National Basketball Association

Dwyane Wade is Making 3-Pointers, For Now

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The 2015-16 NBA preseason schedule is just one game in for the Bulls, but Dwyane Wade is already on pace to make several 3-point baskets.

It didn’t take long for Wade to establish his outside shot in Chicago. On Monday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, Wade knocked down two 3-point shots which accounted for all of his scoring in his first game as a Bull.

Sure, it is way too early to read into the initial results, but let’s just take a moment to savor what Wade has done. After one game, he is shooting 100 percent from 3-point range. Yes, he was 2-for-2 against the Bucks. If he keeps up this pace, he can probably get that 3-point field goal made number up to eight or nine by the time the regular season rolls around. If he can achieve those lofty numbers, he would absolutely shatter his mark of seven made 3-point shots during the entire 2015-16 regular season.

Of course, there is a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek tone here. Traditionally, Wade has been something between a hesitant and bad 3-point shooter. If we made a list of the all the things the future Hall of Famer excelled at in the past and excels at currently, 3-point shooting would not be on that list.

If you look at this 3-point attempt, Wade has a lot of life in those legs.

And that is what we really want to talk about here. We can make fun of Wade’s 3-point shooting, I have and I’m sure I will again, but what we are really getting a look at is the power of a rested body.

Wade isn’t getting any younger. He probably won’t play more than 60-65 games this year, depending on how everything shakes out. They might call on him a bit more if the team is pushing for a playoff spot worth fighting for, and they might hang it up early if it all goes south.

Ultimately, you’ve got to believe that Wade can repeat this kind of performance. Not the 100 percent shooting from deep, but the ability to knock down a couple of 3s on most nights. Of course, that is all going to depend on those legs of his.

Even if he doesn’t have a great shooting performance in 2016-17, Wade is sure to bring a lot more to the table than the limited range he flashed last year with Miami. His leadership on and off the court will be important. But yeah, about those shots from long-range – let’s hope he can make a whole bunch of those this year.