LeBron James already knows what it feels like to play in a game wearing the 76ers jersey. The forward has taken part in his first preseason matchup with his new team in the 114-108 defeat to Brooklyn, where he began to show signs of how his adaptation might unfold in an ecosystem so rich in talent as the one he has found in Philadelphia. A talent that, at least in this initial contact, has sought to nourish by displaying his abilities as a playmaker.
It is evident that projecting how a season will unfold based on the opening minutes of the preseason can be a futile exercise, but James’s start was the mark of a player who wants to integrate into the system and feed it more than impose his terms. Passing has always been his main priority, and he did it with the full range of tools he has shown throughout his career: passes to cutters, in transition, skip passes to shooters… And at the pace set by his leadership, the visitors’ offense began to come alive.
James finished with 5 assists in the 18 minutes he played, all of them in the first half, but the stat does not do him full justice. The stat line does not capture those sequences where one of his passes created the advantage but did not count as the final assist, where the recipient was fouled and scored on the free throw, or where a teammate released an open shot and missed. Almost every time the ball passed through him, it was to let it go, and typically to improve the ensuing play.
On the other hand, his more aggressive scoring version was not on display at all. The Barclays Center buzzed with excitement each time he approached the rim, eager to witness the King’s first basket with his new court, but LeBron only delivered one not particularly flashy field goal in a semi-transition, the lone field goal of the entire game. The rest of his points came from the free-throw line, where, going 8-for-8, he reached 10 points.
A figure that he will surely surpass when the big nights arrive.
A Different Experience
And the Akron native is very clear that this is only the first of many steps. In his remarks, he acknowledged that the change of scenery made this a special test, as well as that he still has to get used to sharing the floor with his new teammates. And for that, he needs to keep accumulating experiences like this.
«It has been different. The mere act of wearing a new jersey is different, but at the end of the day basketball remains basketball. I’m glad I could log some minutes with my new teammates after spending the last two weeks facing them in practices. We’re trying to complement each other as best as we can, but it’s going to take us some time. Today’s showing is a good example to keep building on.»
