Still Wade County?

          Yes, I did wait a few weeks before writing this just in case Dwyane Wade decided to have a DeAndre Jordan-like change of heart and come back to Miami. But snapchats from Chicago & photoshoots in his new Bulls uniform, it appears the dust has settled on this matter. Then reality sets in that the best player in Miami Heat history just left, not retire with Miami like we all expected, but actually left for another team. Knowing how humans are, we have to put the blame on somebody. Whether it be Pat Riley for pretty much ignoring Wade this summer, putting all his focus on getting Kevin Durant to Miami (unsuccessfully) and not giving Wade the contract he wanted; or Wade for doing the unthinkable and actually leaving with all that talk about loyalty and being a Heatlifer. In reality, Wade has been loyal to Riley and Miami for his whole career but they didn’t take care of him when the time came. As the saying goes, “don’t let loyalty make a fool out of you.” It’s rarely talked about but Wade took many sacrifices (mainly financial) to bring Miami its first three NBA championships. Wade took pay cuts to bring superstars to Miami and was never the highest paid player on this team in his career. So this time around in free agency, it could be best said that all he wanted was a reimbursement on the money he lost out on, which was estimated to be over $20 million. Riley didn’t budge so Wade left.

            Personally, as my head cleared from the bias, Wade was right to leave. From him being treated like a second-rate player the last couple of years and not getting his wishes fulfilled, it was only a matter of time. And deep down, I honestly feel like Pat Riley wanted to move on from an aging 34-year-old Wade. Whether it’s true or not the Don couldn’t give Wade no more than $40 million over two years, he is scrapping bits of the past and looking toward the future. The only question now is what’s going to happen to Bosh. Blood clots & conversations that it would be in his best interest to retire, that puts the Heat in a tough situation regarding his contract. But that is an article for another day, best wishes to Bosh on whatever he decides to do.

            Back to Wade…the Miami Heat career leader in points, assists, steals, field goals, games & minutes played, free throws, second in blocks and fourth in rebounds. Best season was arguably the 2008-2009 season where he posted career highs in points (30.2), assists (7.5), steals (2.2) and blocks (1.3), while averaging 5 rebounds a game and shooting 49% from the field. 3 NBA championships with a Finals MVP in 2006, 12-time NBA All-Star with 1 MVP in 2010, 2-time All-NBA First Team, 2009 scoring champion and a Gold Medal with Team USA in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Wade is a surefire 1^st ballot Hall of Famer. 

Now that he’s gone, Pat Riley and the Heat have to rebuild (or reload?) around the only one doing it with blocks, Hassan Whiteside. We also have young promising talent in Josh Richardson, Tyler Johnson & Justise Winslow. Dion Waiters (4^th overall pick in 2012) will look to revive his career with the Heat after a slump in OKC & Briante Weber (a 3-time Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year) will be starting his career off in Miami after making the jump from the D-League. With the Flash out of the picture, many Heat fans are now looking past this upcoming season to the 2017 free agency race.

There were rumors that Miami could be a potential landing spot for Russell Westbrook but at the time of this writing, he just signed a 3 year $85.7 million extension with the Thunder so that dream scenario is dead. In the meantime, with superstars LeBron James & Dwyane Wade long gone, it looks like Miami Heat basketball will fall off the relevancy map. And for those that don’t think so, this will be the first season since 2008 that the Heat will not play a Christmas game.

Some say Wade transformed Miami into a basketball town (we will always be a football town). Some say the Heat are doomed for the foreseeable future. Others, including me, say with Micky Arison & Pat Riley in the driver’s seat, we will bounce back like we always do. But a Miami Heat team without Dwyane Wade is still a crazy picture to wrap my head around. But like MJ & the Bulls, Kobe & the Lakers, Wade will always be a Miami Heat and Dade County is still Wade County.  

Deeper Than Sports!

Athletes have become more than just players on the field or court. We grew up wanting to shoot, catch, and run like them for years, now we can even dream to emulate them off the playing field. Athletes are proving themselves to be more human than ever pushing for more success just as do we. Aside from the die-hard dedication given to their own devoted sport they are making plays in the board rooms.

Once I saw Serena Williams “twerking” in Beyonce’s new anthem video “Sorry”. I knew there was nothing she couldn’t do. Seriously, we are coming to see more and more athletes venturing into other avenues and we’re here for it! Of course a feature in a video has been done this not her only endeavor.  Williams has been serious about branding herself. Delving in fashion she has her own clothing line and her collections have been seen at critically acclaimed fashion shows.  She is part owner of the Miami Dolphins and has done voice overs and appearances on multiple television shows. All while dominating the tennis court. See any signs of Serena Williams slowing up? …. 

Boy BYE!

Serena is not the only athlete that we know holding it down on and off the court. Many athletes are using their initial sports recognition to take them down other paths.

 I asked Siri how many sources of income the average millionaire had and dozens of articles read "seven or more". I think some of these athletes asked Siri the same question and got the memo. Endorsements are nothing new to the sports world but they are not relying on those alone.

Sports do not last forever and though the case may be true for former Laker Kobe Bryant, he’s not done working. It is said that he will be trademarking the name “Black Mamba” and has founded Kobe Studios. He intends to bring the story of others’ to life through an assortment of media outlets. 

Stories of athletes going further and pushing the limits are important because they are idolized by our youth. Kids want to be like Lebron or Curry more than they do FAMU graduate and Microsoft Chairmen, John Thompson. 

Having any of those individuals as an idol is great but letting the youth know not to set limitations on themselves is the ultimate lesson and best example they could give. 

