We’re not going “Brokeback” on you. Miami Heat head coach Pat Riley can’t think of another player that he has coached that has a better package of skills than Dwayne Wade.
”[Wade’s] athleticism and quickness in combination with his overall skill level is probably the best package,” Riley said, speaking of all the players he has coached. “James Worthy would probably be the other guy. . . . [Magic Johnson] doesn’t come close to doing what Dwyane can do physically, athletically.”
Wade’s play has earned him another fan, who was once a critic.
In September 2004, Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas said he doesn’t think Wade ”can carry a team” and said Wade “proved that he couldn’t shoot in the Olympics.” Wade’s jumper has improved considerably since, and after watching Wade torch his team again Wednesday, Arenas said he’s amazed at how good he has become.
But Arenas said Wade doesn’t ”need” to shoot jumpers. “He’s so quick and his change of direction is so, so fast that he’s going to get to that rim no matter what. He has that floater, which usually a dunker doesn’t have. I don’t have it.
“And he’s developed that, so he doesn’t really need the shot I’m shooting. You could see in college he had explosiveness, and when you take that and bring that to the NBA, it’s easier for him, because you don’t have that zone [or] the trap.”
Every time I read an article like this, I can hear Joe Dumars grinding his teeth. (Dumars selected Darko Milicic over Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh in the 2003 NBA Draft.)
