CLEVELAND , Ohio -- Dwyane Wade knows a thing or two about being an NBA All-Star.
The three-time NBA champion was a 13-time All-Star throughout his 16-year career, even winning the All-Star Game MVP award in 2010.
Given all of his All-Star experience, it’s high praise then that Wade thinks Cavaliers guard Darius Garland “definitely has a case” to be an All-Star selection for the first time in his career. Starters for the All-Star Game, which will be held Feb. 20 at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, will be announced Thursday.
“When we get to All-Star there’s going to be some snubs around here,” Wade said on Tuesday. “We all know that, we all can prepare for it. But he’s put together his resume, and his resume is as good as anybody’s.”
WNBA superstar and fellow TNT analyst Candace Parker agreed with Wade and said Garland should be an All-Star this season. The duo met with reporters Tuesday just ahead of the third season premiere of the NBA on TNT Tuesday Night presented by State Farm franchise.
“They have guards who are able to make plays,” Parker said of the Cavs. “Garland is fearless. He obviously, I think, should be an All-Star.”
The Cavs have already surpassed their win total from last season (22) with their 29-19 record. They are currently at fifth place in the tight Eastern Conference race, where no team has more than 30 wins.
Garland is currently leading the way for Cleveland, averaging 19.7 points and 8.2 assists. Against the Knicks in a 95-93 win on Monday, Garland recorded his 16th double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 assists. It was his fifth consecutive point-assist double-double, the longest streak by a Cavalier since LeBron James recorded five straight from Dec. 9-17, 2017.
“You think about the numbers he’s been putting up, whenever your name is in the conversation with LeBron James like his was today or yesterday, you’re a very good player,” Wade said. “So yeah, his name should be in the conversation but there definitely will be some competition. There’s only a few slots in All-Star, this is when it gets tough, but he’s put his resume out there and it’s pretty decent.”
Wade and Parker both also had plenty of positive things to say about rookie sensation Evan Mobley. He’s made his presence felt in box scores, averaging 15 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists, vaulting himself into Rookie of the Year frontrunner status.
But what’s also been impressive about his game is how effective he’s been defensively alongside Jarrett Allen.
“If you look at their ability to switch, their athleticism across the board -- and D-Wade knows, to win a championship at an extremely high level, you have to have a guy in the frontcourt that can defend, that can be there on the screen, especially in the style of basketball that’s being played right now,” Parker said. “And they have that. You think about Allen, you think about Mobley and their length, their athleticism.”
Wade said he’s enjoyed watching Mobley play alongside Lauri Markkanen, even comparing the rookie to a Hall of Famer and one of his former Miami Heat teammates.
“Markkanen, who had a very good rookie year in Chicago but then was kind of moved to the side, now he goes over there and now you add a very athletic big guy who can shoot, who’s young, who has all these talents and you mix him with a young Mobley, a young Chris Bosh -- I think he’s just like Chris Bosh. Candace, I don’t know about you, but I look at him like a young Chris Bosh out there in Toronto.”
With the Cavs headed toward their first winning season in the post-LeBron James era, however, maybe the thing that has impressed Wade most is just how quickly their turnaround has happened regardless of who the star is on a night-by-night basis.
After making four straight Finals with James from 2014-18, Cleveland failed to win more than 22 games in a single season over the next three years. But with each passing night, the Cavs continue to show they’re a young team who’s bought in.
“When you lose a franchise player it’s hard for an organization to bounce back from that,” Wade said. “They lost LeBron James. Normally when you lose a franchise player, you never bounce back or you take forever. Think about the Bulls, think about how long it took to get Derrick Rose, from (Michael) Jordan to Derrick Rose, right? And so for them to be able to, give a lot of credit to obviously coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his entire staff, Koby Altman up there up top, give a lot of credit to the ones that put this team together.
“It’s just amazing to watch. You see a team that’s playing pure basketball. It’s not a team that’s really worried about who’s necessarily the star. They have multiple guys from game-to-game that can lead this team. Like Candace said, you’re watching these players make winning plays.”
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