If Pop was coaching the Mavs, would the Mavs be up 3-1?

Carlisle is a good coach. Just not a great coach.

No, Pop would have probably swept them since he wouldn't have Bonner to put out there to help the other team go on runs.

Nope. Popovich is showing just how terrible a coach Carlisle is.

Carlisle's rotation has been ****ed up since game 1. How many times do you watch Parker/Hill run right past Terry before you put Stevenson in the game. Dude was good enough to play Kobe Bryant man'd up, but he hasn't seen a single minute in a series in which you've been dominated by the dribble drive.

And you leave Marion on the bench when he's your best defender for Ginobili?

Taking timeouts 12 points into a run? Watch Popovich call timeouts.

Carlisle stinks.

[This message has been edited by MW03 (edited 4/25/2010 11:48p).]

The one I didn't get tonight was that it has been obvious that Manu's jumpshot has been affected by the nose break. Until that 3 pointer, he was 0-14 on jumpshots since breaking it.

You have a guy that will instinctively be protecting his face to an extent and whose shot wasn't falling, but he's still getting to the bucket almost at will? No player in the NBA should be good enough to do that if you concede the jumpshot.

Of course Popovich has driven me nuts this series too. Each game has seen a 15 point or so run by the Mavs and the common denominator is when Bonner is in the game and plays 5 straight minutes or more. He did it again tonight and the Mavs went on a 15-2 spurt.

Each of those runs has been nearly identical, but Pop is stubborn to a fault with certain players.

Another point is that Haywood needs more playing time and should start... he was again a + player tonight at +11

Butler needs more minutes, too.

quote:

---

Taking timeouts 12 points into a run? Watch Popovich call timeouts.

---

I remember Dallas going on about a 15 point run in the latter part of game 3, with Pop not calling any timeouts (during the Barea chest pounding episode).

Pop used to not do that a few years ago, but he's been taking this approach more and more over the last few years of not stopping the game when it's going bad. I think he stole this approach from Phil Jackson, who is known for refusing to stop bad runs with timeouts.

<<Dude was good enough to play Kobe Bryant man'd up, but he hasn't seen a single minute in a series in which you've been dominated by the dribble drive.>>

Spurs fan here...

I don't know that a great straight-up defender would help stop the Spurs penetration. In a half court set at least, the Spurs drives are started by using the pick and roll-- almost every time. That's where Mavs team defense weaknesses come in-- the centers are sorta slow-footed and Dirk just doesn't seem to have a knack for good D. The other guys have to stay on the perimeter near three point shooters.

Mavs defensive rotations are slow and crappy, the Spurs rotations right now are quick and effective in comparison.

interesting post, Jack.

There's no reason to analyze anything. Mavs have absolutely 0 post presence. You can't win championships without that.

quote:

---

Another point is that Haywood needs more playing time and should start... he was again a + player tonight at +11

---

Ahhh, yes. The +/- statistic. I genuinely hope, and I seriously mean this, that Carlisle is using the +/- in his roster decisions. I really, really do.

I was really glad that Carlisle benched Butler in Game 3 and then Marion didn't see much time in the 4th quarter in game four despite having a great first half. I love how Ricky gets enamored with Barrea. The little guy is good for some nice plays but over a long stretch he ultimately gets abused.

No.

HELL...NO!

with two minutes left why the hell would you not just start hacking tim duncan he was 1-7 on the night. That was just ****ing stupid.

I think he's probably better than average coach. But not good enough.

He just seems to lose the plot. For whatever reason, he doesn't have the pulse of team or gameflow.

As a spurs fan, I have to say that I think Carlisle is a great coach

As a spurs fan, I have to say that I think Carlisle is a great coach

Average at best ...