How Cavs Will Continue To Rely On Dean Wade

Since Dean Wade's return to the Cleveland Cavaliers from his ankle injury, he has made his minutes count.

Last Saturday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers used a collective effort on the heels of bad news to put together a complete game and defeat the Atlanta Hawks. There were six players, nearly seven, in double figures as the wine-and-gold shot nearly 49 percent from the field. 

A big part of that success was the three-ball. Once Jarrett Allen established the paint was his, kick-outs were there and Cleveland took advantage. Along with Donovan Mitchell, stretch forward Dean Wade led the squad with four triples, all of which were assisted by the Cavs star guard.

That is a season-high for Wade and a development for his shot profile since coming back. Spot shooting has been an inconsistent theme for the Cavs this year, but against Atlanta, Wade was Mitchell's favorite target on the night when spraying the ball to the outside and Dean made the most of the looks.

"If you were open, that ball was coming. He’s a baseball fan, he can throw that thing so fast. It's right in your hands every single time. It's like there so fast," Wade said Saturday of Mitchell. But the way he was distributing tonight, he was attacking, he was drawing two, and he was kicking to the person every time. 

"It was fun. It was fun to see the ball move that way and the energy the ball carried. He found [Isaac Okoro] a few times, and he had a great game and found me a few times, and he was finding everyone. So when you get everyone involved like that, it makes the team just run so much better.”

It's not just the four makes from deep though. It's the fact that Wade took the shots themselves in the first place. Eight shots is the most he's attempted all season, and seven of them were beyond the arc on the catch.

"I liked his confidence to just take what was there. We need Dean Wade to take every shot when he's open," Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "We keep talking about it with guys out, everybody needs to just be who they are and be confident in it. Dean is able to make those shots, so teams want to help off of him. 

"He's going to be the guy that's open a lot and he's got to shoot that ball with confidence. Even if he misses one, go shoot the next three because he's capable and that's what this team needs. I thought he did a great job of it."

Nov 19, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) shoots in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Since coming back on Dec. 6, Wade has taken five threes per game, nailing 40 percent of those tries. It's spacing the floor, helping ball-handlers find an easy solution to shrinking defenses and, of course, helping Cleveland put points on the board.

"It's nice, especially when your first couple are really open," Wade said of his makes on Saturday. "I think one was in transition. I don't remember exactly what the first one was, but there was nobody around me. I remember that for the first two. And when you have two shots [at the] very beginning, you're in rhythm. You've been through the swing of a couple possessions, you're warm, you've had the ball in your hands a few times already. 

"When you're open like that, you feel good. Once you see the first one go in, man, the basket looks huge. And so it felt good at the beginning. Got a little tired, stopped using my legs a little bit at the end, but I'll get better at it.”

Defensively, we know Wade can be effective with his burlier build and rangy arms. 

But even more so, if he's knocking down shots, the Cavs are a totally different team.