We haven’t seen too much of a vintage Dwyane Wade this season, but on a night that LeBron James finds himself frustrated by missing out on the triple double things came together for the often injured guard, leading the Miami Heat to a 102-96 win over the Detroit Pistons.
Wade put on his aggressive boots and went to work, not settling for anything and constantly attacking the rim against a team that on paper should be doing a lot more when it comes to rim protection. Wade scored 30 points, adding 10 rebounds and 5 assists while shooting 13-of-19 from the field, while the Heat were scoring easily in the paint, picking up 52 points.
LeBron James had his bad moments – his double flop that should get him fined and also not looking like the happiest camper when he realized he missed out on a triple double. Still, 24 points with 8 rebounds and 11 assists while adding another impressive alley-oop dunk to his collection isn’t a bad way to finish a game.
The Pistons and their rebounding should be giving the Heat more trouble than they have, managing to grab 19 on the offensive glass. However, Josh Smith continues to ruin games for his team on his won with 5-of-20 from the field, including 1-of-16 when taking shots from outside 3 feet. Andre Drummond did a great job on the offensive glass and Greg Monroe had a double double as well, but the Pistons don’t have the outside shooting or the intelligence in their basketball to really make things difficult for the Heat when they’re focused and not missing anyone.
It was the fourth time this season James was either two rebounds or two assists shy of a triple double. Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen “stole” a couple from him in the final minutes, which left James muttering, slightly angrily, on the bench.
It’s not meant for it to happen this year. My own guys got me. But a win is what it’s about, and I’m happy we played well for most of the game.
This game was another example of what rest does to Dwyane Wade’s knees. He sat out four times in January, nd looked like someone with plenty of spring in his knees and legs, having no problem getting through the limited resistance the Heat saw from the Pistons’ defense.
But what does this mean about the future? The Heat need Wade healthy and aggressive in order to win the NBA championship, not to mention avoid the pitfalls left for them in the regular season if they’re to catch up with the Indiana Pacers, they need to hope Wade isn’t resting so much. Come the playoffs, when there aren’t that many opportunities to give him the rest, Wade is going to have to show that even without some games off he’s capable of putting on these kind of performances, at least in attitude and charge, or this goal to win a third consecutive NBA title is going to end prematurely in failure.