CLEVELAND: The Cavaliers-Boston Celtics series isn't just an Eastern Conference semifinal, it's also a reunion of sorts.

LeBron James and Celtics forward Leon Powe and center Kendrick Perkins were all teammates when they were 16 years old on the AAU powerhouse Oakland (Calif.) Soldiers. In an effort to get James more exposure and more competition in the summers, his coaches, at the time, encouraged him to spend time in Powe's hometown of Oakland. Perkins, who is from Texas, did the same. The trio played in several tournaments together in 2001.

''We were pretty good, probably one of the best teams in the country,'' said Powe, who is in his third NBA season after playing two years at California.

''LeBron was real good; we could tell he was going to be something special. We were a great team already, but we recruited to get better.''

The team was put together by Calvin Andrews, an enterprising Bay Area coach who has gone on to become a successful agent, representing players like Carmelo Anthony and Drew Gooden.

The Soldiers were so good that their national recruiting came under fire. The next year a rule was passed that players could not join teams outside 100 miles from their hometown. In AAU circles, it was known as the ''LeBron rule.'' But it was fun while it lasted.

''We used to have this dunk-o-meter to see how many we could get in a game,'' said Perkins, who turned pro out of high school and was a first-round pick in 2003 along with James.

''It was a little crazy, though. Once I think they scheduled us for like 10 games in a day.''

In the locker room

• Ben Wallace wasn't on his feet much of Friday and Saturday, and he did not take part in the shootaround Saturday morning, but he was able to start Game 3. He had been suffering from an inner-ear infection, plus allergies, that was affecting his balance, knocking him out of Game 2 in the first quarter.

''My head felt like it was in a wash cycle,'' Wallace said. ''It was just spinning.''

• Some pundits think the New York Knicks already are making moves to get ready to take a shot at James in free agency in 2010. That might include the reported hiring of new coach Mike D'Antoni, whom James has a relationship with from Team USA. But James said Saturday that he wasn't sure how the new marriage would work.

''Coach D'Antoni is a great coach — he's an offensive mastermind I know,'' James said. ''We'll have to see, I don't know what they plan to do with their roster. I am not sure what they are doing.''

• Kevin Garnett and Zydrunas Ilgauskas might be talking a little extra trash with each other in the coming days. Ilgauskas is a Manchester United fan and Garnett is a Chelsea fan, and the two English soccer powers are meeting Tuesday in the Champions League final in Moscow. Not that Ilgauskas, a longtime fan of English soccer, thinks that Garnett really cares.

''He's a fake fan,'' Ilgauskas said.