Battle Of The Closers: Lebron James Or Dwyane Wade

Published: 15^th Jan 12 12:22 pm

by Steven Resnick
stevenresnick

RANT It!

Battle Of The Closers: Lebron James Or Dwyane Wade

Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

After starting the season with an 8-1 record the Miami Heat have struggled of late losing three games in-a-row and twice the games went into overtime. In those two losses Lebron James has taken criticism for his play. In the first loss against the Golden State Warriors he did not attempt a shot in the fourth quarter and his game tying three point attempt in overtime wasn’t even close. As for the second loss it was missed free throws down the stretch by James that gave the Los Angeles Clippers a chance to take the game into overtime.

Even more surprising is that Dwyane Wade was not called upon in either of those games. Though that might have to do with Wade recovering from a foot injury that had him out of the lineup for a couple of games.

A day prior to the third loss by the Heat against the Denver Nuggets an interview with Chris Bosh was released by GQ, which applied to the situations the Heat were in against the Warriors and Clippers. Bosh was given a hypothetical situation involving the last 10 seconds of a game and was asked who he would select to take the last shot and he immediately responded with “Dwyane.”

He elaborates on his answer by saying “because of his success in the past, given what he’s done. He’s a champ. He’s an MVP, and he’s hit a bunch of last-second shots. That’s the time you have to put pride aside a little bit, and do what’s best for the team. He’s quickest, and he’s gonna get a shot off. He relishes those moments.”

Read the full interview here.

Either Bosh was being brutally honest or he was attempting to motivate James. Yet, the Heat have an advantage in late game situations when a game is tied or even if the team is trailing with James and Wade. As the Heat’s head coach Erik Spolestra can leave opponents guessing on who will be getting the ball to close the game out.

As for other NBA teams like the Los Angeles Lakers it is known that the ball is going to be in the hands of Kobe Bryant, Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose, Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki, the Warriors Monta Ellis, Indiana Pacers Danny Granger and Sacramento Kings Tyreke Evans. So, there’s really no surprise on who the defense is going to cover in the closing moments.

Both James and Wade have hit a number of clutch shots during their respective careers in the regular season and in the playoffs. The strengths of James is that he can hit the three or outside jumper, if he’s double teamed while driving or attempting to get to a spot he has the vision to find an open teammate.

Yet, the issue for James is that he’s not aggressive enough in those situations as he has the ability to be able to get anywhere on the floor and is more than likely to settle for a pull up jumper rather than attacking the rim or even drawing a foul. If James is fouled he is by no means an exceptional foul shooter.

Wade’s strength is his ability to get to the rim and finish or at least draw contact to get to the free throw line and he’s a very good free throw shooter. The weaknesses for Wade is if a team plays him to drive and he is forced to settle for a jumper beyond 18 feet.

Even though both James and Wade have their weaknesses the edge goes to Wade because he is more aggressive with the basketball and is able to get to where he needs to be on the floor and if he doesn’t he has the ability to create contact and get himself to the free throw line. For James to overtake Wade he needs to be come more aggressive with the basketball and make his free throws.