Reply With Quote
Fat chance he'll learn to shoot, defend, score without the aid of whistles, or stop suffering wheelchair-inducing arm injuries any time soon.
Wade must rise to Kobe's level
Posted on Mon, Feb. 11, 2008
Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email
By ISRAEL GUTIERREZ
[email protected]
The Lakers' Kobe Bryant, left, and Heat's Dwyane Wade share a laugh during Sunday's game in Miami on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008.
RONNA GRADUS / MIAMI HERALD STAFF
The Lakers' Kobe Bryant, left, and Heat's Dwyane Wade share a laugh during Sunday's game in Miami on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008.
* New-look Heat falls to Bryant, Lakers
Rarely does a symbolic message arrive with such perfect timing.
In Dwyane Wade's first game with his new post-Shaq teammates, he faced the team that has almost completely overcome its own loss of Shaquille O'Neal.
And perhaps more meaningful, Wade faced the player who has elevated himself and his teammates to the point where O'Neal is merely a pleasant Laker memory instead of a haunting reminder of a ghastly trade.
In 42 minutes of the Lakers' 104-94 defeat of the Heat on Sunday, Kobe Bryant guided in a handful of those demoralizing fade-away jumpers that reminded you of Michael Jordan. He played relentless, suffocating defense reminiscent of Scottie Pippen, practically handcuffing Wade at times. He even threw in a graceful running hook shot from 15 feet that made you swear that was Magic Johnson in a Lakers uniform again (Magic was actually in the stands watching the display for himself.)
The well-timed message? If the Miami Heat is going to experience the same kind of recovery that the Lakers currently are, then Wade is going to have to rise to Bryant's level.
He will have to be the efficient scorer who can fill it up in a variety of ways, rather than relying on a handful of pet moves that defenses come to expect.
He will have to play the type of consistent defense that allows him to actually guard the opposing team's top perimeter threat, rather than just coming from the weak side to grab a few steals and block a few shots.
He will have to be the decision maker who gets the maximum output from each teammate, rather than the player who dismisses a personal nine-turnover performance.
THE NEXT LEVEL
As difficult as it might be to fathom given how close to flawless he played during a championship run two seasons ago, there is still another height for Wade to reach. It's that step great players take on the way to becoming legends. It's a conscious choice Wade will have to make if the Heat can actually be considered contenders once again with No. 3 as the sole franchise player.
For as much as people mock Bryant for being so obsessive about the game, and how he so obviously attempts to mimic Jordan, he has come the closest to perfecting the game.
Since O'Neal left his painted area, Bryant has not only sharpened his offensive game but finally acquired the team mentality that was missing while he was so desperately trying to prove himself as the league's best talent.
So Bryant recognizes the challenges that will face Wade in the coming months as he begins his extended life without O'Neal.
''What [O'Neal] does do is give you a person inside that can catch and finish, which you easily take for granted as a guard,'' Bryant said. ``Wade, a couple of times [Sunday], threw some passes inside that, if it were Shaq, those were dunks.
``The adjustment that he's going to have to make is how does he become a threat in the post and make teams collapse and how to make your teammates better consistently. When you're the lone ranger out there, it's tough. He's in a position I was in a couple of years ago where I had to put up 35, 37 points just to keep us in the ballgame. It's physically and emotionally draining.''
Yes, Bryant has the type of quality depth around him that has yet to be placed around Wade. And, yes, Wade is so banged up he has what Riley called ''compensatory injuries,'' which means playing hurt is hurting him even more.
But that doesn't mean Wade can't address the areas where he needs most improvement, in preparation for that time when he is fully healthy and Riley has built a capable team around him.
DEFENSIVE EFFORT
Wade's defense is easily what lacks the most. It also happens to be the area where desire is actually the primary ingredient for significant improvement.
''I think 95-plus percent of the guys in our league have the physical ability to play defense,'' Lakers point guard Derek Fisher said when explaining Bryant's defensive play. ``So at that point it just becomes a mental decision and a decision on how hard you want to work at it.''
On the offensive end, Wade can never again expect the same kind of freedom he had when every defensive player had one eye on him and the other on O'Neal. So Wade can either live with the constant frustration, or he can find ways to avoid it.
