I've been hearing the steady rise of folks around here calling for George Karl's job, and I have for the most part kept a level head, and tried to provide excuses as to why Karl should be given a break. When Andrew defended George Karl and displayed some remorse for having at one time been the figurehead of FireGeorgeKarl.com, I could understand his point of view, but after the past week and having taken stock of this season I have come to a personal conclusion. I am not advocating that George be fired today, I think that he should finish the season, but at season's end, when all are evaluated, I think George deserves not only criticism, but serious consideration when it comes to whether or not he is the right man to lead this team forward.
I've listened to those who say it's the players. They aren't trying. They are depressed about the Nene trade. From my perspective, George more than anyone looks depressed about the Nene trade. As for the players, hasn't Masai and Josh done everything in their power to give George the team he most desired? Now that he has it, they aren't the "right" guys? What I see are a young group of players willing to be molded(Unlike Melo, Kenyon, Ect), willing to play defense. There is frustration growing from within the team but it appears to be because of their failure to grasp George's Defensive schemes, which leads me to ask. Is George doing a good job of teaching defense, and is he coming up with a scheme that takes advantage of his teams athleticism and basketball IQ whatever you perceive that to be?
The reason's that lead me to suggest that George's job should be debated at seasons end are as follows:
*He has shown a lack of faith in his potential stars. Early in the season there were a couple of games when he didn't have Gallo in at the end of the game. He has started Ty this season, but half the time Ty is on the court with Andre Miller, and we have all seen him defer to Andre, whether by design or not. This has to hinder his development at the point, and certainly begs the question about his trust in Ty, especially when George drools every time he speaks Andre's name.
*Poor end of game coaching, and constantly loosing timeouts.
*His reluctance to play Manimal early in the year(which I gave him a break for) but once Kenneth proved he could play you could tell it bothered George to play him, and that might have been part of the Nene trade. To force George's hand.
*All the talk of experimenting this year, and he has certainly showed a continued interest in experimenting with small lineups, but how often has he experimented with a bigger lineup, taking advantage of the height Masai has assembled for him?
*His reluctance to use JHam in even a limited role has bothered me when he is clearly one of the best pure shooters we have.
*He wants to play fast, so why doesn't he utilize traps more?
*His over reliance on his trust guys (Miller, Harrington, and Brewer specifically) even when they are tired or not performing well.
These are some of things that bother me. I also have to wonder why Phil Jackson, or Larry Brown and that ilk seem avoid having these sorts issues (the Brown v Iverson issue asside). George seemed unhappy with the Melo era teams because he had to deal with and manage egos. Well I don't see that many ego's on this team, so what gives.
These are my thoughts and frustrations, and I wanted to share them because I love this community what we have here and I always look forward to hearing all of your reactions and insights. So please feel free to respond and call me out if I am wrong. I really do want George to be the man to take us to the promise land, but I am not so sure that he can anymore.
No matter what, GO NUGGETS!!!!
