[Like teammate Caron Butler a year ago, he seems destined to finish third in Rookie of the Year voting despite impressive stats. Through Monday, he ranked third among rookies in scoring (16.2 points), third in field-goal percentage (45.3), third in steals (1.28) and fourth in assists (4.4). More impressive, he's done it while learning to play point guard. With a lighting-quick first step, Wade can get in the lane against anybody, and his jump shot has been solid so far.] He's the best rookie I've every played with, ... He just makes plays. He's not getting a lot of hype right now, but people are going to find out about Mr. Wade. |
[The Lakers' weakness in the paint isn't lost on the team.] It's my job to take some pressure off [Bryant] as far as making plays, ... I wasn't able to do that tonight. That won't cut it. I've got to find a way to become a little more assertive. |
Different tricks of the trade, different ways to get open, different ways to play defense, different ways to play the game. He knows the triangle inside-out. |
Don't have a choice right now. |
Ever? That's a lot of time! |
Every game we play is going to be the biggest game of the year. ... It's in our hands. We can't really worry about what other teams are doing. |
He raises the I.Q. of your basketball team - he helps us tremendously, |
He raises the I.Q. of your basketball team -- he helps us tremendously, |
He raises the I.Q. of your basketball team ? he helps us tremendously, |
He was a good dude before. He's an even better dude now. This is a guy who's been through a lot. He's one guy who knows how fragile life can be. |
He was saying that I'm learning the role he was five or six years ago. So he understands. The triangle is different. You need four or five guys to understand what's really going on to be effective. |
He's extremely disrespectful. I'm just going to leave it at that. It's dudes like that why things happen off the court between players and their friends and things like that. ... He needs to watch how he talks to other men. There's a difference between competing and how you talk to another man. |
He's one of the best small forwards ever. You could argue he's the best, although I'll bet you James Worthy would probably have a good argument about that. But he's an all-around player. And I consider myself to be an all-around player. |
He's the best rookie I've every played with. He just makes plays. He's not getting a lot of hype right now, but people are going to find out about Mr. Wade. |
He's very patient, ... He takes his time with us. He's what you call a team player right now. |