Will the moment pass by LeBron?

CLEVELAND — LeBron James walked into the Cleveland Cavaliers' locker room Friday wearing black sunglasses as if to shield himself from the lightning storm of debate around him.

It had been a long week for James, who had to face another round of scrutiny surrounding his role in the Cavaliers' two losses to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals.

James merely gave an easy smile, flanked by the glistening canary diamonds in his ears, and waved to the waiting news media.

Who is this player, anointed but still so enigmatic at 22?

Is James too selfless a star that he passes at the end of games? Is he the type of player who can sink the clutch shot? And if not yet — when?

After James passed to Donyell Marshall in the closing seconds of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Pistons, the questions of his leadership started flying. In Game 2, James drove aggressively to the basket in the final seconds, forced contact, but did not get a call often afforded superstars.

As the Cavaliers returned to Cleveland for Game 3 on Sunday, trailing by 2-0, second-guessing James has become a sport in itself.

James said he did not engage in such talk. "You shut all that up by just trying to win ball games," James said at his locker, sunglasses off. "You win — and you have nothing to talk about."

But perhaps all the discussion has actually helped sharpen who James — a chiseled 6-foot-8 fourth-year small forward with dazzling strength and highlight dunks — really may be.

"You got to appreciate LeBron James instead of the guy you want to be like somebody else," his teammate and confidant Eric Snow said. "If they say, let him be LeBron James instead of Michael Jordan, then you'll appreciate LeBron James."

Snow, a teammate of Allen Iverson's for six seasons in Philadelphia, sees James forming his own identity. "His mentality is not as aggressive as a Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan. His natural personality is to play the game. It's: 'Oh I got a shot. Oh, this guy's open.' With those guys, it's: 'I'm going to score. If they help, then I'll pass.' And that's a mentality."

It was not meant as an indictment, just a description.