Four game losing streak, starting point guard put on the injured list, out of the playoff seedings and with his team lacking confidence LeBron James put on a show worthy of some of the greatest players ever to play in the NBA.

What did he do?

41 points on 15-29 FGs & 10-10 FTs, 13 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and just 2 turnovers in 43 minutes.

And the Cavaliers needed every single one of them.  He scored 28 points in the second half, 12 in the third quarter, 16 in the fourth quarter, the last 10 for the Cavaliers and make every play necessary late in the game in leading the Cavaliers to a 107-104 victory over the New Jersey Nets and bring Cleveland into a tie with the Boston Celtics for the eight and final playoff spot.

      The performance was as much athletic and skillful artistry as it was basketball dominance.  Some of the plays he made are just incomparable to anyone else playing in the NBA today.  The play where he dashed into the passing lane, engulfed the ball with one hand, stopped on a dime, changed direction and promptly started dribbling up the sideline full speed flying past the Nets player who threw the pass and had at least ten feet of distance between himself and James fails to have any adjective give justice to its description.  It was a play that didn't make many highlights but ask yourself how many 6'8 240lb guys could have done it?  The list is short if not blank.  That play may not have been the only spectacular moment of James' display but for me it was the defining one.   

     Looking at the totality of the show James put on it is still hard to comprehend even after great performance after great performance that a rookie out of high school can be as good as James.  March 27th, 2004 was just a glimpse into the future of what LeBron James can be.  Watching such a combination of size, strength, speed, quickness, skill, vision and competitiveness fly up and down the court slashing through 2-3 defenders to score, finding teammate after teammate for open layup and jumpers, getting critical rebounds and key steals in any kind of Cleveland uniform is unreal.  I now know, as the first chapter of LeBron James' career comes to a close, what is feels like to be in Boston, Los Angeles or Chicago and be a witness to budding greatness.  Fans in Cleveland and anywhere else for that matter should be appreciative for what they are watching and be careful not to take a special athlete like James and his play for granted.  When James has games like he did against New Jersey it shouldn't be sloughed off as expected but celebrated.

Because anyone in Cleveland who is old enough to have seen Jim Brown know that players like him and LeBron James do not come around here often.