LeBron James and 4 NBA Players That Must Be More Aggressive in Fourth Quarter

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When you sign a big contract you're expected to step up when the game is important and play better. As the expression goes, "big time players make big time plays."

Some players are living up to big contracts. The bigger the moments get, the bigger their play gets. Other players do various degrees of a disappearing act when the moment gets huge. 

Here are four players who are coming up short when they should be coming up big. 

LeBron James

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LeBron James has been accused of disappearing in the fourth quarter. It's probably not as true as some people think it is, but there are some signs that he should be more aggressive. 

On the surface, things are flush. His field goal attempts per 36 minutes actually goes up slightly, from 18.6 to 19.6 and his scoring goes up as well, from 28.3 to 28.7. 

On the other hand his field goal percentage in the fourth quarter drops to 44 percent from 55 percent. It's also significant that in the clutch his numbers fall off considerably as he attempts only 16.4 shots and scores only 21.3 points per 36 minutes. His field goal percentage in the clutch falls off 30 percent and his free throw percentage is just 67 percent. 

With James, it's not so much about just the fourth quarter as it is about the clutch.

Carlos Boozer

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When you look at Boozer's fourth quarter production overall, it's not really that different. Surprisingly, both his field goal attempts and scoring are up a notch, which would probably come as a surprise to those who watch the Bulls. 

That's because it seems like when the game is close, Boozer completely disappears. In clutch time, Boozer has not yet scored a single point this year, or even attempted a single shot. 

Normally you could argue, "well it's better than nothing," but if it is nothing you can't make that argument. 

Blake Griffin

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Blake Griffin is an emerging young star. Yet, one fact which is lost amid all the glamour of his dunking ability is the bigger the moments get, the harder Griffin is to find. 

Griffin averages 16.3 attempts per 36 minutes in general, but only 12.9 per 36 minutes in the fourth quarter. His scoring drops off form 20.9 to 17.3, and when it gets to clutch time falls down to 10.6 attempts and 10.6 points to 36 minutes. 

To get to the next level of true superstar, Griffin needs to become a player who can be relied upon when the game is on the line. 

Amar'e Stoudemire

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Amare Stoudemire is leaving a lot to be desired in the fourth quarter this year. Whether you want to pin that on Carmelo Anthony or Stoudemire is up to you. The one thing that's clear is that STAT's stats in the fourth quarter suffer a huge drop off. 

His attempts fall off from 15.9 attempts per 36 minutes and 18.4 points to 12.3 attempts and 15.5 points when the Knicks get into the fourth quarter.

In the clutch they get almost comical, as Stoudemire averages 5.1 attempts, a zero percent field goal percentage and one point per 36 minutes. 

That's awful.