LBJ's "lack" of improvement

henry over at truehoop hi-lighted this espn insider post by david thorpe about LBJ's "lack" of improvement this year over last. now, the article does do a nice job on giving some perspective on the season LBJ is having this year. thorpe points out how truly great LBJ's season was last historically ( let me just say that it should be evident to all that LBJ should've won the MVP last year over nash. nash is clearly the MVP this year but probably won't get it due to the writers not wanting to give him 3 in a row. but it is the writers who didn't give it to LBJ last year because, i think, they thought that LBJ would win it plenty of times in the future. which is pure garbage. he deserved it and shoulda got it) and how he's still having a great year this year and then spends the rest of the article "scouting" LBJ's game.

the interesting thing to me as a cavs fan is this little tidbit:

First, James appears unwilling to take (and sometimes unable to make) the midrange shots that are available to him.
Second, he's forcing the drive. He often seems locked in on getting to the rim, going up against three or four defenders in traffic. He is rushing his right hand drives and going right into the web that his opponents have spun for him, with no angle to the basket and several tall players to contest his shots.
In watching him closely, I'm amazed at the number of off-balance runners he has tossed up to the rim, mostly hoping for foul calls, which rarely come from this type of shot.
Of course, when he is able to get by the defense and get his shoulders to the rim, he is an incredibly explosive finisher, and he is known for his ability to score on "and ones." But scoring consistently against three or more defenders is too much to ask, even for James.

now this analysis, from an outside observer, flies right in the face of the complaints of fans and cleveland media types, most esp., it must be said, mr. "i hate the jump shot" windhorst. we hear time and again both in our newspapers and in blog posts and comments how LBJ mustn't "settle" for jumpshots and that he must "always" look to drive to the hole. well, here's an "expert" saying that is not the secret to success for LBJ!

LBJ faces that same conundrum MJ did early in his career. he has to learn how to consistently make a jump shot. simple and oh, so true, despite the naysayers. jumpshots will win you games. what is jordan's most remembered clutch moment? a dunk? nope, a jump shot to beat utah for his 6th championship...

the other problem for LBJ, not mentioned in this article, is that james' teamates have not learned yet, save for maybe varejo, how to dive to the hoop when LBJ commands the triple team in the lane that he so often does. then his great vision could lead to easy lay-ups off the dish, IMHO...