D-Wade Says Miami Heat Are Only Going to Get Better
The Miami Heat won 58 games this season. They then dominated the Eastern Conference playoffs, establishing themselves as the conference's premiere powerhouse team. They then fell two victories short of winning an NBA championship.
Yup, we're clearly talking about a team with issues.
To be sure, the Heat's shortcomings are being a little exaggerated in the wake of the team's failure to win the NBA Finals. The national sporting press has taken to nitpicking the Heat, with some even going so far as to suggest that it is impossible for Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to coexist as players. After all, their styles of play are just too similar.
Naturally, D-Wade doesn't buy it, and he said as much on Tuesday.
Courtesy of Pro Basketball Talk:
I?m 29 years of what I?ve been doing. I mean, obviously you try to get better in areas, but you can?t just say, ?OK, since you?re a driver, I?m just going to become a shooter.? That?s not what the organization wants me to be, that?s not we want him [James] to be and it?s not what our fans want.
Being similar players, that makes us dynamic, that makes us a special team, because we have similar capabilities and put pressure on defenses certain ways. So we wouldn?t change that at all.
During the regular season, both Wade and James scored better than 25 points per game, but they were inconsistent during the playoffs. This was particularly true in the Heat's final two series, as LeBron dominated the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals while Wade struggled, and Wade dominated the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals while LeBron struggled.
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Still, Wade is confident that he, LeBron, and the rest of the Heat are only going to get better as time passes:
I thought we did a good job of getting better as the season went on, obviously from the first game to the end, coming from being individually good players to being good teammates, and being able to play off each other. And that?s only going to get better as we get more comfortable with each other, as our game continues to grow, and obviously for LeBron he?ll be more comfortable in his surroundings.
In 2011-2012, Wade says that he and LeBron will not have to worry about learning how to play with one another. Moreover, he believes that LeBron is going to be much more confident next season:
I?m sure it wasn?t easy for him to just make that adjustment, getting in this new situation. So he?ll be even more comfortable next year. Just with time, you get better with age, you get better with time. And I?m sure we will all just get more comfortable playing with each other, have a little bit more confidence coming into the season knowing we know each other and not trying to figure each other out.
All things considered, it's pretty hard to argue any of Wade's points. The Heat do have their share of problems, but he and LeBron are not among them.
Instead of worrying about how Wade and LeBron are going to coexist out on the hardwood, the Heat would be better off finding a capable center. They're supposedly interested in Samuel Dalembert, and he would certainly fit the bill provided he's willing to take a pay cut.
One way or another, the Heat are going to have roster decisions to make. They stand to lose as many as eight players to free agency, and the looming lockout is only going to complicate things.
So stay tuned, Heat fans. It's going to be a long summer.
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