Thank you, Houston, for mailing it in...

by Andrew Feinstein on Apr 13, 2008 9:19 PM MDT

Tonight's hugely important win over the Houston Rockets made absolutely no sense to me. I was under the assumption that the Rockets had something to play for. Had the Rockets won tonight and gone victorious in their remaining few games, they could be the first seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. Moreover, the mere presence of Dikembe Mutombo in an opposing team's uniform for the Nuggets most important home game of the season had me totally freaked out. Being the skeptical, pessimistic, fearful-of-all-opponents Nuggets fan I've become in the George Karl Era, I could just see Mutombo - whom the Nuggets inexplicably casted away for nothing 12 years ago and whom is THE image fans have brandished in their minds when we remember the Nuggets history-making playoff upset over Karl's Supersonics in 1994 - inspiring his Rockets to end the Nuggets season.

But alas, that didn't happen.

Instead, the Rockets looked as though they were content to just go through the motions, while the Nuggets played with the sense of urgency that was missing in their last home game, against the Sacramento Kings Practice Squad last Saturday. (Oh, and a quick shout out is needed to Nuggets mascot and possible Coach Karl successor Rocky for the play of the game. In the second quarter, he sent a little kid over to Rockets' superstar Tracy McGrady while McGrady was on the bench. In good fun, McGrady tugged on the little tyke's ears, and was rewarded for his kind gesture with the kid giving McGrady a full-on leg hump. By my accounting, McGrady only made one more shot after that moment, and was plagued by foul trouble the rest of the night. See! I told you Rocky could be a great coach. After all, it's all about the intangibles!).

Meanwhile...surprise, surprise, surprise! The Dallas Maverick Choke Artists lost to the Seattle "Super"sonics in what could quite possibly be the last NBA game played in Seattle for a while (which is a damn shame and a black mark on the NBA in my opinion). Therefore, on Wednesday IF the Nuggets beat the Memphis Grizzlies at home and IF the Maverick Choke Artists lose at home to the New Orleans Hornets, the Nuggets would be the seventh-seed and likely face the Hornets (a team the Nuggets have a slight chance of beating in the playoffs), rather than being the eighth-seed and face the Los Angeles Lakers (a team the Nuggets have NO chance against whatsoever).

Now we Nuggets fans have to hope that a) the Golden State Warriors lose one of their last two games as an insurance policy and, b) IF the Warriors do win out, the Memphis Grizzlies don't turn out to be this season's equivalent of the 2006 San Francisco 49ers (a reference even casual Denver sports fan should painfully understand).

On a side note, I continue to be completely enamoured by the play of Allen Iverson. I know he tends to over-dribble, but so did Andre Miller in Coach Karl's "offense." Given A.I.'s diminished size and advanced age for a shooting guard, he has to be the most remarkable NBA player I've ever seen play in person - and I had the fortunate pleasure of watching MJ, Magic and Bird multiple times in the prime of their careers. I hope Nuggets fans everywhere realize how lucky we are to have a player like A.I. on the team, and pray that Coach Karl delivers some good fortune on A.I.'s behalf by making the playoffs and doing some damage when the Nuggets get there.

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Comments

Man you suck. I mean just shut up and enjoy the playoffs. I mean God damn!

by Shaun on Apr 13, 2008 10:07 PM MDT reply actions

Man you suck. I mean just shut up and enjoy the playoffs. I mean God damn!

Does "enjoy the playoffs" include getting swept in the first round?

by lord Sam on Apr 13, 2008 11:36 PM MDT reply actions

to shaun

You must be an Atlanta Hawks fan making the playoff for the first time in more than a decade. You are entitled to your low standard. Yet, Nugget fans are not like that, we expect the team to be better than what it is right now. It's like getting a B in a class you are supposed to get an A. The Nuggets are better than a 50 win team and people have to be upset about that, plus you probably barely watch the nuggets so I doubt you really know what you are talkin bout.

by Anonymous on Apr 14, 2008 12:02 AM MDT reply actions

I agree with everything about AI, he is absolutely carrying the team on his back right now. What's goin on with Melo? It might just be me, but it seems like he hasn't been his normal self in the past couple games. Any thoughts?

by Harris on Apr 14, 2008 1:03 AM MDT reply actions

Melo wasn't great tonight against the Rockets but his jump-shot had been phenomenal the past week. He has also been stepping up his defensive effort, especially off the ball.

Sadly, I still feel like Melo forces his offense at times. Every game it seems like there are a handful of plays where he gets stripped or called for an offensive foul bullying his way to the basket.

by Brian on Apr 14, 2008 2:01 AM MDT reply actions

I hope we somehow end up avoiding the Lakers in the first round. They're the one Western team I really don't like our matchups against.

