from Palm Beach Post:

 

Wade's poor defense lands him on bench

 

By Chris Perkins, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

 

 

 

MIAMI -- You've seen a couple of flashy dunks from Dwyane Wade in the four games since his return from a right foot injury.

 

You've seen the Heat's rookie guard accelerate to the basket, cut on his sore foot and glide through the air.

 

What you haven't seen, however, is solid defense.

 

That's the reason Wade wasn't in the game during the fourth quarter of Sunday's victory against New Jersey.

 

He would have sat the fourth quarter of Friday's victory against Seattle for the same reason, but the Heat needed his offense.

 

That brings us to tonight's 7:30 game against New Orleans (35-31) at AmericanAirlines Arena.

 

Presumably, if Wade doesn't pick it up defensively, he could be on the bench down the stretch in this one, too.

 

That doesn't mean coach Stan Van Gundy is upset with his prize rookie. It just means Wade needs to improve in one-on-one and team defense.

 

"Dwayne knows the defense and he's capable of being a very good defender," Van Gundy said. "I just think his habits defensively are not great. I don't think he's a guy that doesn't want to do it, but he hasn't built the habits to do it, so at times he's late doing things."

 

Van Gundy said Wade gave up two layups against New Jersey on defensive errors.

 

Wade, who started against New Jersey for the first time since his return, attributed his defensive lapses to inactivity.

 

"More than my foot, it was just (poor) decisions," Wade said. "I was moving so slow just trying to get back in the flow. Like on offense the last couple of games before this one I was a step slow, so I'm just trying to get back in the flow."

 

Undoubtedly the Heat (30-37) needs Wade's slashing ability late in games. Not only does he get to the basket and the free-throw line, he opens things up for jump-shooters such as Eddie Jones, Rasual Butler and Rafer Alston.

 

As Miami fights to hang on to the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot (actually the Heat is tied for seventh but it gets eighth because it loses a tiebreaker to New York), it has to be able to score late in games.

 

Miami shoots 40.1 percent from the field in the fourth quarter. That's an unfortunate dip from its 42.3 percent field goal-percentage during an entire game, a figure which ranks 26th in the 29-team league.

 

When big teams, such as New Orleans tonight and Philadelphia on Saturday, clog the lane, the Heat needs Wade's penetration to open things up.

 

But Van Gundy doesn't seem ready to trade offense for defense on a nightly basis.

 

"It's hard to go out in a game telling yourself, 'I'm going to defend,' if you don't have that habit," Van Gundy said. "You look at great defenders, they do it all the time. It's natural, like great offensive players, so he's just got to build those habits."

 

Offensively, Wade is working his way back.

 

He's averaging 10.5 points per game in the four games he's been back from a three-game absence. That's noticeably down from his season average of 16.2 points per game, but Wade's 16-point game against the Nets seems to be a building block.

 

Now, he needs to add another layer.

 

"If he wants to be on the floor all the time," Van Gundy said, "then he's going to have to defend in the fourth quarter."

what more do you want from the kid! He plays his @$$ off give me a break.. I'd take his offense anyday we don't lose games cause of the way he plays D.. Wade is just what he is an offensive player.. He will get better with time on the defensive side..

Its pretty common for young players to be poor defensively. In the next couple years he will work on it I am sure and become an average to above average defender in the league. Its nothing to worry about but Van Gundy probably thought he needed to get a message across to Dwyane. Maybe Wade was especially bad on defense in the last couple of games before the benching.

Hopefully this is just because he is hurt.

no question wade will be an nba star, good defense or not