Wade lost his hops? What do you think?

[Lane1974]

sorry but stuff like this speculation drives me nuts... like when everyone on the gen board was calling Wade a puss for having to be wheeled out and having tears in his eyes last year when his shoulder got torn... no one knows what the surgery really was, and everyone's body is different anyway. Did Kobe have major shouder surgery the same day he had his knee surgery? Do you think that having one arm and one leg might have affected the rehab process at all? Do you guys really think Wade is jumping lower and running slower on purpose? Of course not, give me a break. If a normal non athlete had these surgeries, they'd probably be incapacitated for ages and ages, not playing in the NBA on a night in and night out basis. I just think Wade deserves the obvious benefit of the doubt.

[Harry Heinous]

sorry but stuff like this speculation drives me nuts... like when everyone on the gen board was calling Wade a puss for having to be wheeled out and having tears in his eyes last year when his shoulder got torn... no one knows what the surgery really was, and everyone's body is different anyway. Did Kobe have major shouder surgery the same day he had his knee surgery? Do you think that having one arm and one leg might have affected the rehab process at all? Do you guys really think Wade is jumping lower and running slower on purpose? Of course not, give me a break. If a normal non athlete had these surgeries, they'd probably be incapacitated for ages and ages, not playing in the NBA on a night in and night out basis. I just think Wade deserves the obvious benefit of the doubt.

well said.

Wade getting 'criticized' on how he reacted to a severe injury is ridiculous and pissed me off too. Everyone is toughest mofos ever all of a sudden when they're behind a keyboard.

I have a bunch of aussie friends, and they've told me they seen the toughest guys they've ever known, cry like babies and get carried out on stretchers when they dislocated their shoulders playing rugby.

whatever, some ppl are dumb.

[Scum Freezebag]

My calves and quadriceps are puny and hop-less. I'm an embarrassment to jumping.

[SmushedPennies]

Lane touched upon this, but I just want to mention that both surgeries were on the left side of the body. For one, recovering with half your body out is made twice as difficult. Also, Wade is right-handed meaning he generally pushes off the left leg.

[NetsForce]

It's not a stretch to say that Wade has definitely lost some of his hops, as is often the case after a player undergoes some sort of major surgery, but just like Vince Carter it's not like Wade can't get up and throw it down.

[aznkillabeezZz]

From the outside looking in, i'm a rocket fan, and i've seen some heat games this season including vs the lakers right now.

Wade has clearly lost a step and his hops. He was easily 2nd to 3rd best pg in the league. Now he really isn't the same player in terms of breaking down defense and scoring at will. Now he settles for jumpshots a lil more. If he was the same, Miami wouldn't have the worst record in the league right now.

But i like his hustle tonight against the lakers even though he's getting beat by kobe pretty good. He got called for a traveling call being pressured by kobe. That would never happen if it was last year.

Jason Williams is a boneheaded PG. Old GP probably would of done better than him. Did anyone see him pull up for a three when 4 of his teammates was doing a fast break in front of him. Thats just unacceptable

Ricky D is a cancer, hes athletic but doesn't really defend or run the offense well.
Blount sucks too, he can score a few inside but gets outstrengthed most of the time, makes bad decisions, and bad perimeter shots, plays absolutely no defense.
D Wright- I'm surprised he's never had any consistency. He looked like a promising young player last year, but its still ups and downs with him even during sophemore year.

Shawn Marion is the real deal though. He's the only bright spot in Miami right now. But again, Marion is a great rebounder , stealer, but he's still not the best post defender. Which was why phoenix was not known to be a strong defensive team in that aspect.

[Shaq_Diesel]

From the outside looking in, i'm a rocket fan, and i've seen some heat games this season including vs the lakers right now.

Wade has clearly lost a step and his hops. He was easily 2nd to 3rd best pg in the league. Now he really isn't the same player in terms of breaking down defense and scoring at will. Now he settles for jumpshots a lil more. If he was the same, Miami wouldn't have the worst record in the league right now.

But i like his hustle tonight against the lakers even though he's getting beat by kobe pretty good. He got called for a traveling call being pressured by kobe. That would never happen if it was last year.

Jason Williams is a boneheaded PG. Old GP probably would of done better than him. Did anyone see him pull up for a three when 4 of his teammates was doing a fast break in front of him. Thats just unacceptable

Ricky D is a cancer, hes athletic but doesn't really defend or run the offense well.
Blount sucks too, he can score a few inside but gets outstrengthed most of the time, makes bad decisions, and bad perimeter shots, plays absolutely no defense.
D Wright- I'm surprised he's never had any consistency. He looked like a promising young player last year, but its still ups and downs with him even during sophemore year.

Shawn Marion is the real deal though. He's the only bright spot in Miami right now. But again, Marion is a great rebounder , stealer, but he's still not the best post defender. Which was why phoenix was not known to be a strong defensive team in that aspect.

Wade isn't playing at his 06 playoffs level, that can't be expected every year.

But you're making it sound like the guy isn't playing at an all-star level, still one of the best perimeter players in the league. If you don't believe thats true, I'm sorry but you're wrong, and it's not opinion vs. opinion, it's a fact.

