HOOPLOG: Dwyane Wade

Team USA Concludes Exhibition Tour With 116-63 Win Over Korea

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 15:01:55 -0800

Team USA completed a 5-0 exhibition tour by defeating host Korea 116-63. LeBron James led the U.S. in scoring with 23 points and added six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Dwayne Wade (16), Elton Brand (16) and Carmelo Anthony (13) also scored in double figures. Anthony led the U.S. in scoring overall during the five games, averaging 16.8 ppg. James (15.8) and Wade (12.2) were the only other U.S. players to average more than 10 ppg, but Antawn Jamison and Joe Johnson came very close (9.6 ppg each).

This win does not tell us a lot about Team USA. As Coach Mike Krzyzewski said afterward, "Obviously we knew we were going to win. The talent differential was in our favor by far." It will be interesting to see how this team responds when faced with tougher opposition. Also, as Bill Walton pointed out during the ESPN broadcast, teams have not been playing much zone defense against Team USA during the exhibition tour. Will the U.S. be able to execute offensively against zone defenses during the World Championships?

During my appearance today on BetUs.ComRadio, host Matthew Ross asked me if five exhibition games were too much for the U.S. I told him that, if anything, it might be too few. Keep in mind that the other countries in the World Championships have national teams that have played together for years under FIBA rules, while the U.S. team consists of players who have not played together (except for All-Star Games). It takes time for a team to jell and even more time to adjust to the different FIBA rules (shorter three point line, one less foul before disqualification, liberalized goal tending, trapezoid lane, etc.). I like the new U.S. approach of insisting on three year commitments from each player and I am confident that this will eventually result in gold medals for the U.S. in international play. Team USA's recent results in the Olympics and World Championships prove that winning these events will not be a cakewalk.

The only bad news so far for Team USA is that neither Amare Stoudemire not Gilbert Arenas will be healthy enough to play in the World Championships. Stoudemire returned home to continue rehabilitating his knee, while Arenas suffered a groin injury during practice on Monday. Coach Krzyzewski still must make one cut to get the roster down to 12 players before the World Championships begin. There are a total of 24 players on the Team USA roster for the 2006-08 period, but only 12 of them may be activated for a given event. This time around, injuries and prior commitments have eliminated several players from consideration.

Pistons Stay Cool, Prepare for Heat

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:57:16 -0800

In the DETROIT NEWS, Joanne Gerstner writes that the "Pistons are taking tonight's" showdown with the Miami Heat (TNT, 8:00 ET) "with their usual calm, not getting too high about anything. The Pistons lead the season series 2-1, the lone loss coming Feb. 12 in Miami. In that game, Heat guard Dwyane Wade scored the last 17 points to deliver the 100-98 victory. He finished with 37. The Pistons repaid the favor March 22 at The Palace, shutting down Wade and beating the Heat, 82-73."

Jack McCallum: Biggest disappointments, surprises of '05-06

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:55:06 -0800

From the rise of a LeBron James-Dwyane Wade rivalry to the Knicks' implosion, the season was filled with plenty of surprises and letdowns, writes SI.com's Jack McCallum.

Heat drops Wizards

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 08:33:05 -0800

Wade scores 40; Lakers spoil Hornets' homecoming

Dwyane Wade returned from a two-game absence to score 40 points and lead the host Miami Heat to its 10th straight win, a 118-112 victory over the Washington Wizards last night.

Heat 118, Wizards 112

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 08:32:56 -0800

Dwyane Wade returned from a two-game absence to score 40 points and lead the Miami Heat to their 10th straight win, a 118-112 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

Nothing fits forever

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 21:49:48 -0800

It would seem that last night’s infernal burst of Gilbertology might truly need no comment from ours truly. As in, we live in heaven, he lives alone, our souls are intertwined and the moment need not be soiled by explanation. The more and more I gazed upon that fascinating still—one as destined for iconic status as Tiger with the fist pump or Yao’s scream of antiquity—the more brutally apparent it becomes to me that Arenas, far from being an oddball, is the living, breathing god of my favorite kind of NBA player: the kind you watch, instead of just view. What Iverson, Kobe, Nash, and a handful of others I go out of my way to see play have in common is this ability to not merely produce on any given night, but to casually redefine themselves through masterstrokes of basketball impressionism.

