Comments on: D-Wade, One-Man Offense

By: vi da

vi da — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:10:18 +0000

[...]I didn't know what to feel. It was like I was happy and sad at the same time. I was also numb, because I lost some teammates I care for dearly. But I was happy that if it was anybody, it was Shaquille O'Neal.[...]

By: Stevie

Stevie — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:34:43 +0000

He has been awesome.

Actually it was 1998 that MJ used alot more of his offenses possessions (the year Pippen missed 40 games with injury).

By: ag

ag — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 03:36:54 +0000

It's very early in the season. It is highly possible that both his oRTG and usage will decrease. The efficiency is very impressive to say the least though..

By: Mike G

Mike G — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:15:50 +0000

The Bulls didn't start winning because Jordan shot less; he shot less because the other Bulls became better. Wilt was a head case; traded (for very little) to a much better team, he assumed a different role. He didn't average 40 and 25, but he was the only player who could avg 25-25-6, and he did; which was quite enough. If Wade merely shoots less by choice, someone else has to step up and do more scoring. Wade currently shoots (TS%) ~.055 better than the rest of his team. Would someone else shoot better by getting more shots? It's possible, not usual. The Cavs and Lakers aren't just more balanced, they're better: Not just one superstar and role players. Wade brings his team 'up' to mediocrity. Like early Jordan and Wilt (and Garnett) before him.

By: Neil Paine

Neil Paine — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:55:46 +0000

That's a good point -- "usage rate" is not merely measuring the ability to create shots, but also on some level a conscious decision by the coaching staff to filter all of the offense through a specific player. Spoelstra is clearly running almost everything through Wade, while a different, better team (the Cavs and Lakers, who have comparable superstars) would tend to be more balanced. More balance is always better... For instance, in the Bulls' 6 championship years, Jordan only used more than 31.4% of their possessions once ('93). That said, today's officiating makes it harder to go "Jordan Rules" on an opponent's top star... As we all saw in the '06 Finals, Wade was able to do something good with the ball on a ridiculous % of Miami's possessions -- everyone knew it was coming, and Dallas still couldn't stop it.

By: Jason J

Jason J — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:57:49 +0000

Neil, Do you think it's a good thing to have a player, even an incredibly efficient one, supplying such a large percentage of his team's offense? I have to think that a guy like Jordan putting up similar numbers in 1987 and then finding success (50 wins and trip to round 2) in 1988, when he was able to cut back on personally dominating the decion-making (a little), may be telling. We can't run the actual usage, but we saw similar things with Wilt whose two championships came when he took a much smaller role in the offense than he did while averaging 35 - 50 points early in his Phila days. What Wade is doing is very impressive, but I'm not sure it's something that others haven't been capable of in the past so much as something that wasn't the best way to win.