Wade in a funk? or Bulls D on Wade?

[Aiolos]

So whats the deal with Wade just struggling for the most part against the Bulls?

IMO I give a some credit to the Bulls D but for the most part I feel Wade did this to himself because he left his amazing mid range game. He basically now relies on driving now which makes it easy to defend him and when he is trying to use his mid range he tries to be flashy with it. IMO what made Wade so dominant was how he was an amazing slasher but had a reliable consistent jumpshot. Wade before didnt try to be flashy with his jumper, he use to just curl of a screen, hit the jumpshot, or do a nice pull up jumper. Now you got Wade being crazy trying to be hitting dumb fade aways, dumb 3's, out of balanced jumpers, and is fishing alot for fouls.

Look at LeBron now who is mixing up his driving game with his jumpshot game while Wade for the most part is just trying to slash.

I have said this before and I'll say it again NOBODY WILL EVER WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP JUST USING PURE DRIVES. As you move up in the playoffs the defense gets better and if you dont have a jumpshot you will get exposed.

I strongly believe that and if you look at the past all these dudes that were like that have been shutdown in the postseason. Lebron when he didnt have a consistent jumpshot was contained by the Spurs and Celtics. Derrick Rose also has been contained by us.

In the end though at least he made some big plays in the clutch though and I'm happy that when it counts the most he can still make something big happen.

[BFRESH44]

Aside from Game 2, Wade's been pressing this series. Reverting back to some bad habits. Pumpfaking, holding the ball, and keeping it on one side of the floor in attempt to find gaps in the defense... And Brewer and Bogans have done a pretty good job pressuring him up court. You do have to give some credit to the team defense of the Bulls. They've maintained their 'wall defense' on the strong side, and we haven't had a whole lot of weakside motion to counter it. Fortunately for us, Bosh has came up in some big spots isolating, and LeBron has been LeBron. Not to mention some timely contributions from UD and *gasp*... Mike Miller.

[SweetTouch]

He has no confidence in his jumper. After awhile, bulls defenders stopped falling for the pumpfake

And careless with the ball when he drives.

[Diggity Dave]

He's lulling the Mavericks into a false sense of security. Then he'll average 34ppg in the Finals...

[Heat3]

I think the length of the Bulls has affected him somewhat at least on his jump shot and he doesn't have the total freedom he's had before to do whatever he wants to get out of the funk. Now he can just give it back to Lebron which is a good thing.

That said, I don't like how he goes up for layups sometimes. Seems almost careless or with an unnecessary degree of difficulty. Just make a simple layup, no reason why even a slumping guy should miss as many especially one of Wade's caliber.

One thing though, he's not slumping on defense. He's been hustling on the other end of the court and doing his part especially during crunch time.

[Chosen01]

Its like hes trying to drive too much when he his jump shot has been decent, its like he has no confidence in it.He needs to stop taking all the fadeaways unless hes feeling it, those aren't high % jumpers.

Wade's mechanics on his jumpers this year is so annoying, in 08-09 he used to be square with his jump shots, now hes trying to be too fancy.

[TrueRain]

I think it's the Bulls D but it's also his shot selection and decision making. Sometimes, he just needs to rise up and take the jumper. He's trying so hard to find something inside, but the Bulls are doing a good job at defending the paint. His jumper has done him well this playoffs. He needs to trust it.

[Tim_Hardawayy]

Part of the problem is his jumper, and when he uses it. The feel just isn't there in this series (he had it at times against Boston). But part of it is a bit of a fluke too, he must've missed at least 8-10 layups in this series so far, not to mention 2 blown dunks in the past 2 games.

Obviously some credit goes to the Bulls as well, but as we've seen in the past, Wade beats great defense when he's on his game.

[Rodrizzle]

He's lulling the Mavericks into a false sense of security. Then he'll average 34ppg in the Finals...

Return of D-Whistle lol wouldnt the general board love that.

