1) The goal is to get the highest percentage shot. That may sometimes be your clutch shooter hitting it over a double team, or it may be passing it to an open man who has the right mentality. It all depends on the personnel and the situation. What you don't want happening is the ball in a Nick Anderson's hands at the end of the game. Then all you're left with is excuses of 'star player x has no help.' Kobe shooting past a double team is probably better, hypothetically, than passing it to an open Smush Parker with 5s left in the finals. The goal is to get the best odds of winning, not maximize the narrative in the event of a loss that the star player's teammates let him down. It's hard for us fans to accurately evaluate their options though, just results.
2) Jordan, at least after 1988 when he fixed the tunnel visioning, would be flexible enough to shoot or pass. The difference is that when Jordan would pass, he would make sure he got his trusted guy wide open. It wasn't 'oh Jordan passed to Kerr' or Paxson, it was that Jordan first mentally prepped Kerr on the bench, and he had already preselected through intense pressure in practice who he trusted in clutch situations. There were no 'surprise! bail me out' passes to not really open guys at the end of the shot clock.
Kobe is a whole different discussion. He gets grouped with Jordan due to superficial style probably more than he should be considering the difference in their habits.
3) If you pass the ball to a less clutch teammate on the grounds that he is more open, you damn well better get him completely open and comfortable. Just compare Jordan's pass to Kerr in 97 to Kawhi's pass to FVV. Both players get hard doubled but...Jordan draws the extra help defender, then fakes out Hornacek (who is trying to guard Kukoc and Kerr, and bites Jordan's fake to Kukoc) and gets the ball to a wide open Kerr.
Kawhi doesn't create a good enough opportunity, so FVV instead is closed down immediately and has to throw it to a scrambling Lowry who is not in nearly as comfortable position as Paxson or Kerr would be.
The difference was that Jordan not only found the open guy, he drew and faked enough attention that the two help defenders who could have possibly contested Kerr were both off balance and running the wrong way when Kerr got the ball. Livingston and Draymond, however, were ready to contest the eventual passes to FVV and Lowry since Kawhi/Toronto did not create enough threat on their initial moves.
4) Kawhi has still been plenty clutch this playoffs. Nobody will remember he failed here if he dominates g6. Nobody remembers Jordan missed the critical free throw in g4 of the 89 Cavs series because he hit "the shot" in game 5.
