5 NBA players with a lot riding on a successful 2014

Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat 

After leading the Heat to a title in 2006, Wade was willing to take a back seat to Lebron James after The Decision in 2010. He let James be the big dog in Miami (though many still viewed Wade as the top Heatle).

As James took the high profile leader’s mantle, Wade kind of stayed in the background. Yes, he was still future Hall of Famer D-Wade, but after all the wars and time, the beating on his body took its toll. He couldn’t continue to take the beating, and having the greatest basketball player on Earth as his teammate afforded Wade the opportunity to take time off to recover from several maladies, most notably a bad knee.

After playing in 76 games and logging in 2,823 minutes in the 2010 season, Wade started to miss more and more games. He played in 69 games in 2012 (2011 was the lockout season) and logged in 2,391 minutes, and last season he played in only 54 games and logged just 1,775 minutes.

The Heat called it the maintenance program, designed to make sure Wade was fresher for the playoffs. After missing all those games last season, however, he still looked old and slow against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

Now James is back in Cleveland, and Wade is the man again in Miami (with respect to Chris Bosh, he will never be the man in Miami). All eyes are on Wade and they expect to see the same player they have grown accustomed to seeing.

Wade has to show that he can take the reins of the franchise once again and keep the winning going. Not many expect the Heat to be real contenders in the Eastern Conference this season, but Wade wants to show that they are, and for that to happen, that maintenance program may have to be scrapped.

Can he put in the minutes needed at this point of his career is the big question.