Let me put briefly put aside the strained fire and brimstone that guides this site long enough to admit, as I did last week, that this is by and large a league of consistency. Unlike baseball and football, where one can be violently up and down from one game to the next but still get recognized overall as a fantastic contributor, to be a credible contributor a guy’s got to come with steady output. Freaks and streaks can be profound, but no player’s a recognizable force (or definite failure) in this league until he can be counted on; to scrape the ridges of Mount Dunkmore, he’d better be guaranteed to account for a serious percentage of his team’s production, both in the box score and as a reliable force when the ball hits his hands. Until then, he will always get saddled with the p-word, no matter how impressive he is in spurts.

When you reach the rarified air of superlative hoops accomplishment, there are at least three kind of consistency. Most obviously, there are the rock-solid bequeathers, under-appreciated and often big men like Duncan, Brand, Bosh, Dirk, Jamison, Kidd, Ray Ray and Redd. These folks give it their all with frightening regularity, churning it out from the opening bell and expected to operate as if to a rhythmic tick. I want to stop short of saying that you can intuit them from looking at a box score, but by and large there is no dramatic arc to their in-game performances. Professional, workmanlike, whatever you want to call them, these are consummate anchors of an offense, the given you pencil in at most moments during the season’s onslaught.

In the next category, you find explosive players with a tendency toward predictable outcomes, who ebb and flow over the course of a game, occasionally make you doubt, and ultimately bring you right back to who you always knew they were. I’m talking about Garnett, Pierce, Wade, Vince, Billups, Bibby, Gasol, Melo, Richardson, Jefferson, Sheed, Marion, and Artest himself—unquestioned experts who sometimes lull, sometimes soar, but never have to redeem themselves and are constantly working within their own limits and images. This isn’t a knock on any of these fine, hurling turtles; merely to point out that if you turn on the television to see them play, you know what you’re getting and will be accordingly excited. Each game reinforces their , with ups and downs that end in a pointed reminder of yeah, that’s him.

Gilbert and his gang, as I will now aptly dub them, rest upon their own set of shaggy shoulders. To return to last week’s trope of half-assed existentialism, All-American and yet bleakly Continental, they are players constantly exceeding themselves, or at least engaging in what feels for all the world like a motherfucking statement game. It can LeBron or Amare exerting and expanding their dominance, Kirilenko or Gerald Wallace twisting up the parameters of a box score, Nash working his conductor-ly magic, or Kobe, Iverson or McGrady scoring not only at will, but as if it’s unnatural for them to miss—or even repeat themselves out on the floor. Arenas is a must-see, not only because he’s likely to put on a show, but for what each and every game can do to your sense of him as a player and personality. If Wade proves with each big game that he’s still Wade, still proud, then Gilbert does it up in a way that’s not only unpredictable; with each of these self-transcending events, he also manages to seem unlikely all anew. As does Kobe, Bron, et al. In the crucible of the game, their legend is broken down and created anew, surprising you not only with this most recent installment but, in its reconstitution of the player’s most basic essence, shock you yet again they exist at all, that anything they do has ever happened in the glare of man’s senses.

This may seem like two-bit metaphysics for those of you not in tune with my lifelong education on this planet (or anyone merely taking issue with my late night sloppiness). But next time you find yourself up past bedtime watching one of these aforementioned idols, think about whether or not you feel you’re seeing them for the first time, whether you’re transfixed partly out of the fear that you’re witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Not just a good game from your favorite NBA player, or one of those “instant classics” this blog will reference two years from now; I mean one of those performances where, in some ways, you feel like you’re discovering the sport again for the very first time.

Mourning Out, Wade Returns for Heat

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 18:37:27 -0800

According to THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, as reported on ESPN.COM: "Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning was sidelined for Wednesday night's game against the Washington Wizards because of a sprained left foot. Miami's Dwyane Wade, who missed the previous two games with a sprained right wrist, dressed for the game and was expected to start."

Now What?

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 13:19:27 -0800

We’re in the home stretch of the fantasy basketball season. Only seven weeks remain, and by this point you should know if you have any shot at fantasy glory. The real trading deadline has passed, so there shouldn’t be any huge shifts in value unless it happens due to injury (and this will happen). It’s the time when lots of people start to focus on baseball, so certain teams in your league may stop being factors. With fewer active teams you should find it easier to move up in the standings, but at the same time, your competitors will be in the same boat. Here are some strategies to keep in mind over the last few weeks.