While I'm agnostic about firing Karl, he does some real deficiencies. And one of them is his unwillingness to develop players he's going to need down the line.

Last year, he didn't play J.R. Smith in March and April, and then when he needed Smith against San Antonio, Smith wasn't ready.

This year, he completely removed Diawarra from the rotation, when a guy like Diawarra would be really useful for 15mpg against Kobe in a playoff series. Now Diawarra won't be ready, and who exactly is going to hassle Kobe?

We're going to have to play a super-junky defense against the Lakers to deal with Kobe, and that'll leave the Lakers' 3 point shooters wide open.

Hopefully, the Lakers will pooch the Sacramento game or Dallas will pooch the New Orleans game, and we can avoid the Lakers.

-----

And yes, Iverson is beyond special. I'm a Philly boy who only became a fan of the Powder Blues because of the trade.

To watch Iverson on a regular basis is to love him.

by Petey on Apr 14, 2008 2:15 AM MDT reply actions

Let's clear some things up...the kid ran on his own accord over to T Mac. McGrady also was in foul trouble and played fewer minutes than normal. Second, THIS IS THE WEST! Anything can go down. Be weary of coaching, be weary of dubious matchups, but above and beyond all, have faith in your team. Welcome to the 2008 playoffs, Nugs! This fan has high hopes for you!

by zpretekin on Apr 14, 2008 3:12 AM MDT reply actions

"...inspiring his Rockets to end the Nuggets season.

"But alas, that didn't happen."

alas: Used to express sorrow, regret, grief, compassion, or apprehension of danger or evil.

Alas, our team didn't get eliminated from the playoffs? Really? God help us all when this is the best known Nuggets' blog on the internet.

by Nadum on Apr 14, 2008 5:02 AM MDT reply actions

petey,

Ditto. Sometimes I catch myself looking at the court and wondering what it would have been like if we had these type players around AI for the 10-odd years we had him.

Also agree about avoiding the Lakers. I know it's a sucker bet to go against the Spurs in a seven game series, but at this point all I want to do is make the playoffs and somehow avoid the Lakers.

by Nadum on Apr 14, 2008 5:10 AM MDT reply actions

"Sometimes I catch myself looking at the court and wondering what it would have been like if we had these type players around AI for the 10-odd years we had him."

Billy King is going to burn in the lowest circle of hell for all of eternity.

by Petey on Apr 14, 2008 6:48 AM MDT reply actions

I like your column and all, but damn do you have the wrong impression of the Mavs-Sonics game last night.
The Mavs, feeling the emotion of the fans screaming Save Our Sonics decided to let Seattle have a win in their potential last home game ever.
That's called Doing the Right Thing. Now that loss to Portland...that was inexcusable for the Mavs.

by Anonymous on Apr 14, 2008 8:08 AM MDT reply actions

Huge win for the Jazz too. Now if they beat the Rockets and Spurs in their final 2, they'll be the 3 seed. Thanks for mailing it in against the Jazz and getting it together for Houston.

by Matthew on Apr 14, 2008 8:27 AM MDT reply actions

First off, let me reiterate, Andrew does suck. I am a lifelong Nuggets fan anonymous and we will not be getting swept in the first round lord. I for one believe we will be getting past the first round.

Don't tell me what nuggets fans are like. Sure the NUGGETS are better than a 50 win season this year, but the NUGGETS have blow about 8 games they should have won. As a Nuggets fan I would have thought you would see the NUGGETS blowing the games. Is George wearing a jersey and playing defense? Go watch those blown games again and watch Melo point at people who he should be rotating to. Maybe you would like to watch Marcus shooting like his name is Melo, A.I., or J.R. and not playing like our DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST. Perhaps you should watch most of the Nuggets not even try to rebound the ball on the offensive end or box out on the defensive end. If all of you want to blame George, then that's fine. Just know that you're wrong, so wrong. I personally don't like his coaching style. There are times I wish he was in the refs face, up calling plays and yelling at the players, or perhaps calling timeouts at meaningful times, but at the end of the day it's the PLAYERS who have blown games this year. They are PROFESSIONAL athletes who have slipped at times, but are looking a hell of a lot better.

Oh, by the way, why don't you head over to the NBA website and click on standings. The top team in the West this year will be finishing with 57 wins, the Nuggets will have 50. You're trying to tell me the Nuggets haven't had a great year? I hope all of you don't attend any of the playoff games because you simply are no longer fans. You're just idiots standing on your soapboxes yelling about things you obviously don't understand.

