No more excuses for Karl and Melo...
by Andrew Feinstein on Nov 5, 2008 1:10 AM MST
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I want to double down on Tuesday's Mark Kiszla column in the Denver Post in which he set his sights on Nuggets head coach George Karl, but I'm throwing in Carmelo Anthony, too.Despite being paid $3 million to coach and $14 million to play for our Nuggets, Karl and Melo have been able to skate by on an assortment of excuses since their remarkable 32-8 run in 2005 upon Karl's arrival.
In 2005-06 it was injuries to Nene, Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin.
In 2006-07 it was "the brawl" (for which Karl and Melo shoulder equal blame along with worst-person-ever Isiah Thomas), integrating Allen Iverson plus more injuries to Nene and K-Mart.
In 2007-08 it was injuries to Nene and Chucky Atkins plus "conditioning."
And this season it was going to be cost cutting by upper management, stripping the team of their best interior defender and hustle player off the bench.
But with the acquisition of Chauncey Billups (and possibly Antonio McDyess), it's clear that Nuggets management is committed to winning now. And thus, Karl and Melo are out of excuses.
An NBA squad that starts Melo, Nene, K-Mart, Billups and J.R. Smith, and has a bench featuring McDyess, Anthony Carter, Linas Kleiza, Renaldo Balkman and Chris Andersen shouldn't just be a playoff team. It should be a dangerous playoff team.
Read: it's a team that - at a minimum - wins a first round series if your coach and superstar player are worth their salt.
With the Suns, Mavericks and Spurs looking old and slow, the Rockets struggling out of the gate to mesh their "Big Three," and the Trailblazers minus Greg Oden for about a month, the Nuggets shouldn't be focused on just making the playoffs but getting home court in the first round of the playoffs.
And I won't accept the "we didn't have a training camp to work together" excuse because, in my opinion, Billups only has two good years left before he becomes the 2010-2011 version of Michael Finley (i.e. an overpaid former All-Star guard). So we have to get what we can out of Billups this season and next.
While I still have no faith in the Kroenke Cronies ability to build a championship caliber organization, they deserve credit for making the Nuggets as competitive as possible given the restraints imposed on them by K-Mart's contract and AI's that was due to expire. In fact, this new edition of the Denver Nuggets should be able to beat anyone on any given night except perhaps the Lakers and Celtics.
But whether that happens or not is up to Karl and Melo. No excuses.
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i hope antonio mcdyess decides to suck it up and stay in denver. he could be the difference between a solid team and a solid contender.
by andrew fisher on Nov 5, 2008 1:43 AM MST reply actions
billups is playing isn't he?
by Lucas Navarrete on Nov 5, 2008 6:07 AM MST reply actions
by Eric K on Nov 5, 2008 7:57 AM MST reply actions
K-mart are ancient you will regret this trade.
by Simon on Nov 5, 2008 8:15 AM MST reply actions
I doubt any REAL Nugget fan will see this as a regretful trade. We tried the AI/Melo experiment and it failed to yield any resounding results.
This gives the team the best mix of talent for the money available.
Good post Andrew. It's about time for the coach and captain to take the load of responsibility for this teams success and failures.
by joelsopinion on Nov 5, 2008 9:07 AM MST reply actions
by Brian on Nov 5, 2008 9:07 AM MST reply actions
Okay, I'm easy.
by JTR on Nov 5, 2008 9:37 AM MST reply actions
by Chris on Nov 5, 2008 10:58 AM MST reply actions
by Anonymous on Nov 5, 2008 11:04 AM MST reply actions
-Takes up a valuable roster spot and has absolutely nothing to show for it. At least his contract is up at season's end." Technically, his contract runs through next season, but the Nuggets can buy it out for the final season price of $760K (approx.), which will still count against the luxury tax next season.
by Anonymous on Nov 5, 2008 11:24 AM MST reply actions
by Goldennugget on Nov 5, 2008 12:08 PM MST reply actions
by Goldennugget on Nov 5, 2008 12:30 PM MST reply actions
by DeAngelo Starnes on Nov 5, 2008 7:21 PM MST reply actions
by samiam on Nov 5, 2008 7:28 PM MST reply actions
by Anonymous on Nov 5, 2008 9:46 PM MST reply actions
by Maxwell on Nov 5, 2008 10:11 PM MST reply actions
^^^ lol checkout the comments from news there.
