The Cavs have a Dean Wade problem

The Cleveland Cavaliers have played some of their best and ugliest basketball with Dean Wade on the court in the playoffs.

Offensively, the floor has looked far too cramped, as defenders can cheat away from Wade, making it difficult for Cleveland’s backcourt to find driving lanes. Defensively, Wade has been their best player. He’s made it difficult for Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, and now Cade Cunningham to get to their spots on the floor. Limiting their offensive impact and the team’s as a whole.

Advertisement

On one hand, the Cavs can’t live without Wade. On the other hand, they can’t live with him.

Wade is limited offensively. He’s a good rebounder and a serviceable outside shooter, but those are the only skills he brings on that end.

Things can fall apart when the outside shot isn’t falling. Once he loses confidence, he becomes far too hesitant to take threes. This allows his defender to cheat off him entirely, disrupting the spacing on an already cramped court when he’s playing alongside two centers in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. This is one of the factors that has led to the high volume of turnovers we’ve seen.

Below is a good example of that. Tobias Harris — his defender — is standing in the paint, even though Wade is on the wing. This gums up Donovan Mitchell’s driving lane and forces an Evan Mobley three. Shots like that are wins for the defense every day of the week.

Advertisement

View Link

Support us and Let ‘Em Know with Homage!

Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE. The link to the 2016 championship shirt HERE.

The issue isn’t necessarily that Wade isn’t a capable shooter. He’s a career 36.7% outside shooter, which is good, even if he’s run into a cold spell in the postseason. The problem is the lack of attempts.

Wade is taking just 5.3 shots per playoff game in 25 minutes of play. This translates to a 9.5 usage rate, which is the lowest for anyone in the playoffs at his position. If you aren’t a threat to beat the opponent with any facet of your offensive game, there’s no point in actually…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cavs-dean-wade-problem-090000172.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-05-07 09:00:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.