Now that I've made that point, this is why Andrew sucks: When he started this site I though it was mildly funny and looked at it like a joke. I was upset about blowing the bulls and bucks games as well and thought it would be a good place for fans to vent their frustrations about the NUGGETS play. Instead now all it seems he does is self promote his no-so-funny comic strip /book and attempts to place blame on George when it should be put on the players.

If you don't understand that then perhaps you haven't ever played basketball. You know you should really look into being fans of Boston teams cause you're all a bunch of Assholes.

by Shaun on Apr 14, 2008 1:11 PM MDT reply actions

shaun - now you suck! andrew was the only nuggs fan with the balls to call out karl while the team was underacheiving. the press and radio guys in denver have been giving karl a free ride while he coached the nuggs to 3 total playoff wins. wow what an acheivement. andrew said he would take back the coaching change demand if the nuggs win a playoff series so maybe you will get your wish. but don't fault him for doing something no one else was willing to do.

by mikey k on Apr 14, 2008 1:28 PM MDT reply actions

shaun

to quote dick cheney: go @#$% yourself!

by Anonymous on Apr 14, 2008 1:30 PM MDT reply actions

Hi All,

I rarely pine in to defend myself only because it's perfectly fair to skewer me for launching this blog (just like it's fair to skewer George Karl or any other public figure). I actually think Shaun makes some good points - yes, the Nuggets will likely win 50 games and, yes, the Nuggets will finish about 7 games off the Western Conference leader. So if that's your definition of success, then the Nuggets have had a succesful regular season.

At the end of the day, I couldn't care less about the Nuggets record. For me it's all about the playoffs. A team featuring a motivated AI, a sober Carmelo, a healthy Camby and K-Mart, a star-in-the-making in J.R. Smith, a deep bench and an 800+ win coach should win at least ONE playoff series.

As far as Shaun comparing me and some of the passionate fans on this blog to Boston fans I say this: thank you for the compliment. I WISH more Nuggets fans were like Boston fans, who demand nothing short of excellence from their pro sports teams and live and die with every game. The Nuggets and their fans are fourth-class sports citizens in Denver behind the Broncos, Rockies and Avalanche.

Do we take the Nuggets a little too seriously? Probably. But it's because we pay a lot of money for tickets, NBA league passes, apparel, memorabilia and everything else NBA geeks like me purchase that gives us the right to demand one thing and one thing only: that the coach and players care more about the outcome of the game than we do. And up until this blog launched, you couldn't say that about Karl and half the Nuggets players.

Regarding Shaun's comment that he thought this blog was kind of a joke but now it's just an act of self-promotion, I have several retorts...

First of all, this blog was/is a sincerely ernest attempt to fire up George Karl and, by proxy, the team. But I've tried to inject humor wherever possible to keep it in good fun as I have nothing personal against Karl whatsoever and hope to be proven wrong.

Secondly, from what I could gather as someone who has a) played a lot of basketball, b) has been closer than your average fan to people who actually work within the NBA, and c) has watched almost every Nuggets game for 25 years, Karl wasn't giving an effort worthy of his pay grade and coaching record, and someone needed to say so.

Third, I don't need this blog to promote my comic strip. My comic strip reaches about 8 million readers a week (just a "tad" more than this blog reaches). The only comics I've posted on the blog have been about the Nuggets directly or my experience doing this blog, as I thought the readers here would get a kick out of it.

Fourth, in regards to Shaun's accusation that my comic strip is "not-so-funny", well, he's obviously a total idiot and has no clue what he's talking about (just kidding).

To all my detractors, I appreciate the feedback and be sure to check back here frequently during the playoffs! I will gladly - glady! - crack an egg on my face and post a photo of it should the Nuggets win a playoff series.

Kind regards,

Andrew

by denverstiffs@gmail.com on Apr 14, 2008 1:59 PM MDT reply actions

shaun,

you are one of the most immature, pedestrian, narcissistic make-no-sense bloggers of all time.

You mean to tell me that the coach has no accountability whatsoever for the play of a team? How about a team that is 4th overall in payroll with numerous all-stars?
Why should teams even have coaches then? What does Karl get paid for?

The players are the actors and the coach is the director. Karl hasn't done much with a group with this much talent costing this much money. You can get on YOUR soapbox and be a hater all you want, but...

(a) a team with this much talent blowing as many games as they have and not having a playoff spot - ANY playoff spot - locked up on the LAST day of the regular season is unacceptable. no it has not been an acceptable season. you can't measure how good they've been by simply comparing their win total with the other top teams in the west. first, they should be one of those other top teams in the west, and secondly, their accomplishments should stand on their own if they've had a good season... and they can't and they haven't.

