ESPN: Wade Back With A Fury

In the history of the NBA (not including the lockout season of '98-99), 24 teams have won 15 games or fewer in a season. Of the 24, only one -- the 1967-68 San Diego Rockets -- made the playoffs the following year. And they did it with a record of 37-45.

The Miami Heat, winners of just 15 games last season and on pace to win 44 this season, are making an historical turnaround.

Last May, when the Heat won the second pick in the lottery in what was supposed to be a two-star Draft, their prospects for success in 2008-09 looked grim. Their star, Dwyane Wade, represented his team in Secaucus, N.J. for the lottery, but at the time, he was rehabbing from knee and shoulder surgeries that he had the previous summer. After playing just 51 games last season, Wade was done in early March.

Less than two months after the lottery, though, and about 7,000 miles away, things changed.

In the fourth quarter of an Olympic warmup in Macao, China on July 31, Wade was on a fast break, sliced through two Turkish defenders, exploded off his left leg and threw down a resounding dunk on the head of Ersan Ilyasova, who used to play for the Bucks.

The basket didn't mean much. It was an exhibition game and the U.S. was ahead by 28 points at the time. But it was a play that reverberated around the league. Suddenly, the Heat's 2008-09 prospects looked much better.

The next night, Wade topped himself against Russia. On the break again, he jumped off of two feet, caught an alley-oop from Chris Paul and threw down a vicious windmill.

His U.S. teammates had only two words to say after each game. "He's back."

Six months later, after he helped Team USA win gold in Beijing as arguably its best player (and definitely its most consistent), Wade is still going strong. He has led the Heat to a 28-24 record at the All-Star break, good for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. He has played in all 52 of his team's games, one more than he played all of last season (and the longest consecutive-games played streak of his six-year career).

Most important, Wade is at the top of his game. His combination of quickness and aggressiveness strikes fear into every coach around the league. No guard can stay in front of him and no big man can keep him away from the basket with any regularity.

LeBron James may be the frontrunner for MVP and Kobe Bryant may be leading the league's best team, but neither is carrying the load that Wade is. No player in the league has accounted for a greater percentage of his team's points (via his own points and assists) than Wade. He has been directly responsible for 44 percent of the Heat's points, which is more than James (42 percent), Chris Paul (41 percent) and Bryant (35 percent).

That's just part of the story.

Even though Wade clearly was Miami's best player when it won the championship in 2006, Shaquille O'Neal was the team's leader. These days, Shaq is long gone and Wade is option No. 1 and 2 for the Heat. This is his team and he knows with that comes extra responsibility.

"He wants the workload," says the Heat's first-year coach, Erik Spoelstra. "He told me that early on."

When Spoelstra first met with Wade upon his return from Beijing, the player told the coach he'd do whatever the team needed him to do. He was willing to take on a bigger role on offense, on defense and in the locker room.

Spoelstra's response?

"It's going to be all of the above."

Spoelstra had two areas of emphasis. No. 1 was leadership.

"He's been a great leader in the past, by example," the coach points out. "And now, he clearly is the verbal and vocal leader of this group. He's taken a great step forward in that department."

Says Wade: "That's something that we talked about before I even went to the Olympics. Of course, with Shaq not being here anymore, I've got to be one of the guys that the team looks at."

Area No. 2 was defense. With his quickness and instincts, Wade always has been among the league leaders in steals. But he's been somewhat of a rogue defender in the past, gambling for the big play.

"I think this is clearly his best defensive year," Spoelstra says. "He has a better understanding of our system now, after five years. But he has also taken a greater responsibility, because people are looking at him now to lead the way and to show how we do things with the Miami Heat defensively. If he doesn't set that example, then the young guys probably won't follow. So he's been great with that. And within the system, he's still been able to find ways, with his instincts and athleticism, to get steals and blocks."

Wade ranks third in the league in steals. He's also the only guard in the top 50 in blocks, ranking 22nd.

Even as he steps up his defense and his leadership, Wade is scoring at a higher rate than he ever has, ranking second in the league at 28.3 points per game.

The Heat are riding Wade, but they've been careful not to overwork him. At least not yet. The development of second-year guard Daequan Cook has allowed Spoelstra to keep Wade playing about 38 minutes a game. That could change come March.

"As we go into the second half of the season, the workload might increase," the coach says. "But I'll tell you this: he steeled his body this summer. He's gotten his body ready for battle and he's a specimen right now. He's as strong as he's ever been and in the best condition that he's ever been."

The Heat are now in a position where a winning streak could put them in the top four teams in the conference. A slide could take them right out of the playoffs. Spoelstra will be depending on Wade more than ever.

"My body's been holding up and I've been feeling good," Wade adds. "I'm going to continue to keep going every game."

As long as he does that, the Heat's prospects for success look pretty good. Source: ESPN.com