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On Thursday, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade defended his newest teammate Lebron James against allegations lodged by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert that “Lebron quit” during the NBA Playoffs.
"He's not a quitter," Wade said. "He didn't quit."
The Reverend Jesse Jackson last week compared Gilbert to a “slave owner” following the team owner’s remarks.
In an interview with the AP on July 8, Gilbert not only levied the quitting charge, but said James got "a free pass" for too long. The NBA fined Gilbert $100,000 earlier this week for some of his comments, with commissioner David Stern saying they were too extreme for the league's liking.
Wade claims he watched every game featuring Lebron and that it was the stifling Boston Celtics defense that caused Cleveland to ultimate lose.
"LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, guys like that understand what Boston's defense was about," Wade said. "Their defense was built on not letting one player beat them. You either settle for the outside shot or you pass to your teammates. LeBron had one bad game in the playoffs. Other than that, he did what he could do with the defense all watching him.
"I don't see where you can get where he quit," Wade said. "He just had one bad game. It happens. Kobe had a bad game in the Finals. They won. It didn't matter. LeBron's teammates didn't help him out that game and it made the way he played even worse. But he's not a quitter. He didn't quit."
The Heat is a -150 odds favorite to win the 2011 NBA Championship at BetUS.com.
Tyrone Black, Gambling911.com
