Is Dwyane Wade’s clutchness stunting the Miami Heat’s growth?
Another close, overtime match. Another Dwyane Wade game-winner.
Well, almost.
In last night’s game against the Washington Wizards, the first of Wade’s deciding shots came with 29 seconds left in the fourth. Down 105-102, the Miami Heat had two timeouts remaining, to Washington’s one.
Without thinking, Wade initializes the fast break up the left side of the court, paving himself for the play. He knows he’s going to score – at this point, he’s just deciding how.
Two dribbles inside the 3-point line and an acrobatic twist later, and Wade’s finishing at the rim, drawing a foul in the process. A perfect sequence of events fell into place, lifting the Heat into extra-innings once again.
Wade nearly procured another game-saver, in the form of an off-target floater. The play was perfect yet again – one of his signature pump fakes broke him free, but Wade’s Kelly Olynyk follow-up came up short, leaving Miami plus-one in the loss column.
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In the vacuum of that game, Wade was the only realistic option to carry the burden of winning the matchup. He’s done it time after time, seemingly effortlessly.
But in the long run, Miami’s reliance on the 36-year-old this year has exposed them for the inexperienced squad they are.
No one should have a problem with Wade taking the last shot. He did it a week prior against the Philadelphia 76ers and he’ll likely do it again before the season ends.
"“I’ll say this always, I’ll go to my grave — and I will go to my grave — with Dwyane Wade shooting with the game on the line,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said on Miami coming up short."
The question mark around how long the Heat will employ Wade before he retires, however, leaves much to be desired regarding big plays in crunch time. Wade won’t always be around to bail Miami out, and few on the team have the coffers to fill his eventual void.
Leading the league in clutch games with 44, Miami needs another closer. Josh Richardson, Dion Waiters and Wayne Ellington have stepped at times this season, but they don’t offer the consistency Wade has.
To be fair, Wade’s knack for drilling late-game shots is due in part to his draft situation. From 2003 until 2010, Wade was indisputably the go-to option in Miami.
Though none of Miami’s current players have the same uninterrupted leeway that Wade did, his presence, however effective this year, might have lasting consequences moving forward. Clutch shot making is honed-in live game situations.
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With Wade continuing to usurp them from the rest of the team, Miami could have a murky future of last-second losses ahead.