James takes pressure off point

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

James takes pressure off point
By Mark Murphy
Monday, November 17, 2003

Last summer, while Danny Ainge was still pondering who to bring in to help
supplement rookie point guard Marcus Banks [news], he had a strong hunch about
Mike James [news].

     Though he first offered a minimum-level contract to free agent Travis
Best, the Celtics' director of basketball operations sounded almost glad when
Best dug in for more money.

     Ainge turned on a dime, offered a similar deal to James, and noted that
he actually liked the former Miami Heat guard better.

     The story deserves repeating as the Celtics head into New York for
tonight's game against the Knicks. Point guard - a position in considerable
flux during training camp - no longer appears to be an issue with James the
regular starter and Banks cemented in a long-term understudy role.

     Considering he's a 29-year-old with only two years of NBA experience,
plus a number of exotic pit stops like Austria and France to his credit, one
might think there was a time when James may not have seen this coming.

     Wrong.

     ``I always thought I would make it here,'' James said after yesterday's
practice. ``My ultimate goal was to play in the NBA. I just knew that I wasn't
going to take the same route to get there as most other people. It was going
to take me a little longer.

     ``I was going to have to knock on the door a few times before it opened.
But I was going to continue to fight for that door to open.''

     The result, at least right now, is something of a pleasant surprise for
all concerned.

     Celtics coach Jim O'Brien admittedly didn't know much about James when
the former Duquesne star first reported for work in late September.

     ``I know Mike James was a guy who we were impressed with when we scouted
Miami,'' said O'Brien. ``He had great speed, and he was a dangerous 3-point
shooter.

     ``What I didn't know was how he was going to react as a starting point
guard. I didn't know how his defense was going to hold up.''

     The coaching and front office staff also probably didn't know how James
would handle the additional responsibilities unique to the Celtics' situation,
like tutoring Banks or helping to blend a new cast of players into O'Brien's
system.

     ``I just have to be a floor general out there - learn how to be a leader,
and I think it's in me to be a leader,'' James said. ``It's nice that they
trust me on the floor. And the more (teammates) respond for me, the better
this will become.

     ``I believe this is a great fit for me,'' he said. ``I couldn't ask for
anything better, and coach O'Brien has seen the progress in me. But if I slack
off, then he'll have to make a change in the lineup, so I just have to keep
going.

     ``But I believe I'll get better as the season goes on, just like I think
we're going to be a better team as the season goes on. None of this is about
individual accolades. This is about becoming a better team. We're not even
playing good basketball yet. We'll be even more dangerous when we all get on
the same page.''
Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx