Why is the NBA sleeping on Dwyane Wade?

Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade hasn’t gotten the respect he deserves, even as he returns to a healthy Heat squad ready to compete in the Eastern Conference.

Early on Monday morning, Dwyane Wade found it in himself to answer some questions on Twitter. Most of the questions were of the pressing, yet eloquent variety.

@DwyaneWade What werries you?
— OrdioMongo (@OrdioMongo) July 6, 2015

Of course a great many questions were on a subject Wade is eager to talk about: how much better LeBron James is compared to him.

@DwyaneWade Do you miss LeBron carrying you
— TM (@tradesTM) July 6, 2015

I haven't been carried since my mother gave birth to me.. https://t.co/J4Mm4VKktL
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 6, 2015

I’m not sure exactly what answer “Mead” was hoping for, but (s)he just accepted a nomination for one of the internet’s dumbest questions.

But this person is not alone. The Miami Heat were out of playoff contention, and the only way many fans are defining the Heat are as “post-LeBron”. Is everybody sleeping on Dwyane Wade?

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For the most part last season, the Miami Heat’s offense ran directly through Wade. With LeBron James, Wade was an ideal partner playing off the ball, finding lanes to cut to the basket off of LeBron’s isolations. Even without LeBron in Miami, Wade was still able to shoot 47% from the field off of his isolation plays, even as he was taking a ton of lower efficiency shots like mid-range jumpers and heavily contested plays off of the pick and roll.

His efficiency improved as the year went on; having Goran Dragic operate as the team’s primary ball handler allowed for him to return to some of the same stuff he did off the ball with LeBron. Certainly Dragic is nothing like LeBron in terms of the impact he has on the team, but what Dragic’s presence still takes the ball out of Wade’s hands for the most part and allows him to play in the same effective way: creating opportunities for himself and his teammates by drawing defenses away from the open gaps when he cuts to the basket or sets a key off-ball screen.

This is the way that Wade can remain efficient. With the injuries to his knees, he doesn’t have the same explosiveness to simply get to the rim, and as groovy as it is to see his old man game of pump fakes, post passing and creating fouls by jumping into them burning the youngsters of the league, he does his best when he is the off-the-ball recipient.

The Miami Heat were wildly unlucky last year. Pat Riley is a supernatural demon, so that won’t happen again. The Heat go into the year with a healthy Chris Bosh, a point guard who has played like a borderline All-Star in Goran Dragic, a center without a ceiling in Hassan Whiteside and the steal of the draft in Justise Winslow. They have a fleet of competent bench players in Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts and Henry Walker to form a passable rotation. They also have Mario Chalmers to scream at in case something goes wrong. The play in the East, where the frickin’ Brooklyn Nets made the playoffs.

Wade has all of the pieces, and he has the perfect opportunity. Dwyane Wade has been a victim of circumstance, he is a great player forced to play in the shadow of an all-time player, even after that player left the team. Certainly most NBA players would enjoy being the victim of that circumstance if it means that it will result in two more titles.

But anyone who thinks that the Miami roster is still just wreckage after the storm of LeBron’s departure, mourning then rebuilding, just isn’t paying attention. I don’t know about you, but I’m worried.

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