duncan228
02-28-2009, 01:39 AM
Magic of LeBron can be found in the dust (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Magic_of_LeBron_can_be_found_in_the_dust.html)
Buck Harvey
On the back of the container, spelled out for anyone who cares to look, is a warning.
“Caution: Avoid inhaling dust to reduce the risk of respiratory problems.”
But for LeBron James, such details don’t matter. He heaped a pile of Cramer Rosin Mixture into his hands Friday night, and he splashed the powder into the air as he does every night, and he let it soak in.
So did the front row directly in front of him, but that doesn’t matter, either. In a league burdened by the economic downturn, with teams in line to take loans from the NBA office, the moment defines the Chosen One.
James is immune to everything.
He was immune to whatever the Spurs tried against him Friday, too. He dunked a few times as if he thought he was Pops Mensah-Bonsu, and his series of 3-pointers in the third quarter separated the Cavaliers from the Spurs for good.
Not playing even a second in the fourth quarter, James ended with 30 points in 32 minutes.
The Spurs should have seen this coming. James was flat the night before in Houston, partly because of Ron Artest and partly because it happens every decade or so.
Then, against the Rockets, James finished without an assist for the first time in his pro career, and the streak was remarkable. Only three players had longer assist runs to begin their careers, and all three were point guards.
James should have been bothered. Instead, when asked about the statistical first before Friday’s game, he smiled.
“Set another record,” he kidded.
He was as relaxed before the tip, too. He saluted his teammates as he was introduced, and he danced, and he pretended to take a photograph.
ESPN was here, and so was the ham inside of James. No one in memory — not Rodman, not Shaq — has played to the crowd with seemingly every pregame motion as James does.
His rosin act is part of that, highlighting something that should be as thrilling as pulling on a pair of socks. Players use the powder to take the sweat off their palms, and they usually apply the mix softly, with their hands often below the scorers’ table.
There’s the risk of respiratory problems, after all.
A few years ago Michael Jordan began to dust directly in front of a Bulls’ television voice, and Kevin Garnett followed with something similar. In his first two years in the league, James was subdued by comparison.
When the Cavaliers began to play well in his third season, James started a routine. As the last player to walk out to begin the game, he wanted put on his own floorshow.
Dwyane Wade has his personalized Band-Aid; James has his chalk. And here’s the twist: James doesn’t appear to really need the stuff, since he rarely uses the powder again after the game starts.
“I don’t know why I started throwing (the rosin) up,” James said recently. “But it is definitely trademarked.”
Trademarked and sold. Nike turned the image into a commercial, with a shoe line in place, and these things literally leave an impression on James. After Nike launched its “Witness” campaign a few years ago, he had the word “Witness” tattooed on his right leg.
Now he leaves a mark on others. As fans leaned forward with their cameras Friday night, anticipating the moment when a superstar would actually put rosin on his hands, James didn’t disappoint.
With arms raised over his head, with the dust flying up into the AT&T Center, he made for a good photo op.
NBA teams will line up for him with the same, giddy interest, and there isn’t much they are giddy about these days. A reported half-dozen teams are struggling to make payroll, and several are expected to take advantage of David Stern’s new loan program.
The Spurs have shown similar signs. They’ve been acting like newspapers have, laying off about a dozen the past month.
Still, each team would bid whatever they could for James in the summer of 2010, because there isn’t anyone who combines health and youth and talent and salesmanship as he does. James is the one guarantee in this economic era, resistant to seemingly everything.
Including whatever is in the air.
Buck Harvey
On the back of the container, spelled out for anyone who cares to look, is a warning.
“Caution: Avoid inhaling dust to reduce the risk of respiratory problems.”
But for LeBron James, such details don’t matter. He heaped a pile of Cramer Rosin Mixture into his hands Friday night, and he splashed the powder into the air as he does every night, and he let it soak in.
So did the front row directly in front of him, but that doesn’t matter, either. In a league burdened by the economic downturn, with teams in line to take loans from the NBA office, the moment defines the Chosen One.
James is immune to everything.
He was immune to whatever the Spurs tried against him Friday, too. He dunked a few times as if he thought he was Pops Mensah-Bonsu, and his series of 3-pointers in the third quarter separated the Cavaliers from the Spurs for good.
Not playing even a second in the fourth quarter, James ended with 30 points in 32 minutes.
The Spurs should have seen this coming. James was flat the night before in Houston, partly because of Ron Artest and partly because it happens every decade or so.
Then, against the Rockets, James finished without an assist for the first time in his pro career, and the streak was remarkable. Only three players had longer assist runs to begin their careers, and all three were point guards.
James should have been bothered. Instead, when asked about the statistical first before Friday’s game, he smiled.
“Set another record,” he kidded.
He was as relaxed before the tip, too. He saluted his teammates as he was introduced, and he danced, and he pretended to take a photograph.
ESPN was here, and so was the ham inside of James. No one in memory — not Rodman, not Shaq — has played to the crowd with seemingly every pregame motion as James does.
His rosin act is part of that, highlighting something that should be as thrilling as pulling on a pair of socks. Players use the powder to take the sweat off their palms, and they usually apply the mix softly, with their hands often below the scorers’ table.
There’s the risk of respiratory problems, after all.
A few years ago Michael Jordan began to dust directly in front of a Bulls’ television voice, and Kevin Garnett followed with something similar. In his first two years in the league, James was subdued by comparison.
When the Cavaliers began to play well in his third season, James started a routine. As the last player to walk out to begin the game, he wanted put on his own floorshow.
Dwyane Wade has his personalized Band-Aid; James has his chalk. And here’s the twist: James doesn’t appear to really need the stuff, since he rarely uses the powder again after the game starts.
“I don’t know why I started throwing (the rosin) up,” James said recently. “But it is definitely trademarked.”
Trademarked and sold. Nike turned the image into a commercial, with a shoe line in place, and these things literally leave an impression on James. After Nike launched its “Witness” campaign a few years ago, he had the word “Witness” tattooed on his right leg.
Now he leaves a mark on others. As fans leaned forward with their cameras Friday night, anticipating the moment when a superstar would actually put rosin on his hands, James didn’t disappoint.
With arms raised over his head, with the dust flying up into the AT&T Center, he made for a good photo op.
NBA teams will line up for him with the same, giddy interest, and there isn’t much they are giddy about these days. A reported half-dozen teams are struggling to make payroll, and several are expected to take advantage of David Stern’s new loan program.
The Spurs have shown similar signs. They’ve been acting like newspapers have, laying off about a dozen the past month.
Still, each team would bid whatever they could for James in the summer of 2010, because there isn’t anyone who combines health and youth and talent and salesmanship as he does. James is the one guarantee in this economic era, resistant to seemingly everything.
Including whatever is in the air.