(b) how is the guy who hosts this blog one of those who is "yelling about things you obviously don't understand." he's so knowledgeable about the nuggets i can guarantee you he's played basketball before (read his bristow administration piece). and at the very least, at least he knows how to spell check my friend.

(c) i haven't seen anything self-promoting from or for the author. he happens to write a comic strip. good for him. you jealous? what do YOU do besides whine and complain and call people "assholes" and tell people they "don't understand" without putting down one letter that would make anyone think you DO understand or that you're NOT the asshole? did i just confuse you? i think this guy's comic strip is actually pretty funny. i started reading maybe 6 months ago well before this blog was originated and think its very amusing - i know i couldn't draw or write it.

in summary, please do us all a favor and go back to school. i know it will be hard to stomach the bruised ego you'll have when you tell people that you decided after dropping out of 2nd grade to return to elementary school. it will be difficult at first for all those little kids to understand why their janitor has started taking social studies with them, but it really would do you good to start being productive in life. and to start seeing things for how they are, not for how you think or wish they'd be.

by J on Apr 14, 2008 2:19 PM MDT reply actions

Great win for my boys!!!! I have something I need to say. Why is Allen Iverson or Melo not even mentioned when it comes to MVP?!? I mean AI's numbers and Melo's numbers are both comparable to all the MVP's mentioned!? They mention Dwight howard and Lebron and both those teams have lessor records then the Nuggets!? And The Nuggets are only 5 - 7 games behind the top teams in the west!? And they should win 50 games.!? I just don't get it!? Not one mention. I've heard Ginoboli!? AI has been mentioned for 3rd team All NBA... 3rd? The Nuggs have underachieved but most EXPERTS had the Nuggets 6th or 7th anyway!?

by chillz on Apr 14, 2008 2:24 PM MDT reply actions

petey...

Great post. I agree that one of Karl's major problems over the course of the season is failing to adapt to different situations and being able to use a variety of players. For example, in the early season loss at NY, Kmart was out and the Camby/Najera combination was getting destroyed on the boards. Would have been a great time to actually make use of Steven Hunter. Diawara is needed against someone like Kobe or T-Mac, since none of our guards have any size to play D. Now Hunter, Diawara, and Atkins are useless for the playoffs when all could be useful.

by Anonymous on Apr 14, 2008 2:52 PM MDT reply actions

anon,

Having watched Steven Hunter in Philly, I can assure you he's worthless in the preseason, yet alone the playoffs.

by Nadum on Apr 14, 2008 2:57 PM MDT reply actions

I am relieved to see the Nuggets get to hopefully 50 wins. Yes they will probably find the their way into the 8th playoff spot. Yes they will probably lose in the first round because all of us ( assumed by me ) have watched how the Nuggets seem to fall apart against NBA West teams who own better records over our Nuggets.
I watched the Houston game last night and as much I want to say Denver won I believe Houston lost. Both teams played sloppy in the first period and yes Denver played decent D and overall put a game on but Houston played into foul trouble, displayed poor jump shots and didn't appear to give a shit. Denver would probably have had their hands full if the Rockets would have shown up for 48.
Here is wanting the best for our Team.

Oh, and by the way the comic is dull (no disrespect) and in closing the Carmello DUI thing will not matter at all except to the dipshit media that will play the story for all they can.

by markp on Apr 14, 2008 10:47 PM MDT reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

STIFF LIST (as of 4/26 by Andrew Feinstein)

1. METTA WORLD PEACE

Metta resorted back to Ron Ron last Sunday by clubbing James Hardenwith an "inadvertent celebratory elbow", landing him a 7-game suspension. Apparently, changing his name didn't prevent NBA commissioner David Stern from overlooking Metta's past behavior problems.

2. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

The 'Cats are on the verge of securing the worst winning percentage in NBA history. Given that the guy who runs the team - Michael Jordan - had previously drafted Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison, should this really be a shock?

3. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
The team that was supposedly built to overcome the lockout-shortened season managed to lose 7 of its last 14 games, ceding the Western Conference's 1-seed to the Spurs in the process. Their reward might be a first round matchup with defending champion Dallas.

4. BILLY HUNTER AND DEREK FISHER

With report after report coming out about NBPA union head Hunter's shady, nepotistic dealings and questions arising about Fisher's own role in dealing with NBA owners behind Hunter's back during the lockout, this off-the-court scandal could prove to be more exciting than the playoffs themselves!

5. STEVE NASH AND THE PHOENIX SUNS
The Suns are on this list for squandering the last few great seasons from Nash. Nash is on this list for his stupidly stubborn loyalty to a franchise as awful as the Suns.