We only seem willing to accept this attitude when it is embodied by a player who has already established themselves as a star. Nobody claps for the rookie who goes one on five on a final possession only to hoist an airball. I certainly agree that a first year player more than likely shouldn't be displaying that sort of attitude. Although, it seems like there are notable exceptions. Blake Griffin would probably take little to no heat for calling for the ball on a final possession and trying to iso. A Young LeBron James was expected to do as much.
What is more interesting to me, is how that sort of attitude is developed. DeMarcus Cousins will likely be suspended a game following his skip-hop angry dance in the closing seconds of the Kings loss yesterday. Apparently, DMC was mad because he expected to touch the ball, instead of watching Tyreke Evans launch a wild three point attempt from no man's land. DeMarcus has taken a lot of heat this year for the sort of competitive attitude we expect star players to have. Granted, some instances (clashing with coaching staff) do not fall into this category. But, at least in this case, what I see is an example of the team's best player displaying the "alpha dog" mentality that is pined for by the many basketball fans.
Would we treat this case differently if Kevin Garnett yelled at Rajon Rondo for not giving him the ball in a final possession? (Wait, that's a terrible example, KG hates taking game-on-the-line shots, and Boston always iso's Paul Pierce on the right elbow to close out games). In any case, I'm almost certain that DeMarcus will reap the benefits of this sort of attitude in the future. For now, he could probably stand not to squirm and dance around like a child who dropped their soother when he doesn't get his way.
