He is an elite player NOW. BTW...he has won TWO playoff series without Shaq. Hornets in his rookie year...with a game winning shot BTW...and the Wizards series last year....a sweep and Shaq sat out the whole series.
As for game winners...He has 16 game winning shots in 2 and a half years.
Saying that this is Shaq's team is the definitive proof that you haven't seen a Heat game in 2 years.
Wade is a top five NBA player RIGHT NOW. It's not even a point of debate. The reason he gets so much hype is because he has accomplished the same or more than alot of the greatest players have in the History of the NBA in their first two years. His first 2 years as a player are second only to Magic Johnson's and Shaq's in the modern Era.
As for Lebron....his teams have been better than the Heat team that made the playoffs and took Indiana (the #1 seed) to 6 games in round two. Lebron may be better than Wade right now...But you can't argue with his constant ability to come up short when it counts.
As for the Heat vs. Cavs...the reason the Heat is only a "few" games better might be that the Heat has had their starting lineup together for 15 of the 55 games they have played so far. If the Heat had been Healthy from day one...they probably have at least 5 more wins.