He is not a sidekick, no, no, no. He is the original, who has won it all here before, who inspired last summer's contentious migration south. Though over the course of a rollicking season of adaptation and realignment, the man they used to call "Flash" has dimmed, ever so slightly, if not to a Number 2, at least to a Number 1A.
Still, the Miami Heat remain Dwyane Wade's team, Custom Soccer Jerseys and even amid the sudden re-renaissance of LeBron James, he can leap out of his friend's long shadow, reassert himself and remind us.
He did it in Tuesday night's NBA Finals Game 1. Subdued in the semis against Chicago, Wade exploded versus Dallas, scoring 22 points, adding 10 rebounds and seizing a sloppy contest the Mavericks had a chance to steal. There was an energetic Wade finishing a fast break with an assist from James, then tumbling to the floor. There was Wade with a huge block of the Mavericks' Shawn Marion, followed by a dagger from 3-point range. There was Wade with a critical rebound, pushing the ball the length of the floor, before spinning a brilliant crossing pass to Chris Bosh for a dunk. Then a delicious alley-oop, served up to James like an aperitif.
LeBron was great, too, but Wade put it in the books. ac milan jersey The affable Miami crowd ripped the white seat covers from their chairs and tossed them into the air, a victory rain of soft cloth. The arena deejay cranked KC and the Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight." It was mojito time.
More than an hour later, Wade resurfaced from the locker room wearing a lavender cardigan with a fabric flower. He has denied that his shoulder is bothering him, but he exuded the relief of a man who had relocated himself.
"Just confidence," he said. "Guys gave me the ball, and put me in the position to do it."
"I knew he was feeling really good," said James, arsenal jersey seated next to Wade in a coral blazer. "We're rhythm players. When we get in a good rhythm, we get in a good groove, we feel like every shot we take is going to go in."
Earlier this year, when the Heat struggled, it was fashionable to suggest that Wade and James couldn't click because their styles were too similar—too much Tennille, not enough Captain. But as Miami has evolved, and Chris Bosh has risen from a clunky third wheel to a matchup nightmare, it's become clear that 1 and 1A might compliment each other as well as they claimed they would
Wade plays prettier than James. Penetrating to the basket, chelsea jersey James is a blast of might and muscle—on one James drive Tuesday, Dallas center Tyson Chandler cowered like a pedestrian splashed by a roaring truck. Even LeBron's upgraded jump shot resembles a 50-pound triceps curl.
Wade glides where James rumbles. He can still swivel defenders with his crossover dribble and his closing finish to the basket remains convincing, if scary. When Wade leaps, he fully commits, and while it is candy for the ESPN highlights, it leaves him vulnerable.
Every Heat fan holds his or her breath for a half-second when Wade soars. Does anyone really believe he is playing without pain?
But Wade's game is not as edge-of-reckless as it was when Miami rolled over Dallas in the 2006 NBA Finals.
Wade admitted he watched part of his five-year-old 42-point Game 3 performance against Dallas the other night, england soccer jersey and was struck by his fearless mid-twenties self. "I had no conscience then," he said.
He is older, more refined, banged around, closing in on 30. His jolly 2006 co-conspirator, Shaquille O'Neal, announced his retirement on Wednesday, after 19 seasons.
But instead of a sunset, there's a reboot, spain soccer jersey with Wade playing the gracious host. He stood by his friend James as he was hammered for months—literally, Wade has sat at James' side for nearly every press opportunity, deflecting the spotlight and sharing James' taste in preppy, peacock clothing.
Not that Wade was unflappable. In March, after a string of losses, a sulky Wade turned Nixonian: "The world is better now because the Heat are losing."
But it's June, and the super-merger is civil and thriving. If anyone ever wondered what the Yankee front office fantasy was for the pairing of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, it's James and Wade.
The massive difference is that Wade and James wanted this, and engineered it to fanfare and ridicule.
If they move on to defeat Dallas, it will be picked apart, brazil soccer jersey diminished as artificial and there will be a endless, exasperating "Potential Dynasty?" debate. But that won't be enough to disguise the fact that Dwyane Wade helped Miami do it again, on his terms.
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