Quote:
Originally Posted by Cross-Over
George Karl is a terrible coach.
When his team botches the inbound pass down the stretch in game 1, it ultimately is on him (had a small guy in-bounding the ball), but you can shift some blame to the player. To have it happen again in game 2, immediately AFTER a timeout due to their inability to inbound the ball, the blame is entirely on George Karl.
|
When is the last time the *same* guy stole the ball on the *same* play, at the *same* time in the game? I agree that technically, the 2nd time was on Karl, but Kenyon Martin is a 9-year vet and should know better.
Quote:
|
Additionally, in the best case scenario, he should have been substituting J.R. Smith in for offense, but keeping him out on defense. In the last two minutes, he fouls Kobe sending him to the line, and does not even put a hand up when Kobe pulls up from 3 point range. This is the same J.R. Smith the turned the ball over in the final minute in game 2, nearly costing them the game. He is young, inexperienced, has poor shot selection, and a low basketball IQ. Yet, brilliant George Karl has him guarding Kobe when Jones, Carmello, and Billups are all better defenders.
|
Makes you wonder doesn't it...although Smith was guarding Kobe last year when the 2 had words, those 3 guys you mentioned are indeed better Kobe defenders than Smith, especially Jones...who drives Kobe nuts with his hyper-physical defense. Maybe Jones had fouled out I forget. Another thing with Smith: the last month or so, he's been on a roll as an unconscious 3-point shooter. He broke open many, many close games coming off the bench and hitting 3 after 3. Suddenly he's not getting any passes, and going 4-15 for the first time in months. Its like he's a different player, because he was one of - if not THE - hottest shooters in the league up until this series.
Quote:
Bill Simmons (Sports Guy from ESPN) said it best when saying that the nuggets are the more talented team, playing better now, and should win the series. Yet, it will be mental errors and poor coaching that loses this series for them.
I give credit to the Lakers for fighting tough and being competitive in all 3 games, please don't interpret this as a laker hatred rant. Rather, I fume when dumb coaching mistakes lead to a loss in highly competitive games, as it has in games 1 and 3.
|
I think its a no-brainer that Denver is a deeper, more efficient, more talented team. I just think the appeal of a Kobe-LeBron Final is too good to pass up. It sucks because Denver is a fun team to watch, while Cleveland and LA have one guy getting fouled every other play and doing most of the scoring.