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by Yannis Koutroupis, USA TODAY Sports
Dwyane Wade isn’t Dwyane Wade right now.
At least, not the guy who has won a couple of NBA titles and regarded as one of the best shooting guards in the league.
What he is right now is a guy who’s averaging 14 points a game in the NBA Finals and doesn’t appear to be ready to take over games like he has during his career.
While Wade refuses to admit that his ailing right knee is the cause for his decline, the man tasked with guarding him throughout the series says otherwise.
“Well, you guys watch the games,” Spurs shooting guard Danny Green said to USA Today Sports. “You can see. You have seen Dwyane Wade before. He obviously is not playing the way he was before. It seems like something is wrong. Either he’s worn down from that Indiana series, injuries or probably a little bit of everything. I was a little nervous the nine days rest was going to hurt us and we were going to be rusty, but luckily it helped us. And, them continuing to play tired them out a little bit. That helps.”
The Heat have looked to get Wade going early, but as the game progresses his role seems to diminish. Once one of the most feared finishers in the game, Wade’s impact in the second halves of games in the Finals has been minimal.
He has scored a total of eight points after halftime in the series. Of those points, half came during the third quarter in Game 1, and the other half came while the Spurs were up by more than 20 in Game 3.
“Nothing is changing (with the way he’s being defended after halftime),” Wade said. “They are staying to their game. Obviously on my pick-and-rolls, they go under. And that’s pretty much it. Limiting my opportunities. I shoot some, some I don’t. Some I get in the paint and try to make plays.
“Second half we all need to be better. Obviously the two games we lost, second half wasn’t as aggressive, wasn’t as good. So we just have to try to be … [For more on Heat's Dwyane Wade failing to make impact in second half, click here.]Image may be NSFW.
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