Who was the top player of the 1st round of the NBA playoffs

While his team didn't make much noise in this year's postseason, Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade continued to live up to his reputation as a big time playoff performer.

2010-05-07

While his team didn't make much noise in this year's postseason, Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade continued to live up to his reputation as a big time playoff performer. After leading Marquette to a Final Four bid during his collegiate career, Wade was chosen by the Heat with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. After averaging 16 points per game as a rookie, Wade produced 24 points per outing in his second year in the league. In year number three, he became a superstar. In the 2005-06 campaign, Wade averaged 27 points per game to lead the Heat to an Eastern Conference title. With his club trailing 2-0 in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, Wade rallied his team to the NBA championship with some clutch performances over the final four games of the series. Last year, Wade won the NBA scoring title by averaging over 30 points per game. This season, he had another strong effort by averaging 27 points per contest. With a Miami team that went 18-4 to close the regular season, many felt that the Heat had a good chance to defeat the Boston Celtics to open the postseason. These are the things that make NBA betting so exciting. Head over to www.sportsbook.com where everybody bets.

In Game 1 at Boston, the Heat appeared to be on its way to a victory to open the series. Miami held a 14-point lead in the third quarter before collapsing in an 85-76 defeat. While Wade connected on 11-of-18 field goal attempts in a 26-point effort, the rest of his Miami teammates shot only 33% from the field. In Game 2, Wade once again connected on 11 of his 18 shots. However, the rest of the Heat squad struggled to find the basket. While Wade had 29 points, the rest of the club could only manage 48 points in a 106-77 rout. With Boston up 2-0, the series headed south for Game 3 in Miami. For the third straight game, Wade hit the majority of his shots in a 34-point scoring effort. The game was tied in the final seconds before Boston's Paul Pierce hit a jumper at the buzzer to give the Celtics a 100-98 win. Down 3-0, Miami had little hope of winning the series heading into Game 4 at home. In one of the great playoff performances in recent memory, Wade exploded for 46 points in a 101-92 Heat victory. He hit 67% of his field goal attempts in a dazzling display of offense. In Game 5 at Boston, the Celtics finally wrapped up the series with a 96-86 win. Wade had 31 points in defeat. For the series, he averaged 33 points per game while connecting on 56% of his field goal tries. While Wade had a strong offensive series against a sound defensive squad, the rest of the Heat team could only manage an average of 55 points per game during the series. Now, Miami fans must hope that Wade will stay put in South Florida. He will be one of several prominent free agents this summer. If the Heat can't improve its supporting cast before Wade makes his decision, he could be playing elsewhere in the 2010-11 campaign.

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