<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kevin Garnett scored nine points the first time he started an NBA game. Kobe Bryant scored 12 as a first-time starter. Tracy McGrady scored 13 points in his first start, after following KG and Kobe in going straight from high school to the real world. None of those kiddies, of course, started in their very first NBA game. LeBron James? Much as I would prefer not to dredge up a Michael Jordan comparison, a mere 48 minutes into James' career, I can't help it. Jordan, after three years of college, scored 16 points in his 1986 debut. James had 12 points after a quarter Wednesday, 25 points by game's end and the distinct told-you-so pleasure of flashing an array of memorable moves -- dashed with poise -- that impressed you more than the stats. "I like criticism," James said, well aware that his spotty preseason play had the doubters lined up. "Makes me stronger." Maybe the hype is unfair and ridiculous. Maybe the expectations are unreachable. Maybe you're already sick of LeBron-A-Thon, one game in. Fine. Just don't blame the teenager, who didn't ask for the obsessive coverage and can't stop the machine when he shows up at the league's loudest arena and does all this. The stats were indeed spectacular in Cleveland's 106-92 defeat, as James added nine assists, six rebounds and four steals to his 25 points. Truth is, though, the moves were better than the stats. James' dunk in the first quarter wouldn't crack his personal top-10 for the night. He drilled his first three jumpers, improvised in midair for a wondrous lefty scoop shortly after halftime, lobbed alley-oops and ran the fast break with precision and, as the evening wore on, started drawing Jordan calls. James earned a trip to the free-throw line late in the third quarter on a touch foul as he hoisted a desperation 3-pointer to beat the shot clock. Even more impressive, he drew a fourth-quarter charge against the league's flop master. "He's the real deal," Vlade Divac said. "I never saw him play until today," added Kings teammate Peja Stojakovic. "Unbelievable." Of greatest importance, James dragged his team back into the game when it looked as though the Cavaliers would concede 100 points in three quarters. Cleveland allowed 14 first-half layups or dunks, seemingly all of them on backdoor cuts, largely because -- as coach Paul Silas feared -- Cleveland's youngsters were gripped by nerves. James, who already knows a little something about playing in front of a media mob, was one of the few Cavs who wasn't shaky early, but James alone could not prevent a 61-42 deficit. Instead he kept driving Cleveland until it erased all of the deficit. First Silas had to tell his team to relax, James aside. James then spent most of the second half showing off what Silas has loved about him since summer league. That would be James' special ability, at 18, to know when to push the ball on the break and when to pull it back and set up the offense. It's why he's back at point guard after Silas briefly took the ball away from James, trying (in vain) to lessen some of the pressure on him. "Those seven [exhibition] games we had him play were so important for him," Silas said. "He learned that he can do what he can do out there. The last couple games, he said, 'I think I got it.' " Nothing went terribly wrong for James until the final three minutes, when, trying to keep Cleveland in it at 100-92, he drew a charging foul as he found Carlos Boozer underneath for a dunk. The Cavs didn't score another point, but that was James' first turnover. He wound up with only two turnovers in 42 minutes. "You saw how it was," James said. "I just felt great tonight. "I'll be here all night if I talk about how happy I am to be here." </div> Full Story
