DeShawn Stevenson take a dig at LeBron James’ poor showing in Game 4 of the Finals – NBA Update
Much has been made of LeBron James non-performance in Miami Heat’s 86 – 83 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in game 4 of the NBA Finals. LeBron James is considered by many to be the best basketball player around at the moment but the
forward did not manage to score a bucket in the last 15 minutes of the game.
LeBron only had 8 points on the night, although his contributions elsewhere, like the 7 assists and 9 rebounds, were still impressive. However, when the team needed a leader, LeBron sat back and let Dwyane Wade take control. There
has been criticism of his performance from some quarters and now Mavericks guard DeShawn Stevenson has joined in the chorus.
Stevenson said LeBron “checked out” of game 4. He went on to comment on how LeBron was not himself or not in the right frame of mind in the game and it worked to the Mavs advantage.
"It's very surprising with his athletic ability to put pressure on us," Stevenson said. "I think he was spreading it out. I don't know if it was because Dwyane Wade was playing well, but that helped us out."
Stevenson has history with LeBron James going back to when the former was at the Washington Wizards and the James was with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Stevenson has been vocal about LeBron since that time and he wasn’t holding back
after game 4.
"Our defense was good, but at the same time he wasn't in attack mode," said Stevenson. "We all know that LeBron can get to the basket and when he has his shot going, it's pretty tough to keep him from the free throw line."
DeShawn was one of the players who guarded LeBron in game 4 and it might be that the player is trying to get into James head with his constant comments. Earlier in the series Stevenson had called LeBron James and Dwyane Wade “great
actors” for what he perceived were dramatics by the two when they got bumped by a Dallas player.
LeBron James, when asked about the latest comments made by Stevenson, refused to get into a verbal fight. He said he preferred to do his talking on the court and the NBA Finals series was still wide open.
"He's been talking a long time, since our Washington-Cleveland days," James said. "I don't let that get to us. We're playing well. It's a three-game series. Talk is cheap.”
"You have to play the game of basketball. Let the scores and the plays define the game.”
The two players will come face to face again tomorrow at the American Airlines Center for game 5 of the NBA Finals 2011
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