LeBron James and the Heat invade the Garden Friday night, looking to put on a show and take New Yorkers’ minds off their Hurricane Sandy woes.
Not that the sight of King James warms hearts in these parts after he blew off the Knicks in the summer of 2010 as a free agent. The Knicks could have a crack at him again in the summer of 2014 if he opts out of his contract, but their cap space is long gone.
“Sports is one of those things where you can get away from the things that are going on in your personal life or what’s going on, period,’’ James said before the Heat left Miami for devastated New York to play Friday night’s Garden opener. “Hopefully that happens.’’
This is James’ first visit to the Garden as a defending NBA champion. Asked jokingly if he’ll turn up the heat at the Garden, James said: “That’ll be fine. I usually do that.
“I think [the hurricane was] very unfortunate,’’ he added. “It’s a natural disaster, so there’s nothing anyone can do about it. I hope all those who lost loved ones or their houses have been destroyed or whatever the case may be, my prayers go out to them. I hope everyone is being looked after and gets back to regular things after this is all passed.’’
James’ Heat knocked the Knicks out in the first round of the playoff last April on the way to the championship. He had a great series.
“The rivalry never stopped,’’ James said. “The Heat and the Knicks will always be a [rivalry] because of the history. There’s a lot of history. I don’t think it’s been renewed. It never stopped.’’
On Tuesday, after he was presented his ring, James racked up 26 points and 10 rebounds in Miami’s win over Boston. He sat out the final eight minutes with cramps and said yesterday he didn’t drink enough fluids.
James teamed with Carmelo Anthony in August to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Now Anthony is being asked to carry a club without injured Amar’e Stoudemire and take after his Miami buddy in being a championship player.
“Just Carmelo on the floor, he’s going to make it happen,’’ James said. “It doesn’t matter, he’s that kind of player. He’s great. He does a little bit of everything. It doesn’t matter if someone is out of the lineup with him. He’s going to do what he needs to do.’’
* Marcus Camby took a subtle dig at Nets fans. The debate on whether there would have been more Knicks fans than Nets fans at Barclays Center had last night’s game been played as scheduled will never be answered.
But Camby, when asked about the Knicks’ opening at the Garden Friday night, said jokingly, “Well, [last night] would’ve been a home game for us too.”
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The NBA and Players Association announced a $1 million donation to Hurricane Sandy’s relief organizations.