On that second-quarter play in Sunday's Game 4, despite the howls from the TD Garden crowd for a foul, Wade did not look like the ineffective, absent star that he has been made out to be in the Eastern Conference Finals. While Wade's shooting numbers have been atrocious by his lofty standards, he has continued to make an impact on defense.
"He's so disruptive," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Monday in a conference call. "He's been able to guard [Rajon] Rondo, he's been able to guard Ray [Allen], he's even guarded Paul at times. That’s what makes him and LeBron [James] so good. They can guard multiple positions. LeBron's guarded the one, he's guarded the two, he's guarded the three, four and five. The only guy he hasn't guarded is me."
When James fouled out with 1:51 remaining in overtime on Sunday, the Heat needed Wade to fill James' role as a scorer. Whether due to Boston's defense, nagging injuries to his lower body or a combination of things, Wade has been unable to be that type of player in this series. He turned around a 2-for-11 shooting start in Game 4 into a strong final statistical line of 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but he missed both shots he took in overtime, including the potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Slow starts have bogged down otherwise solid nights for Wade during the conference finals, but his aggression has pared down in the fourth quarter as well. He is shooting 25.8 percent from the field in the first half, yet he has attempted only 14 shots total in the fourth quarters of the first four games. To put that in perspective, Wade's 3.5 shots-per-fourth-quarter average in the series is less than half the amount of shots that Kevin Garnett attempted in the final frame of Game 4.
Wade has not been placed on a missing persons list yet, though, because his impact at the other end of the floor is still great. Based on the film from the Celtics' series against the 76ers, Wade had to expect a hobbled and ineffective Ray Allen, but the Celtics shooting guard has been neither. Even with Allen's improved mobility, however, Wade has still compiled his usual pile of gaudy defensive statistics, such as his three steals and three blocked shots Sunday.
"He competed," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That's the most important thing. He was ferocious, particularly defensively. He made some real big defensive plays."
With James off the floor, though, Wade needs to hit the big shots. That is a given. Yet Wade has been far from silent in this series, and the Celtics do not expect him to remain a one-way player for long.
Have a question for Ben Watanabe? Send it to him via Twitter at @BenjeeBallgame or send it here.
