Harvey Araton of THE NEW YORK TIMES writes, “It has been tempting lately to call Vince Carter Half Man, Half Amazing, but that would be too passé, so Y2K. Besides, LeBron James landed at Continental Arena last night, on his way to the Hall of Fame, with his Cavaliers riding a Nets-matching six-game winning streak until they fell, 96-91, to a New Jersey team suddenly hitting nothing but net.
James, we were reminded, is what Carter was a half-dozen years ago, the ascendant monarch of Nike Nation, and more. He is the prodigy who makes the pass, and everyone better, while averaging a shade over 30 points a game. In his third season after turning pro out of high school, James has fulfilled expectations without appearing in a playoff game. It’s still early, though. There is plenty of time for the mythmakers to get cranky, deconstruct the legend, shot by shot.â€