[WD]

I think he is dealing with a minor illness/injury

[DWadeno3]

It's really simple: He abandoned his midrange game and our offensive execution has been worse. Sure, Ronnie Brewer is a very good defender, but if all you do is force the drive and take off-balance jumpers instead of using the space you're given to pull up for 18-footers, then that's what happens. It's really frustrating to watch and hurts us badly on offense. I believe a couple of games (especially last night's) would not have been this close if Wade hadn't picked up his bad habits again.

[zogster]

I think the Chicago D has done a really good job of disrupting his rhythm. Particularly Brewer. Brewer is what, 6'7 and has extremely long arms. Every time Wade dribbles it seems like Brewer is either poking it away or making it very difficult for Wade to maintain his dribble.

If I was the Bulls coach I would start Brewer on Wade and try to really ugly up the game even more than right now. He's not a good shooter obviously, but his defense has given Wade fits and I think it would really let the Bulls D try to focus on just containing LeBron and Bosh, rather than all three.

[DWadeno3]

I think the Chicago D has done a really good job of disrupting his rhythm. Particularly Brewer. Brewer is what, 6'7 and has extremely long arms. Every time Wade dribbles it seems like Brewer is either poking it away or making it very difficult for Wade to maintain his dribble.

If I was the Bulls coach I would start Brewer on Wade and try to really ugly up the game even more than right now. He's not a good shooter obviously, but his defense has given Wade fits and I think it would really let the Bulls D try to focus on just containing LeBron and Bosh, rather than all three.

I agree about Brewer having done a nice job on Wade and being an elite defender, but normal Wade would kill him as well. You always have to assume Dwyane is playing his normal game and in that case, it requires a team effort to stop him anyways. So if I was Thibodeau, I'd stick with Bogans. At least he can give you a three every now and then and stretch the floor. They struggled to score a lot as it is. I'd rather consider starting CJ Watson. He's a nice defensive guard as well who is a decent shooter and more of a scorer. Plus, he could help Rose a lot with the PG duties. You could still sit him earlier than Rose and bring him in later when Rose sits to always have a PG on the court.

[Heat_FinsFan]

Funk more than D

Remember bosh going 1-18 againt this defense??? Almost everyone said it was because of the great bulls D. Where is that D on bosh now?? He was just missing shots. Wade will be fine, he missed a dunk for gods sake. Wade is turning it over and that does have some to do with the D, bulls are constantly slapping and reaching in but I think its more on him then the D. I expect Wade to go off (30+) very soon.

[HeatForever]

I think it's a little a both, he's playing great defense, but offensively, he's just not there. No confidence at all, trying too hard to pump fake. He needs to just go up with it. I don't expect him to continue this slump. It's D-Wade!

[Chosen01]

It could just be a mental thing with the whole Chicago hometown stuff.Wade has never played well against Chicago in the playoffs.

This was the same Brewer Wade lit up for 50 a couple of years ago.Matter of fact let me go watch and see what he was doing, his jumper was probably money.

Edit- I was right, his jumper was on point and he actually squared up for his jumpers instead of fading.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NNszjg4dpY[/youtube]

[Iputsomepantson]

Wade almost always plays terrible against Chicago. But this team was designed so that even if Wade does terrible, we can still win.

[HeatForever]

It could just be a mental thing with the whole Chicago hometown stuff.Wade has never played well against Chicago in the playoffs.

This was the same Brewer Wade lit up for 50 a couple of years ago.Matter of fact let me go watch and see what he was doing, his jumper was probably money.

It had to be, thats when he's at his best. When his shot is on, he can do anything.

[WD]

Just as I thought - Heat's Dwyane Wade not 100 percent, but he's ready

source - http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miam ... 2027.story

"On Wednesday, the mood was less playful for Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade. Long after the usual contest participants — Mike Bibby, Eddie House and LeBron James — had disappeared from the practice court, Wade remained behind."

[Hallstar]

a bit of both imo