Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade’s Aggressiveness a Good Sign

The Miami Heat lost superstar LeBron James this past offseason to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and now are heading into a season where they need both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to step up in a big way. Wade has dealt with major knee issues over the last couple of seasons, but hopefully will be able to play through them this season and lead the Heat without James.

Wade has shown signs of aggression already this preseason, and has quite a few people excited to see what he does during the regular season. So far during preseason action, Wade has averaged 13.5 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game while shooting 47.0 percent from the field overall and 38.5 percent from behind the three-point arc.

Those numbers might not look all that impressive, but his game against the Houston Rockets yesterday evening showed why people are taking notice of Wade’s aggressiveness. He scored 26 points on 11-17 shooting, and also dished out six assists. The Heat are going to need a lot of those types of games from Wade if they want to be a contender in the Eastern Conference, and he’s more than capable of doing so if he can stay healthy.

Over the past four seasons, Wade has seen his number of games played in seasons fluctuate quite a bit. He has played in 76, 49, 69, and 54 games respectively in those four seasons. Miami is hoping that he can play around 75 games this year and take a night off here and there when absolutely necessary.

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Throughout Wade’s career, he has been known as a very aggressive player on the offensive side of the basketball and has been fearless getting to the rim. He obviously won’t be able to be as reckless as he has been in years past, but he’s still a very strong player and can finish through contact.

Miami needs a version of Wade that is not scared of taking contact and can finish buckets inside while also getting to the free-throw line.

Now that Wade is 32 years old, he is beginning to reach the end of the prime of his career. While he isn’t as old as his body would suggest, he has played a lot of basketball in his years. Perhaps the few seasons of taking good chunks of games off will be just what he needed this year, or perhaps being forced back into a major leadership role will do the trick.

Either way, the Heat are not going to be a contender in the Eastern Conference playoffs without their franchise player on the court. Adding Luol Deng will help take some of the pressure off of Wade, and Bosh is expected to have a much bigger year as well. That being said, there aren’t many players on the roster that can step into the lineup for Wade and give him some time off when he needs it.

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Obviously Erik Spoelstra will be taking things carefully when it comes to Wade, but he can’t afford to play him in just 54 games. Wade will be asked to play quite a few more minutes than he did last year, and he will need to do it while also shouldering a much heavier scoring load.

While all of the injury issues of the past will continue weighing on the minds of the Heat and their fans, the aggressiveness that he has shown this preseason is a great sign. He likely won’t be the Wade that was once an MVP candidate, but he will put up good numbers and resume being the leader of this Miami team. Assuming he’s able to stay healthier than in recent years, Wade is in for yet another big season and his aggressiveness will once again making him a very difficult player to defend.

Expect to see Wade continue this type of play into the season, and prove that he isn’t the washed up veteran that many pegged him as last year.