Cleveland’s Moses

CLEVELAND – When LeBron James crashed to the floor at the Palace of Auburn Hills last Wednesday, Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said his heart skipped a beat. Brown sprinted down the court to check on James as the franchise crawled around on his right knee, writhing in pain, with his left foot elevated.

In that brief moment of despair, discussions of James’ late charge at the league’s Most Valuable Player award, his string of nine consecutive games with at least 35 points, and his recent success at hitting buzzer-beating jumpers didn’t matter. As James limped off the court late in the third quarter of a loss against the Detroit Pistons, they were replaced by thoughts of another LeBron-less postseason.

To the relief of Brown and many around basketball, it was only a sprained ankle. Nothing serious. Nothing that would keep James out of more than just one regular-season game and certainly nothing that will keep him out of the playoffs, something the city of Cleveland has been without for eight years. In his third season, James will finally get to take the stage in the NBA playoffs.

James has had a spectacular regular season. At only 21, he is about to become the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists, joining a small fraternity that includes Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Michael Jordan. In leading the long-suffering Cavaliers to the playoffs for the first time since 1998 (when he was in seventh grade), James has improved in almost all aspects of his game – shooting, scoring, rebounding, passing and leadership on and off the court.

“He’s one of the top two or three players in the league now,” Detroit Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups said. “He’s climbed to the top of the mountain very quickly. With the hype he got coming in, it was hard to imagine that he could’ve lived up to it. He’s surpassed it.”

But James understands that his already larger-than-life persona – he is featured attempting a dunk on a 10-story billboard in downtown Cleveland with the caption, “We’re All Witnesses” – can elevate only in the postseason.

“That’s a road you have to follow if you want to be considered among the great ones,” said NBA commissioner David Stern, who will surely enjoy the ratings boost James’ presence in the playoffs will provide. “The campaign last year about the Finals was ‘Where Legends are Born,’ and I think you could have said that for the playoffs. … Clearly in order to write yourself large in NBA history, you’ve got to be in the playoffs.”

Many around the league are anxious to see how James responds, but Brown said he has no concerns about him.

“I think it is going to be an adjustment period for him,” he said. “You can hear about it, you can watch it on TV, but until you go through it and experience it, you won’t really know what you’re getting into. But that guy has ice water in his veins. He’s about as cool as there is out there. Not once have I seen him fold or panic. I can’t see the playoffs being a place where he is going to … get scared.”

Few players have an immediate effect their first time in the postseason. Michael Jordan advanced to the postseason as a rookie, but needed four trips to actually win a playoff series. Shaquille O’Neal got swept. Kobe Bryant is remembered for shooting two air balls in crunch time against Utah.

“At every level of his short NBA career, he’s responded, and I think he’ll respond in the playoffs. But it’s not going to be easy. No matter how great those guys are, it’s not easy the first time,” said Cavaliers point guard Eric Snow, who played in Philadelphia with Allen Iverson, one of the few stars who dived right into playoff success.

“I don’t worry about it,” said James. “My game doesn’t change. I’m still going to be the same player I am right now in the regular season. … My game elevates to the level of play.”