By Andy Charles

Surprisingly to some, Dwyane Wade was the best player in the NBA last season; yes better than LeBron and Kobe, and yes better than most of the up and coming players you will be reading about for years to come as well.

Wade almost single-handedly took the Heat to the playoffs and, but for some help elsewhere on the court, could have taken them a lot further, but the likes of Michael Beasley, Shawn Marion and latterly Jermaine O’Neal were not effective enough as a secondary scorer.

All three players posted decent shooting averages, though, at 47.2, 48.2 and 47.5 respectively and the Heat shot 45.7% as a team, but in the new offensive NBA that was only enough for 15th in the league – Phoenix shot 50.4% as a comparison and of course missed the playoffs because of something called defense!

So is it going to be more of the same for D-Wade this season?

The answer to that will probably depend on 82 games guaranteed fitness, but it would be hard to imagine Wade not leading the league in PPG again.

He took the most shots per game last season (22.0) and was far more efficient than he had been in previous high-scoring seasons, as well as hitting three times more three-pointers than he had in his career.

Continue that kind of improvement, perhaps 120 made 3s instead of 88, and it would be feasible, according to basketball betting, to see him average 33-34 points a game, especially since Miami has done little to add to its offense during the off-season.

Remember also what D-Wade did during the playoffs when defense against him was even tougher – 29.1 PPG and more than two threes per game – and there is the chance he could just put up the season for the ages as long as he can deal with the double teams that are sure to come his way.

And never forget his final fling in the 2008/9 regular season – 55 points and six treys against the Knicks – to reach three 50+ games in a clash in which he attempted a crazy 30 shots…and that was not a season high!

As long as his arm does not fall off and as long as teams do not surround him every night, 2009/10 could just be very special for Miami’s favorite son.

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