Spurs' unshakeable belief in Mitch Johnson continues to backfire

After their NBA Finals loss to the New York Knicks, the San Antonio Spurs have a lot of questions to answer this summer. First and foremost is what to do with coach Mitch Johnson.

Johnson was widely and rightfully criticized for his coaching in the NBA Finals, with many believing that he cost San Antonio a championship. Normally, I don't go along with such hyperbole, but that man absolutely cost the Spurs a title.

Whether it be overplaying De'Aaron Fox or underplaying Dylan Harper, who was the third-best player in this series. That alone is hard to justify with Harper having the second-best net rating on the Spurs throughout the playoffs yet playing the sixth-most minutes on the team in the NBA Finals.

Utter nonsense. Johnson also struggled with rotations, overplaying Victor Wembanyama when up 30 in Game 4 only to have him run out of gas late. He also failed to try more Harrison Barnes or Carter Bryant, with Keldon Johnson falling short against the Knicks.

Mitch Johnson may not be the right coach for the Spurs

To be clear, I don't expect the Spurs to fire Johnson after just one season, but his NBA Finals performance was awful, to say the least. The x's and o's just weren't there when the Spurs needed them to be.

Take, for instance, Game 2. Johnson calls a timeout with 37 seconds left. Instead of drawing up an elaborate out-of-timeout play to get Victor Wembanyama the ball, it ended up being a face-up iso against Mitchell Robinson.

That was uninspiring, but so was the final play, which was a pick-and-roll designed to get Wembanyama the ball in the mid-range. Unsurprisingly, the Spurs failed to score on both plays, costing them Game 2. Simply put, Johnson did little to help the Spurs overcome their struggles.

Mitch Johnson was exposed in the NBA Finals but it may only get worse

Sean Sweeney, who operated as the Spurs' defensive coordinator, won't return next season. That means they could be worse on that end. Of course, this team could still be better overall with an improved Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and Fox improving to the mean.

Then again, who's to say that Johnson won't have another coaching meltdown next season? Especially if they take a step back defensively, meaning they could have less margin for error.

If the Spurs fail to make it back to at least the Western Conference Finals next season, they may have to then look strongly at replacing Johnson. Perhaps he's the Mark Jackson, while San Antonio has yet to find their Steve Kerr.

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