Hate to keep baggin on the guy, but this stuff needs to get said. I’ve racked my brain trying to figure out how he survives this and keeps the label as being a “good or great coach” Then I figured it out.
Seattle
Milwaukee
Denver
He coaches in cities with low demand, low media presence. If he coached in Chicago or LA, he would get destroyed within 3 years.
So here you go, in depth, updated.
SIX teams in the history of the NBA have won 31 of their final 40 games and then lost in the first round of the playoffs. (meaning, they go into the playoffs BLAZING hot.)
3 of those 6 teams are George Karl. LOL
74 Bucks
94 Sonics GK
05 Nuggets GK
07 Mavs
08 Rockets
13 Nuggets GK
He just took a 57 win team that as mentioned had won 31 of their last 40, against a 6 seed, first time playoff head coach, 3 rookies in their rotation, lose their second best player in game 1, have Homecourt advantage, with the Warriors having a bunch of first time playoff performers, and lost. LOL. Jarrett Jack was the playoff “veteran” of the group. (Richard Jefferson too, but he is out of the rotation)
In the series, the Warriors went NUTS in the 3rd quarter of every game, and the Nuggets tailed off in every 3rd quarter. Halftime adjustments by the rookie playoff coach, vs a 25 season head coach???
And if not for the great Andre Miller game winner in game 1, that series could have been a sweep. Golden State outplayed them in 5 of the 6 games only truly losing the game 5 in Denver where they basically played asleep so they could just get back on their homefloor to close it out.
Karl has now lost from every seed in the first round. 1, 2, 3 and 4. All Homecourt seeds, lost in the first round with each of them.
25 seasons coaching, over 1,100 wins, he’s 80 and 105 in the playoffs. .599% in the reg season, .432 in the playoffs. LOL
13 playoff series wins. Just 13. 22 playoff series losses.
His “best” playoff seasons, in two and a half decades, he has only FOUR years with at least 10 playoff wins, they read…….
13-8
10-6
10-8
10-9
Hardly impressive runs. He has won TWO playoff series since 2000, both in the same year in 2009. That year they lost to the Lakers in the WCF. Two of those games were swung when the Nuggets failed to inbound the ball, after a timeout, in which he draws up a play and tells his team what to do, twice, in a two week span, his team failed at that task. In the playoffs, NBA level players.
He’s made the conference Finals with all 3 teams, guess that’s a positive, course that’s in 25 years, so………
In 2004-05, he took over Denver at the midway point. Went 32-8 an .800 winning percentage!!!!!!!! Lost in the first round 4-1. LMAOOOOOO
His final year in Seattle, won 61 games, got pushed to a game 5 in the first round, survived, and then got destroyed by the Del Harris Lakers 4-1 in RD 2.
His win totals of years he lost in round 1
63
57 (twice)
53
50 (twice)
Every, single, year, “this team is different” “Nobody wants to face the _____” “They can make a run to the Finals” etc etc etc. Every, year.
Not Legit.
