Flash of Brilliance (Beck)

I’m not going to cleverly introduce this topic or in any way tease you by beating around the bush so you continue reading just to find out what the point of this damn post will be. The fact is, this topic is just too simple and crystal-clear for any doubt:

Dwyane Wade is the NBA MVP.

Don’t think so? Bet me. Wade leads the league in scoring at 29.7 points per game. Since the All-Star break, Wade has averaged 36.0 points per game, and he’s led his team to big wins over Detroit and Boston, two fellow Eastern Conference playoff-bound teams. And what about those 26 points in the fourth-quarter against the Knicks on February 28 to bring the Heat back for a victory? Or the epic performance against the Bulls in which he dropped 48 points and 12 assists in 50 minutes of play, stealing the ball from John Salmons in the final seconds and hitting a running three to win the game?

The fact of the matter is, Wade has strapped the Heat on his back and led them victory all season. As of right now, the Heat’s record sits at 35-29, good for fifth in the top-heavy East and only two games behind the division-rival Atlanta Hawks for fourth. Need I remind you that the 2007-2008 Heat only won 15 games, or that in the Heat’s 2006-2007 championship-defense, they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Bulls? And really, honestly, what has changed from those two seasons to this one?

The most obvious change has been team make-up. The “Big Moron” Shaquille O’Neal missed 30 games in 06-07, and then fouled out early in their playoff games, making himself a giant, bumbling liability at center. He was traded off the team in 07-08, the first season he hadn’t made the All-Star game, because of diminished minutes and continually poor performance, bringing in Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks from the Suns. The “Matrix” Marion had some stellar seasons with the Suns, but he’s over the 30-year old plateau and really thrives in the run-and-gun system that D’Antoni established, not the half-court sets favored by Pat Riley. The guy needs to run, and he wasn’t really allowed in Miami. This was probably the most significant change over the two years prior to this year, but let’s face it: the entire 2006 Miami Heat championship team was built to win that one year, and they were blown up or fizzled out the next. Posey’s gone, Antoine Walker blew nuts, Gary Payton needs a walker, Jason Williams melted into a puddle of white chocolate, and then Riley brought in Ricky Davis thinking he would be an upgrade. Give me a goddamn break.

And who has joined Wade this year? The Heat start Mario Chalmers at point-guard, a 2^nd-round rookie from the Kansas Jayhawks, and their number-2 overall pick Michael Beasley is their major contributor off the bench. Joining Wade currently are the bust Jermaine O’Neal at center, the always-useful but never-outstanding Udonis Haslem at power-forward, and Jamario Moon, a guy who spent season after season in the D-League before making his rookie appearance last year at 27 years old. And who comes off the bench? Chris Quinn, in his third year, and Daequan Cook, in his second year. This team is young, very young, averaging 26.2 years old. And if you throw out Mark Blount (33 years old) who averages 10 minutes per game but has only appeared in 18 games all season – playing most of his time before Jermaine O’Neal was brought in from Toronto – that average goes down.

Don’t think the changes end there. Pat Riley stepped down as head coach at the end of last season’s 15-67 campaign, replacing himself with his 36-year-old assistant Erik Spoelstra. Spoelstra is the youngest coach currently in the NBA, and for the 7 seasons prior to the head coaching spot he handled scouting for the Miami Heat. Scouting? That doesn’t have anything to do with coaching! For Christ’s sake, Spoelstra is almost half Riley’s age! This guy has no pedigree, no history to draw from, and this is the first time he’s ever been in charge of a team and had to actually deal with the many personalities and egos that go with being in the NBA.