Everybody seems to be hatin' on CBill because of the physical... one piston fan called him.. Mr. Big Slow for example...
by Anonymous on Nov 5, 2008 11:26 PM MST reply actions
by markp on Nov 5, 2008 11:48 PM MST reply actions
by Anonymous on Nov 6, 2008 12:13 AM MST reply actions
by Anonymous on Nov 6, 2008 12:59 AM MST reply actions
Hear me out. I do think that some of the blame for the Nuggets consistently sloppy play falls on Karl's shoulders. The reality, though, is that Carmelo Anthony is the laziest player to ever build a franchise around. There really is no excuse for his all around lack of hustle. I watch a player like LeBron, or Wade, or any other superstar, and they make themselves a part of every play, whether it is attacking the boards, chasing down a loose (or even almost loose) ball, moving without the ball on offense, or playing defense.
How does this relate to George Karl not being at fault? Well, I'm going to speculate a little here, but I'm fairly confident that there is a lot that Karl does not come out and say publicly about Carmelo because of team policy and professionalism. I can virtually guarantee though that Karl tells Melo to improve these critical aspects of his game every day in practice. We'd be kidding ourselves to think otherwise. Melo's response, and here is probably why it is so difficult to coach this team anywhere, is probably that of indifference. Without consequences to his actions, which there certainly aren't (bench him? HA! That won't happen until he falls completely out of favor with the fans) Melo is free to put forth a half-hearted effort into any area of basketball that doesn't see him in direct possession of the ball.
I will give Melo this, his one on one defense has improved. But I cannot forgive him his faults. They are too glaring and costly for the Nuggets organization. When he jumps out to defend a Stephen Jackson 3, and then proceeds to cherry-pick on the other side of the court while both teams are struggling to determine who is going to get possession of the rebound, there is something fundamentally wrong with his attitude. I could not believe that play. He literally did not return to play defense for a solid 6 seconds. The result ended up being positive for the Nuggets, a fast break basket, but it is still a heinously misguided strategy to pursue.
My best guess is that when George Karl's tenure as Nuggets head coach is over, there are going to be interviews conducted which will reveal the serious disconnect between the coaching philosophies Karl probably correctly preached and the players' (primarily Melo's) capacity to show enthusiasm and acceptance for these critiques and strategies.
I can tell you this much for certain: Melo is in serious danger of becoming a has-been over the next few years. If he does not improve his attitude, his hustle, and his willingness to learn, he cannot expect to achieve anything great in the NBA without someone carrying him to the accomplishment.
One last tangent: his laziness and disinterest with being a professional basketball player is reflected even in his blog. Take a look at it: its a complete eyesore which could only appeal to immature high school girls that have not realized the value of typing out words instead of short-handing them with numbers. Compare Melo's blog to Gilbert Arenas's blog. Gilbert's blog gushes sincerity and a real desire to grow as a player. Melo's blog seems an afterthought, a joke. It's almost an insult to his fans. I'm still waiting for the day that this premier talent finds the time to grow up.
by Demitrios on Nov 6, 2008 1:02 AM MST reply actions
think back to that dagger that stephen jackson hit late in the game to put it away. melo was playing up on jackson nearly as much as jackson was playing up on him. jackson accelerates a little bit and melo flops and falls back. biedrins comes and sets a pick and melo flops again. leaving nene on jackson. an obvious mismatch (not dissin nene). jackson does a little dance in nene's face and drills the dagger. game over.
melo needs to friggen watch lebron and wade and kobe and his old friggen team mate AI on how to be a SUPERSTAR player.
by andrew fisher on Nov 6, 2008 3:57 AM MST reply actions
Stephen Jackson lacks the natural ability that Melo wastes every game, but his coachable nature and commitment to a task pushes him to a level that Melo has yet to reach.
I agree with Demitrios, Melo is flat out lazy and unmotivated. It maybe just me, but a 7 figure salary to play a game I love is pretty damn motivating. I think you hit a note with his half hearted playing also. I thought I was the only one completely upset at his flop. His half hearted flop.
Interesting that you mentioned Karl may have underlying tensions about Melo also. I totally agree. If I were in Porky's shoes I'd be yelling at Melo on a constant basis.
Anyway I hope Melo can break out of his mellow slumber, otherwise I fear he may be destined to be an over-talented sidekick.
by joelsopinion on Nov 6, 2008 8:44 AM MST reply actions
by Anonymous on Nov 7, 2008 6:11 AM MST reply actions
No excuse for the fact that the best 3 man combination on the Nuggets last year was AI, Klieza and JR... No Excuse for the gaudy win/loss record when AI had over 10 assists... Just absolutly NO excuse for wasting a year of Melo and AI time by refusing to coach. Cause thats all it was. AI at the point meant he'd have to create plays more often... do a little work now and then and he's not willing to do that.
He basically blamed them not winning because of AI. Everything he said pointed to that.
Sorry but, Chauncey is Miller with a better 3 point shot and less speed and athletisicm. The Nuggets will not reach a new level.. they will go back to the level they were b4 AI arrived. Period.
by chillz on Nov 7, 2008 11:24 AM MST reply actions
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