Ranking the greatest individual Heat playoff series performances of all time
By Azam Masood
![Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat hugs former Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade after Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat hugs former Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade after Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/422b9cda9af430464cb33b4085fbfd12395a0b23aafa26b7bb2e7819fce35c8a.jpg)
The Playoff Round: 2010 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals (Heat lose 1-4)
The Player & The Line: Dwyane Wade, 33.2 PPG, 5,6 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.6 BPG on 56-41-68 shooting splits
The Context: I put Wade’s Game 4 into my all-time individual games list, but Wade was excellent throughout this series despite having very little help around him. The Heat averaged a paltry 87.6 PPG as a team, meaning Wade was accounting for over half of the Heat’s total scoring game in and game out. As such, I ultimately rank this higher than his 2011 series against Boston despite losing (the Heat’s second-leading scorer in the 2010 series was Mario Chalmers, who averaged 10.8 PPG, versus LeBron James, who averaged 28.0 PPG vs Boston in 2011).
Perhaps the series goes a little differently if Miami doesn’t suffer a heartbreaking, buzzer-beating jumper by [REDACTED] in Game 3 of this series. Tied 2-2 instead of salvaging a sweep at 1-3, we may have gotten even more Wade magic.