Marcus Camby's homecoming party (Nuggets/Clippers Preview 7pm MST)...

I don't agree that Camby "gave the Nuggets everything he had." Sure, he showed up every night and usually gave a solid effort, but I never really thought that his heart was completely in it. Even when he was with the Knicks back in the day, he never really seemed like he cared all that much about the game of basketball. Maybe his nonchalant body language betrays his true passion for basketball, but I always got the impression that Camby was just playing this game because he was good at it and it was a good career option. I wouldn't be surprised if he retires and never touches a basketball ever again.

Marcus was a class act from day one in Denver. He came into a fragmented locker room of losers and helped turn a 17 win team into a 43 win team. He played hard, and he played hurt and he brought a level of intensity to the team that had been lost over years of unrelenting defeat. Most people moaned when he arrived, aware of his history of injury problems. But he remained mostly injury free after the 2002-2003
season and I shudder to think of what this team would have been without him in the locker room and on the floor. Welcome back Marcus, and thanks for the memories. You will retire a gentleman and a leader. But now, we're going to kick your ass.

Good post Andrew. I too loved Camby for the reasons you mentioned. Of all the bone-head players we have had on our team the past few seasons Camby has always been a steady, composed veteran presence who was a great guy on and off the court. It really saddened me to see him go and I would welcome him back anytime. I just got back from the game, I had great seats for really cheap too. It was pretty great to see the Nuggets play some descent basketball. I thought the ball movement was the best part of the night. Kind of funny how Balkman gets more points and rebounds than Melo just by playing the right way (ie: rebounding, moving off the ball, following up shots, ect).

Good riddance. Sure Camby could block, unless the guy dished to the man Camby was supposed to be guarding, Sure Camby can rebound, unless he's going up against a big body in which case he got pushed out of the way, Sure Camby was good on the high post, unless he got that urge to jack up his ridiculous knuckle jumper. Granted yes we got jack squat in return and that was bs. We are a much MUCH better team without him and in all sincerity, best of luck to him wherever he goes, but then again, when you're a center in the NBA and you have absolutely ZERO low post game, luck can only take you so far.

I was at the game tonight. Camby got the respectable ovation as well deserved from the fans and players. He plays on the most uninspiring team in the West. It is a shame.
But, he still plays the same. What his shot selection and diffidence when shooting the ball are still present and frustrating.
Too bad he is with the Clippers. Must be an empty feeling to play in the same town the Lakers play in.

Think GK is smart enough to keep Balkman in the rotation now? i really hope we get our rotation figoured out by the time playoffs come around. I get back to denver on the 15th april i think regular season ends that day so i'm praying i can watch us play GOOD ball in the playoffs.
GO NUGGETS

When and if Kmart comes back, George Karl better not abandon Balkman to the bench again or I swear I will find a way to spike those lemon drops he sucks on all game with Cartmans ball sweat.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Zachm219. Camby was NOT what this team needed to be successful and that hasn't changed. He was an offensive liability and the record of this team pretty much proves that Camby was most certainly not needed for this team to be "successful."

Maybeitsme... are you serious? Camby Mostly injury free after 2002-03? I'll put it like this: a liar may say more facts than fallacies, but he's still a liar. That's how I view Camby's injury track record. It's not the 70% of games that he played that bothered me. The 30% you knew he'd missed without knowing when was the true culprit.

I think the situation with Camby's exit could have been handled better based on the many photo-ops with Camby serving the Denver community. And in some ways I almost feel bad for Camby having to see this team win without him by way of "replacing" him with Birdman. It took maybe 2-3 putback slams from Birdman in one game for me to realize that the Nuggets clearly made the right choice, regardless of whether or not Camby was a class act.

Anyway, this game was more evidence that the Nuggets are toast come playoff time. I'll say it again, as I've said it before: "Rotation... rotation... rotation"
You WILL NOT be successful by distorting a component's value to the overall operation. There is no way Balkman or Petro understand their value to this squad. How do I know? Because their coach tells them about 3 times a week that he doesn't know where they fit in either. So sometimes they just won't play. But that's cool because the next game they might come off the bench. And if that doesn't happen, it's cool, because they will definitely be starting the next game, right? Well... Sometimes. Not to mention JR Smith's arbitrary starts and DNPs. And it makes thing all the more confusing when your team is winning more games this way than losing because more wins = justified strategic approach. And who needs Rocky the Mountain Lion when you have George Karl the Sex Panther: 60% of the time, his coaching techniques work every time.*






*Playoffs not included.

