Wade 26 pts vs Spurs 2.11.2007

[Wade's Rings]

18 4th Quarter Points and 2 blocks on Tony Parker (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqbxeflPuEc)

Too bad he couldn't stay healthy :banghead:

[catch24]

Had Wade been healthy in 2007, that year would've been the BEST season of his career IMO.

His jumpshot improved, and he wouldn't have to play off the rust like he did post injury and most of 2008.

A healthy Wade in 2007 = combination of 2006 and 2009.

[ArbitraryWater]

Had Wade been healthy in 2007, that year would've been the BEST season of his career IMO.

His jumpshot improved, and he wouldn't have to play off the rust like he did post injury and most of 2008.

A healthy Wade in 2007 = combination of 2006 and 2009.

I think I could see 2008 being his peak year... but 2007 was most likely on pace to be his best, definitely individually/statistically, the team wasn't thriving yet, but it was all-around pretty poor.

He'd def. be one to peak early though... so giving him an injury free career would be probably impossible but alot different.

[GrapeApe]

Epic performance against the eventual champions. He was winning MVP that year if he didn't get hurt. Still ended up leading the league in PER.

I agree that '08 could have been his best year.

I could see something like 30/8/6/2.5/1.5 with that '08 roster.

[derb2k2]

:cheers: :cheers:

[ArbitraryWater]

Epic performance against the eventual champions. He was winning MVP that year if he didn't get hurt. Still ended up leading the league in PER.

I agree that '08 could have been his best year.

I could see something like 30/8/6/2.5/1.5 with that '08 roster.

I disagree with Wade fans repeating themselves about this... just untrue. The record was too bad for MVP, and Dirk did something historic with that team, winning 67 games (only 15 teams have won 67 games), and it might be the worst 60+ win team ever, among the Robinson Spurs and LeBron Cavaliers... and 2015 Hawks lol.

[GrapeApe]

I disagree with Wade fans repeating themselves about this... just untrue. The record was too bad for MVP, and Dirk did something historic with that team, winning 67 games (only 15 teams have won 67 games), and it might be the worst 60+ win team ever, among the Robinson Spurs and LeBron Cavaliers... and 2015 Hawks lol.

You might be right about that. However, the Heat would have obviously had a much better record if Wade doesn't go down. I'll say this though, Wade had a TON of media momentum after the '06 title run and continuing that level of performance into the following season. If the Heat had won 50+ games with Wade continuing to put up historically good numbers, I could definitely see him winning the MVP over Dirk.

[WayOfWade]

I disagree with Wade fans repeating themselves about this... just untrue. The record was too bad for MVP, and Dirk did something historic with that team, winning 67 games (only 15 teams have won 67 games), and it might be the worst 60+ win team ever, among the Robinson Spurs and LeBron Cavaliers... and 2015 Hawks lol.
True, Wade's only legit shot at MVP was really 2009. Whether or not he deserved it is up to you, to me it was rightly given to LeBron.

[Wade's Rings]

Had Wade been healthy in 2007, that year would've been the BEST season of his career IMO.

His jumpshot improved, and he wouldn't have to play off the rust like he did post injury and most of 2008.

A healthy Wade in 2007 = combination of 2006 and 2009.

His Defense was better in 2009 and that is why I think 2009 Wade would've been better either way.


I think I could see 2008 being his peak year... but 2007 was most likely on pace to be his best, definitely individually/statistically, the team wasn't thriving yet, but it was all-around pretty poor.

He'd def. be one to peak early though... so giving him an injury free career would be probably impossible but alot different.


Epic performance against the eventual champions. He was winning MVP that year if he didn't get hurt. Still ended up leading the league in PER.

I agree that '08 could have been his best year.

I could see something like 30/8/6/2.5/1.5 with that '08 roster.

Possibly and his '09 Season would've just been him maintaining that high level of play.

[dubeta]

The last of prime Wade :( :cry:

[GrapeApe]

The last of prime Wade :( :cry:

Huh? Wade hadn't even hit his peak yet. He went on to have several statistically dominant seasons. Wade had an elite/superstar PER starting in 2005 and continuing through the 2013 regular season. That's when his prime ended.

In fact, 2013 is easily his most underrated season. Wade averaged 21/5/5/2/1 on 52% and a 24 PER. As a first option he was still a 26/7/5/2 type player (though his FG% would probably be lower). Lebron and Wade were at their overall best as a duo that year, particularly during the streak where both were playing at an MVP level. The knee injury late that season marked the end of Wade being a consistent superstar.

[catch24]

You guys are probably right. 2008 could've been his absolute peak (if he were healthy).

@ Wade's Rings - yeah, working with Tim Grover helped his strength and explosiveness quite a bit; for all the credit Kobe gets, D-Wade was the best player on that 08 Olympic team, tbh

[f0und]

and that was mostly on bruce bowen, who at the time was at or near his defensive peak.

wade wont go down as the top superstar wing of his era, but he had a knack for shredding up elite defenders and team defenses that gave his higher ranked peers so much trouble.

[Wade's Rings]

You guys are probably right. 2008 could've been his absolute peak (if he were healthy).

@ Wade's Rings - yeah, working with Tim Grover helped his strength and explosiveness quite a bit; for all the credit Kobe gets, D-Wade was the best player on that 08 Olympic team, tbh

Agreed.


and that was mostly on bruce bowen, who at the time was at or near his defensive peak.

wade wont go down as the top superstar wing of his era, but he had a knack for shredding up elite defenders and team defenses that gave his higher ranked peers so much trouble.

http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h467/Catrean/wade-kobe-lebron-playoff-breakdown-by-defense1.jpg

[SHAQisGOAT]

Prime Wade was a bad man :applause:

[Young X]

Huh? Wade hadn't even hit his peak yet. He went on to have several statistically dominant seasons. Wade had an elite/superstar PER starting in 2005 and continuing through the 2013 regular season. That's when his prime ended.

In fact, 2013 is easily his most underrated season. Wade averaged 21/5/5/2/1 on 52% and a 24 PER. As a first option he was still a 26/7/5/2 type player (though his FG% would probably be lower). Lebron and Wade were at their overall best as a duo that year, particularly during the streak where both were playing at an MVP level. The knee injury late that season marked the end of Wade being a consistent superstar.2012 is the season that gets underrated. He was playing at a superstar level for most of the regular season. He was near his '11 self after he came back from his injury in January and I think he had a stretch where he shot over 50% in 10 straight games or something like that.

His playoff run was inconsistent at times but the way he bounced back after his games 2 and 3 against Indiana was amazing. His finals were solid too.

I really wish Wade would've stayed healthy in '07 and '08. We would've seen some ridiculous basketball and he'd have more full seasons on his resume. What hurts him the most compared to other greats is he doesn't have enough full years as an elite player. Maybe he'd have an MVP and more All NBA 1st team selections if he's have stayed healthy.

[GrapeApe]

2012 is the season that gets underrated. He was playing at a superstar level for most of the regular season. He was near his '11 self after he came back from his injury in January and I think he had a stretch where he shot over 50% in 10 straight games or something like that.

His playoff run was inconsistent at times but the way he bounced back after his games 2 and 3 against Indiana was amazing. His finals were solid too.

I really wish Wade would've stayed healthy in '07 and '08. We would've seen some ridiculous basketball and he'd have more full seasons on his resume. What hurts him the most compared to other greats is he doesn't have enough full years as an elite player. Maybe he'd have an MVP and more All NBA 1st team selections if he's have stayed healthy.

Oh I agree that 2012 is also underrated, but most people consider 2012 Wade to still be prime/superstar Wade despite battling some injuries. He had a 26.3 PER and was the best SG in the league when he was on the court.

In 2013 I think a lot of people only remember Wade's injury plagued playoffs and tend to forget just how good he was that year before the bone bruise injury. As I mentioned earlier, he was playing at an MVP level during the winning streak.

[Wade's Rings]

Prime Wade was a bad man :applause:

:applause:

@GrapeApe The media momentum you mentioned was in the video @2:22. They were mentioning how he was in Sports Illustrated, sponspored by Gatorade, T-Mobile, etc and they even said "Dwyane Wade the Industry" and how "was becoming a brand". He lost all of that momentum after that injury and it was pretty much Kobe vs Bron from then on.

[DoctorP]

Wade was still a badass after this season but he was never as dangerous in the clutch as he was during these years.