If the Miami Heat are making it into the playoffs this season, it will be on the back of Dwyane Wade. There is no LeBron James or Chris Bosh to help him out. The Heat are relying on bursts of Wade from years past to get the team into the top eight in the Eastern Conference and so far he is doing a great job. However, can Wade keep things up in the final weeks of the season? The Portland Trail Blazers intend on testing that.
With Bosh out for the season with blood clots, Wade is lone star in Miami. The guard is trying to get past various injuries that caused him to miss 18 games this season and drag the Heat into the playoffs. Right now he is playing lights out, averaging 21.6 points per game, a team high. In his last six games he is averaging 29.4 points on 56.7 percent shooting despite having a hip injury in the process. The Heat cannot afford for Wade to sit out any more games as the team sits in eighth place with 16 games left to play in the regular season.
Wade's biggest impact has come against the Cleveland Cavaliers as he has been responsible of beating James twice this season. Wade put up 32 points in a 106-92 win over Cleveland on Monday. He put up similar numbers when the Heat beat the Cavaliers back on Christmas Day. Miami is 5-2 with Wade in the lineup while he has averaged 26.9 points in seven games in the month of March, putting him in line with Russell Westbrook. The last time he looked this good was 2011 when he was averaging 28.8 points per game.
The Trail Blazers have certainly seen Wade at his best as the guard has averaged 33.0 points in his last six home games against Portland. The Trail Blazers are fresh off a loss to the Washington Wizards where Damian Lillard struggled with just 14 points. Portland is also fighting for a spot in a competitive Western Conference and cannot afford a losing streak this late in the year.
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