Miami Heat Roundtable: Dwyane Wade is back with Miami

What are you most looking forward to in Wade’s final year?

Johnson: Buzzer-beaters. He blazed one over Ben Simmons last season and will surely pull some tricks out of his bag. On that same note though, I’m hoping that Wade’s presence will help the Heat get over the hurdle of the third quarter. Miami was one of the worst scoring teams after halftime, and Wade’s ability to create should give Miami a much needed boost.

Ebrahim: The memories. There will be some moments in which he looks like his younger self, just like last season. He had two blocks on LeBron James, he had that dagger vs. Philly, but it’s unreasonable for us to expect that from him on a nightly basis. So it’ll be more fun to enjoy the memories that he had vs. every team. Like when he plays Phoenix and they show the video of him blocking Amar’e Stoudemire and then hitting a half-court shot. Or when he plays the Chicago Bulls and they show that game-winner he had on them in double overtime. It’ll be fun to revisit highlights we may have forgotten, or epic performances that have gotten overshadowed. That’s how he deserves to be remembered and it’ll be by far the best part of the year.

Eyrich: For me personally, I’m looking forward to just taking it all in. Wade is the reason I fell in love with the game of basketball and will always be one of my favorite players. Last season, we were in constant fear of “will this be the last time we see Wade?” Now we have the opportunity to put that aside and appreciate Wade one last time.

Rahming: As Jay Rock says, “wins.” If we’re going to compare seasons, I believe Wade’s last hurrah has elevated potential to be better than Kobe Bryant’s final season. Everyone remembers his 60-point finale, but what never gets mentioned was that the Los Angeles Lakers ended their season at 17-65, with any playoff potential being dashed in the first twenty games. The Heat have been in playoff contention for every season after The Big Three, except for two where they were saddled down with injuries to Chris Bosh and Dion Waiters (thanks a lot Brooklyn Nets). I don’t think there’s any scenario this season where the team can’t punch their own ticket to the playoffs. I want to see Wade get more 20-point games than Bryant did in his final season (23), I want those scoring outputs to equal wins, and I want to see a first-round playoff appearance that doesn’t end in disgrace, even if the Heat aren’t victorious.

Welcome back, Wade.