NBA Cavs' James prepares for first game

The Cavaliers will play in a summer league game Tuesday night.
THE ORLANDO SENTINEL
ORLANDO, Fla. -- LeBron James is comfortable here. He doesn't need protection from this, although there are two security guards outside of a gymnasium just in case. He has returned to the basketball court, which is where he loves to be, and no amount of hype or pressure can change that.
Three practices into NBA life, and he's still smiling. He's still 18 going on stardom. He's still exuberant.
"I think I'm pretty good," James said, sitting on a table after a two-hour workout Sunday, answering a question about how he is handling the attention. "I don't know. You tell me. Am I pretty good? I'm pretty good with it. I'm pretty all right with it."
Actually, James is better than all right. He is already an all-star at schmoozing with the media. He has arrived, and he is prepared.
This is the easy part. And this is the hard part.
It's easy because James has always been secure around the game of basketball, even with the unparalleled hoopla. It's hard because, with each step he takes in his career, the expectations seem to multiply tenfold.
First step
The former high school phenom will play his first organized game as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night at TD Waterhouse Centre. A crowd of more than 10,000 is expected to watch him on the first night of the Pepsi Pro Summer League.
At last count, 8,200 tickets have been claimed for the event, which is a tripleheader and includes teams from Cleveland, Detroit, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota and Orlando. The Magic also have issued 108 media credentials.
James, who on Sunday officially stated that he will play, begins his career in a fitting fashion. He understands the intrigue about his talent. It is part of the reason he has reached almost $100 million in endorsement deals before playing a regular season game. James also knows that people will be watching for several reasons, including wondering whether he is worth all the fuss.
"There's a lot of doubters out there that I have to prove wrong," James said. "But that just comes from me working hard and playing the game the way I've been doing my whole high school career and carrying it on to the next level."
James will not make the all-star team off Tuesday's performance. He won't be kicked out of the league if he doesn't play well, either. This is just the first test -- albeit a very public first test -- in an adult life that will be full of them.
He expects to be a little rusty. Before Sunday, the last time he practiced with a team was March 22, the day before he led St. Vincent-St. Mary High School to the state championship.
Forward Darius Miles compared James' court sense to that of Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd. "You know, J-Kidd makes other players get maximum contracts," Miles said, imagining the possibilities.
For now, though, James will just try to hone his game on the next closest level to the NBA.
"We'll see what happens on Tuesday," he said. "Right now, we're just learning. We're not trying to judge us by a summer league game. We have to wait until the season starts."