DWYANE WA DE

from INsite Atlanta March 2009 Issue

TH E ROCK

Roars vs. Wade

WYANE WADE AND DOMINIQUE Wi lkins have a couple of things in common. Of course, the obvious similarity is that they’re both better at basketball than 99.99% of the planet. The other is that they have the unfortunate burden of playing their best in the shadows of other superstars. Ni que did what he could with the Atlanta Hawks in the 80s while in Mi chael Jordan and Ma gic Johnson’s constant shadows. Miami’s D-Wa de has been consistently super –We’ll excuse the Chicago native for last year’s numbers because he was hobbled with injuries- while LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have consist ently sat in the limelight. Hell, you almost forget Dw yane’s the only one of the three with an NBA Finals MVP (’05-06). The Heat, having dealt with lowly preseason expectations and a midseason Shawn Ma rionfor-Jermaine O’Ne al trade, are shocking the league with its present fifth-place position in the Ea st. All the while, Wade, a five-time all-star, has averaged over 28 points and seven assists per night. In Mi ami’s first four games after the mid-February all-star break, Wa de averaged nearly 36 points, with highlights being a 50-point explosion and a 31-point, 16-assist show. Am azing, right? But TNT and ES PN were so focused on Cleveland and L.A. they probably never noticed the stats. Still, if team records hold steady through Ap ril, the Heat’s first-round opponent in the playoffs will be Do minique’s Hawks. Maybe then the former star can offer Wa de some insight on keeping classy even when the camera’s elsewhere. Dwyane Wade, on his all-around game being overlooked It does. A lot of people don’t understand that I do have the ball in my hand a lot. I might shoot 20 shots or more, but I pass the ball a lot as well. I set my teammates up for good shots. So, to me it’s about not only making plays for yourself, but making plays for others. Ea rly on in the game when my shot is falling the way it is, I know later in the game, the defense is gonna change a lil’ bit and I’ m gonna be able to hit my guys. Though Dwyane Wade gets love on South Beach, you almost hate how the Miami Heat star’s being treated nationally. D BY DEMARCO WILLIAMS

On playing through injuries

It ’s that time of the season where everyone is banged up. Ev eryone is just banged up. Now we got a couple of days off before we play [again]. It ’ll give everybody an opportunity to go get healthy and get some rest and come back and get this homestand [going]. SPORTS NEWS

On his team’s current status in the standings

I’ m very satisfied. Anytime you leave out We st with a winning record, it’s always good. This is our second time out here. The last time we left with a winning record as well. So, I’ m very, very positive. All we can do is keep going, knowing that when we look in the standings, a lot of teams are right there with each other. We ’re right there in the mix of everything. No w we gotta go home. We have some very tough games at home coming up. We gotta take it one game at a time but we gotta take care of business.

On his team staying in February trade swirls

It ’s part of the NBA. I think guys gotta understand that it’s a business. Yo u just gotta go out there and perform- no matter if you’re gonna get traded or not. Yo u gotta go out there and perform- no matter if your name is in the rumors or not. I think guys are professional enough to know that it’s just a part of the business. At the end of the day, you gotta sell yourself and perform no matter what. So, hopefully, guys continue to do that.

On NBA road trips

At the end of a road trip, sometimes you have a letdown and come and play a team that’s only won eight games. Yo u don’t want them to do that. So, I came out early aggressive. Af ter that, everybody started pitching in. It ’s the end of a 13-, 14-day road trip. Some highs, some lows. It ’s a lot of letdowns that happen in these games.