Here’s the record Wade is still chasing. And why Wade feels Heat needs to make playoffs
With just more than a month of regular-season games remaining in Dwyane Wade’s NBA career, he’s done chasing records. Except for one.
Wade, who is often mentioned with Kobe Bryant and Jerry West as the NBA’s best shooting guards in history behind Michael Jordan, is on the verge of surpassing Jordan for most blocked shots in a career by a guard.
Entering Monday’s game against the Hawks, Wade is one block from tying Jordan in career blocks (including the regular season and playoffs). Wade has totaled 1,050 blocks (875 in the regular season and 175 in the postseason) in his career, and Jordan finished with 1,051 blocks (893 in the regular season and 158 in the postseason).
But Wade still wants the regular-season record, too, for most blocked shots by a guard in NBA history.
Wade needs to total 19 blocks over the Heat’s final 20 games, including Monday’s matchup against Atlanta, to pass Jordan for the regular-season mark. That’s an average of 0.95 blocks per game the rest of the way, and Wade is averaging 0.54 blocks this season.
“It all counts,” Wade said with a grin when asked whether the record that included playoff blocks counted for him. “Obviously, I want the regular-season [record]. I want both. I want it all. So, it’s tough. Some games, I got two blocks in two games in a row. Then the last two games, I got nothing. So we’ll see. If I start getting in foul trouble, you’ll know what it is.”
Along with blocks, Wade is also close to passing Jordan on the NBA’s all-time assists list. Wade (46th on the list with 5,620 assists) needs just 14 assists during the Heat’s final 20 games to surpass Jordan (44th on the list with 5,633 assists).
But the blocks record is what really matters to Wade.
“That’s it. There’s nothing else for me,” Wade said of passing Jordan for most blocks ever by a guard. “If I would have played another two years, I would have been looking at the 5,000 rebounds. I would have been looking at that one. But that’s it.”
Playoff chase
Unless the Heat posts a 13-7 record — at worst — during its final 20 regular-season games, it will finish with a losing record.
That still might be good enough to earn one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. And making the playoffs is all that matters to the Heat, whether it’s with a winning or losing record.
“It doesn’t matter. When the playoffs start, everybody is 0-0,” Wade said at Sunday’s Heat Family Festival. “That’s the moment where a lot of people, that’s where you build legacies in the playoffs. So you want to get in. You want to be able to get in to have an opportunity, especially for these young guys who don’t have a lot of playoff experiences. We want to try to get them more experience and more opportunity to learn something about themselves that they don’t even knew yet.
“That’s what I say about myself. When I got into certain playoff series, I learned things about myself that I didn’t know I had inside of me. It was because of that opportunity.”
The Heat’s young core of Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and Bam Adebayo has combined to play in 42 playoff games and make seven playoff starts. Meanwhile, Wade has played in 177 playoff games during his career.
THIS AND THAT
▪ The Heat recalled undrafted rookie forward Yante Maten from its G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Maten, who is returning from an ankle injury, has averaged 24.4 points on 56.3 percent shooting and 9.5 rebounds with the Skyforce this season.
Both of the team’s two-way contract players — Duncan Robinson and Maten — are now with the Heat.
Players signed to a two-way deal can spend up to 45 days with their NBA teams during the season and the rest of the time must be spent with the NBA team’s developmental affiliate.
But after the G League regular season ends March 23, two-way contract players are allowed to spend the rest of the season on NBA rosters regardless of how many NBA days are remaining on their deals. These players are not eligible for the NBA playoffs, however, unless their contracts are converted to a standard NBA deal by the final day of the NBA regular season.
▪ Heat big man Kelly Olynyk was among the players nominated for the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award that went to 76ers guard Ben Simmons. Olynyk averaged 22.3 points on 64.8 percent shooting, 6.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in four games last week.
▪ Goran Dragic (left calf strain) did not play Monday against the Hawks. Hassan Whiteside (left hip strain) was available against Atlanta after missing three consecutive games with his injury.
“Some of it is to be expected. And we’re being probably, as we should be, very cautious with it,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Dragic, who returned from right knee surgery last month. “It’s muscle calf tightness, and we just want to make sure that’s taken care of.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2019 at 11:20 AM.
