Dwyane Wade’s free-throw gaffe costs the Heat a win over the Celtics. (GETTY IMAGES)
Living in Miami for a decade can soften anyone up, and Dwyane Wade is no exception.
Before he became the honorary mayor of Miami-Dade County — or Wade County — D-Wade was a hardnosed player who wore his Midwest hardhat to every game. Each time he got knocked down he got right back up. He played with a chip on his shoulder and seem to relish every contact.
Now, Wade plays with a very casual attitude and if he were allowed to play in sandals he would. He has lost that Chicago fire, and has become as carefree as those Miami Heat fans who come late to the game.
Wade’s casual approach cost the Heat a game Saturday night when he bounced a free throw off the backboard with 0.6 seconds left and didn’t hit rim, which is a violation. Wade has played enough basketball in his lifetime to know that you have to hit rim for any free throw attempt to count. Heck, 9-year-olds know that.
Wade’s gaffe gave the Boston Celtics another possession and Jeff Green made the most of it when he buried a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Celtics an unlikely 111-110 victory in Miami.
All Wade had to do was made two free throws and the game would have been over. If he made just one free throw the game and just hit rim on this second attempt the game would have been over. ”I was trying to hit the rim, down a little bit,” said Wade, who admitted deliberately missing the shot was his call. ”It didn’t go where it was supposed to go.”
This was not one of Wade’s finest moments. Watch: