LeBron V. Wade? Gimme Some 23!
It seemed moments after the Miami Heat had completed their rousing comeback from an 0-2 deficit against the Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA Title everyone began to crown Dwayne Wade the darling of the NBA, and the best player from the ‘03 draft that also brought us some no names like Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony and some guy named LeBron James. Inevitably, the debate between who the better player is also began with every sports columnist taking a crack at it. I was seriously going to try to avoid it, but it is just way too much fun. It may seem like I am biased being that I am from Cleveland, and maybe I am, but I think my argument holds enough water to deserve merit.
Let me start by saying I love D-Wade. He plays the game the right way. He goes hard for 48 minutes, sometimes longer, and his game seems to elevate at will. Not known as a great outside shooter, Wade has the ability to hit big shots when he needs them, a trait shared by all the great ones. They way he propped the Heat on his back and carried them back from the brink in the Fianls only solidified to the masses what basketball fans already knew, that this guy is freakin’ good. But if I knew then what I know now, I would still take a High School kid from the city of Akron with the Number 1 pick 100 times out of 100.
For me, it is a slam dunk. Obviously, the Cavs had other factors involved for taking James. The fact that he was from their own back yard made it impossible NOT to take James. I am positive, however, if I could ask the other GMs in the league all but one would probably select James over Wade, with Miami probably the only one that wouldn’t admit it.
When it’s all said and done, James will be looking down on D-Wade
It comes down to one question, asked in two parts. Would the Miami Heat have won the NBA Title with LeBron James instead of Dwayne Wade? Would the Cleveland Cavaliers have gone from 17 wins to 50 wins in 3 season with D-Wade? The answer to part 1 is a definitive yes, and they probably would have won it last year as well. As for part 2? I am not to sure about that. James just doesn’t have the pieces around him that Wade has. I don’t fault Wade for this, he is an AWESOME player and has made the most of his opportunity. But the pressure felt by both are polar opposites.
Wade didn’t go to the Heat with the added baggage of being the savior of a franchise. Wade didn’t get drafted by his home-town team with expectations never seen beofre for a player, in ANY sport. Wade went to Miami, then had Shaq dropped into his lap. Then Mourning, and Antoine Walker and Jason William, James Posey, then Pat Riley to coach him.
James, on the other hand, did have all those pressures and expectations and exceeded all of them without breaking a sweat. He embraced the pressure, he embraced being the savior of professional basketball in Cleveland. He watched as the Cavs bungled the Carlos Boozer situation, then saw the team bring in Drew Gooden, Donyell Marshall, Damon Jones. He saw Larry Hughes come in to be his Robin only to lose Larry for most of the year to injury. All this and the Cavs STILL won 50 games and nearly beat the Pistons. Like the jar you try to open and cannot, only to watch your wife open it with ease, the Cavs softened the Pistons for the Heat to finsih off.
Now Wade has his title and everyone wants to annoint him the greatest. He very well might be, but when I look at the Heat and the Cavs, I see two teams going different directions. The Cavs are a young, up and coming team. There best years lie ahead. The core of this team is all 30 or younger, and with three draft picks next week will only get younger. The Heat on the other hand are peaking. Overall the Heat is an old team. Shaq is only a shell of what he used to be, and if he continues to use the season to get into playing shape will continue to degrade rapidly. Mournig will probably retire. Gary Payton is on his last leg. Antoine Walker’s best days are behind him. Is Jason Williams really a great player? Other than D-Wade what do the Heat really have?
The Heat will bring everyone but Zo back next year to try to repeat. Make no mistake, they will still be a formidable team and Wade will only get better. It is the pieces around him that are going to start to slip.
The Cavs are only going to get better, with LeBron still only 21 and Larry Hughes only 26. Add to that Anderson Varejao, only 23, and Drew Gooden, should they decide to keep him. The core of the this team is young and is only going to get better.
I take nothing away from D-Wade. He is the MVP of the Finals, the first of the great draft class of ‘03 to get a ring. He has a head start on James. But the forcast in Cleveland for once looks better than that of South Beach. Wade won the first battle, but James will inevitably win the war. And the fans will get to reap the rewards of the next 10 years of great NBA Action.
