tbear03
Bench
Wade more worthy than Shaq for MVP
Learn to spell his name because second-year guard is that good
By Chris SheridanThe Associated Press
Updated: 3:03 a.m. ET May 2, 2005
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7703053/
If Shaquille O’Neal ends up winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, it will be the wrong choice.
No disrespect to the Big Floridian or the other top candidate, Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns. But it’s become clear over the course of this season and through the first four games of the playoffs that O’Neal is not even the best player on his team.
That honor belongs to second-year guard Dwyane Wade.
Learn to spell his name, and learn to appreciate a game that resembles Michael Jordan circa 1987.
Wade might be the most special player to come out of the LeBron James-Carmelo Anthony draft of 2003, and anyone who doubts those statements is welcome to judge for themselves when Miami resumes its postseason against the winner of the Washington-Chicago series.
Want to see jaws drop? Three choices:
Wade was able to free himself off the dribble no matter who defended him, finished underneath with dunks the way a power forward would, and was unmatched in terms of deflecting balls, coming up with steals and creating havoc. Making him even more dangerous, the improvement in Wade’s jumper has caused defenders to stay up on him and respect his shot — allowing him to use an explosive first step to get past his man and make things happen with an arsenal of stutter steps and quick cuts.
“He’s been a superstar since last year. You guys are just starting to recognize it,” O’Neal said after Wade was unstoppable and, at times, downright unbelievable in a 34-point, nine-assist effort Sunday as Miami finished off a four-game sweep of the Nets.
On one play, New Jersey’s Richard Jefferson appeared visibly stunned and awed after Wade zigzagged through two defenders in a tightly packed halfcourt set and rose up for a dunk that made the crowd gasp.
“Dwyane Wade, we could never get a handle on him. He showed why is a very special player,” Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. “Shaq is the one guy in this league who’s dominant, and Wade, he’s a bigger version of (Allen) Iverson. And then you put the two of them together, whew.”
Both Frank and Miami coach Stan Van Gundy avoided directly answering the question of who’s the more valuable player to the Heat, but the numbers tell a big part of the story.
Wade averaged 26.3 points against the Nets to O’Neal’s 18.3, and Wade made 50 percent of his shots to O’Neal’s 47 percent.
Maybe that was a playoff aberration due in part to O’Neal’s bruised thighs, but Wade has been putting up superior numbers all season.
Wade’s 24.1 scoring average was more than a point higher than O’Neal’s 22.9, and Wade led the team in scoring 43 times to O’Neal’s 31.
It was Wade, not O’Neal, who broke the franchise’s single-season scoring record. Wade also scored 10 or more points in an overtime period three times, won two games with buzzer beaters, made at least one steal in 18 straight games, then in 15 straight. His season high was 48 points; O’Neal’s was 40.
Looking at it from a historical perspective, the last player to win the MVP award without leading his team in scoring was Dave Cowens of the 1972-73 Boston Celtics, and only four players — Cowens, Wes Unseld, Bill Russell and Bob Cousy — have ever accomplished the feat.
“He’s been spectacular all year,” teammate Keyon Dooling said. “He’s able to make plays that other guys just can’t make.”
Check out this stat: Wade just became only the seventh player in NBA history to average 25 points, eight assists, six rebounds and shoot at least 50 percent in a playoff series. The others were Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Pretty nifty company.
There have been a few arguable MVP choices in recent years: Karl Malone over Tim Duncan in 1999 and Malone over Michael Jordan in 1997 are two that immediately come to mind. This year’s contest is widely expected to be a two-man race between Nash of the Phoenix Suns and O’Neal.
“C’mon, he’s going to be left out because he’s playing with probably the best player ever to play the game,” said Miami’s Eddie Jones, who dresses in a Miami locker room that’s one of the few places where there’s some sympathy for Wade’s worthiness for the MVP award.
But outside those four walls — actually, for accuracy’s sake, the Heat’s home locker room is circular — the general consensus is that O’Neal is most responsible for the team’s ascent.
Well, guess what? It’s simply not true.
Wade, not O’Neal, is Miami’s MVP.
And if Shaq ends up getting presented with his second Maurice Podoloff Trophy by commissioner David Stern, it’ll be an injustice to Wade.
Chris Sheridan has been the NBA writer for the Associated Press since 1996. Write to him at csheridanap.org.
I really like this guy - I think he has great things ahead of him.
