I was fortunate to be watching the second half of the Cavs-Pistons game the other day, the one in which Lebron went off for 25 points in a row. I feel obligated to pay tribute.

What was unbelievable was that on some of those drives to the basket in the fourth quarter, he didn't even put a move on his guy. He simply put his head down and accelerated past his defender towards the basket (often it was Tayshaun Prince, no slouch). The help defenders were always late to get over, either because James was too quick or because they didn't have the heart to step in front of a 6'8" 240 lb freight train (on the first drive and dunk, he crossed over Jason Maxiell, and you can see the help defender Prince running for his life out of the waybecause he was already too late and was inside the circle where you can't take a charge). it reminded me of playing NBA Live, when you just take an explosive player and press turbo and run straight to the basket and press shoot close to the basket for a dunk. I think it's safe to say the NBA has never seen a physical specimen like James, someone of his size and explosiveness going to the basket.

There were times when the rest of James teammates just basically stood at the sides of the court with their hands in their shorts, eyes averted, and Detroit still couldn't stop James. The variety of ways he scored was just plain fun to watch. I liked the behind the back dribble to shake Billups at the top of the circle for a 3-pointer; it reminded me of Jordan shaking Cliff Robinson with a behind the back dribble for a jump shot in the NBA finals.

My favorite Lebron move, one I haven't seen him execute in a while, is when he drives to the basket and then suddenly spins the opposite direction in a 360 degree pirouette while maintaining his movement towards the hoop. He does that better than anyone I've ever seen.

You can rewatch video of Lebron's final 29 points of that game at NBA.com. James may not have the most likeable attitude, and he has a certain certain amount of narcissism that seems to cause him to coast at times, but when he plays with a chip on his shoulder he can take over a game like only Kobe can in today's NBA. If only we cold implant Iverson's attack-dog spirit in Lebron, he'd be unstoppable attacking the basket.

Me, I'm looking forward to Lebron James vs. Bruce Bowen in the NBA Finals. Let's start beating up on Lebron now so he'll enter that series sufficiently peeved.

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