Analysis: Early returns show fans notice Wade's resurgence

He's back.

Dwyane Wade, that is. The former NBA Finals MVP and current Madison Ave. fave leads the NBA in scoring and is in the midst of arguably the best season of his star-crossed career. And the rest of his Miami Heat teammates are coming along for the ride.

"Hopefully I can keep it up," Wade said earlier this week. "Hopefully I can do better."

Wade is averaging 29.5 points per game, easily outdistancing Cleveland's LeBron James (26.7) in the scoring race. Perhaps more important for Wade and the Heat, he's played in all 21 games and Miami is a solid 12-9. Beset with injuries since winning the title in 2006, Wade missed 31 games in each of the last two seasons.

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• Cast your vote for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game

NBA fans have noticed his return to prominence and good health. Wade leads all Eastern Conference guards in the first voting returns for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix. The East's starting backcourt as of Thursday is Wade (623,311 votes) and Detroit's Allen Iverson (492,093).

The overall vote leader with 775,933 is Orlando center Dwight Howard, last year's Superman-caped Slam Dunk champ. James (643,786) and Boston's Kevin Garnett (495,514) are ahead of the pack among East forwards.

The Lakers' Kobe Bryant tops the list in the Western Conference with 719,252 votes, and along with New Orleans' Chris Paul at 406,220, lead the guards. San Antonio's Tim Duncan (442,203) and Phoenix's Amar'e Stoudemire (370,470) have the edge among forwards, while Houston's Yao Ming (529,290) mans his usual spot at center.

As expected, the voting totals include several situations that don't add up if on-court performance were used as the only All-Star criteria. Just look at what's happening with the New Jersey Nets on the ballot.

Devin Harris is fourth in the league in scoring, but just 10th among guards. He trails the likes of Jose Calderon, Luke Ridnour and Jameer Nelson by a healthy margin. Harris' teammate Vince Carter is actually third. The Nets' third-leading scorer, Yi Jianlian at just 11.1 points per game, sits third among forwards.

As for Wade, he's also regained his fourth-quarter mojo. Case in point: Wade's performance down the stretch in Miami's fourth straight win earlier this week. Down seven to with 8 1/2 minutes to play, Wade scored 10 of his game-high 41 points during the finishing kick that led to the Heat's 100-96 victory.

"It was just winning time," Wade said in the most basic terms.

Miami, just three wins shy of last season's 15-67 disaster, is doing that again. With three 40-point games already, Wade is doing his part. It doesn't end there. His numbers are up in assists (7.5) and rebounding (5.0), and despite taking more shots per game than ever before, his shooting percentage (49.9) is career high.

"I know I'm playing as well as anybody in the league, that's no secret," Wade said. "But I've got to continue to help this team win, to get over that hump, where we're not battling .500, where we're in the discussion at the end of the year of being one of the top-tier teams in the league."

The Heat ruled the NBA world not that long ago.

"My goal is to get [this team] back to greatness," Wade said. "My goal is to get back there. That was my thought coming back from Beijing. We are working hard."