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Miami Heat Stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade Lacked Efficiency in Their First Season Together The Miami Heat formed the big-three knowing that individual numbers were going to suffer. LeBron James still averaged 26.7 points and seven assists and rebounds a game, but the points were a slight decrease from his last few seasons with the Cavs. Wade averaged 25.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists while providing the team with impeccable effort on the defensive end of the floor. Yet the amount of shot attempts and the overall efficiency of both players was down pretty significantly. Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus explains: From a statistical standpoint, neither James nor Wade was nearly as dominant this season as they had been separately in previous years. Basketball Prospectus' per-minute win percentage rating shows how much both players dropped off. In part, this is inevitable. The reason players like James and Wade use so many plays for their teams is their ability to do so without losing efficiency. The reverse aspect of that is when stars are put into smaller roles, they do not see their efficiency improve as much as role players do. A similar trend was evident with Kobe Bryant when the Lakers added Pau Gasol.
MUST READ: The Latest 2011 NBA Mock Draft As the season wore on, both players gradually fit into the offense better. Yet when the Finals came around, they reverted to the way of old and now have some major adjustments to make. LeBron has to stop getting rid of the ball like it's about to explode late in games and be the playmaker everyone has become so accustomed to seeing. James also needs to start driving to the basket at a higher rate. Essentially he must be more aggressive. Wade has to do a better job of moving without the basketball and creating better spacing on the floor. Too often he sat and watched when LeBron had the ball. Running off more screens on the baseline would really open up space for the rest of the offense. These are all adjustments that can and will be made, it just is a question of how long it takes them to figure it all out.
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