Wade’s play has been mixed in return, but Cavs will benefit from him back

One of the more promising takeaways from this Cleveland Cavaliers season thus far has been the play of Dean Wade.

Wade’s been impactful on the defensive end on the perimeter and has had 6.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per outing. He’s connected on 43.8 percent of his three-point attempts, and has meshed well in playing off of players such as Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, which has led to Wade cashing in from the outside on his share of opportunities.

Looking onward, it’s nice to know that the recently-extended Wade will be around long term, too, based on his play this season, and last season, when the chances were there in 2021-22. He’s started out well as a two-way forward for the Cavaliers, and has an argument to be Cleveland’s normal starting 3.

It was a blow to the Cavaliers team when Wade missed six games because of knee soreness. But, it’s been good to see him back in their three games since.

As for his play, it has been a mixed bag in his return. Either way, though, with his two-way abilities, it’s been a positive to see him back involved, particularly with other bench guys dealing with other ailments.

It’s been a mixed bag for Wade in his first few games back, but generally, it’s been good to see him in there for the Cavs.

In his three games back since that aforementioned six-game absence, these have been the stat lines for Wade:

• Four points on two-of-shooting, and three rebounds in a win versus the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday; he was a plus-17 in 18 minutes
• Seven points on two-of-seven shooting, to go with a career-best 12 rebounds in a loss at the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday; he was a minus-22 in 36 minutes
• Lastly, Wade had three points on one-of-five from three, and seven rebounds in 35 minutes; in that one, he was a minus-six

Wade has had his share of good looks from three-point range off of kickout feeds from Cleveland’s key creators, he just has not been able to hit on those as he’s been in some other games. At Detroit in his second spot start in a row, with then being in for Lamar Stevens (Non-COVID illness), Wade was only one-of-five from three, and at Milwaukee, was two-of-six from deep, and two-of-seven overall.

There have been some spotty moments defensively as well, and at times, Wade has appeared to be a half step slow to deter pull-ups or baseline drives, which has led to fouls. He had four fouls at Milwaukee and four of them at Detroit, for example.

On the plus side, Wade has still aided Cleveland in stretches with his ball denials at times, in others with how he instinctively sags from the weak side to make entry passes tougher or to help on drivers, and he’s again been an impactful rebounding presence. Whether it’s led to him securing defensive boards or helping others from his box outs, one shouldn’t discount that part of Wade’s skill set, if he’s at the 3 or 4 in stretches.

Anyhow, when examining his play for the Cavs in these first few games back, it’s been a mixed bag for Wade. Coming off missing six games with that knee soreness ailment, though, it was understandable that the catch-and-shoot rhythm wasn’t quite there yet.

Defensively, fans shouldn’t be concerned with him, either. The 26-year-old Wade has been one of Cleveland’s most effective defenders, as evidenced by opponents having 7.2 points less per 100 possessions when he’s been in there this season, ranking in the 85th percentile, per Cleaning The Glass. And Wade also runs the floor especially well, which could be on display in upcoming games as he gets himself back into rhythm.

This week, one should envision him knocking down looks off of ball-swings at a respectable clip once again, too.