And what’s the most important change this year? Dwyane Wade is finally healthy. His 2006-2007 season was cut short when his shoulder was pulled out socket against the Houston Rockets, yet he returned for the playoffs and was not the same player. His shoulder and knee continued to bother him in 07-08, and with the Heat far off from the playoffs and playing like blind retards, Riley shut Wade down with 30 games to play. He only played 50 games each of those two seasons due to injury. And for all those haters who think that Wade wasn’t hurt and he just had loads of sand in his vagina, what happened a few months after the season ended? Oh yeah, that’s right, Wade led the U.S. Olympic team in scoring on their way to redemption and a gold medal at the Beijing Games. He’s at full-strength, something he hadn’t been in years past, and now we remember what a healthy Wade is capable of doing.

And he came out of the gate this season firing. He’s led the league in scoring almost the whole season, falling a few fractions of a point behind Lebron for a couple games before the All-Star break. He’s averaging 7.7 assists per game, good for 8^th in the NBA though he splits time at point guard and shooting guard. His 5 .1 rebounds per game are more than enough for a 6’4” guard, and his 2.25 steals per game is second-best, behind only Chris Paul. Plus, he plays 38.5 minutes per game. Those are outstanding numbers, but the most-outstanding number is that Dwyane Wade’s team, on average, trails by 14 points per 48 minutes whenever he is not on the court. No other player means that much to their team in the entire NBA. Plus, his highlight reels and commercials are unrivaled by anyone, including Mr. James.

Not even taking away his fashion-statement band-aids could stop Flash.

Wade’s performances in the last few games showcase his unparalleled talent and ability, and all that combined with the fact that he’s on a young team with a rookie head coach that only won 15 games one year ago and will eclipse 40 wins this year simply proves that Wade is the most VALUABLE player in the NBA, and so the MVP award deserves to go to #3.

Lebron doesn’t deserve it, not this year. The Cavs won 45 games last year, and the only real change on their roster was a tremendous upgrade at point guard, the All-Star Mo Williams. Lebron wasn’t saddled by any injuries last season, and he has to do less every game than last year because he has Mo Williams to fall back on. The Cavs will probably pass 60-wins if no one gets hurt, but the change from 45 to 60 is not nearly as dramatic as 15 to 40+. One ups your seed in the playoffs, and one is the difference between a lottery pick and the playoffs. Which one matters more? Plus, winning 60 games is a team success, not a personal success. One player cannot win that many games, and it’s only further proof that Lebron plays on a much better team than Wade, therefore, logically, he’s not nearly as valuable to his team. If anything, I'd argue Mo Williams as the MVP of the Cavs. On top of all that, Mike Brown has been there for years, and while his offensive philosophy is to give the ball to Lebron at the top of the circle and see what happens, he actually is a very good defensive coach and is a significant reason why the Cavs succeed. And Chandler, if you say Mike Brown sucks, I never want to hear you push for Mike Brown’s Coach of the Year Award again. And Chandler, to anticipate your argument, just because Lebron didn’t win the MVP the last few years despite having the same case that Wade has this year DOES NOT mean that Lebron should receive a make-up MVP this year. That idea is total bull-shit. Kobe should’ve won two years ago, and Lebron should’ve won last year; Kobe won last year because Nash won his second the year before and voters thought Kobe needed an MVP at some point in his career, and I know Chandler will argue then that Lebron gets his this year because of the same reasons. The fact is that thinking is inane and evidence of someone who ate wheelbarrows full of paint chips as a kid.

And duh, Kobe has a great team with a great coach and he scores a lot of points. Cool.

The MVP this year belongs to Dwyane Wade, and I can’t wait to see how the voters steal it from him in order to crown the King James. It will be highway robbery.

At least that means Wade will have a make-up MVP coming back his way in a few years.

Editor's Note: Dwyane Wade dropped 50 against the Utah Jazz, along with 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. He passed Alonzo Mourning as the Heat's all-time leading scorer, and he became one of four players since 1989-1990 to score 50 points and have 10 rebounds in the same game, the others being Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Ray Allen. Sorry, Lebron, there's still time for you. By the way, the Heat won in triple-overtime, and Wade logged another 52 minutes of play. He's unstoppable.



- Beck