Playoffs, baby, playoffs! (and more on the Melo situation)...
by Andrew Feinstein on Apr 14, 2008 11:59 PM MDT
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This blog was launched in mid-February because I was deathly afraid that the 2007-08 Denver Nuggets were fast turning into the 2001-02 Milwaukee Bucks - a talented team featuring two All-Stars, terrific role players, a deep bench, a cantankerous power forward, a few minor nagging injuries and coached by none other than George Karl - and yet very few people were calling out the Nuggets to play with a sense of urgency down the stretch.
But while that Bucks team blew a potential shot at a four-seed and ended up missing the playoffs entirely, thankfully this Nuggets team will be making the postseason after all. This is thanks to a few big recent wins (after some scary, inexcusable losses), and the Golden State Warriors late season implosion, culminating tonight with a defeat to the Phoenix Suns. And if Don Nelson's second-half benching of superstar Baron Davis is any indication, this incarnation of the Warriors will never be heard from again. It was nice knowing you guys!
Now we Nuggets fans must pray hard - damn hard - that the Nuggets win and the Dallas Mavericks lose on Wednesday, as the playoffs' seventh-seed is on the line (read: NOT having to play the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. And I don't want to hear from one more reader telling me the Nuggets can beat anybody including the Lakers when in fact the Nuggets can beat anybody EXCEPT the Lakers).
Back to the main story of the day, firegeorgekarl.com reader Chris from New York submitted a hilarious Photoshopped image of Coach Karl and Carmelo Anthony that combines Karl's quote after the Warriors win last Thursday with Anthony's suspicion of getting a DUI and "Gilligan's Island." Great work, Chris!
I hate to pile on Anthony too much before the results of his toxicology test turn up. But if I can pile on Coach Karl for past mistakes being indicators of future results, it would be disingenuous not to apply the same rule for Anthony. If Anthony's (alleged) DUI incident was a first-time offense, I think we could all give him some slack, but painfully, it's not.
If you add up all of Anthony's "infractions" since coming to Denver - "my cousin's pot" at DIA, the "don't snitch" DVD appearance, the cheap shot during the Madison Square Garden Melee (and subsequent suspension) and now the (alleged) DUI fiasco - it tells us that Anthony is either grossly immature, dangerously stupid, a bad guy or, worse, all of the above. I'd still put him in the immature camp (even LeBron James got caught driving recklessly this year) over the other two accusations, but they won't go away anytime soon, nor should they.
Like Coach Karl, I have nothing against Anthony personally and actually like the guy without ever having met him. But if his suspect personal behavior continues to wreak havoc on the team that I and thousands of fans love and pay good money to see, then it might be time to consider a www.tradecarmeloanthony.com. As Anthony is only 23 years old and - in my opinion - has been an overwhelmingly positive addition to the Nuggets since his arrival, I'm not ready to go there yet.
But how many more Anthony-induced distractions can this team take?
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The team is full of veteran players, many of whom have undergone a similar process to what Melo is experiencing. Kenyon, AI, and Camby were all top draft picks coming out of college who made some questionable off-court decisions early in their career, so I expect this incident to be understood and dealt with appropriately in the locker room.
Other than that, as long as the Nuggs can somehow avoid LA, Utah and Phoenix in the playoffs I think they have a shot.
by Brian on Apr 15, 2008 1:52 AM MDT reply actions
by Dan on Apr 15, 2008 5:39 AM MDT reply actions
First of all, does the fact that the Nuggets have made the playoffs and even have the potential at the 7th seed change all of your thinking regarding firing Karl after the season? I personally think it should.
He's been saying for about three months now that a) March and April would be wild in the western conference and b) 50 wins would make the playoffs. Looks like he was right about both and I commend him for his focus and accuracy there.
In terms of Anthony, unless the Nuggets actually win a round or two in the playoffs, I think this has to confirm my personal thinking that he's not a leader, he'll never be a superstar in the league and the Nuggets have to seriously consider trading him. In fact, given the Baron Davis incident Monday night, I think there may be potential in actually getting him as part of a trade--I don't see us landing too many more strong and experienced point guards in an Anthony trade. Your thoughts on that?
by Brett on Apr 15, 2008 7:22 AM MDT reply actions
Thanks for writing in! On the one hand, 50 wins and a playoff seed is indeed a praise-worthy accomplishment - for the coach and the team. On the other hand, a 7th seed (IF that's what we get), clinched at the very end of the season only because other teams lost because the coach and, by proxy, the players, didn't take the first 4 months of the season seriously - especially given the talent and health of the team - is not an accomplishment. So no, it's not enough to rescind my request for a coaching change because I'd never have launched this blog in the first place if the Nuggets had been on pace for 55 or so wins and a 3 or 4-seed, as they should've been.
