Moments later, with the shot clock about to expire and Rip Hamilton draped over him like a track suit, Wade fired from 22 feet … nothing but net. Game over. He finished with 31, 6, and 5 with 2 steals, 2 blocks, and only 2 turnovers. He shot an almost unbelievable 8-for-11 from the field. He held Rip Hamilton to a measly 11 points. His numbers have been better, but I’m not sure Wade has ever had a better game.
Yes, Superman has returned.
The only remaining question is: what is Wade’s kryptonite? Personally, I think that he’s been banged up and that his wrist never quite healed this year. And I think that Miami is being more intentional about feeding Shaq, which is taking away some of the flow from Wade’s game. I don’t think there is anyone in the league that can stop him. That said, I think there may be a little bit of kryptonite out there. The only players that seem to give him any trouble whatsoever are smaller guards that play low to the ground.
In the Chicago series, Wade had a couple of rough nights. Most attributed this to the pressure of playing in his hometown, but I think it had more to do with Kirk Hinrich’s defense. Hinrich might be the best guy in the league at guarding D-Wade. He is tough, relentless, quicker than people realize, and he plays very low to the ground. He’s also a smart player and is adept at funneling Wade toward help defense rather than trying to guard him straight up. This is really the only way you can even hope to guard him and Hinrich does it flawlessly.
The interesting thing about the Detroit series is that for two consecutive years, a healthy D-Wade has treated the Pistons like a practice squad. He does whatever he wants, whenever he wants against them. Ironically, Detroit has their own version of Hinrich in Lindsay Hunter. He is smaller and older than the Bulls’ guard (and certainly not as good in any way, shape, or form), but he is a step quicker and has mastered the art of using his chest and drawing charges.
In Game One, Hunter had a stretch where he picked up a charge, nearly picked up a second charge, and grabbed a steal.
In Game Two he forced Wade into a variety of turnovers.
Then in Game Three he was inserted into the lineup and you could see the wheels turning in Wade’s mind.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
It's a shame that a great player like Wade has to be given a goofy name like Dwyane. Let alone a misspelled name like Dwyane.
2 - El Bicho
It would have been intersting to see an uninjured Wade take on Detroit last year in Game 7 and probably moved ont the Spurs in the finals.
Wade might be surrounded by too many marquee names, not necessarily players, for the writers to consider him MVP.
God, thorough write-up, but I take issue with your overall premise. While Wade is having a great series, Shaq is known as Superman. He even has the "S" tattooed on his arm. Wade is Flash.
3 - Adam Hoff
That is a good point. I actually meant to include a throwaway line saying something like, "With apologies to Shaq and his tattoo, Wade makes for a better Superman." I forgot. Plus, I was drawing more on the comparison to the upcoming Superman movie as opposed to the actual nickname. Don't worry, I won't start calling him Dwyane "Superman" Wade!
4 - Matthew T. Sussman
I've got a problem with Shaq hoarding all the nicknames. He can't be Superman, Big Aristotle, and Kazaam rolled into one.
5 - RogerMDillon
Now, Matt, you know there's nothing with having more than one nickname.
Besides, Kazaam was a role, not a nickname, so you can have that one.
6 - Matthew T. Sussman
Kazaam wasn't just a role, Roger -- it was a way of life.
Shaq also had two other clutch nicknames -- Donovan Perot and Vladmire Mandingo. He used them as aliases while on the road. But why two? Maybe he used one of them to be a cool guy and another to be a total dick. But we'll never know.