Don't kid yourself, Malone was a choke artist in the West as well. Stockton routinely bailed his ass out. Even with Stockton, they still lost in the first round 7 times, including getting swept by a 43-win Warriors team in 1989. IIRC, in one of those games, Malone went off for 30+ points in the first three quarters and promptly went scoreless in the 4th. Then there was the '94 playoffs, where Malone nearly gagged a 3-0 lead to the Nuggets, then was so shook against Houston that Utah's owner actually screamed at Sloan from the stands to bench him during one of the games. And who could forget his choke at the free throw line against the Sonics in '96, where he was literally rattled by the crowd chanting "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" at him? Karl was a bum, plain and simple... the Fivehead of the NBA.