dwyane wade's sneaky baseline cuts
an appreciation for one of the best off-ball players of all time
dwyane wade is one of my favorite players of all time.
he does one thing better than anyone i've ever seen. it's so crafty that you really need to be looking for it to notice it. in fact, it's effectiveness is completely predicated on its subtlety. and what's more impressive is i think he developed this skill pretty late into his career, near the tail end of his prime.
i'm talking about his sneaky baseline cuts that relied more on guile and basketball iq and less on speed or athleticism.
there are two crucial details to point out about wade's cuts:
notice the paths he takes, how they're always behind the defender and sometimes behind the basket itself.
notice the timing of his cuts, how he waits patiently for his defender to look away - usually at some play that's developing elsewhere like a high pick-and-roll - before moving
that split second where his defender looks away is all dwyane needs to create separation.
here are a few more examples of his baseline cuts:
(i love how patient he is in this next play against the toronto raptors. it's almost like he's a slot receiver in football, finding and sitting in a soft spot in a zone coverage.)
(in this next play against the detroit pistons, it's almost funny how slow he's moving so as to get to his spot at precisely the right time.)
it's plays like these that allowed wade to age relatively well in the nba. he was once an extremely athletic, 6'4" ball-handling guard who never became a great 3-point shooter; most players that fit that description see their value fall off a cliff after their primes. but he was able to remain effective, thanks to his incredible understanding of how to play the game.
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