Now I have to reserve judgment until the playoffs. Should the Nuggets win a playoff series, I'll gladly rescind my coaching change request.
Go Nuggets!!
All best,
Andrew
by denverstiffs@gmail.com on Apr 15, 2008 9:13 AM MDT reply actions
I'll be at the Mavs game Wed. (GO MAVS!) All you Nugget fans better be praying that the Lakers lose tonight so that the scrub Hornets aren't playing tomorrow (of course, this is contingent on CP3 and co. beating those fierce Clippers tonight)!
Here's to the Nuggets and Mavs meeting in the Conference Finals. I wonder what the Vegas odds are on that!!
by chazbot on Apr 15, 2008 3:29 PM MDT reply actions
I agree with you 100% on George Karl (Although you're completely wrong about Melo). The problem is people on this blog don't want to hear about George Karl being right or that the Nuggets having a successful season. Instead they want to cry about a team dropping games, as I mentioned yesterday in a different post.
I still think it's hilarious that people, including Andrew, cannot accept that teams drop games. We have made it to the playoffs and if we win tomorrow will finish with the best record since 1988! Instead they want more! No one or team is perfect, but I guess they don't get that. My whole point was that the team was dropping games. I never meant that George shouldn't get a little blame, but I believe most of the blame should be placed on the players for this seasons blown games.
I would bet that if the Nuggets were the number one seed people would still be complaining that we should have done better.
If people, like Andrew, don't think the Nuggets are going to get past the first round why watch? I sure hope they don't... They call themselves fans, but would a fan really say their team won't win? Andrew, indeed all of you non-believers, should agree that if the Nuggets do make it past the first round, then you won't watch the second...
A final note about the Lakers, you are all confident that we will be swept by them. I remember when AI single handedly beat them in the first game of the 2001 finals he said something alone the lines of "I'm glad nobody beat their life on this game because they would be dead now." Point being Allen Iverson is a STUD period, yea so is Kobe, but JR, Melo, and Kenyon also have the potental to be studs as well! When it comes down to it the Nuggets could easily take down any team on any day and that's what I think, better yet KNOW, WILL happen.
Until then I guess I will go by a carton of eggs for you Andrew, I do expect to see the video of you cracking it on this site after the first round.
LETS GO NUGS!!!
by Shaun on Apr 15, 2008 4:49 PM MDT reply actions
True fans watch and root for their teams regardless of what they think the outcome will likely be, with one very important caveat: the coach and the players must care more about the outcome than we fans do. For example, two of my favorite Nuggets teams in recent memory were the Jeff Bzdelik-coached 2002-03 team, and the George Karl-coached 2005 team. Even though the former team had NO chance to win on any given night, both teams "brought it" every game and therefore deserved our attention, praise and ticket purchases.
If we only watched games because we thought the team would win (not "could", "would"), we'd have a lot of free time on our hands. Using your logic, there'll be no point to watching half the Broncos games this year, but I bet you will anyway - unless you don't watch football, of course. Yes, the Broncos "could" win 16 games, but they won't.
Prior to launching this blog, even casual NBA observers would objectively tell you that the Nuggets coach and players didn't care as much about the outcome of this season as the true fans did. Yes, all teams drop games (hell, the Lakers lost back-to-backs to Charlotte and Memphis AT home!) - but the Nuggets were dropping multiple bad games combined with an inability to pull off any surprise wins. So I decided to do something about it by calling out the coach, hoping that some extra pressure would grant us a more motivated coach and, therefore (in theory at least), more motivated players.
And given that Coach Karl himself has acknowledged the blog's existence (as certainly his "lawyer" did), as have several players publicly and the media keeps discussing it, perhaps in some very small, probably insignificantly miniscule way I've given an extra piece of motivation to the coach and team, then good for me.
No one will root harder for the Nuggets in the playoffs than me. Especially if we play the Lakers, because I spend half my time in LA and you wouldn't believe how much shit I get for being a Nuggets fan there.
If we play the Lakers, I think that carton of eggs is safe. But if we play the Hornets, get those eggs ready!!
