Remember Me? It’s Dwyane Wade

Welcome to James’ Kingdom! Wait…that doesn’t sound right.  Welcome to Bosh City! No, that still isn’t it.  Oh wait, I got it now. Welcome to WADE COUNTY!

I believe LeBron James is the best player on EL HEAT, but it is Dwyane Wade’s team.  However, the way they are both playing now best player on the Heat and in the Finals has been Wade.  There’s an argument for Dirk Nowitzki playing through a torn tendon and 102 fever but as for overall, D-Wade has it. (At first I didn’t see the big deal about Dirk having a sinus infection until my friend Bean texted me and said “Dude you have a stuffy nose and a sore throat and you say you’re sick as sh**.” Good point.)

Wade is willing the Heat towards a championship, but the big story is LeBron only scoring eight in game four. (In six Finals appearances, Michael Jordan’s lowest game high total, 22.  Seriously, give me what Pippen is having.) If you turn on ESPN you’ll see LeBron LeBron LeBron LeBron LeBron LeBron LeBron LeBron LeBron. A montage about LeBron, questions on if the minutes he played are finally taking affect and quotes from anchors like “LeBron can’t win even if he wins.” Also you have the likes of Adam Schefter saying that LeBron is going to put up 38 as a redemption game.  If you turn on ESPN you’ll see Dirk Dirk Dirk Dirk Dirk Dirk Dirk, but he has earned it.  He is responding to criticism and basically doing the damn thing.  All he has been getting is praise and love and rightfully so. He hasn’t played better in his career. They’re polar opposites right now.

So why have we basically forgotten about D-Wade? Ironically, it’s because he’s already done it before.  He has a ring AND a Finals MVP and if the Heat win he’ll have two rings and two Finals MVPs (The play that sealed his Finals MVP award was him blocking Tyson Chandler’s dunk then running the floor and making a tough layup.). But he has been overshadowed by two superstars trying to start and solidify their legacies.

It’s been the story all playoffs; LeBron trying to finally fulfill our aspirations of him being the next  Jordan and the constant debates of whether or not he can come up big in the fourth quarter.  He did in the Boston and Chicago series but hasn’t against the Mavericks (the biggest stage). He’s been logging more minutes than anyone in the playoffs and it looks like it’s finally catching up to him (Jordan once played with the flu and dropped 38.). As for Dirk he is trying to finally end the criticisms of him coming up small and being mentally weak in big moments.  This is his last shot to win with this team because of their age so it’s now-or-never.

And yet, where does Dwyane Wade fit in with his glory? He’s the player that most associate with Jordan because of his defense, size, and ability to take over games. He is one of the best defensive guards in the NBA and gets to the basket at will. He has proven that he is a winner with his single-handedly winning of the 2006 Finals against the same Mavericks team. A series in which he averaged 35 points a game and has been rewarded with the greatest Finals performance ever. All he has done in the 2011 Finals is make us feel dumb for forgetting about him, even if it was for a second (Admit it, we all did at one point because he did struggle and LeBron had been lights out before the Finals.).  All he has done this series is average a mediocre 30 and has been the go-to-guy when Bron-Bron did his best Ramona Flowers impression and just disappears. 

The difference between their games right now, LeBron quits and D-Wade steps up.  In game four, LeBron stayed out of the way. Think about it, this isn’t a trend LeBron wants; this is the second time in as many years that he gave up like this.  He is so strong, if Wade can get to the basket, he can.  Who called for the ball, took the ball, drove the lane fearlessly, moved without the ball, and kept the Heat in the game? Dwyane Wade.  Who yelled at Udonis Haslem for bad defense that gave the Mavericks the lead? Dwyane Wade (Tonight when you watch LeBron’s pregame speech to his teammates, listen to the emotion in his voice, it almost sounds forced.).  Whose team is it? Dwyane Wade. Who is playing both sides of the ball better of the two? Dwyane Wade. Who is the Finals MVP if the Heat win? Dwyane Wade.  James is a great player and deserves the credit he will receive, Wade just deserves more right now.

James tweeted today, “Now or Never!!”  If he drops 30 or 40 tonight then he can claw his way back into the minds of basketball fans as a great.  But if he continues down the path he’s been for two years, everyone will abandon his corner, “take their talents” to D-Wade’s and exhale because Jordan’s throne will be safe.