[Velvet HoopParticipant]

This from Adrian Wojnarowski of yahoo sports:

“For all the praise heaped upon Dwyane Wade’s most prosperous performances, the criticism comes sheepishly when he fails to play the part of Robin to LeBron James’ Batman.

Let Wade play lousy, and it’s his knee. Let him do his job – play superbly – and he’s courageous, heroic, a champion defying the declarations of his decline. The storylines are wired. This way, Wade never loses. From James to Erik Spoelstra to Chris Bosh, the best gig on the Heat belongs to Wade.”

Thoughts?

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

ehh I thought he was getting plenty of well-deserved criticism for his earlier performances.

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

ehh I thought he was getting plenty of well-deserved criticism for his earlier performances.

[Velvet HoopParticipant]

I heard a lot more about Bosh’s lack of rebounding than I did D Wade.

On here I heard some talk about it, but on the mainstream media I heard a lot of “he’s hurt” talk.

And to give credit where credit is due, Bosh has bounced back nicely from that 5 rebound game early in the series, with 10, 10 and 13 in his last 3.

[Velvet HoopParticipant]

I heard a lot more about Bosh’s lack of rebounding than I did D Wade.

On here I heard some talk about it, but on the mainstream media I heard a lot of “he’s hurt” talk.

And to give credit where credit is due, Bosh has bounced back nicely from that 5 rebound game early in the series, with 10, 10 and 13 in his last 3.

[TMoney617Participant]

He is so biased. Let me see him play through ll these injuries. How does Wade have the easiest job? He was one of the best and most explosive players in the NBA and he injured his knee, which is one of the most important parts of the body in basketball. He also had to set aside his ego to let LeBron James become the alpha dog and learn how to play off the ball. That takes so much sacrifice. I commend Wade and hope he can play at Game 4 level for the rest of this series and maybe after that.

[Velvet HoopParticipant]

he has it the easiest in that when he plays well, he is “gutsy”, and when he plays poorly, it is “oh well, he is hurt”. It is a no lose situation for him. If Lebron doesn’t have 30,30 and 30 someone is going to rip him to shreds for not doing enough, and if Bosh doesn’t rebound we let him have it. I think it is a fair question to at least ask the question, “if Lebron and Bosh face so much criticism when they don’t play to the standards that we are accustomed to, why does D Wade seem to get a pass?”

[Velvet HoopParticipant]

he has it the easiest in that when he plays well, he is “gutsy”, and when he plays poorly, it is “oh well, he is hurt”. It is a no lose situation for him. If Lebron doesn’t have 30,30 and 30 someone is going to rip him to shreds for not doing enough, and if Bosh doesn’t rebound we let him have it. I think it is a fair question to at least ask the question, “if Lebron and Bosh face so much criticism when they don’t play to the standards that we are accustomed to, why does D Wade seem to get a pass?”

[TMoney617Participant]

He is so biased. Let me see him play through ll these injuries. How does Wade have the easiest job? He was one of the best and most explosive players in the NBA and he injured his knee, which is one of the most important parts of the body in basketball. He also had to set aside his ego to let LeBron James become the alpha dog and learn how to play off the ball. That takes so much sacrifice. I commend Wade and hope he can play at Game 4 level for the rest of this series and maybe after that.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

That is probably true, as LeBron is the guy who takes the blame for all their losses and Bosh gets criticized heavily for accepting a new role, but to be fair LeBron joining the Heat did really displace Wade from his role as lead scorer, so it is big when he can go and put up 30.

[db24kb24Participant]

Lebron doesn’t get blamed for too much IMO. When they lose it’s always his supporting cast didn’t show up, or Lebron carried the team all year why can’t you guys pick him up when he struggles. Stern’s NBA can’t afford for LBJ to be the scapegoat, he needs LBJ to succeed.

[db24kb24Participant]

Lebron doesn’t get blamed for too much IMO. When they lose it’s always his supporting cast didn’t show up, or Lebron carried the team all year why can’t you guys pick him up when he struggles. Stern’s NBA can’t afford for LBJ to be the scapegoat, he needs LBJ to succeed.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

That is probably true, as LeBron is the guy who takes the blame for all their losses and Bosh gets criticized heavily for accepting a new role, but to be fair LeBron joining the Heat did really displace Wade from his role as lead scorer, so it is big when he can go and put up 30.

[TheGodfather♫♪♫♪Participant]

Just let Wade be Wade. He’s already a HOF in my book. ^ your right, his knee is all that’s slowing him down. when he has a 25pt game it should be a unreal idea anyway. Wade put up his points and he has LeBron, Ray, Miller to pick it up when he has to sit because of pain. Wade and the Heat will be fine im sure. if anything Bosh needs to pick it up on the rebounding. he should be getting 10+ a night.

[TheGodfather♫♪♫♪Participant]

Just let Wade be Wade. He’s already a HOF in my book. ^ your right, his knee is all that’s slowing him down. when he has a 25pt game it should be a unreal idea anyway. Wade put up his points and he has LeBron, Ray, Miller to pick it up when he has to sit because of pain. Wade and the Heat will be fine im sure. if anything Bosh needs to pick it up on the rebounding. he should be getting 10+ a night.

