First they lose at home last night to a Kings team that is without Artest, Miller and Beno. Now tonight they lose in double OT to the Sonics on the road. Just absolutely ridiculous and Karl's coaching is killing them. The Nuggets had 2.3 seconds left at the end of the first OT to get a shot off for a chance to win the game. Karl doesn't take out Camby and Kenyon to put shooters in the game. Instead, Kenyon gets the inbound pass, nobody is open and he shots one of the ugliest 3's you'll ever see. ****!
I don't understand how so much talent on this team does not translate into a more successful season. You have two allstars in Carmelo and Iverson, you have defending DPOY player in Marcus Camby, you have former allstar Kenyon Martin, plus, you have guys like Smith, Kleiza, Nene, and Najara to round out the bench. There's so much talent on this Nuggets team but they can't seem to put it all together for some reason
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Apr 7 2008, 12:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I don't understand how so much talent on this team does not translate into a more successful season. You have two allstars in Carmelo and Iverson, you have defending DPOY player in Marcus Camby, you have former allstar Kenyon Martin, plus, you have guys like Smith, Kleiza, Nene, and Najara to round out the bench. There's so much talent on this Nuggets team but they can't seem to put it all together for some reason</div> That's one of the rare cases where the coach actually really is the problem (not like Chicago, NJ, etc. where the problem is personnell issues). That team is built to be a good defensive team (excluding JR and Carmelo) with Martin and Camby, and yet teams are scoring 110+ against them on a consistent basis. They need to get get Karl out of there, and get in a defensive-minded coach that is nothing like Karl.
I agree with post #2, it's almost unbelievable how you still have to fight so hard at this time of the regular season with such a team as they have. Most of all, it hurts if you can't put away Seattle at times when every win counts most. This hurts... They're lucky they are still in the race for the 8th spot, and they can make a big step to it by winning over Golden State in the direct match-up.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>They need to get get Karl out of there, and get in a defensive-minded coach that is nothing like Karl.</div> GK needs to talk to his old buddy Larry Brown and pick up some tips. The team has survived this season on pure skill and talent. George Karl has only added to the loss column for the nuggets, and if they aren't at least in the second round of the playoffs he NEEDS to be gone.
Zones are killing the Nuggets and it is because of coaching. When the Nuggets are on offense, they don't have a solution against a zone defense other than to jack up 3's. If they start falling, great, if they don't, teams like the Kings beat the Nuggets. When the Nuggets are on defense, their zone defense is easily exploited with ball movement and gives up too many offensive rebounds.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (pegs @ Apr 6 2008, 11:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>That's one of the rare cases where the coach actually really is the problem (not like Chicago, NJ, etc. where the problem is personnell issues). That team is built to be a good defensive team (excluding JR and Carmelo) with Martin and Camby, and yet teams are scoring 110+ against them on a consistent basis. They need to get get Karl out of there, and get in a defensive-minded coach that is nothing like Karl.</div> Exactly. The Nuggets are a direct reflection of their coach. Karl really does not preach defense, therefore no matter how hard he tries to get his team to play defense, they won't. They need to get rid of Karl and bring in a defensive-minded coach - somebody like Larry Brown or Rick Carlisle would be perfect for them on both ends of the floor. As bad as Denver's defense is, their offense can be just as bad at times. They have zero structure to their offense, and that really hurts them down the stretch of games. Relying on Carmelo Anthony and/or Allen Iverson to create shots for themselves and their teammates is only going to get you so far, and is not going to help win games in the playoffs on a consistent basis (if they even get there). I honestly think they only have four "set" plays: 1. Dump the ball down low to Carmelo, and let him do his thing. 2. Alley-oop from Camby to Carmelo. 3. Pick-and-roll between AI and Carmelo (Melo needs to learn how to set a screen properly in order for it to be effective) 4. Give the ball to AI and let him do his thing. That isn't going to cut it in the playoffs when execution down the stretch is the difference between winning and losing a game and/or a series. If Denver continues to struggle next season, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Iverson decides to opt-out of his contract and test the free agent market.
Both, the Warriors and the Nuggets, won their games yesternight. IMO the Nuggets have to win against Golden State for their best chance to make the playoffs. So if they beat the Warriors and they both win the games "they are expected to win" and win the games "they are meant to lose", the remaining results would look like. <u>Nuggets:</u> @Golden State - win @Utah - loss Houston - loss Memphis - win <u>Warriors:</u> Denver - loss LA Clippers - win @Phoenix - loss Seattle - win
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Neely @ Apr 9 2008, 10:01 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Both, the Warriors and the Nuggets, won their games yesternight. IMO the Nuggets have to win against Golden State for their best chance to make the playoffs. So if they beat the Warriors and they both win the games "they are expected to win" and win the games "they are meant to lose", the remaining results would look like. <u>Nuggets:</u> @Golden State - win @Utah - loss Houston - loss Memphis - win <u>Warriors:</u> Denver - loss LA Clippers - win @Phoenix - loss Seattle - win</div> I honestly cannot see Denver beating the Warriors in Oakland tomorrow night. Actually, I have a feeling that the Warriors will blow them out tomorrow, sadly enough. If the Nuggets don't make the playoffs, they have nobody but themselves to blame. They had a chance to go up 2 games on Golden State if they had taken care of business against Sacramento and Seattle, and would have virtually been in a lock to make the playoffs even if they lost to Golden State. Now, they have to win at Golden State, and beat Houston and Memphis (they can lose to Utah, which they probably will anyway). If they lose tomorrow at Oakland, they have to win their last two games and hope GS loses two out of their last three. As long as the Nuggets end up tied with the Warriors at the end of the season, they're getting in because they hold the tiebreaker even if Golden State wins tomorrow (better conference record).
In looking back over the Nuggets recent games, there really is no way of telling which Nuggets team we are going to see tonight against Golden State. The Nuggets could come out on fire like they did in Phoenix and then just fall apart in the second half. Heck the Nuggets fell apart against the Kings in the second quarter. Probably the biggest factor I'm going to be watching is AI. I'd like his shooting percentage to be better than it has been, but I understand the broken finger. I just don't want to see him kill the offense by wasting a lot of clock and then passing it to the open Anthony Carter for a clank.
Well, lets review the recent games At Golden State - The Nuggets started off the game poorly, but then played like a team in the final three quarters and won. At Utah - The Nuggets got blown out in the first quarter, fought back in the second quarter to get within 3 points at half time. They managed to take a lead in the third quarter, however, Utah went on a huge run fueled by the hard foul Melo gave Deron. Karl put in the bench early in the fourth quarter. Vs Houston - The Nuggets came out from the start of the game wanting to win this game and played like it all the way until the fourth quarter was garbage time.
