Dee Wade may be pleased with himself. Over the past year, he has achieved such success, which he never dreamed of. The title of champion of the NBA and MVP of the final series, the title of the best athlete of the year according to Sports Illustrated, universal honor and respect ... I just want to say that he has reached the pinnacle of his career. Indeed, while the circumstances are not similar to those that will allow him to stay at the peak.
Do not blame Duane for the fact that the current “Miami”, albeit having won several times in a row over the past couple of weeks, is only a pale shadow like a champion team. The enthusiasm a year ago, when the ambitious Pat Riley gathered a decent brigade by name, then he appointed himself to the post of head coach, and a little later brought the “Hit” to the moment of receiving massive gold rings, subsided. When the smoke of victorious battles cleared, an aged and sick squad remained in Florida, more like a quiet company of pensioners.
Shaquille O'Neill can now blame any number of injuries. Not even a particularly crooked soul. But everyone understands that absolutely healthy athletes do not exist. After the formidable center player “leapt” back when he was a Lakers player, referring to inflammation of his toe, his problems are difficult to take seriously. It’s easier to believe in his “tactical wisdom”, which allows him to wait out most of the exhausting distance of the regular season, return so in time to have time to get in shape for the playoffs and give all the best in the decisive stage.
But the rest of the expensive inhabitants of the hot Miami could never boast of the same ability to dominate on the floor. Though kill, it is not clear, due to which Antoine Walker, for example, can add. 8.4 points, 4.5 rebounds with 41 percent of hits from the game and 33 (!) With free kicks - statistics cause hysterical laughter. And this guy for the season 2006/07 will receive $ 7.8 million! Jason Williams has an even higher salary - 8.2 million. But health does not allow the playmaker to maintain even the mediocre level of this season - 10.5 points and 5.1 assists per match. Does anyone else remember what James Posey, a noble personalist and trucker is capable of? Having distributed a huge amount of advances, he received a good 6-millionth salary and calmed down.
The owners of the club should have registered slap for Pat Riley for unreasonable waste of money in previous years. Yes, they can’t: Pat, too, very opportunely decided on an operation and handed over the reins of command to the assistant ... What is his name ... Oh, yes, a certain Rothstein. Ron Rothstein, now in the official composition of the "Hit" is listed as an assistant at home.
Today it’s clear that Miami is not on the list of applicants for the title. Although ... The indefatigable Wade - so far the only one of all the rising stars who deserved the right to be called the "new Jordan" - will only be delighted with this alignment. “In my opinion, a person is defined by black bars in life,” he philosophizes. “You will definitely fall. And the way you rise will determine you as a person. So I will find out which team I play. So I understand what kind of player I became. "How do we deal with the situation? Are we champions, am I a good player or a great one? I like the alignment. This is life."
Dwayne's life has always been like that. He almost did not see his mother, who was taking drugs and was in prison. For poor performance, he missed a year in college basketball. He got married and had a baby at age 20. He suffered through his teeth the entire debut season when the whole press only spoke about his peers LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. And in the summer of 2006, he made him forget about both and remember John Hawlicek and Larry Bird, who, like he did the decisive intercepts, Willis Reed, who went to the site injured, Michael Jordan, pulling a team, not yet recovering from a severe poisoning. In the last four matches of the final, Dwayne scored more than 39 points on average!
When the first lines of this material were written, I wanted to advise Miami to exchange Wade. Why torment a guy when restructuring a team in a modern way is a matter of the distant future? After all, at $ 20 million a year, the increasingly clumsy Shack will receive until 2010, Williams will run for Miami for 9 more season, Walker will make the audience laugh - two more. Exchange of veterans is an almost impossible task. It seems a reliable, but not brilliant picker Yudonis Haslam will rise from 5 to 7 million by the end of the same 2010. Among young people, it’s still (relatively) surprising that Wade’s peer is Jason Capono, and it will not work for a long time to shake the dust from old man Zo Mourning. I wanted to offer to release the Flash - at least in my native Chicago, having knocked out a couple of young and talented from the Bulls. Or in some “Toronto” or “Milwaukee,” which lacks just such a light to fan the flame. After all, Wade does not want the fate of Kevin Garnett, without the guilt of suffering for loyalty to the club.
But Riley will not do this for at least one reason. The character of the “new Jordan” is so strong that it seems as if the recruitment of players around him is practically not important. You can count on the best in any roster with Wade.
Nikolai TSYNKEVICH