Where the #$%& has this team been all season?...

SnakefromHell checks in,

As a no 1 GK hater, I have to give credits to him too.

I thought he was great in this game... he finally did what he's paid to do. Coach.

That's a fan asks for.

He showed that he cares about this team. I felt like he's finally on the same page as the team, as weird as it sounds.

I've never been against him personally. I just hated his guts as a coach when he's passive and thinking about God knows what.

When he does this, I can forget about the fact the Nuggets are still a team without true foundations of offense and defense. But their level of energy, focus, intensity, sense of urgency, sense of goal/ mission, and overall tremendous talent make up for these.

This is the man I want coaching this team. Show that you give a shit. Thank you very much GK. It's never been personal.

But as a demanding fan, I still want to see further proof. I want to see him do this on the road too... and next game at Utah will be a very good test, for both the team and... the coach.

As a Lakers fan, I want to thank GK, the Nuggets, and fans of this site for the impressive win against the Spurs. That win, coupled with the Lakers' laughable drubbing of the pathetic Clippers (anyone want to start the firemikedunleavy site?) put my beloved purple and gold in sole possession of the top spot in the west.

More importantly, I actually watched the end of the Nuggets/Spurs game and must admit this was the first time this year I paid any attention to the Nuggets. I was SHOCKED at the talent that this 9th place team boasts. Iverson, Anthony, Camby, and K-Mart out match any top 4 players on any team (including the Lakers).

Then it hit my, you guys could have actually added Ron Artest to this group for the bargain price of Linas Kleiza. What was your GM thinking? I don't know his name, but you should FIRE him as well.

One had to think that the Spurs would take the game as a 75% prop, being the latter of a head to head. Heck, Robert Horry channelled his inner Barry Bonds because he doesn't play the "first game of a back to back"

Regardless, the Nugs finally caught on in the 3rd and put it into another gear. A split in either of the two v Jazz / Spurs would be huge.

UNTIL YOU RUN SHANAHAN OUT OF TOWN YOU GOT NO CREDIBILITY RAGGING ON GEORGE KARL, GUTLESS.

The reason why the team has had success in the last couple games because you had a consistent effort from the players from start to finish. Their backs are against the wall!!!!

I know first hand that Coach Karl and his coaching staff put in a great effort every game, watching film, writing notes, reading the scouting reports to best prepare the team. Yes, and watching film individually with your main stars almost after every game showing them the positive and negative of the previous game.

Andrew, you give credit for Coach Karl's coaching last night - please tell me why it was any different in your mind from all the other previous games - was it because he stood up more? Because they had a consistent effort throughout the game? A different offense than they normally run? The defense they played ? Last night they played a lot of zone which is something they try at different times to see the effectiveness against the other team. I am really trying to find out from you what Coach Karl and his coaching staff did that was any different in preparing the team for success. They prepare the team game in and game out.

What is different is your stars have a better focus at this time. They haven't had the tendency to take off as many possessions as they normally do (usually on the defensive end). Watch Carmelo, AI, Kenyon and Camby (yes even Camby) play defense on a given night - do they have a consistent effort every night. It is not there! Most of the time against a San Antonio, Phoenix, Lakers, Detroit, Dallas, etc they are more focused. I even talk about Camby on the defensive end - anything above the free throw line with him is scary. Teams put him in the pick and roll for a reason. He doesn't step up like he should because it takes a lot of effort to do this consistently. Camby is great around the basket - he is one of the best but he allows too many jump shot from the guard on the pick and roll. Carmelo is a consistent liability on defense and AI is not much better. Yes, AI plays hard every night but both Carmelo and AI's defense off the ball is something to be desired. I bring this all up because Coach Karl has to deal with this every game trying to cover up all the defensive mistakes or efforts from the guys. We lose ball games on the defensive end of the court. Most of this is effort and execution not the preparation of the game by the coaching staff. These guys are prepared!!!

We are all great coaches from the side lines and I am sure at times we see things a little more than the coach because he has to be in tune to everything that is going on. This is where the assistants are a big help. It is not an easy job! Every coach probably makes some mistakes throughout a game. Their human just like you and I.

Yes they have defensive schemes, they change them if it is not working. A lot of the times it is if the team is executing it properly. Coach Karl has a team that he could put out on the court that is very defensive minded but we would not be able to score on the other end on a consistent basis. He has no choice but to play his stars and find out what is working each and every game. The emotional and mental maturity of our stars is never consistent.

Another subject I would like to bring up is Coach Karl's, as you and others say, his passive demeanor on the court. He has been coaching over 30 years, 20 of them coming in the NBA - 866 wins putting him in the top ten of the coaches which is a very impressive honor. Over those 30 years he has changed his demeanor on the court as probably many of the coaches who are still coaching after 30 years. They find out what works and doesn't work - I would hope we all change to make us better at our job and as people. Do you every see him in the locker room at halftime or after a game - probably not? I believe and know this is where he yells at his team from time to time (when they need it coming).

On another note, standing or sitting , doesn't not make him a better coach. Do you think Phil Jackson doesn't care? Sometimes it does seem like Phil is not always in the game but I am sure he is focused and attentive to what is going on. If you probably watch game film from last year you would see Coach Karl up a lot more than this year. This is not because he doesn't care!!!!!! It is because he has a bad hip and it is hard to stand up all game.

I also want to comment on your 5 best coaching jobs in Denver Nuggets history. Jeff Bzdelik, a coach George Karl admires, is a great coach and will have success. Winning 17 games is probably very admirable with the talent level they had in the back court. But what this team brought to the game was hustle on a nightly basis which can win a lot of games in this league. If our stars (Carmelo, AI, Camby, and Kenyon) would hustle and commit every night we would not be in the position we are in now.

