Friday, June 7, 2013

George Karl Is Not The Answer

I was on ESPN today and 81% of people think George Karl got a raw deal in Denver.  Those people clearly are not aware of George Karl's track record.  Although Karl wins a ton of games during the regular season and has a track record of taking teams to the playoffs his record in the playoffs is less than impressive.  He has only been to the championship one time and that was 17 years ago.  To say that George Karl is a great coach would be overstating the facts.

George Karl has no ability to make adjustments in a 7 game series and subsequently the teams he coaches end up underachieving.  He's had great teams in Seattle and Milwaukee, but only once has he advanced past the conference finals.  For some reason basketball executives still think of him as a top tier coach.

George Karl is not on par with Greg Poppovich, Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, or Doc Rivers yet he gets the same respect.  Now the Memphis Grizzlies are reportedly interested in his services.  It would be a mistake to replace Lionel Hollins at this stage in the team's development.

The George Karl system is effective for the first 3 years, but then players get tired of his style.  He wears out his welcome with superstars (Ray Allen, Carmelo Anthony) and relies an mediocre players to do things they are not fully capable of doing.  In the end George Karl has a tendency to come up just a bit short when it really counts.

I won't say that George Karl is a bad coach, but I won't say he's a great coach either.  For a team that has championship aspirations I would caution them to re-visit the facts before they make a rash decision.  Hall of Fame coach yes.  Legendary coach that can win the big one?  No.  Your thoughts?






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