MIAMI -- When Dwyane Wade visited the home of 8-year-old Michael Stolzenberg, he noticed all sorts of Miami Heat souvenirs around the boy's bedroom. Magazine covers, championship memorabilia, that sort of thing, but no jerseys.

Problem solved.

MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade for MVP? Admit it. You're starting to consider it, after another stunning performance Monday night when Miami's rejuvenated star pick-pocketed John Salmons in the final seconds of double overtime, then hoisted a running 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded for the win over Chicago. Wade finished with 48 points, 12 assists and 4 steals and so thoroughly controlled the game, his friend LeBron James sent him postgame props in a text message.

A couple of weeks ago I did a post about being in Miami for a Hawks/Heat game, where I ended up doing color commentary on the Hawks radio network for a night. That was a fortuitous event, and it gave me some material to write about.

What I did not mention was why I was actually in Miami: A cover shoot with Dwyane Wade for our new issue dropping this week, SLAM 127.

I was talking recently with an NBA player who, as NBA players often do, started lobbying me for a cover. I started explaining to my man that we have to pick and choose our cover subjects as much by marketability as we do by basketball ability. (And don’t think we don’t listen to your comments, either! I see you Eboy and Cheryl!) He asked who was on the next cover, and I told him Dwyane Wade. And he couldn’t argue with our choice at all.

NEW YORK -- The Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade and the Los Angeles Lakers' Pau Gasol today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month presented by Kia Motors, respectively, for games played during February.

Wade led the Eastern Conference in scoring (30.7 ppg) while shooting .502 from the field, and ranked second in assists (8.7 apg) and fourth in steals (2.0 spg), as the Heat went 6-6. Wade scored at least 20 points in every game and on Feb. 22, he tallied a career-high 50 points at Orlando. He paced the Heat in scoring 11 times and in assists 10.

Here is a closer look at the month for Wadel:

Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

Feb. 22 @ Orlando: Scored career-high 50 points in a 122-99 loss.

Feb. 24 vs. Detroit: Tallied 31 points and a career-high 16 assists in a 103-91 victory.

Feb. 28 vs. New York: Recorded 46 points -- 24 in the fourth -- 10 assists and eight boards in a 120-115 win.

NBA.COM

MIAMI — There was blood on the court, tension in the air and technical fouls littering the box score. For about 10 minutes Saturday night, the Knicks and the Miami Heat looked as if they were paying tribute to the ’90s.

But the old rivalry has been dormant for some time now and, as it turned out, the Knicks were not ready for a revival. They bloodied Dwyane Wade, but he nearly dismembered them in return, scoring 46 points to lead the Heat to 120-115 comeback victory before a rapturous crowd at American Airlines Arena.