I could go on and on and I have but hopefully with their backs against the wall the players will give their undivided attention to the remaining games - playing with pride and dignity. I believe if they continue this effort on a game by game basis we can feel good about the position we have at the end of the season.

In response to the lengthy comment posted today, I want to first thank the commenter for taking the time to serve up a detailed defense of Coach Karl (as others have done in the comments and via email). I never intended this blog to be a one-sided argument, and welcome anyone to respond for or against a coaching change in Denver at season’s end.

In regards to me giving Coach Karl credit for last night’s win, let me restate that coaches probably get too much blame for losses, and not enough credit for wins. So while I have no idea why the Nuggets suddenly gave more effort last night, I have to assume the coach had something to do with getting it out of them (maybe he better articulated how their backs are against the wall or maybe he threatened to pull their minutes if they didn’t hustle, who knows).

Let me also mention that I am just a fan, albeit with access to a lot of information about the NBA - and the Nuggets in particular - that most fans just don’t have access to (including before this blog went live, but much more so now). Back to just being a fan, though, I am certainly not close enough to the team on any level to comment on what happens in the locker room, at practice, in the huddle, and so forth.

As a fan, I am looking at the bigger picture. I am looking at a team in the 9th seed of the playoffs, and yet they have a roster that – in my opinion – should place them 3rd or 4th in the conference (even with Nene being out). I am also looking at a team that is 8-12 against its Western Conference Playoff caliber rivals. I am also looking at a coach who has presided over similar disappointments with extremely talented teams in the past. Since I felt not enough people were speaking up against what has inarguably been a disappointing season to date, and not enough people have (including the coach in my opinion) have showed any sense of urgency to improve the situation, I took it upon myself to call out the coach, on behalf of frustrated Nuggets fans everywhere. I must be doing something right, because I’ve been inundated with emails and comments from Nuggets fans as far as China (no joke) thanking me for putting heat on our coach – and by proxy – the entire organization to deliver on what they’ve been teasing us with – a long playoff run.

This commenter has stated "If our stars would hustle and commit every night we not be in the position we are in now." I couldn’t agree more! The question we have to ask ourselves is this: is it not the coach’s responsibility to get them to hustle and commit more? Watch the Nuggets play the Jazz tonight, and you will see a team (the Jazz) who has hustled for 20 years under their coach Jerry Sloan. Why? Because if they don’t, he either benches them or get them traded elsewhere (see: Stevenson, DeShawn and Giricek, Gordon).

For my readers information, I am happy to respond to thoughtful comments debating my points, but it’s tough to know if the commenter will read my rebuttal or not when they post anonymously. If you’d like to get my feedback, email me directly, request that I post your comment anonymously, and I will email you back to tell you I replied to your comments. Whether or not you support my argument, I’m thrilled that you’re all reading my new blog! Thank you.

All best,

Andrew

yep the team is just playing so inconsistently!They can beat any team any night,at the same time be beaten by any team any night.

If they can not climb to the division leader,I'd rather they missed the playoff,'cause they're not going to be another Warriors who can promise a miracle!

SnakefromHell checks in,

To the anonymous who posted before Andrew, you have to observe closer before you can comment and defend a clown coach like Karl.

We have a lot of coaching styles in the L. Phil likes to sit. D'Antoni likes to stand up. Pop likes to both sit and stand up. Difference between them and Karl? Their styles work for them.

GK has to be GK. Who does he think he is fooling by pretending a person/ coach he's not? He's a fiery type, a Bobby Knight yell in your face type. What makes he think by sitting and being passive, he's being positive and players have to feed off that? He didn't get the "Furious George" tag for nothing.

Some coaches are silent like Phil... but it works very effectively for him. Some coaches yell like D'Antoni and it works effectively for him. GK needs to find what works for him.

But all of these sitting, being passive, and his face looking totally clueless and not in the game are definitely not working!

Is this GK's first year on the Nuggets that we can keep excusing him and shift the blame on the players? No. This is his fourth year on the team and considering we've been predicted before the season started every year for the past 3 years as a darkhorse team to represent the West, sitting at ninth is no way a good coaching performance.

If GK was a really good coach, there's no way a team can be reduced from "champion caliber" to "lottery" team overnight. Just like the Spurs and Jazz games we witnessed yesterday and today. There's no way a good coach will allow that to happen. If the players are indeed lazy, a good coach will make sure he puts the players that work on the floor and punish those who are lazy.

It's not the "L" that bothers the Nuggets fans the most or at least me. It's THE WAY the team loses that is disturbing. One night after it looked like they could contend for a championship by beating the Spurs, the team looked like a non-playoff team at all by letting Mehmet Okur open all night long.

There's no way, under a truly good coach, this will happen. No matter if the game is played on the road, in the North Pole, outdoor while it's snowing, there's no way a team would underperform in such a way that makes anyone who cares, think, "Is this really the same team we saw last night?"

The Spurs, Celtics, Lakers lose games too. But they lose games while being competitive.

Tonight the Nuggets lost the game like the had never been coached in their life. Even when Kleiza picked a technical, GK did not even care. Pop or even Phil would make sure his players do not go out of control.

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In short, GK needs to find what's working for him. But this "sitting and doing nothing" style does not work and will not work.

He has been coaching for 20 years? He'd won majority of 800+ wins as "The Furious George"... what makes he think he needs to change in his 20+th season? And it has proven not to work, because in the San Antonio and Phoenix game, he was active and standing up for most of the game.

If you think, "sitting and doing nothing" works for GK, you need to observe closer or not comment at all because you obviously do not know what you're talking about.