LeBron Captures Second Straight MVP, But...

CLEVELAND - He's the best basketball player on the planet. He also happens to be an increasingly powerful brand with a transcendence that only few have ever possessed. And now, LeBron James is on the fast track to becoming one of the very best hoopsters in NBA history.

And he's only seven years in.

James, 25 earned his second consecutive league MVP award yesterday for yet another stupendous season of statistical and skillful excellence. He led his Cleveland Cavaliers to a 61-21 record and with it, the number one overall seed in the playoffs. The Cavs ousted the Chicago Bulls in Round 1 and went up 1-0 on Saturday in their current series with the Boston Celtics. Game 2 is tonight in Cleveland, which is when Commissioner David Stern will present LeBron with the trophy that represents the intersecting of a great individual talent and awesome team success.

I love LeBron's commitment to excellence. I love his game and his well-understood swagger. I think his career has been one astonishing feat after another. I absolutely agree with his choice as this season's MVP and I arch my brow every time someone says that L.A.'s Kobe Bryant is still the best in the game.

What puzzles and annoys me about LeBron is his game. Brilliant as it is...I can't understand why he doesn't utilize his best offensive gifts more than he does. The way he sometimes plays the game offensively can make a Cavs fan want to jump off a bridge. He is unassailable on his freight-train moves to the basket and he has an endless list of advantages when he operates in the low-post. But time and again, LeBron resorts to very ill-advised shots from 25 to 30 feet away, sometimes falling out of bounds. He also has a tendency to dribble too much when isolated at the top of the key with a defender, almost as if he has to over-dribble just to set up his breakdown move. Problem is, LeBron is awesome and skilled enough to where he doesn't need to go through all of that.

LeBron typically shoots an average of five three-pointers per game. That is an obscene number of shots that comes from his least effective place on the court. Yes, he has made a truckload of those wild, far away shots...but they will always be the weaker choice for a guy who is all but unstoppable in the other areas of the floor. This may sound dumb, but just because those shots go in, doesn't stop them from being bad, poor quality or ill-advised. For a man so prodigiously talented and smart, he should be better with his decision making.

All of this seems trivial and petty when his stats are examined. In spite of his often horrible shot selection, he shot a career best from the floor. That just serves to prove that stats don't always tell the whole story.

In closing, I need to make it clear that I am not condemning LeBron. I am praising the man for being so incredible. I am celebrating his 2nd straight MVP win. But I still wanna know why the best player in the world is still so....flawed.

We should all be as flawed as he is.