To James, this play was “the most poetic” of the season. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

“The most poetic thing of the entire season last night for me was to get a rebound in a crowd, kick it to Ray (Allen), Ray threw it upcourt to Rashard (Lewis). Rashard goes up for a shot, gets closed off, there’s Calvin (Booth) right there (for a highlight dunk),” James recalled the following day at practice.

“It should have been number one on SportsCenter. It got number two, but it should have been number one.”

To James, the play was important because it represented both the solid, consistent play he has been focusing on lately as well as the potential of the so-called “twin towers” lineup, featuring him and Booth, that Sonics Coach Nate McMillan has used as his starting lineup the last three games. James has been relentlessly positive about the idea of teaming in a lineup with Booth.

“I think it gave a glimpse into the window of what this twin towers lineup can bring to the Sonics,” James said of the Golden State game, where he and Booth combined to block six shots in the first quarter. “You’ve got to keep in mind, Calvin and myself, this is only our third time playing together. The more we play together, the better we’re going to learn each other’s games, the more we’re going to learn how to play off each other.”

Likewise, the Sonics continue to get glimpses of what James can bring to the table. From the time James first was spotted in Seattle – a pre-summer-league scrimmage during the summer of 2001 – the combination of his enormous 7-1 frame and his skill has been an alluring one. James has dazzled at times, most notably during February and March 2002. After Vin Baker went on the injured list, James stepped up as the team’s primary post threat as the Sonics won 11 out of 13 games to solidify their spot in the playoffs.

There have been other bright spots, including a season-high 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting earlier this month against Memphis. But the key with James, as McMillan well knows, has always been stringing together a series of these games.

“It was one of those nights where he had things going and he played well and he was a big part of clogging the middle and doing the things that, when he does that and other guys have pretty decent nights, we win ballgames,” McMillan said at the same practice. “The thing is, we need to get that consistently.”

It is still early, but James may be on his way to putting together the kind of streak McMillan is looking for. He has played outstanding basketball during the month of January, averaging 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting an outstanding 55.9% from the field. After a mid-month slump, James has really picked up his play alongside Booth. In three “twin towers” games, James has averaged 8.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 12-for-22 from the field.

James believes that getting consistent minutes – he’s played 22, 27, and 23 in those three games – is the key to producing consistent output.

Lately, James has demonstrated improved touch from the perimeter. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

“That’s all I’ve ever said, that with more consistent minutes you get more consistent performance on the court,” James explained. “Sporadic minutes, you have sporadic play. Basketball’s a rhythm game. Any one of these guys on this team – that’s Calvin, that’s Vitaly (Potapenko), that’s anybody – you give them consistent time on the floor they’re going to be consistent if they really want to work hard, be the best player they can be.”

He adds that sometimes, when he is uncertain how long he is going to play, he tries to do too much – and ends up doing too little.

“It’s that anxiety thing, that anxious thing when you don’t play a lot of minutes, you think you’re going to come out there and try to turn their head around. You get so much into a mindset of, ‘I’m going to show them I can play! I’m going to show them I can play!’ you get fast, you try to do too much.”

The numbers back James up. He has played at least 15 minutes – basically a third of the game – in half of his 36 games this season. In those games, James is averaging 8.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks and hitting on 57.5% of his shots. In the other 18 games, James’ averages dip to 2.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.6 blocks on 41.5% shooting. On a per-minute basis, his NBA.com efficiency rating leaps by 81.0% in the high-minute games.

Of course, there has been a roadblock to staying on the court for James – fouls. He is doing a better job of controlling his foul trouble this season, fouling out of just one game, and per minute, his fouls have decreased by nearly 14%. Still, on average, James would foul out after playing just 32 minutes – a mark he has yet to hit this season.

James realizes that for the Sonics to be successful, he needs to be out on the court, not sitting on the bench in foul trouble.

“I try to stay out of foul trouble, because with me on the floor …” he said, leaving his importance unspoken but implied. “That’s no hype on my ability or who I am, it’s more so my size and how I fit with the team. With me back there in the paint, it’s hard for teams to come in and score on us because I’m so big and intimidating.”

Again, James’ intuition is borne out by the objective statistics. According to the Web site 82games.com, the Sonics are a vastly superior defensive club when James is on the floor. The Sonics allow 109.1 points per 100 opponent possessions without James, 101.3 when he’s in the game.

According to the same site’s data, James has the best per-minute plus-rating of any of the Sonics regulars. That something he and the Sonics will definitely take – on a consistent basis.