This guy wearing No. 23 for the Cavaliers last night - where did they get him from? And why did they get rid of the guy who wore that jersey in last year's playoffs?

To watch LeBron James not even think about taking that shot in the final seconds of Game 1 of the East finals against the Pistons last night - to make his move down the lane, drive past Tayshaun Prince, have at least a full step on any and every other Pistons defender, get right under the basket, and then kick it 25 feet to the corner so Donyell Marshall can try a game-winning three  - is to wonder if the LeBron from the 2006 first-round series against the Wizards and the second-round series against these same Pistons had been kidnapped.

With all the moaning and groaning this morning about how LeBron either isn't playing and thinking like a superstar, or can't win by himself against a star-free "team'' or trusts his teammates way too much or makes weird decisions even for his age or is downright scared of the moment (that's more of a talk-radio theme), a lot of people seem to be forgetting that he was the exact opposite of all of this last spring.

Specifically, against the Wizards in Games 4, 5 and 6. Game 4: had the audacity to take about three giant steps and a couple of baby steps through the lane for the game-winning layup. Game 5: faced up his defender on the left side and just blasted past him down the baseline for the game-winning layup. Game 6: drew every defender the Wizards had available to him at the top of the key, then found a wide-open Damon Jones for the game-winning jumper. Plus, he did the whole walk-up on Gilbert Arenas at the free-throw line between his free throws, patting him on the shoulder and whispering that he'd miss.

Where was that LeBron last night? Hardly ever went to the basket. Didn't attempt a free throw. Didn't take a three-pointer. Took all of 15 shots. Forgot, or was completely unaware of, or decided not to notice, exactly how easily he got down the lane on that last play where he passed off. Suddenly started channeling Dirk Nowitzki, or Vince Carter, or Karl Malone or Chris Webber. Anybody but me. Falling back on the "It's a team game'' crutch.

No, it's a "best players'' game. It becomes a team game when everybody on the roster, the trainers, the towel boys and a couple of beer vendors have to rush toward you on every move you make with the ball, at which point you turn it into a team game and pass to Damon Jones or Donyell Marshall. Thus freaking everybody in the league out and putting fear into them every moment you're on the court.

The Pistons completely blew the defense on that play, in about 10 different ways - Prince letting LeBron get to his side instead of keeping him in front, help defenders getting there an hour late, Rasheed Wallace seeing this develop and leaving Marshall alone in the corner to desperately reach LeBron (kind of the way he left Robert Horry open in Game 5 of the '05 Finals, for the three-pointer that pretty much gave the Spurs the championship). And LeBron didn't make them pay for it.

Sometime in the last week or so, he stopped being the guy that had been making teams pay for such gross errors. That really was weird, and if Cleveland wants to get to the Finals, he'd better get back to being that guy again.

Tonight: Game 2, Spurs-Jazz, in which the Jazz need to show some life sometime before the fourth quarter just to give us a reason to keep watching when the series moves to Salt Lake. Before that, the lottery, where you can see some of the most distinguished and accomplished names and faces in the NBA have their dreams crushed on live TV. You know that if the Celtics don't get one of the first two picks, Danny Ainge might need to be sedated. And if the Knicks do get one of the first two picks, and has to give it up to the Bulls because of the still-mind-blowing Eddy Curry trade of two years ago, martial law might have to be declared in the five boroughs.