Yes, several people will laud praise on him for that heroic effort last night and say he did a great job. But great players find ways to win under laudable circumstances. Wade was not able to work around those circumstances all night.
Now, I had a few disagreements with Charles and Kenny, and I shockingly agreed with Magic a couple of times. For example, while Wade does have to learn how to make other players on his team better and learn how to get them involved in the offense, this is a superstar-driven team. You can't expect Eddie Jones or any other role player to step up to help you win that game, especially with a strong defensive team like Detroit.
Wade and Shaq couldn't leave anything for chance in that game. They have to make things happen. And as you saw with Detroit, role players keep their roles, and the leaders lead. When circumstances warranted, who stepped up? Chancey Billups stepped up and stank free throws at the end of the game, which now seems like a unappreciated art. Rasheed Wallace stepped up and sunk some great baskets, including one where he was fading away with a hand in his face only a foot or so in front of the arc. Rip Hamilton provided the consistent offensive attack in the first half. Sure; they didn't have the pressure placed on them to produce like Wade and Shaq did, but they did what they had to do to win and didn't leave it to others to step up. That only works if you can produce, however, and Wade going 7-20 in a Game 7 isn't going to cut it.
But all in all, I'm glad Detroit won because it makes for a better Finals than an injury-riddled Miami team. Miami would have went down in flames within five games, because Ginobili would have had a field day buzzing past Wade and Shaq was already out of gas in that series. Now you have some great matchups in the Finals: Groundhog Day vs. Sheed, Rip vs. Ginobili, Billups vs. Parker, and the ultimate one is Brown vs. Popovich. This will be a great series just to see how teams are able to adjust to each other's strengths and weaknesses. Detroit and San Antonio represent the two best franchises in the last four years.
Oh, and remember: I will liveblog the whole Finals. Game 1 starts Thursday on ABC at 9 EST.