What if I told you that Dwyane Wade‘s three-point shooting is the reason the Miami Heat are in Canada today to take on the Toronto Raptors in game one of the Eastern Conference Semifinals?
Most would argue that Wade’s shooting is a liability for the Miami Heat playing alongside Goran Dragic in the team’s backcourt, but if it wasn’t for Dwyane Wade in game 6 versus the Charlotte Hornets in the first round, the Miami Heat would’ve likely saw a disappointing end to a great season.
Wade scored eight of the Heat’s final ten points in the 4th quarter to lead his team to a 97-90 road win over Charlotte, forcing a game seven in Miami that the Heat won by 33 points. Eight of those ten came via the three-pointer, a shot Wade hadn’t made since December.
“If we were going to lose, I was going to go out shooting it tonight,” Wade said.
The 34-year-old three-time NBA champion Wade finished the game with 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists overall.
“I play for these moments,” Wade said also after game six.
After shooting 7-44 on three-pointers in the regular season for 15%, Wade is 2-3 in the playoffs, which means per his 44 regular season attempts, Wade is on pace to make over half his three-pointers in the post-season.
He’s even shooting the three well in practice against a way better three-point shooter in Joe Johnson:
Wade shoots the three-ball about 5% better in the playoffs, so he may be hitting more threes when the shot clock is in debt.