''What I started to do was become more efficient,'' Bryant said. ``Teams, especially when Shaq left, were able to key in on me a lot more. So I realized if I was going to score points, I had to be really smart about it, pick my spots and be very efficient, so teams couldn't lock in.''
It all could be overwhelming for Wade right now, recognizing that he is five years and one championship into this NBA experience and winning is only getting harder. But it's a truth he will have to accept.
You won't hear Riley saying his best player still has to improve. Because coaches rarely win these days when publicly challenging their franchise talents. So it's a message Wade might have to receive from others.
Bryant did his part to get that idea across Sunday. Now it's a matter of waiting for Wade's response.
Fat chance he'll learn to shoot, defend, score without the aid of whistles, or stop suffering wheelchair-inducing arm injuries any time soon.
you are so stupid its not even funny
It's not stupidity, really, just insane envy.
I basically reiterated exactly what the article posted, that Wade can't shoot, defend, or score from beyond the free throw line, and I'm jealous? I'm jealous for saying "yes I agree with the article"
Wade's golden days are over. But he might have a career ahead in commercials.
You can see the future???
Skeletor sees all...
Wade will never be Kobe. He's not even close.
Yea i know that, but saying Dwyanes golden days ar over is just crazy.
Dwyane Wade is a fantastic talent and will have a solid career the rest of the way. I don't think comparisons with Kobe are fair. Wade was propped up on a pedestal as being better than he actually is because of the championship and the finals mvp. He played great that playoffs and it was great fortune and great timing to play his best ball of his young career at that time. Even in that season, he hadn't played anything like that up until the playoffs. But, as many who criticize, I don't expect him to get back to that level or ever being as good as Kobe is. As much as Heat fans would never admit, Wade got a load of beneficial calls in those NBA finals and his "flavor of the year" status with officials have worn off. You see him often get frustrated because he won't get calls he used to get in the 2006 playoffs. And, you accompany that with his reckless abandon that has him continually injured, he cannot maintain elite level play unless he learns to adapt his game into at least more of a midrange jumpshooting kind to offset the hard hits he takes when he flops to the ground. And, now he also has to deal with more double teams and help defense in the lane more than ever. As fantastic a talent as he is, he is not at Kobe's level.
Wade needs a more consistent jumper and more strengthening or something. He is constantly getting injured. And you can argue that it's his "style of play" but Ginobili and Parker and many other players also play with a lot of drives to the basket/absorbing contact/etc but they don't get as injured as often. Maybe he just needs an offseason of rest I'm guessing.
Haven't Manu and Tony been injured all season long?
I think Dwade should take the rest of the season off and make sure that the Heat get the number one pick in the draft. I'm not gonn say his career is over and that hes a complete waste now but hes definetly not gonna be as good as Kobe or Lebron unless he works on his game a lot....A LOT.
Ya I know but itd give them that 30% percent chance and he would be able to rest as well.
Completely agree. Heck, he's not even on Lebron's level.
Manu has only missed like 4 games this season. And this is the first season I can remember in a long time, where Parker has missed this much significant time. Although this injury has more to do with the fact that he played all summer, all through the postseason last season, etc than his style of play. Wade's style of play gets him more injured IMO
The type of level he needs to get on is mine kobe and Lebron i taught them how to play.
Wade should be happy he got a ring...sux that the Heat mortgage thier whole future on it. I wonder if the heat can rebuild as fast as the Lakers.
Wade is also not fully healed from the surgeries last season. At what point does Riles shut him down? I think he can get to that elite level again maybe not Kobe but close. for as great as Kobe is he has been eliminated by the Suns the last 2 years. Is no coincidence that the Lakers are considered contenders with the emergence of Bynum. With the exception of Jordan teams win les when they have a dominant big man in the middle. Kobe could not do it without Shaq, Wade won with Shaq. Duncan,The Dream,Kareem and on and on. Don't be shocked if next season the Heat are a top team in the East. I am sure Riley will be busy with the draft and free agency.
When people make fun of Dwayne Wade needing a wheelchair for a dislocated shoulder, it makes me want to dislocate their shoulder and not let them sit down.
Ginobili > Wade
... or cutting off their hand and not letting them have an eye patch.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
