Was Wade really "The Flash" in his prime?

[Wade's Rings]

Let's be real, that Mavs team was flawed. They did not have Kidd yet, so they had no answer for the elite SG like Kobe or Wade. Kobe did have 62 through 3 quarters and Wade annihilated them in the Finals. Why is it so hard to believe that Kobe would not do the same to them? Was Kobe not able to take over a game. It's not a knock on Wade either, because like I said he annihilated, dominated, embarrassed the Mavs in the Finals.

Would Kobe have gotten past Detroit?

Wade shot 62% in that series and if he even shoots 50% they lose.

[embersyc]

As a Pistons fan during that time, we had to go against Kobe, against LeBron and against Wade.

Wade was the best of them all there for a few seasons. Unfortunately that old fall down 6 times stand up 7 mentality eventually caught up with his body.

[GrapeApe]

As a Pistons fan during that time, we had to go against Kobe, against LeBron and against Wade.

Wade was the best of them all there for a few seasons.Unfortunately that old fall down 6 times stand up 7 mentality eventually caught up with his body.

The bolded is extremely significant when you think about it. Kobe and Lebron will go down as 2 of the top 10 greatest players of all time, and prime Wade was every bit on their level. Of course some people will say his prime was short-lived, but that's not really true. He had a 7 year stretch of averaging 27/7/5. Hell, his career numbers are 24/6/5 and you don't accomplish that by having only a few great years.

[stalkerforlife]

Yes, he was "flash" in his prime...

A flash in the pan.

[macpierce]

As a Pistons fan during that time, we had to go against Kobe, against LeBron and against Wade.

Wade was the best of them all there for a few seasons. Unfortunately that old fall down 6 times stand up 7 mentality eventually caught up with his body.

Yes, Wade's ability to get to the basket made him impervious to the pistons defense.

[ShawkFactory]

Yes, he was "flash" in his prime...

A flash in the pan.

[GrapeApe]

Yes, he was "flash" in his prime...

A flash in the pan.

A flash in the pan who's putting up 24/6/5/2/1 over 12 seasons? That's quite a flash indeed.

[TheMarkMadsen]

A flash in the pan who's putting up 24/6/5/2/1 over 12 seasons? That's quite a flash indeed.

and 7 of those years he played less than 70 games

[GrapeApe]

and 7 of those years he played less than 70 games

Hence the reason he's Flash and not Iron Man.

In seriousness though, Wade's health issues are well known and his lack of durability is the one blemish on his career. He deserves credit though for having such a remarkable career despite battling so many injuries (including having no cartilage in his knee). A flash in the pan implies he had a few good years and then disappeared. That's not the case with Wade.

[imdaman99]

Would Kobe have gotten past Detroit?

Wade shot 62% in that series and if he even shoots 50% they lose.

Who knows? The only dominant defensive Pistons team was 2004. That's NOT the team Wade beat. The rest of the Piston teams were good defenses but they started losing their pieces as the seasons went by. There have been series where Kobe has shot 60+% against the Spurs, who were always good and sometimes elite on defense.

[BasedTom]

Who knows? The only dominant defensive Pistons team was 2004. That's NOT the team Wade beat. The rest of the Piston teams were good defenses but they started losing their pieces as the seasons went by. There have been series where Kobe has shot 60+% against the Spurs, who were always good and sometimes elite on defense.

wade played them twice in a row in the 05 and 06 ECF. Won in 06, went down to injury against them in 05 (still a 7 game series)

Maybe not 2004, but not exactly years apart

[f0und]

Who knows? The only dominant defensive Pistons team was 2004. That's NOT the team Wade beat. The rest of the Piston teams were good defenses but they started losing their pieces as the seasons went by. There have been series where Kobe has shot 60+% against the Spurs, who were always good and sometimes elite on defense.

the 2005 team had the exact same players and coaches and wade was annihilating them before getting injured. seriously, there wasnt much of a dropoff, if any at all between the 04 and 05 pistons.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

I wouldn't take either of Kobe's performances serious in 2004 and 2005. He wasn't in-game shape and played with multiple injuries. Also, Detroit's defense did fall off a bit from 2004 and 2005. They went from a 95ish DRtg --> 101 range in 2005.

Kobe hung 40 points (good efficiency) on the 2006 Pistons Wade "demolished". Not the same team, and definitely not the same player.