Dwyane Wade has come off the bench in 23 of his 26 appearances with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Really, though, he’s been part of the second unit for 25 of those 26 cameos.
After all, as he told USA Today‘s Jeff Zillgitt, he knew almost right away that he needed to remove himself from the starting lineup:
Guard Dwyane Wade knew precisely when he should come off the bench rather than start for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I knew Game 1,” Wade told USA TODAY Sports. “I knew for me to be successful and for me to come to this team and bring what I can to this team, the starting unit just wasn’t a unit for me. So, I decided to go to the unit that was for me.”
After the third game of the season, Wade went to Cavs coach Tyronn Lue and asked to come off the bench.
The move has worked out well for both parties—particularly over the Cavaliers’ past 14 games, through which they’re 13-1.
During that time, Wade is putting up 13.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.1 steals on 49.4 percent shooting, including a 47.1 percent clip from three—all while averaging under 25 minutes. The Cavaliers’ bench as a whole has been following his lead. They’re sporting top-five marks in both offensive and defensive efficiency over this stretch, and outscoring opponents by 14.3 points per 100 possessions, which trails only the Houston Rockets’ and Utah Jazz’s second units, according to NBA.com.
It’ll be interesting to see how the rotation plays out in the near future, as both Tristan Thompson and Isaiah Thomas work their way back into the lineup. Thomas is a surefire starter, so he’ll displace Jose Calderon, who shouldn’t eat into Wade’s minutes all that much. But Wade has been on the floor to finish games next to LeBron James. Will that hold when Thomas is back in the fold? And if so, who gets the shaft with him and Thomas taking over the backcourt?
Champagne problems, right? Indeed, but they are problems. And the Cavaliers will have to address them. But for now, until Thomas is back, they get to bathe in the afterglow of their newfound depth—and Wade’s willingness and interest in headlining it.