Try To Pull Off That Huge Deal
Why not? What do you have to lose? If you’re languishing in fifth of sixth place, go for the big splash and shake things up. This is the time to take risks. What’s the difference between finishing fifth and finishing ninth? Not a whole lot. At the same time, if you’re stuck in second place (that’s me), it might be time to make that push for the top spot. Now in many leagues, there certainly is a difference between second and fifth place, so you don’t want to take too big a risk and find yourself out of the money when the season comes to an end. But these are the two types of squads that might be able to pull off a good deal.

If you’re the team in the middle of the pack, you might have to buck the common practice of getting the best player in a deal and see if you can score a bunch of solid players in return. As great as Kevin Garnett or Dwyane Wade or whomever may be, your best bet may be find three solid players to replace them, especially if you find yourself in the middle of the pack because you haven’t used as many games as the teams above you (more on that later).

Another strategy to consider when making deals, especially for owners just trying to move up one or two spots as opposed to four or five – make a deal that will hurt the guy you’re trying to catch. It’s obvious that you want to maximize your own point total, but sometimes you might have to try and take a few points away from the guy up top. If you see that he’s vulnerable in blocks, and you have some blocks to spare and can make a deal to the guy right behind him blocks, by all means go for it. It’s not lame, it’s good, solid strategy. Further along those lines – and this sort of goes without saying – if there is a category where you can pass the team ahead of you, pay extra attention there. Because that’s not just one point you’re gaining, it’s really two, if you can pull it off.

Work the Waiver Wire Frantically
This may seen obvious, and it can be tied into the above. In a typical league – especially non-keeper leagues – the folks in the bottom half of the standings aren’t going to be paying too much attention anymore. That’s just the way it is. So that means, in theory at least, there should be more viable options available on the waiver wire as those teams not only stop trying to pick up new players, but leave their rosters populated with guys who aren’t much help. Now on one hand, if you are constantly mining the waiver wire that might mean that your team is in too much trouble to be helped. I’ve long maintained that while there are certainly waiver wire gems to be had out there, constructing a team with a solid 1 through 10 that doesn’t need much day-to-day maintenance is the way to go.

But for the team looking to make the push for a true superstar in a three-for-one deal, the higher quality on the waiver wire is what makes this possible. More and more players on the free agent list will be able to put up top 50/top 75 numbers over a short span. This will enable you to move your more established mid-level players in a bigger deal and not lose any drop off because of the stronger free options available.

It’s also time to take advantage of guys who will have as few as one games of significance. For example, Samuel Dalembert went down with a sprained ankle last week and looks to be missing his third straight game tonight. Stephen Hunter has started the last two games and even though he has seen only 42 total minutes, he has still managed to block four shots. Every little bit helps, right?

Start Using Those Games
If you’ve been hoarding games to stay under the limit in order to make a late run, now is the time to start using those games. I can’t implore this enough. There is absolutely no reason not to finish your season with the maximum number of games allowed in your league. Ideally you’ll want to be right on pace to finish up during the last week, maybe +1 or so. Remember that Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest days in the NBA, and that’s when most teams are in action. If you have 13 good options for 10 spots, but have 13 guys suiting up on Wednesday and then only two guys on Thursday, you aren’t going to be able to take full advantage of this. Plan ahead, look at schedules and see where you have openings. Think of how you will feel if you end up losing by one point because you finished four 3s behind someone and you had three games left at SG.

Keeper Leagues
Just curious, how many of you play in keeper leagues? And what kind of rules do you use? Would it be helpful if we posted an article on good keeper league targets? Just trying to get a feel for what’s out there…

Isiah Thomas is an Excellent Driver

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 15:11:28 -0800

Though I enjoyed it very much, the slam dunk contest was a joke. The problems have been written about all over the place, so instead I'll offer a solution. Each of the four contestants get four dunks. The first three rounds are limited to three attempts per dunk with the last round having unlimited attempts. After all dunks are completed a panel of "experts" (as in former players who have at least the cognitive ability of a multi-cellular organism) will pick the four best dunks (one per player to avoid a situation where the fans split the vote between two dunks by the same guy). The public will then pick the winner, in 10 minutes of online and/or text messaging voting.

