Durant has had stretches. Check Memphis series last year. Lebron? Sometimes he passes. That makes him scared to take the shot. That's bad in the media too you know. Curry? Of course. Watch more games, even when he's 1-8 from 3s. Sometimes he's very ball dominant. He's shooting much better than ever this year though. Harden? Of course. Prime DRose? Oh yea. Check his series v. the Heat in the playoffs. Liliard? Definitely Kyrie? Definitely
I love WB, but I can't defend that stretch. That was absolutely poor play on his part. His first true blemish on an amazing start this year. But every great player has those stretches. This won't be WB's last game that he costs his team.
The whole idea of the hero or the goat is so played out. Most smart teams will soon more past this line of thinking and if they don't they will be left behind. When 5 guys are sharing the ball it beats 1 guy hogging the ball every time with every player: even micheal jordan passed to steve kerr. The hero and the goat man. That's what gets you allstar games and max contracts, but it doesn't win championships.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Not a great night for Kobe. He finished with more turnovers (9) than made field goals (8).</p>— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) <a href="https://twitter.com/BaxterHolmes/status/546871873774948352">December 22, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>There was a coaching campaign at today's Kings-Lakers game. <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachKarl22">@CoachKarl22</a> being requested - <a href="http://t.co/Rc7sqkCB9s">http://t.co/Rc7sqkCB9s</a></p>— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) <a href="https://twitter.com/sam_amick/status/546868965075480576">December 22, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Am told that Kings security had patrons with George Karl signs take them down. Told this by multiple fans, to <a href="https://twitter.com/sam_amick">@sam_amick</a>'s previous tweet.</p>— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarmichaelDave/status/546870976416190464">December 22, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
You do not consider DRose elite, yet you consider Harden/Curry/Blake Griffin elite. One has won an MVP leading his team to the conference finals, while the others have... nothing. Well, the discussion should go further since your definition of elite doesn't include an MVP.
To be accurate, hero ball doesn't have to be the last shot. Your example of MJ to Kerr is just an example of the last shot. (In this case, it's WB dominating the last 8 of 9 possessions without passing - now that's hero ball). And we have seen hero ball work, and win championships (MJ, Kobe, Lebron have had games where thye literally carried their teams on their back without minimal help and won games literally by themselves). But it's a fine line. Hero ball when your best player doesn't have it is wrong (in this case, WB simply didn't). It's not when that player does have it going (Lebron 46 points v. Boston). Now that's up to the coach to be able to decide between that fine line. Brooks didn't have the backbone to draw up plays for other players when his best player simply didn't have it.
Hero ball is wrong in all instances. Basically what hero ball purports is the idea that MY shot, regardless of circumstances, is better than all other shots on the court. This is false. It's also a lazy way to coach basketball. I mean, in the nba, literally every player in the MBA can score. A hero shot is the easiest shot to draw up. If you don't trust your teammates to make plays you are a broken basketball team. Hero ball worked in the 80s and 90s, but not anymore.
I don't advocate ball-hogging, but sometimes your role players just don't have it and you just let your best player(s) do what they do best and save you. That's why you pay your players the big bucks. You pay them not only to show up most nights, but also to show up when your role players don't. You will need hero ball to win you a game or 2 or 3 to win a championship. there will be games in the plaoffs where nothing goes right and your best player just has to dig deep and win you that game. It happens. That's why they are superstars. That's how they make their names. Lebron did that more than a handful of times as a Heat and dragged the Heat from near elimination many times. Dirk did that 2-3 times when Dallas won their ring in 2011. Kobe and Shaq did that many times. Let's not talk about Jordan or Hakeem. Hero ball is wrong when your teammates have it going and you won't pass the ball (hence why what Kobe is doing now is all sorts of wrong).
