Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade Defends LeBron James on Dan Gilbert Allegations

Dwyane Wade has come out to defend his new teammate LeBron James against allegations made by Dan Gilbert that LeBron James quit on the Cavaliers during the playoff series against the Celtics.

Wade, in an interview with the Associated Press , said that LeBron "is not a quitter."

Wade, who was eliminated by the same Celtics team that neutralized LeBron, was familiar with the several tactics the Celtics used to diminish the importance of a team's top player.

Wade attributed the bad games by LeBron (similar to bad games played by Kobe Bryant and Wade against that same defense) to the Celtics' defense committing to not let one player beat them, rather forcing them to make bad shots or passes to their teammates.

Wade seems set on helping his friend that has now joined him with the Miami Heat.

With the Heat, and without an excuse of weak teammates, LeBron will have to prove that everything Gilbert said was just the rambling of a bitter owner.

LeBron will have the luxury, however, of having a teammate in Wade that will lead the team for him, a job that LeBron seemed to respond to abrasively to at times.

No one can doubt LeBron was a good friend to his teammates, as they joked before games and celebrated together after wins. But was he the best leader?

In Miami he won't have to answer that question. And even if Gilbert was right, it's unlikely a player like Wade will let a teammate of James' caliber quit on him during the playoffs.