In disappointing Cleveland return, LeBron learns there is work ahead

CLEVELAND -- Through the massive crowds outside the arena, the pre-game concert and the carefully choreographed pregame spectacle, a fundamental truth intruded on the moment for LeBron James.

There's work to be done. No matter how perfect the script or how well-received the plotline, building something takes time.

"I'm throwing passes where I was hoping some of my teammates were and they were not there," James said Thursday night, after a 5-of-15, eight-turnover performance as the Knicks spoiled his emotional, over-the-top homecoming, 95-90. "That will come."

In time, it will. The key word being, time.

Nearly four years ago, James' good friend and longtime foe, Carmelo Anthony, received a semblance of the LeBron treatment in his first game at Madison Square Garden after being acquired in a trade with Denver. And I say semblance, because nothing in the modern basketball universe could remotely compare to the scene for James on Thursday night in and around Quicken Loans Arena -- in a thoroughly energized city starving for its first championship in 50 years, a city that thought it had lost him for good four years ago.

"It was pretty incredible," the Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire said. "I've never seen anything like that."

New York is bigger than one basketball player, but Anthony's Garden debut in 2011 had all the same emotions, just a bit more controlled. Anthony, an All-Star in his prime, carried hope on his shoulders into an historic building and delivered a jolt of optimism for Knicks fans who'd endured some very dark days. Most are too young -- some were not even alive -- to remember when Phil Jackson's Knicks won the NBA title in 1973.

Anthony wasn't introduced to 19,000 light sticks, a Nike infomercial or the crowd singing the national anthem with Usher. There was no banner bearing his pensive face on Seventh Avenue, as there was for James across the street from the Q.

The Knicks did play the same song for Anthony that the Cavs chose for James on Thursday night -- Skylar Grey's Coming Home. Then, as now, it all seemed so perfect.

The Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 114-108 that night behind 27 points and 10 rebounds from Anthony. That glorious debut ultimately meant nothing, and the same is true of James' jittery, disappointing return to his hometown with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

"Who wouldn't peak emotionally with a night like this?" James said. "... It was a special night for not only myself but for everybody. I'm glad it was great, but I'm also glad it's over."

No firm conclusions can be drawn, except this reality: You don't just snap your fingers, write an essay in Sports Illustrated, make a Nike commercial and collect your next NBA championship.

No matter how massive your stardom, how broad your talents or how energized your city, there are no guarantees.

"It's going to take time," Anthony said. "Just because you throw three of those guys out there together, everybody expects it to automatically work. But it took time in Miami for him, and it's going to take time here. But he'll figure it out. I don't see anything that they can't figure out or that they won't figure out."

Anthony, who has battled James for years, stuck a dagger in the festivities -- a jumper over James from the left wing with 25.9 seconds left that gave the Knicks a 92-87 lead. James' first home game as a rookie with the Cavs in 2003 also, coincidentally, came against Anthony when he was with the Nuggets. He lost that one, too.

"I was just trying to get a little bit of space between me and LeBron so I could just see the basket and make sure I get a good look at it," said Anthony, who had 25 points and six assists as the Knicks bounced back from Wednesday night's season-opening embarrassment against the Bulls at home.

So what now? Anthony knows as well as anyone how many steps -- forward and back, and maybe not in that order -- remain for James in his new/old home. Despite successfully playing spoiler Thursday night, Anthony's Knicks do not appear to have the personnel, firepower or depth to be a playoff team. Their history since Anthony's emotional debut in New York almost four years ago reads like a dystopian novel.

Anthony is on his third coach, second team president and second general manager since arriving in his hand-picked destination. The revolving door to the locker room has spun even more erratically. He's been to the playoffs three times, won 54 games, and then won 37 games the next season. This season, there's little reason to believe all the deeds and misdeeds of the Anthony era in New York will pay off.

Time will tell.

The same was true when James left Cleveland for Miami in 2010, with a Finals loss to Dallas humbling him and resetting his priorities. That process started anew Thursday night, in a new home that was his old home but with just as much work to do as ever.

"Now, we can just play regular basketball," James said.

If there is such a thing for him anymore, especially here, then he's right.

He also needs to be patient. The past and present won't have it any other way.