Wade Propells Heat to Victory

On Leap Day of 2008, the Heat were able to get their second win in the month of February. It came against another one of the lowly teams of the NBA, in a 103-93 win over Seattle. However, over the last three games, Miami has won two, with Sacramento coming up next on the schedule.

Hours before Pat Riley said he was considering shutting star guard Dwyane Wade down for the rest of the season due to lingering knee and shoulder problems, the Heat guard was at his best. In 40 minutes, Flash scored a game-high 31 points on 13-of-25 shooting to go along with five assists and three steals. On the defensive end, Wade took on the challenge of guarding rookie Kevin Durant, who is five inches taller than Wade. Although KD finished with 24 points, Wade made Durant earn every point he got.

After the game, Wade voiced his disapprobation with being sit out partly due to the fact that the Miami Heat are headed for the lottery. Wade also added that Head Coach and President Pat Riley has not addressed him personally about a possible shift to the inactive list.

"Right now," Wade said, "my job is to come out here every day and lead my team."

After playing in two consecutive games, Udonis Haslem was held out due to his nagging left ankle sprain. Instead of shifting Shawn Marion over to the four and have Dorell Wright start, Riles kept The Matrix at the small forward position and brought D-League star Alexander Johnson into the starting five, who finished with eight points.

Staying at his more natural three spot, Marion finished with a double-double, registering 14 points and 13 boards for Miami. Marion also dished out five assists and collected three steals. However, Marion has made clear his doubts of his team's desire, especially after a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

"We've got a national TV game. You're telling me you can't get pumped up and come out with fire? That's frustrating. We've got dig deeper," said Marion, who was acquired just over three weeks ago. "It's hard, man. "I'm used to being a leader on the floor, but it's got to be everybody. When everybody starts to feel pain, to feel that pain, and get [upset] on the floor ... then this will end. Until that happens, it's never going to end."

Marion has made clear his frustration, speaking about the same subject after a 112-100 loss to Houston and a 101-96 loss to Philadelphia in which the Sixers ran off 10 straight points in overtime.

I am happy that someone finally called this team out. This has been long overdue. Pat Riley may have made headlines by saying that he might as well suit up and play, but in all honesty, I haven't been impressed with Pat Riley and how he has let this team sink so far. Unfortunately for Marion, it appears to be a classic case of too little, too late. With less than 30 games to go and just 11 wins under their belt, the only thing Miami fans are looking forward to is some luck come lottery time.


This is exactly why Pat Riley speaking of shutting Wade down makes plenty of sense. The Heat are going to the lottery. Wade is still not 100%. And since the 2006 Finals MVP refuses to miss the Olympics coming up, this time looks great for Wade to rest and not further risk re-aggravating his injury. But Wade said that Pat Riley is yet to even speak with Wade about the possibility, even after proclaiming it to the media. Quite frankly, Riles and Wade must get on the same page before either of them announce where Wade stands for the rest of the season.