Dwyane Wade set a new career low against the Celtics yesterday
In the midst of a 100-80 blowout at the hands of the Boston Celtics I would hate for Dwyane Wade's effort, or lack thereof, to get lost in the shuffle. As the Celtics controlled this game easily from the opening tip, the Bulls looked really, really bad yesterday and Wade himself posted a career worst in plus-minus:
This, ladies and gentlemen is a career-low for Dwyane Wade ... that's bad pic.twitter.com/0v8bNeNYb5— Max Lederman (@Max_Lederman) March 12, 2017
That -37 is by far the lowest mark of Wade's career, and not a far cry from the worst of all time - a title still held by former Cavaliers guard Manny Harris who carried a -57 after a 112-57 blowout at the hands of the Lakers back in January of 2011.
To put into perspective just how bad the Bulls were with Wade on the floor statistically yesterday the next lowest plus-minus for them on the floor was Jerian Grant at a -18. Plus-minus may not be the tell all of NBA statistics, but a number that low is alarming. It's hard to believe Chicago was that bad with Wade in the game, especially with his lockdown defense on full display:
Dwyane Wade prepared and ready for the afternoon start pic.twitter.com/6JL0nmOegM— BullsBlogger (@BullsBlogger) March 12, 2017
After the game Wade spoke with the media and when asked about he Bulls' direction he relayed that he is puzzled by the front office. Via Kurt Helin of NBC Sports:
“I don’t know. I wish upper management could be answering the questions because I’m tired of answering them every game,” Wade said. “I don’t know. I wish I had the answer. I don’t wanna say too much, I don’t wanna say the wrong thing. I just wanna get out there, try to play and lead. Figure out a way me and Jimmy can be better."
Because it's real important that him and Jimmy Butler play well, the team comes next. It's no wonder Rajon Rondo is losing his mind in Chicago. Wade isn't actually having a bad season, in fact he's not a far cry from his career averages as he's averaging 18.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists. One of the better seasons for a shooting guard over the age of 35.
Not that I want to give the Bulls inept front office any kind of credit, but when they trade two forwards that were in your rotation for young guys it would seem they've deemed this season as a lost cause - and they aren't wrong. But if they do plan on going full rebuild and trading Butler they may have missed their opportunity to get the most they could for him, as a handful of more lackadaisical performances like yesterday aren't going to raise his price tag.
With this year not going quite as planned in Chicago and Wade's 2nd year of his two-year deal a player option you can imagine that he'll be opting out of that deal as fast as he possibly can.
Photo Credit - Dennis Wierzbicki, USA TODAY Sports
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