Lets talk about athletes doing more than just their first job and show the world brains and bronze can be the perfect recipe. The boundaries to our creativity and passions can be endless so why limit ourselves? Athletes have shown us how perfecting our craft can take us to higher places but once your there the climb does not end. We have to strive to be better and allow ourselves the opportunity to manifest multiple opportunities and showcase all of the many talents we possess. Challenge yourself to be more than just enough. I'm more than a striving college student. What are you more than?  

2016 NBA Finals Preview

Cleveland versus Golden State. LeBron versus Steph. In the words of Jeezy, “once again it’s on.” Last year, LeBron carried the shorthanded Cavs to 6 games while averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds & 8.8 assists per game. Despite that grand effort, a shoulder injury in the 1^st round suffered by Kevin Love and a fracture to Kyrie Irving’s kneecap in game 1 of the Finals prevented the Cavs from being on the winning side holding up the Larry O’Brien trophy. Few people remember but the Warriors found themselves down 2-1 in the series after winning game 1 in overtime, losing game 2 in overtime by 2 points & losing game 3 by 5. Starting with game 4, head coach Steve Kerr made a lineup change, inserting Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup & moving Draymond Green to the center position.  Those moves effectively flipped the momentum toward Golden State as they went on to win the next two games by double digits and closed out game 6 on the road. Steph Curry averaged 26 points a game, Iggy was named Finals MVP and Golden State won their first NBA title in 40 years.

            Fast forward one year and these two teams are set for a rematch starting tomorrow night. For Cleveland fans that wanted to see their team back in the Finals and others that doubted the legitimacy of the Warrior’s win because of the injuries Cleveland suffered, they got what they wanted. Between a locked & loaded, and most importantly, healthy Cavs team that have been shooting lights out so far in the playoffs and a Warriors team fresh off an amazing comeback against the Thunder, I’m expecting a long & exciting series without the excuses of last year. As both teams return pretty much the same lineups from last year, the only major difference in this series is Tyronn Lue, who was hired in January after the firing of David Blatt, undeserved or not.

Road to the Finals

The Warriors started off the regular season with 24 straight wins before losing their first game in December against Milwaukee after a double-overtime bout against Boston the night before. 1996 Chicago Bulls & Michael Jordan comparisons aside, they went on to break their record for most wins in a season and finished with a 73-9 record. Golden State then beat Houston 4 games to 1 in the 1^st round, got past Portland 4 games to 1, and came back from down 1-3 to defeat Oklahoma City.

            Cleveland started 30-11 before David Blatt got fired. Coach Lue kept the momentum going as they finished 57-25 with the #1 seed. The Cavaliers are arguably the hottest team in the playoffs after sweeping Detroit & Atlanta in the first two rounds while finishing Toronto in 6 games in the conference semifinals. They found their stroke from the 3 point line and rode it all the way to the Finals.

             

The Warriors took both regular season matchups; a low scoring 89-83 Christmas day game and 132-98 blowout on January 18. Their defense in that game was put under a microscope & exposed, blamed on a combination of bad effort, bad communication & poor positioning, particularly from Love & Irving. But as everybody knows, the regular season and the playoffs are two completely different animals.

Matchups

          The Cavaliers should come in with the same starting lineup that got them here; Kyrie & J.R. in the backcourt with Bron, Love & Thompson in the frontcourt. The Warriors will have snipers Steph & Klay, with Bogut, Green & Barnes or Iggy on the backend. Based on last year’s results, it might be smarter for Iggy to start. Both teams are evenly matched with secret weapons on the bench. I know it seems obvious, but this series will simply come down to which team is shooting better. We’ve seen those rare occasions where Golden State just couldn’t get the ball in from the 3-point line and that was the case in the majority of their losses this season. Same goes for the Cavs as they turn into a low-effort, stale, predictable, 3-point jacking team when they can’t figure things out on offense. So it all comes down to who can score consistently, from the paint & out on the perimeter. Another key factor is defense, specifically Kyrie & J.R. on the perimeter against Steph & Klay, and Kevin Love against Draymond Green. Kyrie is known for his poor footwork (not being able to stay in front of his defender) & bad play against the pick & roll while J.R. doesn’t put forth the effort you would like. Love on the other hand has to work on getting to the right spots on the court to properly defend on & off the ball but he has never been known as a defensive specialist.

I don’t think anybody’s expecting the Cavs to hold Steph to 17 points or the Warriors to hold Bron to 15. The key for Cleveland is to limit the 3’s from Steph & Klay & clog up the passing lanes that will lead to turnovers and easy fast break points. Golden State, on the other hand, has to get big in the paint defensively and on the glass. They need to force Bron & Kyrie out of driving into the paint for easy layups & consistently make them settle for jump shots, while also finishing defensive stands with rebounds, something they did a poor job of doing against the Thunder. Weapons off the bench for Golden State include Marreese Speights who seems to always come through with a clutch 3, and Shaun Livingston. Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert & Matthew Dellavedova should be key contributors in this series for Cleveland. We haven’t seen Delly much in the playoffs but it will be interesting to see if he can earn extra playing time with his impressive defense on Steph in last year’s Finals.

Remember, Klay was shooting less than spectacular and  we didn't even get MVP Steph for a majority of the Finals last year. What won it for them was Iggy rotating into the starting lineup, Draymond Green’s all-around game on both ends of the court, and role players that were able to step it up when Steph & Klay were in a slump. Cleveland would be smart to learn from past losses & realize that they cannot depend on the big 3 to carry them for the whole series. All in all, I predict the Golden State Warriors to beat the Cavaliers in 7 games for their second straight championship.