Miami's clamorous home win against the Lakers tonight was ugly, but a beacon of hope. The NBA critics have been merciless with the Heat this week since their tear-stained, barn burner loss to the Bulls on Sunday, in which LeBron James nearly threw the ball through the glass on a go-ahead lay-up attempt with Joakim Noah guarding him. Personally, I believe Joakim Noah is the best center in the league (yeah, I said it), but up until that brick sailed so high above Noah's enchanting locks, cached in a rubber band or scrunchy, I'd been telling people LeBron was the best player in the NBA. After tonight's win, in which Dwyane Wade led the Heat in the fourth quarter, I now believe he is a better player than LeBron, and probably has been all along. Here's why: he's smarter.
When you’re asking yourself who is the best player in the game, it’s hard to not think in terms of W.W.J.D. Jordan’s default was always to attack the rim. And when he got older, he was always looking for something towards the basket, trying to get in the paint, which is exactly what you’ll see Wade doing on any given night. Because when you’re that talented of a player, with a Jordanesque knack for finding an opening, you probe and probe until you force the defense to give you a high-percentage shot. A guard in the NBA doesn’t shoot 50% for their career, like Jordan, unless they’re relentless in their quest for quality shots, which don’t include fall-aways from the perimeter. Already through his first eight seasons, LeBron’s taken almost 800 more threes than Jordan did in his entire career, though they shot about the same percentage. It’s an issue of shot selection.
LeBron still is, and probably always will be, the most impressive/intimidating physical specimen the league has ever seen. At the size of a legitimate NBA power forward, he is as fast/quick as anyone in the league, jumps as high as anyone in the league, takes it to the rack as good as anyone in the league, and drops a roll of dimes as good as anyone in the league. But he's a showtime player, not a primetime player. LeBron will win a game in the first three quarters, but not the fourth—a symptom of a style of play that is seemingly predicated on his penchant for catching fire, as opposed to staying hot on an even flow. His decision making is to blame. When the game’s tight and LeBron’s at the helm, the question is, will he make the fade-away three-pointer or not? You don’t ask whether or not he’s going to take it, and you’re not surprised if it’s on a fast break or early in the shot clock—I don’t understand a lot of things about the NBA today, like how a spontaneous three-pointer early in the shot clock can ever be a good play.
Watching Wade with the ball in a half-court set when the game is tight, is like watching an angiogram. Like dye, he passes through the defense’s artery, searching for whatever’s there, then taking it. Breaking down the defense like that metaphor just broke down.
LeBron may be the best transition point guard there is. I say better than Steve Nash, because, half the time, LeBron doesn’t need to pass to anybody to produce a thunder jam. But in the half-court set, I’ll take Wade, because he’s always looking for a high-percentage shot. A lot of times, I don’t what LeBron is looking for.
There was a great play late in the game against the Lakers tonight. On a vital possession with under a minute left in the game, LeBron set a pick for Wade in the high-post, which freed Wade to take it to the cup. The two defenders on that play, Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest, were utterly confused by that pick-and-roll combination. That's against two of the league’s most decorated defenders, need I remind you. Had LeBron rolled to the basket, as opposed to standing disoriented at the top of the key when Kobe and Artest both followed Wade, he would’ve been the recipient of a Sportscenter-Top-10-caliber alley-oop. What if LeBron set picks like a power forward all the time? What if he was a power forward, who lived in the paint? It’s hard to imagine the painted area not becoming his very own Dunkin’ Donuts franchise.
I don’t know if I’m ready to say that Dwyane Wade is the best player in the NBA right now (I'm more inclined to agree with this guy), but I think he's better than LeBron and I'd definitely place him above Kobe, who's the inverse of LeBron—he’ll lose the game for you in the first three quarters, or win it in the fourth. But I do feel rather comfortable saying that in order for the Heat to win big games, Wade’s gotta be their closer, their half-court guy. LeBron has to be the best number two option of all-time. Chris Bosh? Chris Bosh was last seen at the Air Canada Centre on April 6, 2010. If you have any information regarding his disappearance, please contact the local authorities.
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