[Mad MaxParticipant]

people are giving Wade a pass because his knee is injured, however I do think it’s unfair to just say “oh Wade played bad it’s only because his knee is hurt” Hard for me to say because I don’t actually know how bad his knee is or any details, so yea.

[Mad MaxParticipant]

people are giving Wade a pass because his knee is injured, however I do think it’s unfair to just say “oh Wade played bad it’s only because his knee is hurt” Hard for me to say because I don’t actually know how bad his knee is or any details, so yea.

[TheGodfather♫♪♫♪Participant]

I believe his knee or knees are getting worse. To the point he might just have surgery this off season. I could see him missing some of next season from it. But that’s just my guess. didn’t they start Miller in game 4 and Wade was on the bench?.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

No, Wade started. Haslem was on the bench. That was what forced the Spurs to put Splitter on Wade to start the game and Diaw on him to start the second half. It is a good thing Wade showed up for the Heat, because they need him to punish the Spurs for disrespecting him like that. When a team gets that cross-matched, they shouldn’t be able to get away with it.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

No, Wade started. Haslem was on the bench. That was what forced the Spurs to put Splitter on Wade to start the game and Diaw on him to start the second half. It is a good thing Wade showed up for the Heat, because they need him to punish the Spurs for disrespecting him like that. When a team gets that cross-matched, they shouldn’t be able to get away with it.

[TheGodfather♫♪♫♪Participant]

I believe his knee or knees are getting worse. To the point he might just have surgery this off season. I could see him missing some of next season from it. But that’s just my guess. didn’t they start Miller in game 4 and Wade was on the bench?.

[TheGodfather♫♪♫♪Participant]

Ok, makes sense. I knew they changed the starting line up, but wasn’t fully sure what they did.

[TheGodfather♫♪♫♪Participant]

Ok, makes sense. I knew they changed the starting line up, but wasn’t fully sure what they did.

[omphalosParticipant]

I think Wade is in a lose-lose situation to be honest. If he plays poorly he’s a has-been, should be traded and is hampered by injury. If he plays well and the Heat win Lebron will still get the credit unless it’s a dominant performance. Against the Pacers there was a stretch in Game 2 where Wade put together a nice run of scoring in the 3rd quarter and Lebron couldn’t get anything going but he got no credit for it and the talk the day after was “Lebron needs help.”

I still maintain Wade’s knee is hurting, but his biggest battle is learning how to play in Lebron’s shadow. He’s the sort of guy who relies on aggressive to be effective, so he can’t take a passive role and be successful. When he says “f*ck it” and just plays his game regardless of any notion of deferring to Lebron then he’s still the same Wade. It’s only because the media and fans just keep going on about how it’s Lebron’s team and every success they have is because of Lebron that Wade has been struggling.

Van Gundy had it right when he said Wade looked disinterested in the Pacers series, it wasn’t that he was being aggressive and being contained, it was that he just didn’t seem to give a damn.

Wade has always played with a chip on his shoulder because he was underrated in high school, underrated in college, underrated in the NBA and always fighting to catch someone – Kobe, Lebron or the other stars he played against. But now Lebron is on his team and there’s no obvious opponent to strive against Wade has lost that mental edge, the toughness that made him a great player.

It’s hard to find the middle-ground when you’re used to going 100%.

This is why it was nice to see Wade be aggressive and not over-think the game, even if it meant Miami won (because I detest the Lebron James Heat). Lebron put up similar numbers, but a lot of those points came in transition, whereas Wade was killing them in the half-court and defensively.

[omphalosParticipant]

I think Wade is in a lose-lose situation to be honest. If he plays poorly he’s a has-been, should be traded and is hampered by injury. If he plays well and the Heat win Lebron will still get the credit unless it’s a dominant performance. Against the Pacers there was a stretch in Game 2 where Wade put together a nice run of scoring in the 3rd quarter and Lebron couldn’t get anything going but he got no credit for it and the talk the day after was “Lebron needs help.”

I still maintain Wade’s knee is hurting, but his biggest battle is learning how to play in Lebron’s shadow. He’s the sort of guy who relies on aggressive to be effective, so he can’t take a passive role and be successful. When he says “f*ck it” and just plays his game regardless of any notion of deferring to Lebron then he’s still the same Wade. It’s only because the media and fans just keep going on about how it’s Lebron’s team and every success they have is because of Lebron that Wade has been struggling.

Van Gundy had it right when he said Wade looked disinterested in the Pacers series, it wasn’t that he was being aggressive and being contained, it was that he just didn’t seem to give a damn.

Wade has always played with a chip on his shoulder because he was underrated in high school, underrated in college, underrated in the NBA and always fighting to catch someone – Kobe, Lebron or the other stars he played against. But now Lebron is on his team and there’s no obvious opponent to strive against Wade has lost that mental edge, the toughness that made him a great player.

It’s hard to find the middle-ground when you’re used to going 100%.

This is why it was nice to see Wade be aggressive and not over-think the game, even if it meant Miami won (because I detest the Lebron James Heat). Lebron put up similar numbers, but a lot of those points came in transition, whereas Wade was killing them in the half-court and defensively.

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