The Rocky Mountain News' Chris Tomasson continues to do a great job covering the Nuggets, while never delivering good news for readers of this blog. Tomasson apparently interviewed George Karl today, and Karl said (as he did in his interview with Mike and Sandy earlier) that he will be more of a disciplinarian next season.
Karl's 3-16 record in the playoffs coaching the Nuggets notwithstanding, this reminds me of when parents spoil their kids rotten until they're teenagers, and then wonder why their kids don't work hard in high school.
Meanwhile, my old sparring partner Professor David J. Berri of the "Wages of Wins Journal" is serving up what he calls a "Zen-like vision" for the Nuggets. As he does better than anyone in the business, Professor Berri crunches the numbers to produce his conclusions (whereas I just watch the games and yell at the coach and players the whole time). I may not agree with Berri's assessment, but I can't fight the numbers. And remember, Professor Berri, you'll have a job on my staff when Stanley Kroenke ousts Mark Warkentien and brings me on board to run the Nuggets!
My two cents: what does an NBA coach have to do to get fired in Denver these days? Earlier today, Avery Johnson got canned in Dallas after two straight first round playoff exits, three years removed from taking the Mavericks to the NBA Finals. And while it's not 100% official yet, word out of Phoenix is that Mike D'Antoni is also gone after one first round playoff exit, three years removed from back-to-back conference finals appearances...after revolutionizing the way basketball is played in the NBA for the benefit of all of us.
I strongly disagree with these coaching removals.
Both Johnson and D'Antoni - while far from being perfect coaches (who is?) - give more than 100% to their profession. Pregame, in-game and postgame, you'd be hard pressed to find two more passionate coaches. They were both sandbagged by bad trades imposed upon them by impatient ownership and management, and did the best they could. In Johnson's case specifically, he really got screwed with Jason Kidd: the poor man's Fat Lever and a notorious coach killer.
I'd welcome either Johnson or D'Antoni in Denver.
To all my detractors that think I'm a "can the coach" kind of guy, that couldn't be more untrue. I applaud Kroenke for being patient and giving a coach and a group of players time to gel. But there's a healthy medium between patience and going 3-16 in the playoffs over four seasons.
And until this blogger is proven wrong, I will continue to demand a coaching change and recommend personnel "adjustments" once we know where the lottery picks fall into order and how the free agent market shakes out.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
"We'll do it my way next year" (and thoughts on today's coaching changes)...
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28 comments:
The Nuggets will never be champs until we have prior champs on our team. Shanny had to go to SF, learn the standard of champions from the 49ers, and THEN come back to transform the Broncos into an SB caliber team. Who on the Nuggets knows what it takes to win a ring? Najera? That's not enough. We need a coach and some veteran leaders with prior rings to whip us into shape. Not going to happen with jackass Karl at the helm though.
P.S. PLEASE KEEP THIS BLOG GOING! You're the only salvation for my madness, given the ineptitude of Denver media.
IF Karl returns next year, I will no longer support this organization. Why? What is the point? We know now that with Karl we will not win in the first round. Why would be believe next season will be any different? I won't support an organization that isn't being true to its fans. We deserve better.
D'antoni shouldn't and wont be fired. He hasn't even had a chance to coach a real team in the playoffs. I mean, Stoudemire was injured for a whole season yet he still brought his team to the conference finals. Then the next playoffs the league suspended half his team for practically looking at the San Antonio Spurs. And this season, stupid Steve Kerr trades one of the best all round players in the game for a worn out Shaq! Mark Cuban knows where he's at. I hope Stan finds that same spirit! FIRE GEORGE KARL!
This is Van Gundy's career numbers... you all are crazy and blind!
CAREER AVERAGES
REGULAR SEASON POST SEASON
YEAR TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT WINS LOSSES PCT
1995-96 New York 13 10 .565 4 4 .500
1996-97 New York 57 25 .695 6 4 .600
1997-98 New York 43 39 .524 4 6 .400
1998-99 New York 27 23 .540 12 8 .600
1999-00 New York 50 32 .610 9 7 .563
2000-01 New York 48 34 .585 2 3 .400
2001-02 New York 10 9 .526 0 0 .000
2003-04 Houston 45 37 .549 1 4 .200
2004-05 Houston 51 31 .622 3 4 .429
2005-06 Houston 34 48 .415 0 0 .000
2006-07 Houston 52 30 .634 3 4 .429
TOTALS 430 318 .575 44 44 .500
George Karl is a soft ass. We need a tough coach who can reshape the team and lead the team to a higher level. Did Karl ever take a responsibility when the team lost a game? I don't recall. Nuggets get enough talented players. The only piece missing is a great coach. Karl, don't shamelessly come back to be the coach next season. Enjoy your retirement life.
Jeff's hasn't made it out of the 1 st round in the last five years he has coached.... Is Van Gundy really the answer?? -
I hope the Nuggets get Jeff Van Gundy, Rick Carlisle or Flip Saunders (say, the pistons fire him).
They need a coach who teaches defense and class to this team. I love the Nuggets so much.
But we have to be patient
BTW, the
http://getgarnett.com
was changed to
http://thelakersnation.com upon the failure of the Lakers getting KG and Gasol's arrival in L.A..
It would be fitting to change this site to
http://thenuggetscountry.com
or
htto://thenuggetsworld.com
if george step out and someone better comes in
Regardless of what was discussed, today Karl appeared more relaxed on the Mike and Sandy show than he did most of this season.