This prevents the judges' inevitable premature adulation: giving perfect 10s in first round when everyone knows better dunks are coming. Fan involvement is encouraged, likely to increase ratings (and revenue to whatever cell phone company sponsors the text messaging portion). Barkley and crew could banter about which dunk was the best for each player. Leaving the unlimited attempts round to the end will build anticipation on what crazy-ass dunk each player is going to pull out. During the voting period TNT could interview the active players in the arena that didn't participate. You know Iverson, Shaq and company would love to share their opinions on who should win and the crowd would eat that shit up. (Did anyone notice Kobe's reaction when he realized that Robinson had won instead of AI? He looked crushed; I thought he was going to buy some diamond encrusted fronts for Igoudala just to say he's sorry.) They could interview random posse members and celebrities as well. Running voting results could be displayed on the scoreboard. What's not to like?

Call me crazy, but I had absolutely no desire to see four Pistons playing at once in the All Star Game. This has nothing to do with my thoughts on whether they deserved the spot; it was simply boring. If I wanted to watch "Pistons basketball" I would watch a DET game. Do people really want to watch Rip running off staggered screens? And was anyone really surprised that four Pistons plus Pierce outplayed the West? Hell, four Raptors plus Pierce would likely beat the West, too. Virtually any NBA team playing team basketball would beat an All-Star team featuring guys trying lobs from half court. And yeah, I would feel the same way about four Spurs. I know how the Spurs play. I don't know how Manu would play with Nash, Marion, Dirk and Brand. That's what I would want to see.

My favorite part of the latest Isiah trade isn't that the Knicks will be paying $60+ million a year (including luxury tax) for Marbury and Francis. It's not that these two players are incompatible due to both of them being undersized for a shooting guard (not that they play much defense anyway). Nor is it that the combination will drive the lying, sniveling Larry Brown to a premature demise. The best part about this deal is that multiple media outlets are reporting that Isiah is stockpiling assets in order to go after Garnett in the summer.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I can see only one high-quality asset the Knicks have that MIN could possibly want. And that's Channing Frye. They have don't have any premium draft picks over the next two years. Meanwhile a team like CHI could offer some combination of Deng, Gordon, Duhon, Nocioni, Hinrich and Chandler plus multiple premium first round picks.

I didn't get to watch the SA-SEA game because the NBA League Pass channel was blacked out and I didn't notice until the game was already over. I'm beginning to see the early signs of Spurs withdrawal.

Here are my quick midseason player reviews; based on minutes of careful consideration and preseason expectations.

Coach Pop, B

Clearly trying to establish a rotation ASAP but stuck with Finley in the starting lineup way too long. Has successfully kept Manu's minutes down but needs to do the same for Timmeh; props for loosening the reins on Parker.

Mike Budenholzer, A+

I just like saying his name. Boo-din-hol-zer.

Sean Marks, B+

He's played well when given the opportunity and helped spawn a new catch phrase: AND SEAN MARKS FINISHES THE JOB!!!

Beno Udrih, B

Yeah, Van Exel is a better ball-handler, but that's the end of the list in my book.

Fabricio Oberto, C+

He looks less lost every time he plays and always brings the effort.

Brent Barry, D

40.3% from the field and 33.7% from 3 isn't good enough for a guy that's getting $5 million a year to shoot the ball.

Robert Horry, NA

The regular season? We're talking about the regular season?

Nick Van Exel, D

Why do I have the feeling that Spurs fans will blame a key playoff loss on his poor shot selection and total inability to guard anyone with legs?

Nazr Mohammed, B-

I'm seeing improvement, but he needs to up his blocks and cut down on turnovers and the ubiquitous mental errors.

Rasho Nesterovic, B

As solid as ever, but he needs to cut down on his ubiquitous lack of athleticism.

Michael Finley, D-

How bad has Finley played? The lineup of TP/BB/MF/TD/RS has outscored its opponents by a whopping 13 points in 286 minutes. That amounts to 2.2 points per game. For a team with a 6.5 point differential.

The Sickness, B-

Swap Manu for Finley in the above lineup and you have a squad that has outscored its opponents by 113 points in 335 minutes; 16.2 points per game. Certainly not the same guy we saw in the playoffs, but, well, this isn't the playoffs. His regular season numbers from last year are similar and his grade would be higher if not for the injuries.

Bruce Bowen, A-

He's added to his offensive game without adding FGA, but I'll be damned if he hasn't lost a quarter-step on defense. Yeah, I said it.

