The talent comparisons between Dwyane Wade and LeBron James — maybe with Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant, too — can be debated from now until the season ends, but there is no debate about one thing.
Wade has one factor in his favor that none of the others can touch: Shaquille O’Neal. It’s why Wade is the preseason pick for the NBA 2007 Most Valuable Player Award, the most coveted individual title in basketball.
Although O’Neal, in his prime, was a big reason why Bryant never came close to the MVP with the Los Angeles Lakers, he is a major reason why Wade should win it now.
O’Neal — the most dominating player of his era — used to overshadow everyone around him, including Bryant. Now in the downside of his career, O’Neal serves as a enormous setup man for his teammates. He doesn’t carry his team anymore. He just provides for it. Wade’s timing is perfect.
“I want to help him succeed,” O’Neal said last week when the Heat were in Orlando. “He deserves it.”
O’Neal and Wade together pushed the Heat to the first NBA title in franchise history last season, fully expecting to do the same thing this season, which begins Tuesday night.
Although Wade had a great regular season, averaging 27.2 points and 6.7 assists, he was even better in the NBA Finals — providing an even clearer glimpse of the future.
As good as he is, he would not be where he is today without O’Neal playing center alongside him, still attracting double-team attention defensively, still worrying opponents about how they will contain him.
Although a recent poll of NBA general managers had James winning the MVP Award, the Cavaliers might not win enough to put him in position. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is no Shaq.
Steve Nash is the two-time defending MVP, and his Phoenix Suns won 62 and 54 games, respectively. Nash won it last season with the fewest number of victories for an MVP since Karl Malone in the lockout-shortened season of 1999.
The Cavs won 50 games last season. Even if James leads the NBA in scoring, they might not reach that number again.
Other MVP candidates this season will include Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks), Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs), Nash (Phoenix Suns) and Bryant (Lakers). O’Neal, though, is the one who will give Wade the big edge.
Best of the rest
Since we’ve already picked this season’s MVP, we may as well distribute the rest of the awards.
Rookie of the Year: Adam Morrison (Charlotte Bobcats). Yes, Brandon Roy in Portland is a wonderful athlete and might be the first all-star from this draft class, but Morrison has that gunslinger approach to his game. He’s going to give up plenty of points, but he will score more than his share in Charlotte, which is desperate to make him a star.
Coach of the Year: Scott Skiles (Chicago Bulls). Amazing what a great defensive player can do for a team. The addition of free-agent center Ben Wallace should help propel the Bulls to the top of the Central Division with a 10-win improvement. They were good defensively without Wallace. They will be considerably better with him.
Sixth Man of the Year: Bonzi Wells (Houston Rockets): He may be a pain in the neck, but Wells could flourish with his new team, providing them with a much-needed lift off the bench.
Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wallace (Bulls): His blocked shots have slipped in recent years, but he’ll spend the season reminding the Detroit Pistons what they’re missing. Quick hands should help his steals go up.
Most Improved Player: Tyson Chandler (New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets): With Chris Paul as his point guard, Chandler will get more opportunities than he ever dreamed of in Chicago. He may triple his scoring , which isn’t tough when you averaged 5.3 points.
Aging of T-Mac
McGrady is starting to hear the clock ticking in his ear. Going into his 10th NBA season, McGrady still hasn’t gone beyond the first round of the playoffs.
At age 27, he should be in his playing prime, but now he must listen to how younger guys such as James, Wade and Carmelo Anthony have passed him by.
“It’s like I’m not even on the radar at all anymore,” McGrady said Thursday before his Rockets lost to the Magic. “I hate to say I’m getting old, but this is my 10th year in the league. It’s got to be about trying to win a championship now.”
McGrady, who was limited to 47 games last season with back problems, said this season should be his best chance at making a deep playoff run. He and center Yao Ming are healthy. Shane Battier and Wells have been added, and the Rockets are in a win-now mode.
“This is the first time I’ve been on a team that felt it really could do something at playoff time,” McGrady said. “It might be a little unrealistic to think we could go from not making the playoffs to winning a championship, but at least now we’re moving in that direction.”
Around the Rim
They are calling it just a “chance meeting,” but it was almost like someone was teasing the Atlanta Hawks recently. The night before they played the Cleveland Cavaliers in an exhibition game in Columbus, Hawks Coach Mike Woodson and his staff were dining at a restaurant when in walked Ohio State freshman center Greg Oden, who is almost a lock to be the No. 1 pick in the next draft if he makes himself available. He would have been the No. 1 pick in 2006 if it wasn’t for the new rule that barred players from coming directly out of high school into the NBA. Oden was with Buckeyes Coach Thad Matta, helping him recruit a prospective high-school athlete, and they just happened to be seated at a table close to the Hawks’ coaching staff. After some introductions, Matta playfully shooed away Woodson, and everyone laughed. But it sure gave Woodson something to think about going into this season. For the Hawks, who managed only 26 victories last season and finished tied for last place in the Southeast Division with the Charlotte Bobcats, being bad again might not be so bad.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban might be fighting a losing battle, but he doesn’t think NBA teams should be holding their training camps in other countries. If the league wants to expand its fan base, it should do it in non-NBA cities in this country, according to Cuban. This month, the San Antonio Spurs were in France, the Phoenix Suns went to Italy, the Philadelphia 76ers were in Spain and the Los Angeles Clippers played in Moscow. “I’m a one-man gang on this, so we’ll see,” Cuban said. “We should be working on developing our customers at home before we go anywhere else. We’ve got to win our battles here before we take on anyone else.”
A Final Thought: With the Rockets, Clippers and Suns improved, the Spurs and Mavs better be ready out West.
