No reining in King James

When you strip away the hype and the money and the accolades, when you pause for a moment, not to Obey Your Thirst but merely to closely examine just exactly where this 21-year-old man-child stands in his journey toward his preordained destiny as an NBA legend, then you realize that LeBron James still has a ways to go.

''A long way to go," confirmed veteran teammate Eric Snow. ''And that's what makes it so exciting."

He's right. If James is merely a work in progress, just think of what the complete player will have to offer.

James was fortunate to wade into the NBA equipped with a man's body, one that defies what his birth certificate states. It was also a blessing for him to land in Cleveland, in his home state, to grow and blossom and yes, occasionally stumble, away from the discerning eye of a market like New York or Philadelphia or Boston.

Perhaps in a different venue, he would hear more about his defensive deficiencies, which, at times, are as glaring as his offensive wizardry. James is aware his defensive reputation lags far behind the rest of his game, so he went to his coach, Mike Brown, and requested the assignment of covering the top offensive player on the opposing team every time out.

Last night, that meant trying to put the clamps on soon-to-be five-time All-Star Paul Pierce.

Let's just say the kid experienced mixed results. Pierce schooled him for 50 points, but LeBron managed to submit his own gaudy line of 43 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. Yet his fourth triple-double of the season was not the part that had him flashing that multimillion-dollar smile. The 113-109 double-overtime score was what left him chortling after his duel with Pierce, ''The difference tonight was we put out the win and I got the upper hand on that."

Indeed he did, but not before Boston's own proud franchise player demonstrated a few of his favorite weapons, such as a phantom crossover dribble that left James in his wake, or a hesitation drive that caught him leaning the wrong way, or the upfake that earned him more than a few trips to the line.

''[Pierce] was doing anything he wanted," acknowledged James. ''But every time he went to make a shot, or even if he made it, I was making sure I had a hand in his face or a body on him."

Pierce has long maintained that defense is the hardest part of the NBA puzzle to solve. There is no substitute for experience, and No. 34 exhibited his in the waning seconds of regulation, with Boston down by 2. Pierce drove to the basket, momentarily lost the handle on the ball, then gathered himself, cozied up to LeBron, and drew contact. The whistle blew, Pierce hit a pair of free throws with two-10ths of a second left, and the Celtics stayed alive.

''When you get two All-Stars on the court at the same time, there's a sense of pride," Pierce explained. ''Our competitive juices come out. What can I say? It was a great night for both of us."

For James, it was another night in another city that expects him to dazzle the crowd. LeBron has already defied the logic of our modern world, which explicitly states that all icons must implode within a year (or two) of us holding them up to impossible standards that no mere mortal could possibly meet. In that vein, the kid has done all right. No one -- I repeat, no one -- has encountered as much hype as James in his quest to become the premier player in his sport. Who else had their high school games televised on ESPN? Who else was asked to become the next Michael, Magic, and Kobe, if he could fit it into his schedule, all before the tender age of 20? Who else could face a completely unrealistic list of demands head on, and still not disappoint? King James has managed it all, with composure and a sense of humor that reveals a royal NBA bloodline that has commissioner David Stern clapping his hands delightedly together like a small child at Halloween.

We are a cynical lot in sports. We can't help but wonder if James will fall victim to his own version of trick or treat in the years (months?) ahead. We wonder if he can keep his reputation aloft amid the incessant pressure placed upon him to improve both himself and his team.

The defense needs work. That's obvious.

''If you try to tell him he needs to get better, or he can't do something, he's not going to stop until he proves you wrong," said Brown. ''And he's also going to prove to himself that he can do anything. He's done a nice job defensively. But he's still got a long way to go."

Most players who make the jump from high school to the pros find that out (right, Al Jefferson?). James has never doubted his ability to have the same impact on the defensive end as he does lighting up the scoreboard. He admits that watching film of his first year in the league is uncomfortable, particularly the parts where his attempts to stop the other guy are, to say the least, unorthodox.

''But the thing about LeBron is he can do the 'wrong' thing and still recover to get the guy defensively," Brown explained. ''Let's say he goes for a steal. He'll go for it with the wrong hand. His guy will be coming up the floor, and he'll have his body turned the wrong way. So he'll try to pick off the pass, he'll miss it, and his guy will go back door. But it doesn't matter, because LeBron is so quick, he recovers in time."

Elite athletes are confident in ways most of the rest of us can only fantasize about. James listens when Brown schools him on the technicalities of his defensive approach, but he's not flummoxed by it.

''He knows he has some things to work on, but a player of that stature isn't about to look in the mirror and say, 'I'm awful defensively,' " Brown conceded. ''He's confident he can get the job done."

Three nights ago, James held Spurs star Tony Parker to 4 points and seven turnovers. He also chipped in 44 points in the Cavaliers' 101-87 win. Last night, he was baffled by Pierce's offensive arsenal, and answered the only way he knows how: by running it back and scoring a few himself. It made for wonderful basketball theater, and enabled Pierce to score the most points by a Celtic since Larry Bird dropped 50 on the Hawks Nov. 10, 1989.

James, meanwhile, is an unselfish offensive leader who disproved doubters who questioned his perimeter game, who has painstakingly tried to make those around him better (his own version of the Jordan Rules), and who has the athletic gifts to have the same impact on the defensive end -- someday.

''People keep wanting to compare him to Jordan," Brown said. ''If you're going to do that, then he should be a junior at some college, and he should be given another six or seven years before he makes some noise."

LeBron is already making enough of a ruckus to catch the eyes and ears of every NBA fan. James has only scratched the surface of what he can do. Pierce knows someday that phantom crossover won't fool the kid anymore.

And just wait until he starts turning his body the right way.

Jackie MacMullan is a Globe columnist. Her e-mail address is macmullan@globe.com.