Tim Duncan, B

Lowest, PPG, FG% and BPG of his career. 59% of his FGA are outside of the lane which is higher than Parker and Ginobili. Still an incredible defensive anchor but, like last year, not capable of offensively carrying this team to a title. His plantar fascia cost him a half-grade or so.

Tony Parker, A

Better shot selection this year and maybe the best guard finisher in the NBA (his eFG% inside is 71.1% compared to 55.3% for Wade, 52.3% for Bryant and 63.7% for LeBron). Still has the undeniable Achilles heel to his game that will be exploited without mercy during the playoffs.

When they dance, don't call me

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 12:40:57 -0800

There have been a small handful of FreeDarko posts that could truly have been called "short." Before today, that scurrying list included the day Finley signed with the Spurs (why did I ever give a fuck about that?) and the news of Amare's injury (still I grieve). For all you stat-keepers out there, break out the old abacus and add another notch on the fire.

I'm not only speaking as one of the world's foremost Arenas boosters: what do you have to do to land on the Eastern Conference reserve list? He's a ferocious scorer who actually knows how to lead a team at this point, fourth in the league in scoring, one of the Association's brightest young talents, and just generally a force to be reckoned with in any remotely perceptive human being's picture of the sport.

It's almost like he's reaping the backlash against Kobe. No one can dare question #8's latest chain of exploits, so the next closest thing in the league, role-wise, gets lambasted. Wade's more balanced (as in the opposite of imbalanced, game-wise and otherwise), Iverson's a rock; these are HOF caliber talents. And the only guards in the East better than Arenas. I don't want this to turn into a "how do we reward the Pistons" meditation or pile-on, but no way is Arenas not the third best guard in the East, top five league-wide (Kidd's on the decline, Paul may be the better pure point but is not the same dominant type of presence; Baron Davis is a joke).

Doesn't a franchise player having a career year deserve a spot? That's the argument being made for Pierce, and he's 1) not nearly Arenas's equal 2) on a shittier team 3) not as much fun to behold 4) not a legit superstar

This is all so fucking obvious I feel shamed by being the one who has to say it.

DAMN YOU, SKY ABOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Now the Recluse tells me that Melo's off, too. In the immortal words of Shoefly, "this is buuuullshit."

Double missive: I have a new rule about the NBA. It's called "fan loyalty to a particular player only lasts as long as he stays himself on the court." Case in point, K-mart. Loved him when he could do some things. Now, he's dead to me. Call it inhuman, but really, what's there to like about Martin if he's not rumbling about and playing in a way worthy of his bionic swagger? Now he's just some big dude who seems kind of pissy. This is a league of athletes, and personality or no personality, it's only so interesting, important or meaningful without the game to back it up and justify what these figures are to us.

Wade, LeBron, Nash Boost Skills Challenge

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 08:53:55 -0800

In the HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Jonathan Feigen writes that "the glamour event Feb. 18 at Toyota Center appears to be the PlayStation Skills Challenge, with its lineup of four headline names."

NBA Wade, Nash joining familiar faces as All-Star starters Wade,...

Sat, 04 Feb 2006 12:40:55 -0800

Yao and Tracy McGrady give the host Houston Rockets two starters in the Feb. 19 game.

LeBron, Wade in showdown of prodigies

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 00:24:55 -0800

Sure, the Cavs visiting the Heat was Thursday night's marquee NBA game, but not because both teams are two of the best in the Eastern Conference.

Wade-LeBron an Evolving Rivalry

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 10:19:29 -0800

Israel Gutierrez of the MIAMI HERALD writes, Back when Dwyane Wade was an underrated rookie with a chip on his shoulder, he would unleash a little extra in games against LeBron James, just to let the world know that The Chosen One might have been prematurely dubbed. ''Then, what guys like Caron [Butler] always told me was it's never a one-on-one battle with me and Carmelo [Anthony] or me and LeBron, but it was always those games that [people] are going to look at and see what you did,'' Wade said. ``So I always went out there when it was my opportunity to shine, and I tried to shine.'' So what about now? Now that the shine is so bright on both Wade and James that they have dueling sneaker deals, are featured in a handful of other major endorsements and their respective teams are fighting to topple the Eastern Conference champion Pistons, does the pair of 2003 draftees take the next step and become fierce rivals?

Wade and Miami Hold Off Houston

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 08:45:26 -0800

Houston, TX - Dwyane Wade returned to the lineup and scored 32 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Miami Heat over the Houston Rockets, 101-95, at the Toyota Center.