Not sure. I'm not irate about losing to PHX. You seem to be defensive about HCP feeling the same way. Why is this?
I am so shocked. The most experienced NBA head coach, Jerry Sloan, outcoached the most junior head coach. Adrian Dantley isn't just a rookie head coach, because a rookie would have gotten the whole season to learn his craft. Dantley became a substitute rookie head coach a month before being thrown into the fires of the playoffs. So he's even lower than the most junior rookie head coach in the league. Remember this when a McMillan defender posts, "The players, not the coach, win games. It doesn't really matter who the coach is."
I think it had more to do with role players for the Nuggets not stepping their game up then Dantley's lack of coaching experience.
These all gifts from the officials. Nothing more and nothing less. Dude goes to the line way more then a jump shooter should. I am not going to give KD credit for gettting calls no one else outside of Kobe and LeBron get.
He drives quite a bit, even though he does take a lot of jump shots (he shoots just as many jumpers as Brandon fyi) ... watch him some time, he probably deserves about 80% of the calls he gets, which is just about right for the league's scoring champ.
Denver's issues were not just of losing Karl, but the architecture of the team. It was a typical Whitsitt model: Acquire the most talent you can without regard to character, chemistry or fit and have one vet to keep the lid on the explosive combination. JR Smith flat-out quit on this team. Melo got frustrated. Nene just didn't show up. The players tuned out AD. Everyone pointed fingers at each other. Jerry Sloan got under the skin of the Thuggets and never let them breathe. He knew they'd get frustrated and do stupid things. The talent on this team doesn't matter when the opponent knows how to light the fuse. Character matters.
One could argue, based on what you said, that the 09 Nuggets were like the 2000 Blazers. They kind of didn't pay attention to how to build a team, but just threw together a bunch of players. Their Pippen is Billups, their Rasheed is Martin, and their Damon is JR Smith (conversely, their JR Rider was Iverson...though our Rider wasn't traded for Pippen, whereas Iverson was traded for their Pippen). Who is their Steve Smith? Not sure. Anyway, their team went to the conference finals like the 2000 Blazers. Had loads of promise for the next season, but kind of had a similar finish to their season this year, that we did in 2000-2001. A lot of promise, only to fizzle out at the end, a complete and utter mess of a team. I don't think it's a coincidence that they have their own trader Bob (and former trader Bob clone) in Warkentein. Denver should try to build around Billups and Anthony, and jettison some of the idiots on their team.
What are we really going to get for Rudy this summer? Probably not much more than an early second round pick. Last year he was a deadly accurate 3ball shooter. He had a horrible season, but I don't want to give him away for nothing. With Andre and Bayless poor outside shooting Rudy will have a place next year as a guard who can space the floor. I'd rather see if he can bounce back a bit than dump him for nothing.
I don't entirely agree with that. Nene is a nice complimentary piece. IMHO, his shortcomings have nothing to do with character. KMart is a jerk, but his health is more of a detriment than his occasional dirty play. Smith is just immature, and the jury is still out on whether he can be a contributor on a really good team. Anderson is annoying to the other team, but I don't see any indication he is a problem in his own locker-room.
If you guys compare the amount of shooting fouls drawn, Durant is @ 16.2% and Roy is @ 15%. They aren't all that different except Durant is looking to score everytime while Roy does find open teammates. The difference really is the amount of shots actually taken, and it just appears Durant is drawing a boatload of fouls because he's simply shooting much more than Roy or anyone else in the NBA.
OKC was in the playoffs for the first time and took the #1 seed to 6 games, losing the 6th in the last half second. They should feel fine. Forget Denver, what about Dallas? They are getting the rep, deservedly, as post season chokers. A #1 seed, upset. A #2 seed, upset. Win the first two games in the finals, lose 4 in a row. Nowitzki is talking about not picking up his player optiont. And they are getting up in years. They are the team that needs a major overhaul, but Cuban is not the type of person who admits an error.
You're missing the point. When the pressure of the playoffs is applied, those guys--for whatever reason--don't have the fortitute to keep from getting frustrated. It doesn't matter if they're an unmotivated underachiever like Nene, a punk like K-Mart or a weirdo like Birdman. Put them in the crucible and they crumble.
This started way before the playoffs folks. I had subjects up of Denver imploding down the stretch weeks ago. I think it is fairly blatant what caused a lot of it, it started when George Karl had to leave the team. You can say whatever cold hearted shit you want, but I can guarantee you that George and his players are friends, and it is hard to keep your intensity up when you have a friend effected by a disease such as cancer. The injuries that effected the team hurt them too, but should have been manageable. No this was about team spirit, which more or less had been broken, by the reality of life.
It's more than that. Karl is not only an X's and O's coach, he's a personality manager. Between he and Billups, they kept the team on an even keel. AD knows the game, but he doesn't really get the whole ego-management angle of the job. Chauncey alone couldn't keep this team together against a disciplined team like Utah. Sloan's teams don't quit, they just keep fighting. Denver is like the hare--they play even with you, go on a run and then play even with you. The way you beat Denver is to attack them above the neck and don't let them intimidate you. Bump them, hold them, frustrate them and they'll start losing their composure.
Apparently they are scape goating JR Smith. Not a bad choice, to be honest. That dude can win you a game with his shooting but he can also knucklehead you to a bad loss. I wonder what completely stupid team trades for that looser. My money is on the Grizzlies. Actually, I just want that to be the case so I can see Rudy Gay, Stat-Bo and Smith get into a fist fight over the number of shots they get.
