'King' LeBron James remains a royal pain for Nets
The Nets haven't won the big games and they haven't beaten the Heat since 2008, and in recent seasons, James has gone far out of his way to torture and impugn the Nets.
Corey Sipkin/New York Daily NewsLeBron James has good reason to feel better than everyone else. He happens to be better.
Jason Kidd was always the purest of point guards, while LeBron James is the flashiest, most intimidating player in the game today. They are different players, different people. The stark difference in disposition was never more evident than when James visited Brooklyn Thursday as Kidd's No. 5 went up into the rafters.
Kidd was uncomfortable in the spotlight, crediting those Jersey players who grabbed his passes in stride and finished the layups, all the way to two Finals. He appreciated the honor, but wanted the ceremony to be over and done. Kidd spoke like a pawn, even though he was always more than that.
James? He talked like the King, of course. Like he was still hosting his own ESPN special.
'I got so many kids that look up to me, as a role model, to look at me as a hero, as a superhero, even as a father and brother at times, I got a responsibility to hold up,' James said, when asked if two titles were enough. 'I got the talent, and I'm gonna take full advantage of it. The championships are all great, but I'm playing for more than that. I got a bigger calling than that.'
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This much is clear: If Kidd is going to do something special as coach of the Nets, he will have to go directly through or over James, and the superiority complex that comes with the Heat forward. The preseason game was a nice start, an 86-62 victory for the Nets built on a hearty defense that held the Heat to 32% shooting. Still, James has good reason to feel better than everyone else. He happens to be better. His disregard for the Nets over the years has bordered on arrogance, and at times has been downright provocative.
Some of that has come naturally enough. The Nets haven't won the big games and they haven't beaten the Heat since 2008, when Kidd was playing for them. In recent seasons, James has gone far out of his way to torture and impugn the Nets, even suggesting that the league disband the franchise, along with the Timberwolves, if contraction were necessary.
In Newark two seasons ago, he took it easy on the Nets at first, then scored the Heat's final 17 points to put away Jersey. Last season, when Avery Johnson was fired, James ripped the players for allegedly abandoning their coach.
'It's a shame,' James said then. 'It sucks that Avery had to take the hit for them not wanting to play at a high level.'
RELATED: NETS RETIRE KIDD'S NO. 5 IN PREGAME CEREMONYWhen Reggie Evans suggested that the Heat's first title was tainted by the lockout, James utterly dominated Evans on the floor, held him to zero offensive rebounds. Then he asked for a scoresheet in the locker room.
'Let me look at the numbers real quick,' James said, impishly.
On Wednesday, James took a turn lashing out at Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, basically calling them hypocrites for agreeing to the deal that sent them to Brooklyn. James said those two had complained about Ray Allen's lack of loyalty, and now they were doing the same thing.
By Thursday, before he scored 16 points in 28 minutes on 7-for-15 shooting, James was done mocking and ripping the Nets. 'I'm not commenting on any more teams or players,' he said. Asked if Brooklyn were a title contender, he said, 'I have no idea.'
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James took his lumps throughout the game, a bracing sight for the home crowd. He was jeered every time he touched the ball, and then both Garnett and Pierce hammered him on several moves toward the basket. The Nets bodied up to James in the lane, as they must do in their home opener on Nov. 1 - when facing Miami will be much, much harder. After scoring on one cute scoop play in the third quarter, James walked to the Net bench and teased Kidd about the basket.
After the rude treatment at Barclays Center, James wouldn't concede that the Net defense had improved from its famously soft version.
'It's too early,' he said, simply. He briefly honored Pierce and Garnett from their Celtic days. 'You had to kill those guys,' James said. 'They wouldn't stop.'
They are in Brooklyn now, and James has nothing much to say about them. On Thursday, he didn't invite a single Net to join him at his royal court.
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