Celtics give James credit: Ainge likens him to Magic

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Celtics give James credit: Ainge likens him to Magic
By Steve Bulpett
Friday, November 14, 2003

LeBron James has received a lot of praise for his game and maturity, but he
assuredly has heard nothing greater than what Danny Ainge sent his way.

     ``He reminds me a little bit of Magic Johnson at the same age,'' the
Celtics director of basketball operations said yesterday, raising the name of
perhaps the most complete basketball entity (savvy on and off the court) of
the modern game.

     In his first season out of high school, James seems to be impressing NBA
people more with his subtleties than his highlights - although he has the
latter part covered.

     ``LeBron is a special player,'' Ainge said. ``He's a
once-every-20-years-or-so type of player. He's mature above his age -
mentally, physically, emotionally. It just seems like he was born to play
basketball. Obviously it's early in his career, but it appears that he's a
pretty stable kid.

     ``His knowledge of the game and his physical presence are unbelievable
for a kid his age. It's as good as I can ever remember at that age. I played
against Magic Johnson in high school (an AAU game in Florida), and he's the
closest that I can compare him to.''

     Ainge gets the chance to compare James to his Celtics tonight when the
Cavaliers visit the FleetCenter. The C's are looking forward to their first
date with James, and would like a win to erase the memory of Wednesday's
disturbing home loss to Chicago.

     ``You've never seen a guy come out of high school and he's sacrificing so
much of his game for the better of the team, and that's rarely seen from young
players,'' Paul Pierce [news] said. ``Most young players in the league are
selfish. They want to go out there and put up big numbers, but you really
don't see that from a young guy like him.

     ``It's going to be a lot of fun - (he's) just a fresh new face into the
league. He's built up a lot of excitement, but it's just another game for me.
I mean, LeBron James, he's going to be a great player, but it's just another
game.''

     Eric Williams also is impressed with the young phenom, but he's got his
own work to do tonight.

     ``He's a very unselfish type of player to be a rookie like that,''
Williams said. ``He knows how to play the game. You rarely see guys his age
understanding how to play games and getting everybody involved. That's one
attribute that he's got that other rookies didn't have in the past.

     ``But I'm just playing basketball. . . . It's not an individual type of
situation. I mean, we're playing the Cleveland Cavaliers and we've just got to
go out and try to get a win.

     ``I've seen (James) at the MTV Awards - I've met him already,'' Williams
added. ``It's just normal. I played against Michael Jordan when I was a
rookie. . . . I'm happy for (James') success and what he's been doing and what
he's meant for the NBA, but as far as playing basketball, we're playing the
Cleveland Cavaliers.''

     Jim O'Brien also lauded James, and was asked if he felt for someone in
his situation.

     ``Do I feel for LeBron?'' O'Brien countered. ``Not even a half a percent.
I think so much is expected of him and I think he's delivering at a very, very
high level - a very mature level - and he's putting up numbers that are hard
to believe from a kid out of high school.

     ``I guess I would have an ounce of sympathy if he was failing in any way,
but I don't see any evidence of that.

     ``He's basketball wise,'' the coach added. ``He has a real feel for the
way the game should be played. He had no problem understanding the flow of the
NBA. He just seamlessly fits into the NBA scheme, and I could not be any more
impressed with his maturity.''

     Tonight's game, however, is the main concern for the Celtics. They want
to put James aside and get down to business. So when Pierce was asked about
going to watch a summer league game in which James played, he said: ``I was
actually there to watch (Celts guard) Marcus Banks [news].''
Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx