MIAMI (AP) -Dwyane Wade needs a wingman.
Sunday’s defeat at Orlando counts as one loss for the Miami Heat, but Wade’s teammates were outscored twice.
– There was Magic 122, Heat 99.
– And Wade 50, Rest of Heat 49.
Wade’s career-high 50 points in the blowout loss brought new light to an old problem, with the Heat again asking their MVP candidate to bear an inordinate amount of the offensive load.
“Dwyane’s a great player, but he can’t do it by himself,” Heat forward Udonis Haslem said.
Never was that more visible than Sunday.
It’s the first time this season a player reached 50 in a losing effort, and the first time since March 14, 1995 – when Dana Barros had 50 for Philadelphia in a 136-107 defeat against Houston – that someone scored so many and his team lost by 20-plus points.
The rest of Miami’s starters combined for 15 points. Not exactly a shot of momentum heading into another game with postseason implications Tuesday, at home against Detroit.
second scoring option.
“There’s some concerns,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged.
Through Sunday, 131 different NBA players have scored more than 25 points in at least one game this season. Some teams have as many as six players to do so, and Chicago’s roster now has seven players fitting into that category (only five actually scored that many for the Bulls; newly acquired Brad Miller and John Salmons did so for Sacramento before getting traded to the Windy City).
Miami? Just Wade.
Every other team has at least three players with 26-point games this season.
“We know that everyone has to do their job and play their role,” Haslem said.
Jermaine O’Neal has a 36-point game, but got that for Toronto before being traded to Miami. Shawn Marion (who went to Toronto in that deal) and Michael Beasley both had 25-point efforts for this season’s Heat, but no Wade teammate has eclipsed that plateau.
O’Neal, who scored six points against the Magic, apologized to Wade for not doing more.
“That’s the reason why they brought me here, to be able to score in the low post and make plays and defend,” O’Neal said. “In every aspect, I kind of failed the test.”
He wasn’t alone, and this trend started long ago.
geles Lakers 19 times, and one of LeBron James’ teammates in Cleveland has managed that many 13 times.
In Miami’s 2006 championship season alone, there were 20 games where someone other than Wade topped 25 points.
It’s happened 15 times since.
“No player alone can carry anything and I’ve never, ever thought that,” Wade said. “Anybody who thinks that is crazy. It takes a team to win.”
Wade had 27 points at halftime. Of Miami’s first 55 points, Wade accounted for 42 of them, scoring 33 and setting up the other nine with assists.
“He was absolutely tremendous,” marveled Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, Wade’s first coach in Miami.
Wade had 44 points through three quarters. At that point, the only drama was whether he’d hit 50.
After returning to the game with 7:36 remaining, he quickly made a jumper and two free throws to tie his previous career-best, and even opponents were enjoying the show.
“He’s a lot of fun to watch,” said Magic center Dwight Howard, Wade’s Beijing Olympics teammate and good friend.
Wade swished a jumper with 3:55 left to reach 50, and Spoelstra immediately called for Jamario Moon to replace Miami’s best player.
A foul stopped play and Wade walked to the bench, almost glumly.
There was no reason for any celebration, or even a smile. His best scoring night came in Miami’s second-worst loss of the season.
`I’d rather win every time.”
Add A Comment