'Other' guard shines

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

'Other' guard shines

Ohioan Bremer helps lift Celtics to victory

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 7/15/2003

veryone in the sellout crowd of approximately 2,500 at the Clark Athletic
Center gym knew the kid from Ohio would put on a show and lead all scorers.
And Boston fans craving a dose of NBA ball in the middle of July were not
disappointed with the performance of J.R. Bremer last night. The Celtics'
second-year guard led all scorers with 28 points (7 for 12, 5 for 8 from
3-point range) and 6 assists. That other kid from Ohio, LeBron James, now
playing for the Cavaliers and with a $90 million endorsement contract from
Nike, finished with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocked shots.



''They all expect him to be the highlight reel,'' said Bremer. ''I just came
and played and quietly ended up with a lot of points.''

The 3-point differential between the two made a difference in the end. Bremer
and the Celtics beat James and the Cavaliers, 87-84, on the opening night of
the Reebok Pro Summer League.

But Bremer knew when his family watched the sports report last night in his
hometown of Cleveland there would be little, if any, mention of his efforts.
The only glimpse his relatives might get would be of the 6-foot-2-inch Bremer
attempting to guard the 6-8 James.

There was at least one James highlight that came at the expense of Bremer.
With six minutes and four seconds left in the fourth quarter, James spun
around Bremer and headed to the basket for a powerful righthanded dunk over
Kendrick Perkins. The dunk was part of a James-led comeback that fell just
short.

Boston relied on the defensive skills of Bremer, Kedrick Brown (16 points, 10
rebounds), and rookie Marcus Banks to contain James. Collectively, they did a
good enough job to earn the win, though James said the crowd only saw his
''C'' game and he needed to get into a more consistent and comfortable flow
with his new teammates.

Regardless of the grade James gave himself, the Celtics were respectfully
complimentary. But they were far from intimidated by the most-hyped summer
league player of all time.

''He's a basketball player, man,'' said Banks. ''He puts his pants on the same
way I put mine on. He's a great kid though. He's very explosive. I can't say
anything more about him. You guys already know. But like I've said, I'm not
going to back down from anyone. He did a great job tonight, but we came away
with the victory. That's all.''

Banks was a crowd favorite from the moment he was introduced and lived up to
his billing as a speedy point guard with strong defensive skills. He finished
with 10 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals, spending most of his time on the
defensive end guarding James.

''My strategy was to make him turn his back to the court,'' said Banks. ''I
got out and pressured him a little bit, which made him play with his back to
me. Once I do that, my job's done 'cause you don't have eyes in the back of
your head. So, you can't see what's going on. And I think I did a pretty good
job of that early in the first half.''

Added Brown: ''No strategy [for me]. He's a great player. I just tried to
contain him, make him take some tough shots and he hit some tough shots.''

With Banks on the court for 32 minutes, Bremer saw a lot of time at shooting
guard. While he proved he could contribute offensively from the 2 spot,
size-wise James was a tough guard for Bremer.

''I was thinking about just playing him like I play everybody else,'' said
Bremer. ''He's real good. He went No. 1, so he has to be something. He knocked
off some nice shots today, some tough ones and he hit his open jumpers. But
no, nothing surprised me.''

The familiarity traces all the way back to the players' Ohio roots. James
mentioned that he and Bremer work out at the same facility in Euclid, though
Bremer said he has never trained with James. With his high-scoring performance
last night, Bremer's attention to improving his shooting this offseason paid
dividends.

The ESPYs in Los Angeles are next for James, while Bremer and the Celtics face
San Antonio tomorrow. When James resumes his summer league schedule, hopefully
Thursday, Boston fans will have a chance to find out more about James and his
game. Bremer, Banks, and Brown learned a whole lot last night.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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