Forums » Suggestions
Beauchemin in the neutral zone,
-
MIAMI - The last time Dwyane Wade played in an NBA Finals game, he needed fluid drained from his left knee and eight hours of intense game-day therapy just to get into uniform. Elgton Jenkins Super Bowl Jersey . The Miami Heat guard later described it in a single word. "Hell," Wade said. It was also worth it, after he scored 23 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and hoisted his third Larry OBrien Trophy. Now, unlike last year, Wade is not dealing with any injuries heading into the Miamis finals rematch against the San Antonio Spurs. At 32 years old and with 866 NBA games already on his playing odometer, Wade still deals with plenty of aches and pains, good days and bad days, and basically has a standing appointment in the Heat training room. But compared to last seasons NBA Finals, his knees are good as new. "Hes a big-time, huge piece to our puzzle," four-time NBA MVP and Heat star LeBron James said. "To have him out there in the groove that hes in right now, its going to help us." The Heat are looking to win their third straight title and Wade is on the cusp of joining a list of all-time NBA greats. There are just seven players with four championships and at least one NBA Finals MVP award on their resumes: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Havlicek, Magic Johnson, Shaquille ONeal, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and the Spurs Tim Duncan. Wade could be the eighth person in that club. "We just want to continue to add to what were accomplishing," Wade said. Almost forgotten amid all the memories of Wade limping about during last years playoffs — he whacked what was his "good" knee at this time last year, the surgically repaired left one, in a collision with the Spurs Manu Ginobili during Game 6 of the finals — is he had big games when Miami needed him. Through his first 14 games of the 2013 playoffs, Wade was averaging 13.6 points. In the final eight games of that post-season run, starting with Game 7 against Indiana, he averaged 19.8 points. And in the last four games of the finals, he averaged 23.5 points against the Spurs to close the series. As his knees got worse, Wade seemed to get better. "He still found a way last year," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He really did. He had some of his biggest games not only in the finals, but Game 7, we didnt think necessarily he was going to even play that game in the Eastern Conference finals." This year, the Heat tried to leave nothing to chance with Wades health. The so-called maintenance plan for Wade — limiting his minutes to save his knees — kicked in on the second night of the regular season. He wound up missing 28 games in all, mostly because of that rest-and-rehab scheme, to ensure that he would be good to go in the playoffs. The results cant be argued. Wade is averaging 18.7 points on 52 per cent shooting, Miami is 12-3 in the playoffs and when getting more than three days rest — like the Heat will have before Game 1 in San Antonio on Thursday night — the perennial All-Star has had games of 23, 14, 27 and 23 points on a combined 60 per cent shooting. "Dwyane is playing great," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday. "He looks a lot more spry and ready to go then he did last year in the finals." Maybe the biggest payoff of the regular-season maintenance plan has been how Wade has closed games in this post-season. Wade is shooting 56 per cent in fourth quarters during the playoffs, the best clip of his career and the best percentage of any guard with more than 30 shots in the final period of post-season games this season. San Antonios Danny Green is second on that list, shooting just under 49 per cent. Wade doesnt like talking about his place in history. But he knows what rarefied air he would be entering with a fourth title run. "I think weve all put ourselves in great situations, and were just going to continue to try to enjoy this moment that were in because its an amazing moment," Wade said. "Its something that, for a lifetime, is going to fulfil us as athletes. Even when we cant play this game, were going to always be able to talk about this." And now, when talking about his health, Wade has another one-word answer: "Better." Preston Smith Super Bowl Jersey . Fans in the Jets viewing region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 5:30pm ct and listeners can tune in to TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg. Mason Crosby Super Bowl Jersey . The question all fans want to know heading into this light heavyweight affair is will Rua display his true potential. Working with UFC welterweight fighter Demian Maias team in Sao Paulo Brazil and having training partners such as fellow UFC stand outs Fabio Maldonado and Daniel Sarafian, the 32-year old feels very well prepared for Friday nights encounter.Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Nate Thompsons goal with 2:30 played in overtime lifted Anaheim to a 2-1 decision over Dallas from American Airlines Center. Corey Perry accepted a drop pass from Cam Fowler just inside the Dallas blue line, took one stride before making a hard stop below the left circle and hammering a shot towards the net. The puck deflected off Thompson and sailed by Kari Lehtonen to end the contest. Whenever you score a goal, a big goal, its great. I was just going to the net and got my stick on it, Thompson said. Perry added a second-period marker for the Ducks, while Frederik Andersen made 21 saves. Antoine Roussel produced the lone offense for the Stars, with Lehtonen stopping 22 pucks in defeat. Perry provided the first goal of the contest with 3:15 to play in the second period, when he received a stretch pass from Francois Beauchemin in the neutral zone, skated up the right wing and scored on a long drive. Andersen might have been bored keeping the Stars at bay and then maintaining that slim margin, as Dallas recorded just one shot in the middle frame. Jamaal Williams Super Bowl Jersey. The Ducks had a potential insurance goal with eight minutes played in the third period wiped out. Tim Jackman broke in with a Stars defender on his back and flipped a backhander on net which Lehtonen stopped, but with the host netminder on his back and Jackmans momentum carrying him through the crease, a trailing Josh Manson pushed the rebound home. The call on the ice was to immediately disallow the score because the goaltenders ability to play the puck was impaired. The hosts evened the score just as an Anaheim bench minor expired, with Roussel beating Andersen with 5:27 to play on a tap-in from the left side. Game Notes Perry leads the NHL with 10 goals ... Dallas, which has dropped three straight games, has given up 24 goals in its last six contests ... Anaheim completes its four-game road trip at Colorado on Sunday. ' ' '