[D-Wade]

It's not a stretch to say that Wade has definitely lost some of his hops, as is often the case after a player undergoes some sort of major surgery, but just like Vince Carter it's not like Wade can't get up and throw it down.

That's the first time you've ever mentioned Wade's name without a series of bashing.

Kudos.

[dflash3]

-= original quote snipped =-



Wade isn't playing at his 06 playoffs level, that can't be expected every year.

But you're making it sound like the guy isn't playing at an all-star level, still one of the best perimeter players in the league. If you don't believe thats true, I'm sorry but you're wrong, and it's not opinion vs. opinion, it's a fact.

Wade is playing the worst basketball of his career putting his rookie season aside, since he was still getting a feel for the game. If he hadn't had to undergo surgery he would be playing at the level he was the past few seasons.

He has shown flashes of brilliance, but has gone through a really rough stretch these past couple of games. It won't be until next season that Wade is back to his former self.

[DaGoodz]

As a outsider watching Wade for really the first time this year,
He definitely doesn't look as explosive. And he isn't as cut as before either, he looks flabby and kinda fat. I don't know where his head is at, maybe he's going through things right now

[NapoleonII]

He lost his dadda. Give him time.

[DaGoodz]

Oh his father died? That would explain everything

[Harry Heinous]

Oh his father died? That would explain everything

I don't know if your joking, but napolean meant dadda as in Shaq daddy.


IMO Wade is forcing the issue way too much and is frustrated because he can't have his way explosively and athletically on the court right now.

[CB4MiamiHeat]

what about the handles..theyre horrible right now...the guy ran the point last season at the beginning with no problems at all.

How do injuries affect your ball handling?

[Chessboxer]

From the outside looking in, i'm a rocket fan, and i've seen some heat games this season including vs the lakers right now.

Wade has clearly lost a step and his hops. He was easily 2nd to 3rd best pg in the league. Now he really isn't the same player in terms of breaking down defense and scoring at will. Now he settles for jumpshots a lil more. If he was the same, Miami wouldn't have the worst record in the league right now.

But i like his hustle tonight against the lakers even though he's getting beat by kobe pretty good. He got called for a traveling call being pressured by kobe. That would never happen if it was last year.

Jason Williams is a boneheaded PG. Old GP probably would of done better than him. Did anyone see him pull up for a three when 4 of his teammates was doing a fast break in front of him. Thats just unacceptable

Ricky D is a cancer, hes athletic but doesn't really defend or run the offense well.
Blount sucks too, he can score a few inside but gets outstrengthed most of the time, makes bad decisions, and bad perimeter shots, plays absolutely no defense.
D Wright- I'm surprised he's never had any consistency. He looked like a promising young player last year, but its still ups and downs with him even during sophemore year.

Shawn Marion is the real deal though. He's the only bright spot in Miami right now. But again, Marion is a great rebounder , stealer, but he's still not the best post defender. Which was why phoenix was not known to be a strong defensive team in that aspect.

Agree with pretty much everything you said.

As for Wade, he's probably playing the worst basketball of his career right now. To his his credit, the effort is there and he is still gutting it out and I hope he can regain his previous form next year.

[SmushedPennies]

As a outsider watching Wade for really the first time this year,
He definitely doesn't look as explosive. And he isn't as cut as before either, he looks flabby and kinda fat. I don't know where his head is at, maybe he's going through things right now

Good. I've thought I was the only person to notice this. Wade claims its because he's been lifting weights and he's not 21 anymore. He definitely could be in better conditioning. I was sitting 6 rows up at the LA game, and seeing Kobe next to Dwyane really exemplified this. Kobe is so chiseled you can see every vein his legs. Wade is definitely looking the softest of his career right now.

[SmushedPennies]

what about the handles..theyre horrible right now...the guy ran the point last season at the beginning with no problems at all.

How do injuries affect your ball handling?

Left shoulder surgery. Plus I'm sure leg response has something to do with it.

[MiamiHeatFan2004]

It is mostly due to injuries I believe. But, Wade might not be playing with the same hunger now that he has one ring. Especially this year with the way Shaq came in this season looking like a bum and all the losses, i think those things have had a negative impact on Wade's game along with the injuries.

But, Lebron and Melo have both added more this year to their games and you can see they are both just more dominant and polished than ever. I think Wade is now a distant 3rd between the 3 and he was the leader before.

I think Wade should look at those guys and use it to motivate him. These 3 guys will be linked until they retire and they will all look at the other 2 guys and want to outdo them. Wade has to do some catching up now for the first time between the 3 of them so lets see what he can do about that.

[SmushedPennies]

Ideally, I'd like to see Wade either shut it down (not preferred because we need to see him with Marion and Wright more), or cut back his minutes for the rest of the season. Then, play in the Olympics as a somewhat healthy Wade, again with less minutes. I think being around all of those guys will put the competitiveness back in his game and help him realize his deficiencies and how he matches up with the elite again. After that, more rest.

[nycballer718]

they said it will take 9-12 months for him to get his hops fully back ....had wade's jumping/explosiveness improved at all form 1st game he played this season till now ?