Are Dwyane Wade and Spoelstra on the Same Page?

You don't usually think of the All-Star Game as a place to make a statement. In fact, as Krolik observed yesterday, too much ASW shine can give the wrong impression. Case in point: Isn't there something a little tawdry about "three-time Dunk Contest champion Nate Robinson?"

But it happens. Allen Iverson partisans would point to his best showings as proof that he could co-exist with other stars. On Sunday, Dwyane Wade's MVP evening did a lot more than remind us that he's still got plenty of last year's Wade in him. The Miami guard has been putting up numbers despite nagging injuries and a threadbare squad, but it doesn't feel like he could destroy the world on any given possession if he so chose. Or, to put it more sports-like, last year Wade was hovering up there with LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

So far this season, you haven't gotten that feeling -- until The Nightmare Monster (I hope that doesn't stick) busted up a fairly blase All-Star Game with play that was pretty much Wade being Wade.

That he did so with LeBron James in tow was, to say the least, noteworthy. Tim Povtak noted that Wade and James looked just fine playing off of each other, which removes at least one obstacle to the ending up on the same team this summer. Skeptics might argue that it's too small and contrived a sample, as Iverson's bouts of good citizenship were. Then again, I'd point out that the two seemed just fine together in the Olympics, which was a much longer tour and involved far more structure.

The real message, though, was to the Heat. As in "Hey, remember me? This is the player I can be if you get me some support on the ground." At least that's how I read it. Coach Erik Spoelstra was impressed, and took it as evidence that the Heat are now in even better shape for a playoff push.

From Ira Winderman at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

"[Wade's] got to carry a big load. He knows that other guys have to step up, but he has to make them better, as well. It's a great opportunity for him to do that." [...]

"What we need to do now, and everybody knows now, we need to find consistency, who is reliable. That is each individual player's responsibility, but it's also Dwyane's responsibility to help make guys better and more consistent."

Well, color me speechless and knock me over with a spoon. Unless I'm totally off, Wade's Sunday was a cry for help. Spoelstra read it as proof that he can be leaned on even more than before. Granted, Spoelstra is thinking that last year worked, and last year involved Wade like never before with pretty much the same shoddy team. As the perennial All-Star has made clear, though, this is far from his ideal form of basketball, and when he's not at 2000% (as he was last season), it doesn't work. Give him some help, and there's a little bit of a cushion there.

That's not Spoelstra's job, but it's on him to not be utterly tone-deaf when speaking about the situation. He can't make trades or single-handedly convince Wade to stay, but that doesn't mean he should act like it's this season or bust.