NBA Playoffs 2012: Russell Westbrook and Stars Who Will Falter in Crunch Time
As the 2012 NBA playoffs are set to begin in a few days, several big names will take center stage and provide several big performances to carry their teams on lengthy postseason runs.
While their efforts and special moments can live forever, the opposite holds true as well.
Just ask Miami's LeBron James how long postseason failures can stay with a player.
Several guys around the league have the tendency to play hero ball and take the game into their hands probably a little more often than they should. With that being said, here's a list of hero ballers that could ultimately end up costing their teams big time throughout the postseason.
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Westbrook has had a great season, but has been exposed by the better teams around the league. In the month of April, Westbrook only shot 26 percent (29-of-117) in games against Memphis, Miami, Indiana, the Clippers (twice) and the Lakers.
In March, Westbrook shot .492 from the floor. One month later that number is down to .384.
He tends to need the ball in his hands way too much, especially in the postseason when the Thunder needs a real point guard.
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
No one in the NBA has been as good as Anthony throughout the month of April, averaging a solid 31.0 PPG and 7.8 RPG. Yet there's going to come a time where Anthony is going to have to put the Knicks on his back and attempt to carry them throughout the postseason.
The Knicks have been good because they've been sharing the ball and leaning on Anthony when they need to.
How far can they lean before Melo gets out of the groove he's been in and begins forcing up bad shots?
LeBron James, Miami Heat
LeBron should win the MVP and now comes the time of year where all of the eyes in the NBA will be on his performance.
Will he be able to handle the pressure when things get tight in the postseason and the Heat have to ride him?
It's fair to say the answer is no until we see him win a ring, but the fact that he will be reminded of last season's Finals performance with almost every missed shot could add on even more pressure than most people can deal with.
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
All of the talk about whether the Lakers have become Andrew Bynum's team or whether the Lakers are better without Kobe is just that. Nothing but talk.
But the fact is that Bryant isn't shooting the ball well this season—.430 from the floor and .303 from behind the arc. With postseason games on the line, you know the ball will be in Kobe's hands, but can he make enough big shots for the Lakers to go on a run?
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
I actually like Rose to have a nice postseason, but there are a couple of reasons he makes this list.
The first reason is his health. He needs to knock the rust off before the playoffs start and needs to stay healthy the entire postseason. If Rose isn’t healthy, the Bulls could be in trouble.
The second reason is LeBron.
Rose is going to see plenty of LeBron if the Bulls and Heat meet up in the Eastern Conference Finals. And you can bet that Erik Spoelstra will be using James to guard Rose a lot, especially in tight fourth quarters where Rose struggled big time against James a season ago.
In those situations where Rose has to be the primary offensive weapon for Tom Thibodeau, he’s going to have to get it done against the bigger and stronger LeBron and that could be tough.
