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday, he opened with 24 in the first half Thursday on his way to 36 points.
Avery Johnson switched and started Devin Harris, just as Johnson did in the Spurs series. But this move wasn't to quicken the game as much as it was to put a different defender on Wade.
Wade still blazed to the basket. "He has hurt us in the worst way," Johnson said afterward. "We haven't been able to guard him."
It was another remarkable performance, especially considering a knee injury that left him limping Wednesday. Something always seems to be wrong with him — with sore ribs a year ago against Detroit — and it's the byproduct of how he plays. As it is with Ginobili, people question how he will hold up over the length of his career.
But when Wade is right? When he's exploding with a first step, throwing himself around, scoring with an assortment of floaters and jumpers and drives?
Maybe Wade is the next Jordan or the next Magic.
Or maybe he's Ginobili.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA061606.1D.COL.BKNharvey.wade.20295bb.html