What is clutch? What are the characteristics that make one player clutch and another not? Does being clutch guarantee your team wins in crunch time situations? Is being clutch a capacity solely defined by statistical analysis and reporting metrics…or is there more to it?
Webster’s dictionary defines a clutch player as someone who is “dependable in crucial situations.”
Unfortunately, the word “dependable” can be interpreted in different ways to different people. So that doesn’t really help us, does it?
What if we play a little game to help us figure out just who and what clutch is?
When I say go, I want you to think of the most clutch players in the history of the NBA…ready?
GO!
Done? Okay, now let’s compare lists…
In no special order and without the help of any stats, I got: Magic, Michael, Larry, and of course “Mr. Clutch,” Jerry West. I’d probably also throw Reggie Miller in there as well.
Now for round two: Think of most clutch players in the game today….ready??
GO!
Okay, I got Kobe, Paul Pierce, Manu, and DWade…and I guess Carmelo Anthony should also be included.
So, how’d we do?
Chances are, our lists are pretty darn close. That’s because the names mentioned are synonymous with delivering when it mattered most. Not every time mind you….In fact, there probably exists a statistic or two, buried deep within some number cruncher’s hard-drive that proves otherwise; but often enough these players came through when their teams needed it most. And, in the hearts and minds of most intelligent basketball fans these are the players that exude the essence of what it means to be clutch.
In other words: these are the guys we want taking the last shot with the clock running down and the game on the line!
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajNC3W-Dlqk&feature=related
NEXT: The Sin of Predictability
The author puts forth a ton of statistics and rationales much of which I won’t bore you with here as his article more than accomplishes that for me. From the number of shots and the number of misses, to the percentages over time and even the number of times teammates were left wide open; the author asserts his position that as long as your mind is open to the numbers, “it has to be closed to the idea of Bryant being the king of crunch time.”
Now, before I divulge my thoughts on the subject, it might be a good time to remind you all that this is the same network that aired Lebron James’ “Decision” and created what they termed the “Heat Index,” on their main webpage. For the 2011 season they would be providing up-to-the-minute updates on every regular-season accomplishment by James and the Miami Heat:
Track the Heat’s Progress to 72 wins! (Which has since been taken down)
Real Time Coverage of Lebron James’ Season-Averaging Triple-Double!
24-Hour Coverage of Every Thing The Heat Says, Does and Thinks! (Okay, that one I made up!)
I could go on, you know. They really make no attempt to disguise just who it is they are rooting for over there…and to think journalism in this country used to pride itself on objectivity!
The irrationality of the article was beyond my imagination even as the topic caught fire and consumed national sports talk radio that afternoon.
Maybe the author had a point?
Maybe we should “respect the brute force of the numbers,” as his article pleads?
Maybe teams should ditch all the isolation plays and just run their regular offense during crunch time?
Maybe we should just forget everything we know about the game of basketball and listen to a number-crunching, ESPN columnist that has probably never played the game competitively.
Or, maybe we should go with our guts on this one.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TE3tUy6UMY
NEXT: The numbers don’t lie…or do they?
Because there’s no way I’m going with this other guy’s list! Carmelo Anthony at number one is acceptable, but the sanity stops there. Shawn Marion at number three? Hedo Turkoglu at number five?? Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson at number seven???
These guys are more clutch than Kobe? Come on!
It’s not until number 25 on the list that we find Bryant’s name. And the names in front of him continue to border on bizarre: Rashard Lewis at number six, Mike Bibby at number nine, and Vince Carter at number 20?
Vince Carter…really??
The idea itself is preposterous. But to actually research it, write it, then to go on national sports talk radio and defend it…now that’s downright laughable.
Yet, there he was defending the numbers to his last breath. Finally, as the list seemed to crumble under the weight of its own absurdity, the author then switches to his other point that the Lakers, and indeed all teams, would be much more effective in crunch time if they would just run their offense and ditch the isolation plays.
Yes, that’s exactly what the Lakers should do. They should abandon what’s gotten them to this point and turn the play-calling over to the stat geeks!
Go back in history…
What if Kobe had never crossed-over Scottie Pippen and hit Shaq with The Alley-Oop of all alley-oops, against Portland in the 2000 Western Conference Finals, and instead gave the ball to a wide open Rick Fox.
What if Reggie Miller had chosen to run the offense instead of scoring an improbable eight points in eleven seconds verses the Knicks in 1995; including 2 miracle three pointers in the final seconds that Knick fans are still scratching their heads over!
Or, what if Jordan never took “The Shot” against the Cleveland Cavs in 1989 or the last shot against Bryon Russell and the Jazz in 1998 and instead passed off to teammates that were more than likely open somewhere else on the floor?
NEXT: It ain’t about the numbers
For when the game is on the line, the ball belongs in the hands of your team’s best player, PERIOD.
That’s what they get paid for. Taking that shot is their responsibility and no one else’s; not because the numbers say so, but because their talent demands it.
Crunch time calls for more than the typical offensive sets which most opposing teams can defend in their sleep. It requires more than the average player has the skill to deliver. Crunch time calls for the spontaneity and creativity that only the best in the world can provide. It demands that the person with the ball be able to get off a clear look at the basket no matter how daunting the circumstance.
That is why the statistics must be ignored. Because being clutch, or delivering in the clutch, is not about the percentages, nor is it about guaranteeing success, or wins. It’s about giving your team the best opportunity for a basket when it absolutely must have one. That is, the essence of being clutch is the ability to get off a game-winning or game-tying shot where a lesser player would not be able to.
Beyond skill, beyond talent, beyond athleticism there lies another attribute that only the best can tap into. It is a level which only they can reach. They must have these other skills too, for sure. But, to be clutch they must go to another place; one that is not affected by pressure, blurred by distraction, or hindered by the lack of self-confidence.
And I’m sorry, but there’s no way Shawn Merion, or Vince Carter, or any of those other guys on the list can get there better than Bryant. The guy can hit any shot, at any time, under any circumstance and because of that he is one of the most clutch performers ever.
It even pulled out the old “Ball Hog” card when referring to Kobe’s end of game performances. In the final seconds Kobe would be better off running the offense and hitting teammates that are left wide open, the article concludes. My reply would be that when your data delivers such bone-head results, that it might be time to ditch the numbers rather than to draw conclusions from them!