Tuesday Night Tip-Dunk: LeBron James Debuts The Big Apple in the Big Apple

Cleveland Cavaliers 119, at New York Knicks 101

The stars flocked to Madison Square Garden to see LeBron James debut his new Nikes, The Big Apple.  Its no secret the New York Knicks are courting King James, and there was a reciprocal buzz as ‘Bron acted out his chalk-tossing ritual before the game.

Jay-Z and Beyonce oohed as James swatted a layup back to half court in the opening minutes.  Julia Styles and Senator Bill Bradley awed as LeBron hit back-to-back threes.  The NBA's sweetest-speaking announcer, Clyde Frasier, tried to reminisce about a player as big, strong, and athletic as James—but drew a blank.

It's hard to determine if Knicks fans were more smitten with James, or if he was more elated to be in New York.  Either way, we are still over a year away from the Knicks even being able to negotiate with LeBron.

The money is there, and the jerseys would sell—but aside from being Madison Avenue’s dream, is LeBron James really the right fit basketball-wise for the New York Knicks?

There will be an abundance of talent available in 2010, and out of that group James' style reflects Mike D'Antoni's the least.  In a season-low 30 minutes James, did his best to prove he can run-n-gun by shooting three-for-seven from behind the arc.  But the reality is that James is a below-average three-point shooter who generally dominates the offensive flow in order to incorporate his teammates and lead his team to victories.

Maybe D'Antoni can adjust his patented style of play to match James' game.  Or maybe the Knicks will go away from the media spectacle that would be LeBron James in New York, and invest all of those millions building in a team.

All of the focus is on 2010, but the Knicks still have to finish 2008 and 2009.  Al Harrington and Tim Thomas had their Knick debuts, while Cuttino Mobley sat out due to a heart complication.

Harrington seemed like a new man, now that he is back in the New York area and away from Don Nelson.  He had an emphatic two-handed slam in his first minutes of play, but his shot was rusty, as this was his first game in 20 days. 

Without practicing with the team, Thomas was four-for-eight from behind the arc, and is showing that he's happy to be out of Mike Dunleavy's restrictive offense.

As if things weren't bad enough for the Knicks, spark-plug guard Nate Robinson left the game with a groin injury.  Is it 2010 yet?

Golden State Warriors 100, at Washington Wizards 124

Apparently the problem in Washington was former coach Eddie Jordan.  In Ed Tapscott's first game as Wizards Head Coach, he led Washington to an impressive victory, getting the best out of both his starters and his bench. 

Caron Butler scored 35 points, Antwan Jamison had his sixth-consecutive double-double, and Andray Blatche came off the bench to add 25 points, 12 rebound, five assists, five blocks, and two steals in 29 minutes of play.

New Warrior Jamal Crawford was hesitant in 29 minutes of play, opting to dish the ball to teammates when it looked like he could have asserted himself more on offense.  Surely, he will relax and fall into the flow after a few more games.

Don Nelson started a four-around-one lineup that included red-hot rookie Anthony Morrow, although he only played 15 minutes.  I would expect the veteran coach to play with many lineups before he finds one he wants to stick with.  Until then, the Warriors may struggle while trying to find themselves. 

Phoenix Suns 99, at Oklahoma City Thunder 98

Oklahoma City's interim head coach Scott Brooks could taste his first NBA victory—until Matt Barnes ripped it out his mouth with a late three.

The Thunder looked to take advantage of the Suns not playing Shaquille O'Neal, but 17 fourth-quarter points will not get the job done against a high-octane, playoff-caliber team like Phoenix. 

Steve Nash led the fourth quarter charge, finishing with 20 points, eight rebounds, and 15 assists.  The two-time MVP turned the ball over seven times in the contest, mostly in the first half—which lead to the deficit. 

If the Thunder continue blowing games, as I suspect they will, fans will soon be welcoming Oklahoma City native Blake Griffin to the 2009-10 lineup.