Heat of the moment
Tuesday could be Wade’s last game in Miami uniform
The last time there was no sense of the moment, sense of finality, sense of closure.
When Dwyane Wade walked off the court on May 15, 2016 following the Heat’s Game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the only sense was one of continuity, that the franchise’s all-time leading scorer was merely a free-agent contract from his next game in a Miami Heat uniform.
At 34, there certainly would be more. And then came a summer of discontent and ultimately disconnect. Suddenly, he was gone, introduced as a member of his hometown Chicago Bulls.
That is what makes this moment different. If this is the end, if the next stop will be Springfield and the Hall of Fame, there at least is a sense of advance notice.
Now 36, Wade hasn’t committed to the game going forward. Much remains in play, including a now apparent need for the Heat to recalibrate in the wake of their 3-1 deficit to the Philadelphia 76ers in this largely lopsided best-of-seven opening-round NBA playoff series. Dion Waiters will be back from his season-ending ankle surgery. The youth of Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow and perhaps Tyler Johnson needs to be further probed.
That could make Tuesday’s Game 5 at the Wells Fargo Center the final moment of a remarkable 15-year career, this time with the final moment in a Heat uniform. If not,
Wade hasn’t committed to the game going forward. Much remains in play, including a now apparent need for the Heat to recalibrate.
it could lead to a Thursday night Game 6 moment of even greater import, the opportunity to perhaps walk off the court at AmericanAirlines Arena to the tribute that few fully comprehended at the end of Saturday’s final mad scramble — either as sendoff to Game 7 (which seems more abstract than reality at this stage) or the ultimate “This is My House” acknowledgment.
Saturday, after he again had done what he had done so many previous times in the ultimate Heat career, provided a fourthquarter lifeline when all else seemed lost, Wade was asked about the possibility of finality.
He smiled. Offered an extended pause. Gazed, as if viewing a vision visible only to himself.
“I don’t want to answer that right now,” he said, in a way that somewhat did answer. “I’ve got another game to play. I’m focused on the next game.”
These are the moments that never played out in 2016, when the connext. tentiousness between Pat Riley, Micky Arison and late agent Henry Thomas removed emotion from the equation, Wade left to suit up for a season in Chicago Bulls colors and then for a half season in those of the Cleveland Cavaliers
Now there will be a return to the practice court alongside Biscayne Bay at least one more time, as Erik Spoelstra attempts Monday to solve a Process years in the making by the 76ers. Then the player who took the Heat to unimagined heights will take flight Monday alongside his once-and-again teammates, braced for the reality that will be Joel Embiid’s first-ever playoff game in Philadelphia.
Tuesday will be a moment of consequence for last summer’s patchwork roster rebuild by Riley and also a moment of possible proper closure.
Just as in 2016, the ending will remain to be written, possibly even deferred, with enough success over this past week to merit a 16th season or even beyond.
The last time a Heat playoff series ended for Dwyane Wade, his only thought was about the There, at the Air Canada Centre on May 15, 2016, he said, “It’s a critical offseason for the growth and what we’ve been trying to do as an organization since our runs to the Finals. Last year was the first year of us rebuilding to get there. This year was another step in the right direction.”
And then Wade stepped away, for a playoff series in Chicago, time alongside LeBron James in Cleveland ... and then back to this moment.
It is why these hours, these days, the final ticks of this series are ones to be savored. Because while there certainly could be more No. 3 in game or games ahead, there also will be days and weeks of contemplation from No. 3 about what comes next.
Reminding all that the gift is only there to be borrowed.