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Jordan was labeled a choker? Huh? He was labeled as selfish. He was labeled as a guy who shot the ball to much. But choker? No. The guy performed well in the clutch right from the start.
As for who to build around now? Bron at the moment, but that's only assuming this drop off doesn't continue. If it does he becomes one of a group of guys you could easily consider. I watched the game against Detroit today and saw the same things I've seen this year.
As for the minutes per game figure. . . James doesn't play 41 minutes a night. Oh, I know, the stats say he plays 41 minutes a night. But he makes up for it by sleeping on defense 15 to 20 percent of the time. That isn't an insult. He has to do it or he'd be worthless in the final five minutes of every game. He's been doing it from his rookie year, but people have overlooked it, because he's the king. They put him on the opposing teams worst offensive player most of the time for that very reason.
Would a real coach change things? I dunno. James +/- is pretty ridiculous. When he does go off the floor the team really sucks. Just because he's dropped off a bit from the previous two years doesn't mean he's not a great player and he's beyond valuable to that team. I think a new coach would have the idea of resting James more and then use him for 40 minutes anyway.
George Karl talked about using Allen Iverson for less minutes to conserve him. He's still at 42+ a night and Melo is rising up toward the 40 mark. If you take out a game where he got into foul trouble and a blowout, Melo is averaging around 41 in his last 15 games.
I don't think his minutes are going to change. Don't worry about me. I'm just selfish. I want to see the player I saw two years ago. THAT player was the guy you could compare to Mike or Magic. This one isn't quite at that level. I want to see him get back there. Shoot me.
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