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Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade Duel Never Materializes In Matchup

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By @IanClarkMcEwan

Kobe Bryant Dwyane Wade Compete

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Coming into Tuesday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, the most intriguing matchup was unquestionably Kobe Bryant squaring up against Dwyane Wade. With eight championships between them, it’s rare to have so much pedigree at the same position facing off against one another — though the matchup didn’t last long.

First, Wade lasted only 15 minutes before exiting with a hamstring injury. He wouldn’t play in the second half.

On Bryant’s side of things, he did manage to log 31 minutes but struggled mightily with his shot, going only 3-of-19. Including his last performance against the Los Angeles Clippers, Kobe is shooting 5-for-31 his last two games.

As an NBA fan for the majority of my adult life, it’s unpleasant to watch stars age, even stars you once rooted against. Wade was someone who I dreaded the Lakers playing because of his speed, skill and will to win. It didn’t help matters that he won a championship with Shaquille O’Neal, a championship I thought the Lakers could have accomplished with Kobe. It’s also no secret that in the Big Three era in Miami, the Heat easily dismantled the Lakers when the two teams played each other.

This used to be a matchup that was appointment television. It’s jarring and telling of how far each franchise has fallen in recent years how it’s now buried deep in the recesses of the NBA schedule on a Tuesday.

The NBA is a business. It’s not about nostalgia. There is no question Bryant and Wade are well past their respective primes as franchise players. What is interesting is how similar the situations for Wade and Bryant are going forward. Both play for rosters devoid of talent, save for Chris Bosh. Both have suffered a number of injuries and must adjust to diminished athletic skill and increased recovery times. Despite these limitations, both have shown an unwillingness to adjust expectations to anything lower than championship. This is a deviant response to the demands time makes of every athlete.

While it will take some time for both to climb the mountain once again, neither appears ready to shy away from the challenge. Yet this is the NBA, where will alone is not enough to achieve success. For either to win another title, the aging process will have to give back some of what it’s taken from both. On Tuesday night, it did not look likely that that will happen.

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