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Exhibition or Not, James Knows Score

Even though it’s only October, just the preseason, LeBron James knew this wasn’t just another game.

He searched the Cleveland Cavaliers’ locker room for some skin lotion; can’t step onto the court in L.A. with ashy legs. He borrowed a brush from teammate Carlos Boozer, even though every hair appeared to be in place.

He was ready for his NBA debut in Los Angeles, and ready for his close-up.

“It’s on national TV,” James said, well aware that TNT had sent its “A” crew of Marv Albert, Mike Fratello and Steve Kerr to broadcast this game. “I’m trying to get a good rating. We’re going to be on TV a lot. If we can play good here, we’re going to get a lot of people watching during the season. It’ll help the NBA, also.”

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The league needs anything it can get to take the focus away from Kobe Bryant’s legal proceedings in Eagle, Colo., and back onto the court.

Even when the topic is basketball, the Lakers should dominate the headlines on most days. But not Thursday night. Not when James was in action and Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal weren’t.

James is enough to draw a crowd. He sold out Pauley Pavilion when the St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School Tour came this way last year. And he brought his share of red, No. 23 jersey-wearing fans to Staples Center on Thursday night. (That’s one way he has already helped the NBA and the Cavaliers; sales of Cavaliers merchandise at the team store in the four months since James was drafted and the new uniforms were introduced are up 400% from the same time period a year ago.)

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The Laker preseason needed a little boost. Tuesday’s game in San Diego, their third without Bryant (sore right knee) and first without O’Neal (bruised left heel), was dismal. Their continued absence Thursday took some of the excitement away from the home premieres of Karl Malone and Gary Payton. And it was hard for the crowd to get too enthusiastic about a Laker starting lineup that included Kareem Rush and Eric Chenowith. Not exactly the names you’ll be seeing in any advertising campaigns.

Enter James, the leader of the next wave of the NBA. We’re already to the point where rookies come into the league who grew up admiring Kobe Bryant and dreaming of playing in Staples Center, not the Forum.

That’s why it was surprising to hear James say his memories of the Lakers consisted of: “Runnin’ and gunnin’ -- Magic leading the floor and [Michael] Cooper and Byron Scott running down the sidelines.

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Because James was born in 1984, four years and two championships into the Showtime era, he either has a very good recollection of his early years or watches a lot of NBA TV.

The problem with James and his athletic Cavalier teammates such as Darius Miles and Ricky Davis is that they embody all of the highlight elements of the great 1980s teams, but few of the fundamentals.

James shot four for 18 and scored eight points with six assists Thursday. Even though Miles’ skills looked much more developed than his Clipper days, he still shot six for 15.

It’s why James said the playoffs are a “long-term goal” right now, and so is the time when James lives up to all of the hype and money thrown his way.

Until then, he’ll be a success. He’ll buy time because of the way he deals with the media and the way he treats fans, especially the young ones, and because he’ll try to share the ball and as much attention as he can with his teammates.

“I’ve never seen an 18-year-old kid handle things the way he does,” Cleveland Coach Paul Silas said. “He just knows what to say at the right time. He knows how to act. He has this air about him that’s very charming. He’s just a nice young man.”

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Because of James, there were even more reporters at Cleveland’s media day than there were in Hawaii for the start of Lakers’ camp and Bryant’s first public comments since the day he was charged with felony sexual assault in July. And James will be expected to answer the same set of questions at every stop. His theme since he was drafted is that this is the life he has chosen. He realizes you can’t have the fame and fortune without the obligations.

“It’s not that much pressure for me, because everything that happens right now is because of me,” James said. “ I created this because of how well I played the game of basketball, so I’m just going to keep continuing to do the right thing.”

He did just enough right things Thursday night to draw some oohs and ahhs, including a fastbreak dunk in which he looked like a Gulfstream jet taking off, and an alley-oop play in which he leaped to catch a pass, turned in mid-air and threw a lob to Davis for the jam.

The Lakers had their entertaining moments as well. First, Payton’s facial expressions alone are worth the price of a courtside seat. And the way he pushes the ball upcourt every opportunity will get the Lakers more fast-break baskets in a month than they had all of last year.

Payton benefited from a passing sequence from Luke Walton to Malone to him for a layup in the second quarter. He fed a nice pass to Jannero Pargo for a layup in the fourth quarter. And Malone finally enjoyed those many hours of working out and running up and down the court when he filled the right lane on a fastbreak and took a pass from Derek Fisher for a slam dunk.

One of the loudest cheers James or anyone else heard all night came when he fouled out with 37.6 seconds remaining and the Lakers ahead by four points

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Just a reminder that these Laker fans are looking for as much entertainment as before, but more victories than ever.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at [email protected]

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