cpawfan

In game 5, Karl did try some different lineups and different sets and for the most part they worked. However, the one thing I think he didn't do enough of was look at how the Spurs defense adjusted and make counter moves. Once the Spurs stopped something, he just went away from it.

Take the start of the 3rd quarter. The Nuggets opened up with getting the ball to Kenyon since he had been very effective in the first half. Pop knew that Kenyon could drive past Duncan when Kenyon faced up, so he committed Bowen to the baseline when Kenyon got the ball to provide a soft double and take away Kenyon's driving lane. Melo tried to draw Bruce away by cutting through the lane, but with Duncan shading to Kenyon's right, his passing angles were cut off.

My question is why didn't Karl counter by placing a shooter in the corner so that as soon Kenyon drove left and Bowen colapsed, Kenyon could pass out to the shooter.

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RoddneyThaRippa

Good question, although I have no answer to it.

When you look back at the series Karl did some very peculiar things. I thought DerMarr Johnson actually played pretty well and definitely was hitting his threes consistently, as well as penetrating into the paint. Needless to say, his minutes decreased throughout the series.

I'm not sure how it's possible to give yourself a good chance to beat the Spurs without putting some three point shooters out on the court periodically and spreading the floor. The absolutely make you earn every damn bucket, so you can't spend the whole game trying to penetrate and post up. Given we do have good penetrators like Carmelo, DerMarr, Andre, and Kenyon, I'm not sure why Karl didn't want to spot up some three shooters for the kickout. That definitely would've made the Spurs soften up a bit if we hit those threes down. It would've at least kept them honest in doubling off those three point shooters.

On top of that, and in spite of his game four performance, Boykins played too much. His shooting nights were 3-9, 3-12, 3-11, 12-20, and 6-16. That's not something you want from your backup point guard, not to mention he got torched on defense. When Earl comes into the game our offense comes to a screeching half. He dribbles the ball for days and then jacks up some wild shot.

Karl really stays rigid in his substitution patterns. He usually doesn't substitute all his starters in the fourth quarter until about 8 minutes left, no matter what the situation is. I suppose his reasoning may be it's the execution and not the personell that matters, but I wish he wouldn't be so rigid.