For Heat fans, the sight of Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem exchanging pleasantries at the end of yesterday’s match was a decidedly welcome one. They were, after all, warriors toiling side by side from the time they entered the National Basketball Association in 2003 up until the 12-time All-Star’s departure for the Bulls in 2016; one was the engine and the other the enforcer, and they both shared in the glory of three championships and the ignominy of two early exits. Considering all they had been through together, it was but fitting for them to exchange jerseys before parting ways in their latest, but certainly not the last, meeting.
These days, Wade and Haslem are far removed from their best. The former is the Cavaliers’ first player off the bench, having suffered through an ineffective stint as a starter through the first three set-tos of the season. The latter mostly collects more DNPs than minutes and gets to burn rubber only when matches have long been decided and there are still minutes left to burn. They’re also on different paths; although they both continue to cast moist eyes on the Larry O’Brien Trophy, only one is likely to get closer new.
Nonetheless, Wade was clearly motivated to show his best — or, to be more precise, the best that he can still summon — against the Heat, for whom he competed during his peak and against whom he holds no small measure of disappointment. He didn’t want to leave after a difficult 2015-2016 campaign, and, as its top draw, didn’t feel he deserved being given a hard time on the negotiating table. And so, for all his frailties and increasing susceptibility to injury at 35, he somehow manages to produce shades of his old self whenever he suits up opposite the black and red. Yesterday, he put up relatively sterling numbers of 17, five, four, and two in 28 minutes on the court — proving his worth yet again, and, from his vantage point, hopefully sending the message that letting him go last year was a mistake.
At this point, there’s no telling how long Wade and Haslem will keep plying their trade. The game has evolved, and to a degree that doesn’t cater to their strengths at their finest. And yet, out of sheer love of the sport, they remain active, their contributions far more pronounced than their stats indicate.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
