Report: George Karl wary of playing Faried and McGee together down the stretch

[Wruff]

George Karl wary of playing Faried and McGee together down the stretch

The Nuggets struggled offensively in Thursday night’s loss to the Heat, but one player who didn’t seem to have trouble scoring for Denver was JaVale McGee. Yet he was curiously absent from the floor in crunch time, where his team needed offensive production the most.


McGee was 9-of-12 from the field on the night, and finished with 18 points in just over 21 minutes of action. He also grabbed six rebounds and blocked four shots in his limited chance, so it would seem logical that when a player has it going on both ends of the floor like that, you find a way to get him into the lineup.

But McGee sat the final 7:39 of the fourth quarter, a decision that George Karl said it was fair to second-guess afterward.

“That’s fair to second-guess,” Karl said after the game, “I just don’t feel comfortable playing JaVale and Kenneth Faried in defensive schemes (down the stretch), I think we make too many mistakes. I thought JaVale played great and when I took him out (with 7:39 left), I was initially thinking about putting him back in the game (OH, WERE YA THINKIN, GEORGE? ). But the matchups for me, I was choosing between Kenneth and JaVale, and I went with Kenneth.”

Faried and McGee were together for just nine total minutes on the court in this one, but their lineups were a combined +11 during that time. So why not give them some more run, especially with Danilo Gallinari struggling with his shot, and with the team so desperately in need of some reliable scoring options?

Karl said in Phoenix earlier this week that he’s still experimenting with lineups, and that it’ll be 20-30 games into the season before he has an idea of which combinations will work best in specific situations.

:cry:

click


http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.c...n-the-stretch/

[BirdIsTheWord]

I can understand GK here. I hate when teams play their two best big men and rebounders together.

[Wruff]

GK went away from the only lineup that kept us in that game and went back to the thing that put us in a hole every time he used it (small ball). Given the situation it actually made no sense. Failure to adapt.

Every time McGee was inserted into the game (already down by a dozen) then the Nuggets would go on a run and get to within 1 or 2 points of the Heat. Then he'd be taken out and the Heat would again drive up a lead on us. Happened every single time.
Early in the 4th the Nuggets made yet another run with McGee on the floor, getting to within 1 point of the Heat again before McGee was again pulled out with 8 minutes remaining and benched the rest of the game. The rest is history.

McGee's +/- was excellent (+14). Higher (by far) than any other Nugget.

Yeah, so George always has his reasons, but his logic is highly questionable. It was obvious what was working vs the Heat and what wasn't (small ball), but in the end the coach went with what obviously hadn't worked all night. He went with the thing that gave us the least chance of winning the game.

I've always supported George Karl as the Nuggets coach, but this season something's getting in the way.
Has the game finally passed him by? Is it his ego that's getting in the way?

He's not getting the best out of this team. He didn't arrive here yesterday, and it should not take as he said 30 games into the season before he gets "an idea" of who to play together given a particular game-time situation.

[3iverson3]

well that is just absurd. How the hell are Mcgee and Faried going to get better playing together if they aren't learning from their mistakes???

That means that either koufas, miller, or brewer are taking McGee's spots. That is bull****. Mcgee brings protecting the paint.

[BRAVE KID]

Karl is so concerned with the spacing the opposing offense brings that he just shutters to think of the option of putting McGee and Faried together to close a game.

To his credit- anytime Faried and McGee have to guard away from the bucket...it's a pretty poor sight to see. Faried just can not stay with his guy on the corner and McGee likes to do crazy things away from the bucket.

But here's the thing, his lineups he is using right now is not doing all that better.

If you're not going to use Faried and McGee to close it out....then use them to start it off.

McGee can't just be getting 20 minutes a game when he is playing well. In the past, Karl used incredibly small lineups to close out games (that didn't work) because that particular lineup "helped them get back into the game."

But when the lineup involves a big....his mentality changes.

Again, the king of hypocrisy.

[KB-Pau-DH2012]

You guys need a new coach who will mesh all the talents together. George Karl is too old school, and I honestly feel the guy has run out of gas.


You guys would be better served with a coach like Stan Van Gundy.

[SteBO]

Let me say that I too had no idea why McGee wasn't on the floor. That goes for both DEN-MIA games. He was very effective when he was on floor in regards to hustle, paint scores, and rim protection.

[BRAVE KID]

He may have run out of gas. I don't know where is the energy with him or the passion..it's just not there. He doesn't motivate a team, his team doesn't listen to him, and he plays favorites.

But since he's planning on "experimenting" with the lineup for about 20 more games...how about we see more Fournier along with J-ham??

Fournier just has an impressive feel of the game. And he's not afraid to play defense (even though it may not be up to par yet...but give the kid a break he's 20 and he's actually trying).

It doesn't look like he's afraid of slashing and he'll step up to the challenge defensively....more effort like that..and I say why not?

[3iverson3]

yea but we can't really say he doesn't motivate or shows the passion anymore. He certainly doesn't do it during the game (at times) but we don't know that for sure obviously.

During the Miami game it was hard to have both Faried/Mcgee out there because Battier did spread the floor. However, during other games in which you could play both he doesn't. The biggest problem is that by not playing them late in games will only hurt the team in the playoffs. These guys are the future and they must learn from their mistakes so they DO NOT make them when it really counts.

[3iverson3]

The best thing that could ever happen is for Faried to become a great defender. If he can be able to guard 6'8 guys on the perimeter then it would be great cause then Mcgee can play.

[3iverson3]

Does anyone else hate the Koufas starting? Either start Mcgee or Mozov and have Koufas play sparingly, yet effective, limited minutes.

[Poz303]

Does anyone else hate the Koufas starting? Either start Mcgee or Mozov and have Koufas play sparingly, yet effective, limited minutes.

Well, that explains a lot (the article) but really baffles me. McGee has been the most effective center the past few games, and Faried is our best rebounder.

Against the spurs McGee was -1 on the +/- while KK was -21 ans Mozgov was -22.

I understand the NBA is about match-ups but McGee is as much a mismatch to opponents as would going small, yet he has been much more effective lately.

As for Mozgov or KK, I think Mozgov is a better defender than KK so I would certainly be more than willing to see Mozgov start over KK if GK persists with starting McGee off the bench.

[Poz303]

oh, and why doesnt GK add playing McGee and Faried together at the end of a game to his list of experimental line-ups. After all, he has some 20 to 30 games to figure this out.

If it works, then maybe he can stop the experimenting early.

[BRAVE KID]

He has a limit with the experimenting....He'll say he'll "experiment" but when it's tight, he'll just go to his trust guys more often than not.

Have we had a game where Ty and Dre have not closed together? More often than not it's always those two. always.

[BRAVE KID]

yea but we can't really say he doesn't motivate or shows the passion anymore. He certainly doesn't do it during the game (at times) but we don't know that for sure obviously.

As my old teacher would say, "the proof is in the pudding." Karl "stresses" defense...we play like this. Karl "stresses" Ty to be aggressive....he plays this hesitation game all the time.

How many times has Karl "won" a timeout?? How often have we seen over the years the Nuggets come out flat after every half?

He's got the pieces to be a good defensive squad. No clubhouse drama, no superstar drama. Karl doesn't have an excuse.

The best thing that could ever happen is for Faried to become a great defender. If he can be able to guard 6'8 guys on the perimeter then it would be great cause then Mcgee can play.

If Faried can just become K-mart...then we have a steal. K-mart can guard anybody for a series or two.