SG: Dwyane Wade vs. Joe Johnson
Spoiler alert: Wade wins this one. He’s playing on balky knees right now, but he’s still one of the preeminent shooting guards in the NBA; even in somewhat of a down season last year, Wade averaged 21.1 points, 5.1 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game, shooting 52.1% from the floor. That’s the same percentage Brook Lopez shot from the field, except Lopez isn’t relied on nearly as much to create his own look.
That’s not a slight on Johnson, a talented shot-creator himself — just ask him. He’s one of the league’s more talented scorers in isolation, for whatever that’s worth, and is a talented spot-up shooter that has explosive potential in the star-packed Nets offense.
But when it comes to pure impact, there’s no question that Wade has a clear advantage.
Head-to-head: The two have gone at it in the regular season 25 times, with Wade holding the advantage both in the record (15-10) and in individual statistics (23.8-6.2-4.7-48% shooting to Johnson’s 17.7-4.3-4.3-40% shooting). The two have also met once in the playoffs in 2009, and while Wade again dominated the statistical profile, Johnson’s team ended up winning in seven games, with Johnson outplaying Wade in the crucial Game 7.
Middle name alert: Dwyane Wade’s middle name is Tyrone, which would be his best name if he didn’t spell Dwyane with the Y ahead of the A. Joe Johnson’s middle name is Marcus, and I maintain that he’d be a better basketball player if he went by J. Marcus Johnson.
