If the playoffs are any indication, putting the ball in the hands of a superstar does not take you very far, according to a blog by Greg in Sportige.
Greg called the Knick’s decision to let Jeremy Lin walk to the Houston Rockets one about the “egos of James Dolan (Knick’s owner) and Carmelo Anthony, and deciding to build a team around a superstar.”
But as the Knicks found out in the playoffs, it doesn’t always work. The Knicks counted on Carmelo to take them at least to the conference championship, but the Indiana Pacers got in the way.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were forced to rely just on Kevin Durant after Russell Westbrook fell to an injury, and didn’t make it beyond the second round.
Even the Houston Rockets with Jeremy Lin, decided to take the ball away from Lin and give it to James Harden. The Rockets were knocked out in the first round. Seems Coach Kevin McHale of the Rockets and Mike Woodson of the Knicks see the game the same way.
Of course one could argue that these team went deeper into the playoffs than the vast majority of NBA teams.
Still Greg writes: “Putting the ball in his (Lin’s) hands makes the most of his intelligence and passing ability, and infects the team with a more spread around scoring philosophy. It never hurts having players who don’t need anyone else to score, but when you give them a complete mandate over the running of the offense, it usually ends in losses and tears.”
What do you think. Should these teams be spreading the ball around more or relying on their superstar to take them to the mountaintop. Let us know your thoughts below.
