Cavaliers, Knicks have more to worry about than 2010

NEW YORK -- The circus was in town Friday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers visited New York for the only time this season.

LeBron James was at Madison Square Garden and he was joined by several members of the World Series champion Yankees, his buddy Jay-Z and countless other celebrities. Grandmaster Flash was the designated DJ for the night and Bernie Williams performed the national anthem.

For some reason, there wasn't as much pomp and circumstance for the Pacers two nights earlier.

Of course, there was also more than twice the media presence than there is for all other games at the Garden. They were here to get the latest word on James' impending free agency. And of course, the MVP didn't say anything of consequence.

It's been a year since Knicks president Donnie Walsh cleared cap space for a possible free agent acquisition next summer, but there hasn't been a single development in the story since. Knicks fans are still hoping, Cavs fans are still praying, and everyone else is still just speculating.

When James signed his contract extension in 2006, he wanted to have the opportunity to be an unrestricted free agent four years later. And when that time comes, he'll make the most of that opportunity. His decision certainly hasn't been made yet, and it won't necessarily be made once the Cavs' season ends.

"There's no timetable," James said. "I'm not going to rush it."

For now, both the Cavs and Knicks have more pressing concerns than next summer's free agency, because neither is playing nearly as well as it would like to be at this point in the season.

The Cavs have already lost as many home games as they did last season, off to a mediocre 4-3 start as coach Mike Brown tries to integrate Shaquille O'Neal into his offense. Going into Friday, Cleveland ranked 18th in offensive efficiency, scoring just 101.0 points per 100 possessions.

At this time last year, the Cavs were integrating new point guard Mo Williams, yet they were clicking right away. Learning how to deal with the Diesel is a much tougher task.

"It's a little different this time around when you have a guy that's in the middle of the floor, that's a dominant presence like he is," Brown said.

"Offensively we're not in synch right now," James added, "because we're still trying to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses. You need a month or two for that to wrinkle out."

Not only are the players still getting used to each other, but Brown is still figuring out what combinations work. He has tried a twin-towers pairing of O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, as well as small lineups with neither on the floor. On Friday, second-year forward J.J. Hickson replaced Anderson Varejao in the starting lineup.

"I'm doing a lot of experimenting right now," Brown admitted. "Once I get that right, then the players will have a better chance of getting more comfortable with [O'Neal] out on the floor."

Until then, the offense will continue to look disjointed at times and stagnant at others. Friday's 40-point first quarter was more about James' individual talent than his team's ability to execute its offense. The reigning MVP will be able to carry the Cavs pretty far with such performances, but in order to compete with the Celtics and Magic in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland will need to be clicking on all cylinders.

"The bottom line is we're a playoff team," Brown said. "We'll be in the playoffs. I've just got to make sure that I figure out how to get this headed the right way by the time that rolls around."

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni has no such guarantees. His team is on a clear path to its sixth straight year of watching the postseason from home, off to such a bad start that they needed to call a players-only meeting after just five games.

"It's a process, and we've got some bumps in the road," D'Antoni said. "Right now, we're at a big bump. We've got to get over this and get back to being competitive."

The Knicks' defense, as always, is bad. The offense has been inconsistent at best. And just a week and a half into the season, D'Antoni is searching for answers.

"Somehow, we've got to find a way, for 48 minutes, to impose our will, either offensively, defensively, whatever it is," he said.

Even with an extra boost of energy in the building, the Knicks came out flat. And the crowd quickly turned against them, happy to see another great performance from James.

"We've got to get to the point where the Knicks are that energy, the Knicks are the attraction," D'Antoni said. "And we're not there yet, obviously."

James won't be providing the juice anymore this season, which is probably a good thing, as it will allow both Cleveland and New York to address their issues on the court.

John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here.

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