The Cavaliers' new starter at small forward is his own man, which is fine with his new coach.
View full sizeAs he prepares for Wednesday's season opener against Boston, Jamario Moon isn't worrying about the small forward that he's replacing in the starting lineup. "Come Wednesday night, there's going to be a whole new Jamario Moon and a whole new Cleveland Cavaliers," he said. "I'm ready to get the show on the road."CLEVELAND, Ohio -- First, Jamario Moon took LeBron James' locker at The Q. Then he took his starting spot in the lineup.
But make no mistake: Moon is not trying to replace James.
"You can't replace a guy like that," Moon said as the Cavaliers prepare for Wednesday night's season opener against the Boston Celtics at The Q.
"He was everything. He scored. He passed. He rebounded. He played defense. You can't replace a guy like that. We're not trying to replace him. We're trying to work with the guys we've got."
In case you were wondering, no, there will be no powder toss at the start of Wednesday's opener against the Boston Celtics at The Q. Not even as a joke.
"If anybody did it on the team, I think that would be disrespectful," Moon said. "That was his trademark. That would be inappropriate."
A noted prankster, Moon thought for a moment and then continued, "It would be fun," he said, no doubt envisioning himself with the rosin. "If I did it, I would be doing it out of fun. I wouldn't be doing it out of disrespect. But the past has got to be the past."
Indeed, the Cavs have put James so far behind them that new coach Byron Scott, who never coached him, has not talked to Moon about trying not to be James.
Does he feel the need to?
"No, I don't," the coach said after practice on Monday.
Scott said he'll be relying on Moon for defense against the high-scoring small forwards and shooting guards in the league.
"If he can get eight, 10, 12 points for us, that's kind of gravy," Scott said. That's about a third of the 29.7 points James averaged last season, and is just the start of the differences between the two.
Moon, 30, has played for nearly 20 professional teams all over the world, including the Harlem Globetrotters, and is thrilled to finally have an opportunity to show what he can do. Until this summer, James, 25, had played for only one team and always was the main focus on both ends of the floor.
At 6-8, 200 pounds, Moon is much lankier than the 6-8, 250-pound James, who was built like a Mack truck. James also has seven years worth of experience, compared to just three for Moon.
They're both athletic, but in different ways. Scott admits that Moon's athleticism can help him recover if he finds himself out of position -- a trend the coach would like to see stopped.
They both can dunk, but, again, in different ways. Once last season, after Moon had two monster dunks -- including one on an alley-oop from James -- in an early home game against Philadelphia, he shared a conversation he had with James.
"I was telling him how amazing he looks to me," Moon said at the time. "But he was saying that mine look more amazing to him. He said when he jumps, it's more power. When I jump, it's more like flight."
They both can shoot the 3-pointer and Moon, at least, still plans to celebrate with the three-fingered goose-eye the team made popular last season.
That may the area in which the two are the most alike. They both love to have fun on the court -- although Moon is never without a smile on his face while James could be much more moody.
Moon admitted Monday that the team is trying to cook up a new pre-game routine for this season and he, no doubt, is heavily involved. In fact, when asked what he could do better than James, Moon smiled and said, "I'm a better comedian than LeBron."
How about dancing?
"I can cut a rug, now," he said. "I've probably got him in that category."
But when asked what James did better, Moon clearly had had enough of that line of questioning.
"I don't know," he said.
Then he added, "He's better at being LeBron James, and I'm better at being Jamario Moon.
"Come Wednesday night, there's going to be a whole new Jamario Moon and a whole new Cleveland Cavaliers. I'm ready to get the show on the road."
Williams still away: Starting point guard Mo Williams has yet to return to the team after leaving last week to attend the funeral of his father-in-law in Mississippi.
Scott said Williams would be back Tuesday. The coach admitted he was a little concerned that Williams had played just one preseason game after sitting out with a groin injury.
"I know he knows a lot of the stuff we're doing, but actual game-type situation is a little bit different," Scott said. "I don't think it will take him long, but in the last four days we have added some new stuff to our offense that we'll have to try and get him up to speed but I don't think it's going to be that big a problem."
Tough talk: Scott admitted he would continue to ride J.J. Hickson hard -- for his own good.
"I told him I'm going to be hard on him," the coach said. "I think he has the makings of being a great player. If I let it slide -- some of the mistakes that he makes mentally -- I'm not doing my job, and I'm doing him a disservice by not jumping on his butt when I need to.
"When it gets to the point where I'm not talking to you, then you should worry."