Keep your eye on George Karl’s fourth-quarter lineups in close games. In previous seasons, Karl would sometimes alternate J.R. Smith (on offense) and Anthony Carter (on defense). But now, Smith is playing a little better defense. But Arron Afflalo, a defensive stopper, plays the same position as Smith. And what about Joey Graham, who can guard shooting guards, small forwards and perhaps even power forwards? Karl has occasionally inserted Graham into the game for an end-of-first-half possession to keep a starter from getting a foul and to help clamp down on defense.
“The perfect scenario in coaching is at the end of a game, all your multimillion- dollar players would allow you to put your five best defensive players out there,” Karl said. “But they won’t — they’ll sulk. It’s the dictator versus democracy. So your choice is to manage anger and frustration or be a dictator. Your choice is to teach guys to be good defensive players and put guys in places where they won’t make the mistake.” Melo consistent.
Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony has scored 20-plus points in all of Denver’s 13 games this season. Miami’s Dwyane Wade is almost as consistent, scoring 20-plus in all but one game.
