Friday, May 1, 2009

Dwyane Waaaaaaaaade!

During an instant message conversation between yours truly and your Daily News sports editor, Scott Barrett, we began to argue (as is often the case during these discussions) about the value and talent of Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade. 

It all began when Scott opined that Rajon Rondo is a consistent jump shot away from being one of the top five players in the NBA. I replied that, even with a solid J, there's no way he's better than Kobe, LeBron, Chris Paul, Wade or Dwight Howard. Not even close. 

He said he'd take Rondo over Wade. I said, "You're nuts."

Wade has had a career year this season, averaging 30 points, 7.5 assists and 5 rebounds per game. At 6-foot-4, he also led Miami in blocks with 1.3 a game. 

It is true that, even if he and the Heat survive Friday's Game 6 against the Hawks and come back to win the first-round playoff series, Miami isn't winning an NBA title this year. Once Wade's supporting cast, led by rookie Michael Beasley, matures, maybe it'll be a different story in Miami.

Some of you, however, might recall that Wade already has a ring, that he won with an aging Shaquille O'Neal in 2006.

But the bottom line is, if it weren't for the Lakers and Cavaliers, and their respective superstars, having the ridiculous seasons they are, Wade would be the runaway league MVP. And no matter what Rondo does with his game in the coming years, he'll never be in the same league as Wade.

1 comment:

Scott Barrett said...

You failed to mention that I likened Wade to Penny Hardaway, who seemed to be the "it" player while experiencing some success alongside Shaq.

Injuries caught up with him and his career went downhill fast. For some reason, I see Wade taking the same path.