I would just like to follow up on my comment about distorting a component's value to the overall operation by citing Goldennugget's post:

"Kind of funny how Balkman gets more points and rebounds than Melo just by playing the right way (ie: rebounding, moving off the ball, following up shots, ect)."

We can only hope as fans that Balkman doesn't view his production in the same manner. This is where things get dangerous. First of all, this game was against the Clippers (an abysmal team, even with their new shiny defensive anchor/class act). Secondly, Balkman is a high energy guy who has been rested, sitting out full games at times with no injury (Obviously, this is no fault of his own. My point is, he should be ready to play a full high-energy 48 minutes if called to). Third, Balkman has never been the focus of an opposing team's defensive scheme.

With that said, I'll just ask if this type of game gives Balkman a chip on his shoulder, then what will happen when he's perfectly healthy and gets his next DNP? If the team loses without him then there will naturally be some animosity ("Why didn't I get to play? I could have helped. We won when I started. What gives?"). If the team wins without him, there will naturally be some confusion ("Does this squad really need me? How am I good enough to start but then not play at all?). This is what I mean when I say "distorting a component's value".

Think of Karl like a driver (not a NASCAR diver, just a regular civilian) and his NBA squads are like rental cars. The NBA season is a cross-country road trip. Karl can look like he knows what he's doing in style as long as he has the right vehicle. The Seattle SuperSonics were a perfect fit. Powerful engine, plush interior, luxurious ride with lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise-control, navigation AND On-Star, plenty of cup holders and cubbyholes... and don't forget the heated seats and lumbar support. So he arrived at his destination (the NBA Finals) looking like the king of road trips. Sure, there were a few traffic jams here and there, but Karl did it. He made it and that was his job. Kudos. We won't talk about how the On-Star rep had to talk Karl through 72% of his turns, or that the adaptive cruise-control saved Karl from rear-ending another car while Karl was enjoying a burger, or even that the lane-keeping assist kept Karl on the road when his eyes got heavy on the road. The car arrived safely at it's destination mostly clean and organized (thank goodness for those cubbyholes... and cup holders!). We'll call the Sonics Karl's Cadillac.

Fast forward to the Nuggets. Same driver (give or take a cancer survival or two), same objective (finals baby!), but a brand new car (uh oh). Powerful engine, check. Nice supportive seats, check. Strong leather-wrapped steering wheel, check. But wait, happened to the navigation and On-Star? The last car had a full G series Payton navigation system. Now I just get a phone number to Andre Miller's towing? Whatever. We'll make this work. Once I'm on the road things will be just like last time.... Hold the phone. What is that little peddle to the left of the brake? That's not the emergency brake. Is this one of those cars that make you pick the gear yourself? @$%#. This is not good. And here we are, 3.5 years later and Karl still can't complete the trip with a manual transmission. He doesn't understand what gear to select and when to select it ("I mean, the car starts rolling in 2nd gear, so why use first?"). So suffice it to say, he doesn't make the complete cross country trip. And to make things worse, the car is a mess and will probably need a new transmission. We'll call the Nuggets Karl's sporty Bimmer. Nice car with lots of potential that an enthusiast would cherish. It's just not Karl's style.

The above represents the best analogy I can amass at this time in reference to Karl and how I view his value to his squads. If you can't shift gears when you have to then you're going to inevitably burn out some gears (sometimes while redlining the engine and sometimes while causing the engine to stall) which will result in the remaining gears being asked to control the car in a way that they weren't designed to. This is why this team suffers engine/transmission failure every time they make it to the Grand Canyon (first round of the playoffs). And this is where Karl works his magic. He somehow convinces everyone around him that the Grand Canyon is actually the focus of the trip ("I mean look at how beautiful this place is... THIS, people... is what it's about"). Except that it's not... and never has been. So while we're stuck looking at this gigantic hole in the ground to start the summer, Pop and Phil are continuing the expedition west, stopping in Vegas for some good times and ending it either in a California vineyard enjoying some of the best wine in the world or all the way on the Cali coast where the refreshingly scented ocean breeze blends oh so seamlessly with the crisp taste of champagne serving as a perfect reminder of why you started the trip in the first place.