Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
The Miami Heat retired Dwyane Wade’s jersey at halftime of their beatdown against the Cavaliers.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Wilfredo Lee/AP.)
Dwyane Wade has been immortalized in the rafters as the Miami Heat has retired his jersey number.
A lot of people consider him to be the third best shooting guard in NBA history. But there’s no doubt that he is an all-timer in the sport of basketball. He was a huge help on making the Miami Heat a destination franchise.
The Heat hadn’t made the NBA Finals before Dwyane Wade got there. In his rookie year, the team won 17 more games than the previous year and Wade helped lead the Heat to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They added the mammoth Shaquille O’Neal the next year. This opened up Wade’s game even more as the newly-dubbed Flash made his first all-star game (first of 12 straight!). In their second year together, they won the NBA championship. Wade won Finals MVP as he took over the series and became a bonafide superstar.
Wade’s game was relentless. He possessed an all-around game but he was known for attacking the basket. Wade hit the floor so much that people were afraid his career would be shortened. He would have some seasons where he would miss 30 games as a result.
Still, Wade gave his everything. He’s an incredible slasher with or without the ball. As he got older, he relied more on deft and touch rather than his reckless athleticism and physical dominance. Wade would dunk on people. His passing was underrated. And while he was a gambler on defense for the most part, it seemed to have worked for him. He was a very good shot blocker in his position. In that 2008-09 season, he was a marvel on both ends: 30.2 points (his only scoring title), 5.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 2.2 steals per game.
And he won a lot. He made the postseason 10 times in his first 11 seasons. On the way there, he won 3 championships. And we all remember the Heatles that went to 4 straight NBA Finals. Wade ceded his lead role to the incoming LeBron James and they were the dominant force in the first half of that decade. That 1-2 punch was nearly unstoppable.
Wade was never regarded as the best player in the game during his career (which might make him even underappreciated) but he certainly surpassed all expectations. He made an impact on both ends of the floor. He was one of the more clutch players during his time. And he’s probably the most revered professional athlete in Miami. Yes, we know Dan Marino played there but he never got the city a Super Bowl. Wade helped bring home 3 NBA championships to South Beach.
So congratulations to Dwyane Wade for getting his number retired. Now we await the statue.
Bullet Passes
We got the Hawks and Mavericks together on Saturday night. But too bad, Luka Doncic sat this one out.
Anyway, so check out this play. Trae Young‘s lay-up was blocked by Dorian Finney-Smith. John Collins comes in and puts it back in after it was whistled for goaltending.
The play was reviewed. However, they counted Collins’ shot (remember that this came after the whistle). Man, the refs have just NOT been great at this. The ruling is that it should’ve been a jumpball. The Hawks WERE leading by two before the play but it would’ve been nice if the Mavs got a fair chance. And they clearly didn’t. Mark Cuban went on a Twitter rant.
Man, oh, man.
Shoutout to Harry Giles, who has had injuries that have marred his career. He got his first career NBA double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds) and had this play that essentially put away the Clippers.
OH MY GILES! pic.twitter.com/WNfw3HiRjh
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) February 22, 2020
I’m with Zach LaVine here. Why call these timeouts when the game is out of reach? Game is over. You can teach later. Also, I don’t know how Jim Boylen is still coaching the team. I’ve said before that I’m not one to advocate firing someone from their job but this is clearly NOT working.
Just got home saw a tweet about Zach Being annoyed again about a Boylen timeout. After the timeout Zach shakes his head and seems to say “why call a timeout down F’ing 10” pic.twitter.com/lV4HH356Wb
— Ⓜ️arcusD ▶️ (@_MarcusD3_) February 23, 2020
The Bulls have lost 8 straight, by the way.
While we continue to question Philadelphia‘s chemistry, it ain’t getting easier as Ben Simmons‘ back was aggravated in their big game against Milwaukee.
The Bucks won by a lot.
The Scoreboard
SAC 112 (23-33) @ LAC 103 (37-19)
BRK 115 (26-29) @ CHA 86 (19-37)
DAL 107 (34-23) @ ATL 111 (17-41)
CLE 105 (15-41) @ MIA 124 (36-20)
PHX 112 (23-34) @ CHI 104 (19-38)
PHI 98 (35-22) @ MIL 119 (48-8)
HOU 120 (36-20) @ UTA 110 (36-20)
Watch This Play
Good grief. James Harden lobs it up and… look at Russell Westbrook FLOAT for that alley-oop.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA BandWagon Fan.)
Westbrook is a cyborg, man. The guy’s had multiple knee surgeries and he’s STILL doing this.
GG.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.
I sign off “GG” which means “good game” but also to honor Gianna “Gigi” Bryant.