Almost never has a nickname been more apropos.
“King” James has taken over.
LeBron James is coveted now, and will be in the future. The red carpet is rolled out from today, while he dominates games, to 2010, when he becomes perhaps the most sought-after free agent in NBA history. James sits at the throne in front of a league in which, if its players and coaches aren’t bowing before him, its fans surely are. There were cheers and chants for him in New York. There was a standing ovation for him in Minnesota on Wednesday.
And, he plays for Cleveland.
And boy, is he playing. Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, drafted two spots behind James, the No. 1 overall pick in 2003 by the Cavaliers, says James never has looked better.
“This is probably the best I’ve seen him look,” Anthony said. “Just from the standpoint of playing fast and basically getting things done. I don’t think nobody was expecting Cleveland to have the record that they have right now.”
James leads Cleveland into Denver tonight with the NBA’s third-best record (21-4). Cleveland has blown so many teams out, James has not played in six fourth quarters.
James is second in the NBA, averaging 27.3 points per game, and adds averages of 6.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists to round things out. His 49.7 percent shooting from the field and 1.2 blocks are career highs.
Nuggets coach George Karl chuckled when asked if James was as good as he’s ever seen him.
“Oh, I think he’s going pretty good,” Karl deadpanned. “I’m very impressed.
“I’ve always felt that he and (L.A. Lakers guard) Kobe (Bryant) were probably the two most talented players in the game. Kobe led his team. LeBron seems to be on a mission to lead his team. He just trusts his team more than he ever has. He’s a better defender than he’s ever been. There’s just a stronger passion to win that exudes from him on almost a possession-to-possession situation.”
But Cleveland coach Mike Brown thinks LeBron can still improve.
“Everybody says ‘Can LeBron get better?’ Heck, yes,” Brown said. “That’s not anything negative to him. He hasn’t even scratched the roof of his ceiling in terms of where he’s going to cap out at. He just gets better every day, every year. And he not only has offensively, but defensively too.”
Brown believes James can still be a better 3-point shooter and improve his shot off the dribble.
Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups knows James all too well. One of James’ greatest moments came in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals, when he scored 48 points, including the game-winning shot in a double-overtime victory over Billups and the Detroit Pistons.
In that game, James scored 25 consecutive points in the second half and scored 29 of the Cavaliers’ final 30 points. Cleveland eliminated Detroit in six games but was swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.
“It was miserable,” Billups said. “He just kind of had his way with us. We were a team that took a lot of pride in playing physical and playing great defense and he kind of just shredded right through us that game.
“I would say that was his coming-out party in the playoffs. A lot of people would say it was before that. But that was it, I think.”
Now James has Cleveland on the brink of elite-team status. Critics poke holes in the Cavs’ early-season schedule, which has not featured many teams over .500. But basketball people know Cleveland is as good as it appears to be.
And James has a lot to do with it.
“He’s a great player,” Billups said. “He’s proved that on a number of levels. He’s just doing what he has to do to win ball games, and that’s what the great players do.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Cleveland at Denver
8:30 p.m. tonight, ALT/ESPN; KCKK 1510 AM/KRCN 1060 AM
Spotlight on Delonte West: After a rough patch, West has begun to find his scoring groove again for the Cavaliers, averaging 16 points in his last three games, including a season-high 21 points in Cleveland’s win over Minnesota on Wednesday. He’s averaging 11.6 points this season.
Nuggets: Forward Kenyon Martin said he’ll have to gut it out because of a sore wrist he aggravated last week. “It’s painful,” Martin said. “I don’t like to sit down, so just got to fight through it.” . . . Nuggets coach George Karl said the Nuggets won’t look to do much differently against Cleveland after losing to the Cavaliers on Nov. 13. “We haven’t changed a lot of our game plans all year long,” Karl said. “We just try to do what we do a little better.”
Cavaliers: Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas (ankle) is doubtful for tonight’s game, coach Mike Brown said. . . . Center Ben Wallace, a former teammate of Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups in Detroit, is not surprised at the success Denver has had since trading for him. “He’s a leader, a floor general,” Wallace said. “He knows how to run the show on both ends of the court. Good things are always going to happen when you have those types of players on the team.”
Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post