Learn to spell his name because second-year guard is that good
By Chris SheridanThe Associated Press
Updated: 3:03 a.m. ET May 2, 2005
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7703053/
If Shaquille O’Neal ends up winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, it will be the wrong choice.
No disrespect to the Big Floridian or the other top candidate, Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns. But it’s become clear over the course of this season and through the first four games of the playoffs that O’Neal is not even the best player on his team.
That honor belongs to second-year guard Dwyane Wade.
Learn to spell his name, and learn to appreciate a game that resembles Michael Jordan circa 1987.
Wade might be the most special player to come out of the LeBron James-Carmelo Anthony draft of 2003, and anyone who doubts those statements is welcome to judge for themselves when Miami resumes its postseason against the winner of the Washington-Chicago series.
Want to see jaws drop? Three choices:
- Drop a few dozen buckets of chum into a school of great white sharks;
- Get naked right now and run down the street;
- Or grab a tape of the Nets-Heat series, ignore the Big Behemoth and keep your eyes riveted on No. 3.
Wade was able to free himself off the dribble no matter who defended him, finished underneath with dunks the way a power forward would, and was unmatched in terms of deflecting balls, coming up with steals and creating havoc. Making him even more dangerous, the improvement in Wade’s jumper has caused defenders to stay up on him and respect his shot — allowing him to use an explosive first step to get past his man and make things happen with an arsenal of stutter steps and quick cuts.
“He’s been a superstar since last year. You guys are just starting to recognize it,” O’Neal said after Wade was unstoppable and, at times, downright unbelievable in a 34-point, nine-assist effort Sunday as Miami finished off a four-game sweep of the Nets.
On one play, New Jersey’s Richard Jefferson appeared visibly stunned and awed after Wade zigzagged through two defenders in a tightly packed halfcourt set and rose up for a dunk that made the crowd gasp.
“Dwyane Wade, we could never get a handle on him. He showed why is a very special player,” Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. “Shaq is the one guy in this league who’s dominant, and Wade, he’s a bigger version of (Allen) Iverson. And then you put the two of them together, whew.”
Both Frank and Miami coach Stan Van Gundy avoided directly answering the question of who’s the more valuable player to the Heat, but the numbers tell a big part of the story.
Wade averaged 26.3 points against the Nets to O’Neal’s 18.3, and Wade made 50 percent of his shots to O’Neal’s 47 percent.
Maybe that was a playoff aberration due in part to O’Neal’s bruised thighs, but Wade has been putting up superior numbers all season.
Wade’s 24.1 scoring average was more than a point higher than O’Neal’s 22.9, and Wade led the team in scoring 43 times to O’Neal’s 31.
It was Wade, not O’Neal, who broke the franchise’s single-season scoring record. Wade also scored 10 or more points in an overtime period three times, won two games with buzzer beaters, made at least one steal in 18 straight games, then in 15 straight. His season high was 48 points; O’Neal’s was 40.
Looking at it from a historical perspective, the last player to win the MVP award without leading his team in scoring was Dave Cowens of the 1972-73 Boston Celtics, and only four players — Cowens, Wes Unseld, Bill Russell and Bob Cousy — have ever accomplished the feat.
“He’s been spectacular all year,” teammate Keyon Dooling said. “He’s able to make plays that other guys just can’t make.”
Check out this stat: Wade just became only the seventh player in NBA history to average 25 points, eight assists, six rebounds and shoot at least 50 percent in a playoff series. The others were Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Pretty nifty company.
There have been a few arguable MVP choices in recent years: Karl Malone over Tim Duncan in 1999 and Malone over Michael Jordan in 1997 are two that immediately come to mind. This year’s contest is widely expected to be a two-man race between Nash of the Phoenix Suns and O’Neal.
“C’mon, he’s going to be left out because he’s playing with probably the best player ever to play the game,” said Miami’s Eddie Jones, who dresses in a Miami locker room that’s one of the few places where there’s some sympathy for Wade’s worthiness for the MVP award.
But outside those four walls — actually, for accuracy’s sake, the Heat’s home locker room is circular — the general consensus is that O’Neal is most responsible for the team’s ascent.
Well, guess what? It’s simply not true.
Wade, not O’Neal, is Miami’s MVP.
And if Shaq ends up getting presented with his second Maurice Podoloff Trophy by commissioner David Stern, it’ll be an injustice to Wade.
Chris Sheridan has been the NBA writer for the Associated Press since 1996. Write to him at csheridanap.org.
I really like this guy - I think he has great things ahead of him.