All best,
Andrew
by denverstiffs@gmail.com on Apr 15, 2008 5:25 PM MDT reply actions
Really, if this the mentality of all the players, how can anyone get them to play together as a group who depend upon each other for success? Must be someone who knows how to work with difficult individuals and gets results…. 49 wins the last time I looked. And better than 5 teams in the East who made the playoffs!
by flash on Apr 15, 2008 6:01 PM MDT reply actions
Secondly, to Shaun
The Nuggets have the third highest payroll in the league, Over 80 million a year, the Spurs are around 60 mil, if you're spending almost 20 million dollars more on a team, at the very least would you not expect them to perform just like those who perform for less money? Furthermore, if you watch the Nuggets and you truly understand basketball, you marvel at their talent but scratch your head when you notice how undisciplined they can be at times. This is where the coach comes in. I understand there are some people who are fans of the Denver Nuggets and their are people who are fans of the game itself. If you just a Nuggets fan, you don't care how they win, yo just want them to win. If you a fan of the game and a nuggets fan, you want them to win and win the right way dominating their opponents and out hustling them.
by j2y2k3 on Apr 15, 2008 7:30 PM MDT reply actions
Denver can beat anyone in the Playoffs if they're at their A game , playing like they should be. Playing like a team. Although i would much prefer a Round 1 matchup against Chris Paul and the Hornets rather than Kobe Bryant and the best in the West. New Orleans doesn't have the experience that the Lakers have; and frankly, i'm quite scared of Phil Jackson.
Lastly. Whoever said 'trade Carmelo', is an idiot. Especially if they want to trade Carmelo for Baron Davis.How many more years does Baron have in him? Another thing is that Baron is way passed his prime. As opposed to Melo', who has limitless potential! Take into account that (I believe) Carmelo is not at his best yet.
Now let's go boys!
Nuggets ALL THE WAY!
by andrew fisher on Apr 16, 2008 2:46 AM MDT reply actions
Carmelo's made some mistakes, but let's remember, he's already one of the premier scorers in the game, he's gotten better every year, and most importantly: he's 23 years old.
by kenoshakid on Apr 16, 2008 8:23 AM MDT reply actions
If indeed that is the culture of this team, I look at their frequently indifferent play -- and Karl's indifferent demeanor -- in a different light. No wonder Melo appears to be carrying 15 extra pounds and fades in the fourth quarter. No wonder Kenyon Martin's second-half production falls off dramatically. No wonder JR Smith sometimes looks like he rolled out of bed just before tipoff -- he did!
And no wonder George Karl often looks like he doesn't want to coach this team. Why should he give a shit if players are showing up to practices and shoot-arounds, if not games, with hangovers?
No, the Nuggets have not played as well overall this season as they should have. Yes, Karl could be doing more during games to work officials and communicate with his players. But it would not be fair to fire Karl after 49 or 50 wins and a playoff berth if indeed this team is a bunch of heavy partiers (is that a word?). Seems like the real problem with the Nuggets has far more to do with poor priorities and a lack of professionalism among the players than with anything the coach is or is not doing.
So I've flip-flopped, thank you very much. Scape-goating the coach is the last thing Kroenke should do when the real issue with his team is a frat-house culture.
by catcalls on Apr 16, 2008 9:59 AM MDT reply actions
first off that's assumption about them being a party team, secondly the
fact that you mentioned the other players as though it was expected already goes along with the fact that you associate all these guys as being thugs like several people do in the world of sports today.
If you were a real coach you would set rules for your squad and you would punish people for disobeying them even if it means playing other players in their stead.
So even if what you say is true, a coach in the NBA is meant to be a father figure or an Authority to the members of his team. Karl has done neither, and thus in my opinion and several others he should be fired.
by j2y2k3 on Apr 16, 2008 1:04 PM MDT reply actions
And who said anything about "thugs?" Since when is partying into the wee hours the equivalent of thuggery?
by catcalls on Apr 16, 2008 2:49 PM MDT reply actions
And what I said earlier about George Karl wasn't just about off the court stuff. George Karl said all season long that he wanted the team to play better defensively, yet when no one was playing defense he never took them out. I saw Popovich, take out Parker one game this season for not playing defense after winning the Finals MVP.
As a coach, like I said you either act as an Authority figure or a fatherly figure. George Karl was that towards Nene, he acted as a father figure but that is the only time he's really been on par in his coaching. He doesn't reward people for doing the small things, I mean the best defensive perimete player on the team is Diawara but he gets no playing time. Steven Hunter is a great on the ball defender and he is long...same thing, no playing time.
Let me not even comment about how he refused to accept a trade for Ron Artest, arguably the best perimeter player.
by j2y2k3 on Apr 16, 2008 3:22 PM MDT reply actions
AI by himself can outdrink entire teams and he absolutely goes out the night before games. In 10 years I probably saw him at AC at least a dozen times. Melo can definitely hang and I'm sure Nene gets wild too.
But screw the haters. I love this group of players, they love each other and they want to win more than anyone (especially someone that would go to a Lakers party).
AI still comes out and plays his ass off, Melo is a phenom at 23 (if you don't want him you can trade him to Philly for our entire roster... seriously. And give us back AI while you're at it).
As to this distraction nonsense, if one of your co-workers got a DUI, would you care in the slightest?
by Nadum on Apr 16, 2008 9:57 PM MDT reply actions
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