Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade Has a Shooting Coach “Lined Up”

Following the conclusion of the NBA Finals, Dwyane Wade let it known that he’d be taking the Olympics off to get knee surgery and would also be working with a coach to aid an inconsistent jumper that shot below 40 percent last season.

Jun 17, 2012; Miam, FL, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) is defended by Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the fourth quarter in game three in the 2012 NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Wade receiving surgery on his knee was public and well-known, but we were never able to find out the progress of his shooting. He just recently returned to the court and is said to be ahead of schedule, so, no, Dwyane hasn’t worked with a shooting coach, yet. Yet being the key word, because Wade apparently has a shooting coach lined up.

In an interview with Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman, Wade had this to say in terms of his progression of a shooter for next season:

"“My midrange game is very important to me. The biggest thing is coming out of my pull-up without losing the ball and just making sure it comes through my hand the right way. When it comes to my shot exactly, I don’t have a bad shot. There’s other reasons why I come up short a lot. So it’s just trying to work the kinks out.”"

Winderman would then point out that “Wade said he now has a shooting coach lined up.”

Wade, who is in the middle of his book tour, says he still has “…got a lot of work to do to get to what I want to.” Obviously, Wade isn’t near to the point of where the Miami Heat would like to see him at. It’s also what the Heat expected, considering that Wade was ruled out for 6-8 weeks following knee surgery that took place on July 9th.

When it comes down to it, the Heat would much rather have Wade ready for the postseason, rather than the start of the regular season. It only helps the team ween Wade back into the rotation and capable of receiving heavy minutes when Ray Allen is on the team and ready to take on minutes at the two. Still, this shouldn’t be a problem because Wade is expected to be fully healthy by the time the season starts on October 30th.

Getting Wade a shooting coach, however, would be ideal for the Heat, as it would be the best way to prolong Wade’s career. Dwyane’s relied heavily on his approach to the game of driving to the basket, but at 30-years-old, and turning 31 in January, Wade is going to need another consistent attribute to his game; ideally that jumper that escaped him since a slew of injuries required surgery in 2008.

Wade shot 37 percent on 791 jumpers taken last season, which is the best he has shot since shooting 40 percent on his jumpers in the 2008-’09 season when he won the scoring title. He shot 37 percent in 2011.

Having Wade develop a jumper means more driving opportunities for Dwyane, as well as his other slashing teammates in guys like LeBron James. Wade would be able to drive past defenders far more often, rather than having the defender constantly playing him for his jumper. Dwyane has teetered around 40 percent on his jumpers for his career, but would like to see that number rise as he begins to rely more on his jumpers, rather than risking his body to injury.

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