Who knows if the body is willing. Dwyane Wade, maybe the toughest guy in sports, has fallen down/been knocked down so many times in the first-round playoff series between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks, it seems as if his old "fall-down-seven-times-get-up-seven-times" mantra is back in circulation.

He's a walking ice bag/back brace. He gets his mail in the whirlpool. Who knows what kind of phyiscal condition he'll be in when the Heat, down 3-2 in the series, try to stave off elimination.

But we do know his spirit is in Game 7 form. Wade, almost uncharacteristically, offered some pointed thoughts about the Hawks to reporters yesterday, particularly stinging and personal. He rebuked Mario West, a Hawks reserve guard who guarded Wade periodically during the series; and perhaps the Hawks best player, forward Josh Smith.

Wade mocked West, an undrafted second-year player who's averaged fewer than five minutes per game in the series, and just .4 points. After Wade, being guarded by West, missed a 3-pointer at the end of halftime in Game 5, allowing the Hawks to have a 63-40 lead, West danced around and celebrated as if Beyonce had just said she'd leave Jay-Z for him.

"His celebration for his one stop?” Wade asked rhetorically. “What is this game coming to?”

Indeed.

Even worse was Josh Smith's attempt at a through-the-legs dunk with the Hawks up by 20 in the fourth.

"I go back to something my high school coach always told me: Act like you’ve done something before," Wade said. "He used to hate when I used to dunk and pound my chest all the time. He used to tell me, 'Act like I’ve been there, act like I’ve done it. Be classy.' Win, lose, or draw, you’re supposed to be classy."

The Hawks haven't been there, and it shows.

Atlanta should win this series, whether tonight or back in ATL in Game 7. The Heat are a MASH unit and the Hawks are the healthier, if not better team. It's their time, to advance after a tough seven-game defeat by Boston last season. It's their time to showcase the wondrous talents of Smith and Joe Johnson, two of, perhaps, the most-overlooked stars the NBA offers.

But right now they're embarrassing themselves.

“So [there are] some unprofessional things they have to take care of from their standpoint," Wade said. "On the court you show emotion, and that’s great, but celebrating after one stop? That’s funny."

Wade didn't spare his own teammates, either, wondering whether the young 'uns on whom the Heat must depend for their survival, are up to the task.

When asked if they understood what it took to win in the postseason, understood the all-in intensity and focus required every moment on the floor, Wade said: “To be honest with you, I have no idea. I don’t. [Friday] is going to show a lot to see if our young guys really feel it."

He was specifically speaking of the Heat's top rookies, point guard Mario Chalmers and forward Michael Beasley, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. These guys are no Mario West: Chalmers starts alongside Wade and has 13 steals in the series, eight more than anyone else on the team. But he's averaging one fewer assist per game (3.8) than during the regular season (4.9). And Beasley, the designated future star, is shooting only 31 percent in the series and averaging 9.2 points, after shooting 47 percent during the season and scoring nearly 14 points per game.

“I’m not calling them out," Wade said. "But I want to see our young guys play like it’s Game 6 of the playoffs. If ‘Rio [Chalmers] says he’s won a national championship [at Kansas in 2008], well, I want to see him play like it. I want to see Michael play.

"It’s not about making shots; it’s about your intensity; it’s about your focus. And I want to see our young guys tomorrow focused and playing with energy.”

Wade has been there, many times. He owns an NBA championship ring and an Olympic gold medal. He's earned the right to say what he did, and I'm glad he did.

It's time to play, and both the Hawks and  the young Heat need to know that. Now.

AP photo