FanHouse LeBron James

NEW YORK -- It felt like a recruiting trip, the one he never had when he bypassed college for the NBA. Only this process involved the world's most glamorous arena, a 10-story Nike billboard out on Seventh Avenue and a hip-hop mogul like no other, ready to tell LeBron James that New York is a "concrete jungle where dreams are made of ... there's nothing you can't do.'' Every time James plays Madison Square Garden, with rapper homeboy Jay-Z sitting in the front row with other celebrities, the scene transcends sports and becomes an entertainment blowout.

The Bulls went into Cleveland on Thursday and pulled out a hard-fought win over the Cavaliers. It was a low-scoring, defensive struggle, as neither team shot the ball very well, so it's not surprising that the game came down to the final play.

LeBron James drove to the basket with three seconds left and his team trailing by one, and was met by two defenders when he got there -- Luol Deng, who was guarding him from the play's outset, and Joakim Noah, who came over to help at the last second. James appeared to jump into Noah, and there was definitely contact. But somewhat incredibly, the refs swallowed their whistles, and the Bulls won the game.

Was it the right call? Read on and judge for yourself.

Rome was not built in a day. But in two days, the NBA's version of Camelot sure has looked like the barbarians are at the gate.

OK, I'll try not to lob anymore historical metaphors at you. But you might want to get ready for a whole lot of consternation from the great state of Ohio, because the team with the best record in the league last year has started out 0-2. The Cavaliers fell to the Raptors in Toronto 101-91 to remain winless, and the same problems that surfaced Tuesday night in their loss to the Celtics reared their head again.

Home sweet home. Well, for one night anyway. In front of a 42-inch big screen on opening night in the NBA. Let's go ahead and try to read too much into it ...

• You can't tell me the Cleveland Cavaliers aren't going to come knocking for Stephen Jackson at some point. Looks like LeBron James is going to need some more help.

Hard as this is to say, it doesn't seem like Shaquille O'Neal can even be your No. 2 option. Apparently, the Cavs are reluctant to give up Zydrunas Ilgauskas for Jackson because Cleveland doesn't want to get smaller.

Welcome to the first edition of Home Delivery, your comprehensive roundup of last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Read along each morning as we bring the headline news to you in a format your grandpa would appreciate -- wait, what's a newspaper?

Man Ditches Agent Zero and Gets With Agent Hero

Gilbert Arenas returned to action Tuesday night against the Dallas Mavericks. As an Arenas owner, I'm a bit giddy over his performance -- 29 points, nine assists, 10-of-21 shooting from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. It's easy to look at his performance and state that he's "officially back," but we need to contain ourselves and play it cool. At least for one day.

---

---

CLEVELAND -- He always has a rapper's catchphrase for everything and everyone, primarily himself. And while Shaquille O'Neal really should adopt The Big Hypothermia -- an ode to a bone-chilled, unemployment-scarred town that couldn't be farther from Hollywood if it were on Uranus -- it's typical that he would produce a more creative, applicable nickname.

"I'm the Big Witness Protection Program," he said, playing off the Nike ad extravaganza for LeBron James. "I've come here to protect the King."

Works for me. Given their collective magnitude in pop culture, it's hard to fathom that Shaq, maybe the greatest entertainer ever known to sports, has arrived in middle-market Ohio to join hands with James, who soon will push aside old man Tiger Woods as the most prominent athlete in the land, if not the world. But this is the unusual bond that happens when the Cavaliers feel extreme urgency to win an NBA championship for James, so he doesn't flee next summer for New York -- and the Phoenix Suns only feel urgency to watch their bottom line. Shaq is shipped to Cleveland for a few pierogies, and, suddenly, a beleaguered town that hasn't won a major sports title since 1964 becomes pro basketball's epicenter.

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Tuesday, there are zero days remaining!

LeBron James is the most important player in the NBA -- both on and off the court.

He's already one of the all-time greats at age 24, and as the reigning MVP, he puts up the type of numbers you'd expect to see only in a video game. And you know what's really scary? No one knows just how good he can actually be.

With the start of the 2009-10 season looming, NBA FanHouse walks through the Valley of the Most Likely; we shall fear no topic.

Madison Square Garden is the crown jewel of NBA arenas. It's the oldest building in the league, and has hosted a ton of special moments throughout its history. Many of those moments likely helped shaped the hoop dreams of many of the league's current stars.

Of course, no one had a greater influence on making MSG a special place to play than Michael Jordan (sorry, Knicks fans). Since Jordan, every NBA player has wanted to come to the Garden and put on a show.

FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.

The market on Jamario Moon has been all over the place since he arrived in the NBA from various minor leagues and the D-League. At the tender age of 27, he was a Rookie of the Year candidate in 2007. Then he was a struggling sophomore at 28. He was traded to Miami and seemed to be a favorite target for Dwyane Wade for halfcourt alley-oops. But injury and a lack of cohesiveness with the Miami offense led to frustrations along with the Heat's first-round exit at the hands of the Hawks.

And now, four years after playing for the Arkansas RimRockers, a D-League team no longer in existence, Jamario Moon finds himself the reserve for a King.

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Cool things happen when a team trades for a center who has at least one MVP trophy on his mantel.

Wilt Chamberlain got traded, and won a championship. He was traded again, and won another title.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was dealt, and won five more crowns.

Bob McAdoo got traded, and later won two rings.

Bill Walton was shipped away, and eventually got another title.

Moses Malone was traded. You guessed it. He won a championship.

Shaquille O'Neal was dealt. He won a ring to add to the three already on his fingers.

---

---