Okay, I'm really late with this, but I finally watched a Tivo of Detroit vs. Cleveland from Thanksgiving Eve. Lebron was ridiculous, scoring 43 points while guarded mostly by Tayshaun Prince, the best on-ball defender in the NBA last year. It was the way he scored that was so impressive, taking the ball aggressively to the hoop, using left hand and right. Of course, Ben Wallace wasn't inside to enforce a perimeter around the paint, but still.
"He hit some hard shots," said Tayshaun Prince, who was outscored 43-4 in his matchup with James. "He's the hardest guy in the league to guard. His speed, quickness and athletic ability are unmatched."
This is a good sign for Lebron. Many thought he was extra motivated to prove to Larry Brown, the coach who benched him most of the Olympics, that Brown was wrong. Jordan had that killer instinct, like whenever he felt slighted by an opponent or a coach, or even if someone implied that someone was better than he was. Think of the 35 he dropped on Drexler in the NBA finals Game One, or the 51 he dumped on the Knicks when Jeff Van Gundy implied that Jordan conned players into thinking he was their friend so he could pound them on the court. I was at that last game, and when Jordan hit that last jumpshot to go over 50, he shouted at Van Gundy with a look of pure death. Gave me the chills.
If Lebron has that type of mean streak, we're in for some good times. Good times.