Poor Adrian Dantley. He had an opportunity to be the head coach tonight with the absence of Coach Karl due to flu-like symptoms. All AD had to do was operate the Nuggets' playbook, and most assuredly he'd have a home win under his belt. Unfortunately for AD, the Nuggets DON'T HAVE a playbook - which was evident in tonight's home loss to the Detroit Pistons.
As I watched the Nuggets playoff chances continue to circle the drain, I couldn't help but reminisce about the wondrous past performances by Nuggets interim coaches.
Denver Nuggets Interim Head Coach Hall of Fame...
2005-06 - Scott Brooks coaches the Nuggets to a 1-2 opening record, filling in for Coach Karl who was suspended for the first three games for violating NBA Draft rules. Brooks found the experience to be quite disheartening, as he was mistaken for the ball boy in each game.
2003-04 - Michael Cooper goes 4-10 after Jeff Bzdelik got canned. Coop quickly realized that running the L.A. Sparks offensive sets just don't seem to work in the NBA.
2001-02 - Mike Evans - a valuable role player for the Nuggets in the 1980s - goes 18-38 after Dan Issel resigned for calling a fan a "Mexican piece of shit." To this day, I don't know who planted that fan in the stadium to get Issel so riled up, but all of us Nuggets fans are eternally grateful.
1996-97 - Dick Motta goes 17-52 taking over for Bernie Bickerstaff, after Bickerstaff fire-bombed the entire Nuggets organization. Motta enjoyed the exerience, as it allowed him to pad his losses and place him third in all-time NBA coaching losses.
1994-95 - Gene Littles guides the Nuggets to a 3-13 record as Dan Issel quit on the team (the first of two times) after 34 games. Littles just wanted to make sure the bar was set so low that we'd be duped into thinking Bernie Bickerstaff knew what he was doing for the remainder of the season. I'll write more on the Issel/Bernie era later. I don't have 8 hours of writing in me right now...
4 comments:
Meant to post his here, not below...
I'm a little torn about George - he has a tough job, lots of egos to manage and whatnot, but last night was painfully obvious that the pistons run sets to get good shots and the nuggets simply can't. Melo and AI were pretty good, the D was good and the pistons only outscored the Nuggets by 1/2 point per 100 possessions. But, down the stretch the pistons ran PLAYS to get open 15 footers, and the Nuggets just don't have plays to run in those situations. I'm not sure who would be better, but we need a coach that will give this team an identity. All of that said, the players seem to have his back (AI: "he's the captain of our ship"). And I thought Dantley did a good job, but that may just be because AD was off the bench yelling at players, refs and giving instruction instead of eating peppermint patties and whispering sweet nothings to Doug Moe...
Hi Eric,
Thanks for your comment! I actually have no problem losing a hard-fought game to the Pistons at home. If you're going to lose a few home games, it might as well be to a top 3 team in the league. My issue with the Coach is the losses that are unforgiveable (like losing to Indiana at home) - it is those losses that will cost us a playoff spot!
George Karl is NOT the problem. The problem is a bunch of entitled, unefficient, slacker "superstars". Who were the worst players in the All-Star game? Melo, and AI. Easy. I think the expectations are are way too high for the nuggets to begin with because their "stars" are soooo overrated. Turnover machines really. Lazy defenders. Bad attitudes. Way more interested in partying 'till all hours of the night than working to maintain the game that got them into the league. Remember that OJ Mayo quote when he was hanging out with Melo in LA. Early morning on game day and he's still out at party. To paraphrase: Mayo - shouldn't you be at home sleeping, you've got a big game tomorrow against the lakers. Melo - I'll be fine. Give me Karl anyday of the week. You can keep Melo and AI.
I totally agree about the Pistons game. That was one of the best games the nuggets have played all season. I was must saying 2 things about it - first, Dantley at least looked like he was trying to coach. I'd have a whole lot less a problem with Karl if he didn't look catatonic ALL THE TIME. Second, the difference between those two teams was SO evident down the stretch. Both teams have great players, played D and have guys who can score. The difference was that the Pistons ran plays to get easy shots, the nuggets could get NOTHING easy, out of Iso's or drive and kick plays, which are the only "plays" they run. And I think it's a real stretch to even call them plays seeing as AI and Melo iso out of habit and talent, and the drive and kick is about as basic as it gets.
And don't blame AI and Melo - their playing hard, Melo was awesome last night especially in the first half when he had 15 points on 9 shots to go with 7 boards.
Post a Comment