Dwyane Wade Is More At Fault Than LeBron James and Chris Bosh When The Miami Heat Lose

When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami to join the Heat, they probably never imagined Wade would let them do so thoroughly in the games the Heat lost. Yet, that is exactly what has happened in their 23 losses this season as Wade has been most at fault in those contests.

Wade has a well-earned reputation as a very effective all-around player, but you would not know it based on how he performs in losses in relation to how he has performed when the Heat have won.

There is no part of Wade's game that does not become drastically worse when the Heat lose and it starts with how poorly he shoots in those games. In relation to how he shoots in Heat victories, in losses, his effective field goal percentage experiences a 20.8 percent decrease (from 55.3 percent to 43.8 percent) and a 17.4 percent decrease in true shooting percentage (from 60.8 percent to 50.2 percent). Wade essentially goes from being a supremely effective scorer in wins to a mediocre one in Heat losses.

Wade also finds it difficult to maintain his level of proficiency when it comes to ballhandling. Compared to how he plays in victories, in defeats, Wade sees his assist percentage decrease by 6.7 percent (from 23.8 percent to 22.2 percent). That decrease can be understood as the whole Heat team shoots worse in defeats, but what cannot be understood is Wade's increased penchant for committing turnovers.

In defeats, Wade's turnover percentage increases dramatically by 43.9 percent (from 10.7 percent to 15.4 percent). By turning the ball over so much, he is keeping the offense from playing more efficiently.

Furthermore, in an effort to make sure he does not play well in any aspect, Wade also sees fit to become a much worse rebounder. When the Heat lose, Wade experiences a 38.1 percent decrease in offensive rebounding percentage (from 6.3 percent to 3.9 percent), a 14.1 percent decrease in defensive rebounding percentage (from 14.9 percent to 12.8 percent), and a 25.5 percent decrease in total rebounding percentage (from 11.0 percent to 8.2 percent).

Although Wade struggles the most to maintain his statistics in losses, Bosh and James are certainly not off the hook when it comes to playing poorly in defeats. They just do not play as poorly as Wade does compared to their performances in victories.

Bosh becomes a poorer shooter in defeats as he undergoes an 11.4 percent decrease in his effective field goal percentage (from 50.7 percent to 44.9 percent) and a 9.7 percent decrease in his true shooting percentage (from 57.9 percent to 52.3 percent).

He also has problems with maintaining his rebounding percentage statistics. His 3.0 percent increase in his defensive rebounding percentage (from 19.7 percent to 20.3 percent) is overshadowed by his 22.4 percent decrease in offensive rebounding percentage (from 6.7 percent to 5.2 percent) and a 9.4 percent decrease in total rebounding percentage (from 13.8 percent to 12.5 percent).

However, it is not all bad for Bosh in losses as he takes better care of the ball in Heat defeats. His assist percentage decreases by 2.2 percent (from 9.1 percent to 8.9 percent), but the 16.0 percent decrease he has in his turnover percentage (from 10.0 percent to 8.4 percent) more than makes up for that.

In the case of James, the only thing that truly lets him down in Heat losses is his shooting touch. James undergoes an 11.4 percent decrease in his effective field goal percentage (from 56.3 percent to 49.9 percent) and a 9.1 percent decrease in his true shooting percentage (from 61.3 percent to 55.7 percent).

Yet, in other aspects of the game, James actually gets better when the Heat lose, demonstrating what a talented all-around player he truly is. Compared to how he plays in wins, in defeats, James experiences a 3.5 percent increase in assist percentage (from 34.0 percent to 35.2 percent) and a 1.4 percent decrease in turnover percentage (from 13.9 percent to 13.7 percent) so he becomes a better ballhandler.

Additionally, he still crashes the boards amazingly well. Even with a 6.1 percent decrease in his offensive rebounding percentage (from 3.3 percent to 3.1 percent), James still gets 1.8 percent better in total rebounding percentage (11.4 percent to 11.6 percent) thanks to an amazing 13.3 percent increase in defensive rebounding percentage (from 18.1 percent to 20.5 percent).

Even when he is not shooting well, James is still able to make up for that deficiency in other ways.

When it comes to losses, the Miami Heat could be considered Wade's team because, out of Miami's Big Three, it is how he performs that really determines whether or not the Heat win.