George Karl is the worst coach I have ever seen, period. There is nothing more to say.
FIRE HIM. PLEASE.
FIRE GK!!!
Here's my view.
1) Hire Avery.
2) Trade Camby while he's still worth something
3) Trade Nene for anything you can get (could try to move up in the draft here)
4) Ask AI to opt-out and look elsewhere
5) resign JR
6) resign Eddie
Rebuilding does not happen in one year. Thankfully, we have some good guys to start with. Melo, Kleiza, Kenyon and the others need a strong coach that teaches them how to play as a team. Avery will do that -- he's a no nonsense kind of guy. Cuban just screwed up, so let's take advantage.
Oh, I left something out.
Mike and Sandy, and the print guys (outside Kizla) are just media suck ups.
It is quite unbelievable that Nuggets fans have not risen up, picketed the arena, and told management to change the team.
If you actually spend your hard-earned money watching this "team" and they don't make changes, I would be in Kronke's face everyday -- if you can find him.
Looking back over the last 30 years (yes, I'm old), I can not remember a situation in sports as absurd as this one.
These clowns are asking you to accept mediocrity so they can save their own asses. Wow.
I think its time to step up your game and create a petition to fire George Karl.
Hey for guys who went to Game 4, did u see this?
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080429/capt.aba0188024ec4679b39521e9a33da3cd.lakers_nuggets_basketball_dxa118.jpg
I totally agree except for the last line...Or maybe it's one of u here?:)
something goes wrong,try this:
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/
20080429/capt.aba0188024ec4679b
39521e9a33da3
cd.lakers_nuggets_basketball_dxa118
.jpg
Typical of most economists, Berri's analysis is thoroughly flawed and shouldn't be paid any attention to, Andrew. His "Wins Produced" rankings fail to reconcile with the adjusted plus minus rankings, which shows how teams do when certain players are on the bench versus when they are on the court. If Camby is really by far the best player on the Nuggets, as Berri suggests, why were the Nuggets only marginally better with him on the floor? It's because Camby's production can be mostly replaced by other players, a fact that his algorithm doesn't take into account. And if Iverson is so overrated, why were the Nuggets so thoroughly outscored when he was on the bench this season, but a 50-win caliber team when he was on the floor? Berri doesn't know what he's talking about.
P.S. Extremely Interesting Fact: The Nuggets were outscored this season overall when Eduardo Najera was on the bench, which was more often than he was on the court. The Nugs might have won 55-60 games had he played 30-35 minutes a game. According to adjusted plus/minus, Kenyon Martin and Anthony Carter were both serious liabilities this season and should have only played sparing minutes to spell Iverson and Najera. Kenyon might have actually been more effective had he only played maybe 20 minutes a game, considering he's such a "burst" guy, and he has those bad knees. And J.R. Smith should have been a starter ahead of AC.
still not workin bro but i think i know what you're talkin about. my buddies and i made sign that said denver: where shame happens. damn usher took it away at the door.
hell the only interesting part of game 4 was the fight that broke out in our section at the end of the game.
In a perfect world, the Nugs would trade Melo for Ron Artest. Artest is a free agent so it could be a sign and trade with any team interested in Melo. Artest won't get the same kind of money as Melo next year, so there'd have to be some other filler players involved to make it work under the collective bargaining agreement, but that could easily be done. Perhaps Chicago would be interested? Melo, Hinrich, Deng, Hughes and Noah would be pretty formidable. And the Nugs, by God would they be good.
He's blackmailing him. I mean come on, Karl must have pictures of Kronke wearing a Nuggets cheerleaders outfit and blowing the team mascot or something. That is the only possible reason for him keeping his job.
^well it's gotta be the cheerleading outfit then cuz i don't think Rocky swings that way.
Being tougher on your team won't matter if you don't have your teams respect.
The "blame the players" croud makes me sick. How can the players be blamed for anything when they have a coach who - 1) Doesn't care if they win. 2) Doesn't implement an offensive playbook, despite having enormous talent. 3) Doesn't preach defensive intensity or work on defensive schemes that could work. 4) Doesn't award or take away playing time from his players on the basis of their contribution or lack thereof to the bottom line (point differential).
I truly believe the Nuggets have the 2nd most talented team in the NBA this season (Celtics have more) and could have competed for a title with a good coach. Keep the current team mostly in place, hire someone suggested by Andrew, and the sky is the limit for next season. Lastly, who thinks Iverson and Anthony could become the next Stockton and Malone with solid coaching? I think they could be an unstopable Pick and Roll combo.
There is no other team in the NBA where the players do what they want to do. Even the worse of the worse in the Portland Trailblazers of Rasheed Wallace, they still played an efficient offense and defensive system.
I'm telling you this guy must think we're idiots. Their are no head cases on this team...I repeat none. All these guys he is calling stuff, have succeeded in other teams.
That is the worse excuse I've ever heard from any coach for under performing.
But hey let's say he is right, this must be a very good team to be able to win 50-games without any coaching.
For the record, rebuilding around Carmelo Anthony is retarded. I say, if we're going full-on rebuild mode, trade everyone for draft picks and young guys and start over.
Maybe this time, we'll get some defensive stalwarts instead of a bunch of no-showing crybaby DUI guys.
haha you're kidding right mandie? if you're not, you're a fool
It will not matter who the coach is as long as the worst front office in the NBA continues to reside in Denver, CO.
I'll continue to watch and support this team, but until there is a major overhaul of the roster, my expectations will remain every April.
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