<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>LOS ANGELES - Xerox's finest copier couldn't do a better job in duplicating recent Denver Nuggets' playoff performances.4-1.4-1.4-1.Carmelo Anthony struggles.Carmelo Anthony struggles.Carmelo Anthony struggles.It was the same old Nuggets who lost 101-83 against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night at the Staples Center. The Nuggets lost the best-of-seven series 4-1, the third consecutive season they have been on that short end in the first round.And once again Anthony had troubles. He made 8 of 24 shots for 23 points and finished the series with an average of 21 points, 5.5 below his regular-season mark, on .344 shooting.The Nuggets were blown out for the third time in the series. Leading 61-57 late in the third quarter, the Clippers closed with a 10-0 run to go up 71-57.It then got much worse. The Clippers began the fourth with a 17-6 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 88-63."The whole series was embarrassing,'' said Anthony, bothered throughout by double- and triple- teams. "They didn't just beat us by two or three points. It was 20 or more (late in three games). That's embarrassing.''The Clippers won Monday despite a slow start by forward Elton Brand, who scored only three points in the first half before finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds. But guards Cuttino Mobley and Corey Maggette were strong throughout, scoring 23 points apiece.The Clippers advance to play the Los Angeles Lakers or Phoenix Suns.The Nuggets got an improved performance from their backcourt. Greg Buckner scored 20 points and Andre Miller added 15.But Anthony struggled. His frustration was evident when he was assessed a technical early in the fourth quarter for shoving Clippers forward Vladimir Radmanovic.Shortly thereafter, Nuggets rookie Linas Kleiza was whistled for a flagrant foul for banging hard into Maggette on a drive.The Nuggets won the Northwest Division with a 44-38 record, but it was a turbulent season, marred by injuries and suspensions. The most recent suspension was forward Kenyon Martin being sat down for the final three games of the series after a Game 2 run-in with coach George Karl."Regardless of what they say, we needed Kenyon out here,'' said Anthony, whose opinion was not backed by Karl.Down the stretch, the Nuggets fell apart. They lost their final four regular-season games and eight of their final nine overall."We never had the courage and the confidence,'' Karl said of the series.Karl said the season "had a lot of magic to it and some of the things that happened touched the inside of my coaching heart.''On the downside, he said the season had "a lot of mysteries.''The Nuggets were hoping to solve some when they were down 61-57 with just more than 3 minutes to play in the third quarter. But then they collapsed, being outscored 27-6 as the Clippers took an 88-63 lead."It's a great feeling,'' Brand said of the Clippers winning their first playoff series in 30 years. "It's kind of surreal. We might not appreciate it until the second round.''The Nuggets still haven't won a playoff series since 1994. Because of that, several players said it wasn't a successful season."We didn't come in just to make the playoffs,'' Buckner said. "We should be beyond that point. We lost in the first round.''The Nuggets had a distraction entering the game after forward Reggie Evans had been fined $10,000 by the NBA earlier in the day because of a Game 4 incident in which Clippers center Chris Kaman alleged Evans hit him in the groin area.With boos sounding and signs being held up criticizing him, Evans played his only 4 minutes in the second quarter."They were real funny doing all that cheering,'' Evans said.Evans beat on his chest after making a breakaway dunk and ended up not playing during the second half. Meanwhile, guard Ruben Patterson, like Evans acquired at the Feb. 23 trading deadline, didn't play at all."In general, I went with the guys that got me where I got this year,'' said Karl, who said he played DerMarr Johnson over Patterson and didn't go back to Evans to have quickness over bulk.But Karl stuck with Anthony until the end. Afterward, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy had a few words with Anthony."He just told me that what he did out there was a sign of respect,'' Anthony said of the double- and triple- teams he faced. "That's the only way I could take it, a sign of respect. I've got to look over what they did this summer to see what they did to stop me. Hopefully, teammates take what they did as an insult because they looked to stop me and didn't care what my teammates did.''Dunleavy just did what other coaches have been doing against the Nuggets in the playoffs. And, predictably, he enjoyed a 4-1 series win.</div>http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nba/...4666718,00.html
Well when you can't shoot the ball or have a second scorer your not going to win in the playoffs, I like to see George Karl win so I hope they do something this offseason.
Too much on Melo's shoulders, he needs somebody to help him score. Having that second option could make him a lot more dangerous.
He needs a shooter. When he was being double and triple teamed by the Clippers he would kick it out and nobody can knock down shots.It was horrible to see Greg Buckner shoot 31% in the playoffs and still continue to jack up wild shots.
