Rapid Reaction: Minnesota Timberwolves 117, Denver Nuggets 100

March 25, 2012
by Kalen
Denver Nuggets 100 Final

Recap | Box Score

 117 Minnesota Timberwolves
Wilson Chandler, SF 33 MIN | 5-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 6 REB | 5 AST | 12 PTS | +4
Chandler cut down on the “difficult shots” he tends to fall in love with and got to the rack hastily. He also dished out five assists and made a few hustle plays. But Chandler needs to score more than 12 points per game for the Nuggets to have a shot at at winning.
Kenneth Faried, F 30 MIN | 8-13 FG | 1-1 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 17 PTS | +6
In the first half Faried was underwhelming. He wasn’t doing anything well except drawing fouls, but as the game progressed he really turned up the heat. His energy in the second half was excellent and more importantly, honorable. In a game in which nobody seemed to care, Faried did, and that’s certainly one positive to take away from a negative day.
Timofey Mozgov, C 6 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | -2
It’s becoming more apparent that Mozgov simply isn’t up to par with the type of competition he sees on a nightly basis in the NBA. He’s perpetually slow to react, out of position and for the most part, maladroit. As someone on Twitter stated, if he played with the second unit perhaps his confidence would elevate. It’s clear at this point, he has no business being a starter especially with McGee now on the roster.
Corey Brewer, SF 33 MIN | 2-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 7 PTS | -20
For the amount of minutes he received, there was no reason for Brewer to score only seven points and snag two rebounds. These types of performances have become a trend, unfortunately. Brewer is often effective in short bursts but can’t sustain a high level of play for an extended period of time. As a role player he’s excellent, but if he’s your starting shooting guard, you’re in trouble, as the Nuggets found out on Sunday.
Ty Lawson, PG 37 MIN | 5-14 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 5 AST | 14 PTS | -7
Did Lawson finish with a bad stat line? Not at all. If this was a win he probably would have received a B. But that’s the problem: it wasn’t. Lawson is without question one of the better players on the Nuggets roster, if not the best. Yet for whatever reason he’s been invisible over the last several games. It’s clear that when Lawson goes, so do the Nuggets, and because he hasn’t been effective lately, neither has his team.
Al Harrington, PF 25 MIN | 3-9 FG | 3-3 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 9 PTS | -18
This was one of Big Al’s worst games of the season. Nothing was going in and half the time he was busy committing terrible fouls rather than focusing on defense. It’s hard to look too far into his performance however, given that none of his teammates played that well either.
Andre Miller, PG 25 MIN | 6-8 FG | 2-3 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 14 PTS | -19
Andre Miller did Andre Miller. And that’s all I have to say about that.
Chris Andersen, C 5 MIN | 0-0 FG | 2-4 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | -3
It’s beyond perplexing why Mozgov still plays more minutes than Birdman. Andersen knows the NBA game, has carved out a role and usually plays it well. His energy is something the Nuggets are in desperate need of right now yet Karl seems sold on a young, inexperienced center for reasons unknown.
JaVale McGee, C 25 MIN | 6-8 FG | 1-2 FT | 11 REB | 1 AST | 13 PTS | -12
McGee was hands down the pleasant surprise of the day. His mistakes were nothing compared to his teammates, meanwhile he played twice as good as any of them. His interior defense was superb and his effort was top notch. If McGee continues to play this good, we’ll have to tip our hat to Masai Ujiri for a fantastic trade, yet again.
Julyan Stone, G 4 MIN | 2-2 FG | 0-1 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 4 PTS | +1
You know you’re in trouble when… your third-string point guard is the best defender on your entire team. Let that one slowly simmer for a moment. Julyan Stone cares about defense and actually wants to play it. So why can’t he get some run when what he does best is the Nuggets biggest need? He only played four minutes but for the type of defensive effort he displayed, he gets an A.
Jordan Hamilton, G 17 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-2 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | -15
Hamilton was a mixed deck of cards. He did some things well but also committed a few “rookie” mistakes. It’s hard to evaluate him in detail when he doesn’t get consistent playing time.

Normally we do the whole “Five Things We Saw” bit, and while it works, the problem we’ve discovered here lately is that there’s not five things we saw, or three or nine, but rather one thing: EVERYTHING!

Nothing is working with this team right now. We point to the perimeter defense, then the unnecessary doubling, then the turnovers, then the individual disappointments and yet it all amounts to what? That something needs to fixed? Well all be darned!!! The Denver Nuggets have problems! What do you know!?!

You want to know the real problem with this team (and might I add, the fans as well)? Nobody is seeing the big picture, and that’s that this season has been a complete, utter disaster. Sure, the Nuggets are still above .500 and in the hunt for the playoffs. But do you realize how ridiculously optimistic that is? Do you realize how low those standards are, when you look at your favorite team and say, “Well, as long as we’re barely hovering above .500 and in the chase for the playoffs, then I’m satisfied!” Who the hell are we, Cleveland Browns fans? This is a team that’s been loaded with talent for eight years now and yet only once has it realized its potential. This year, Nuggets brass managed to bring back Nene and Afflalo — against all odds; re-sign Gallinari and Wilson Chandler; trade for Andre Miller, Corey Brewer and Rudy Fernandez; draft Kenneth Faried and Jordan Hamilton; and yet here we are in the heart of the Western Conference Playoff race and the Nuggets look as disconsolate, despondent and dejected as a team who’s in the hunt for the No.1 pick in the Draft. HOW IN THE WORLD DOES THIS HAPPEN!?!?! HOW DID WE GET TO THIS POINT?!?!

Have injuries played a role in the Nuggets struggles? Sure. If you really want to find an excuse for why this team is losing, that’s a damn good one. But winners don’t make excuses. And excuses/injuries certainly don’t give you the right to play horrible, uninspired basketball.

The fans deserve better than this. If you take away one thing from this vitriolic rant, that should be it. The fans deserve better. This team has too much talent to be wasting our money and time like this. I may sound like a complainer, but guess what, I have ZERO problems with that because complaining is what loyal fans should do when they seem to care more about their favorite team than the coach and players do. I know this team is better than what’s currently showing on a nightly basis and as a fan, I’m going to voice my frustration as you all should too.

One last parting shot: Since the Nuggets started out the season 14-5 they’ve gone 12-18. Keep in mind, that’s with stealing a few victories against the Kings, Hawks and Pistons and doesn’t even including the rest of the upcoming road trip, which doesn’t look too promising.

So when does this stop? Do the Nuggets keep free falling in the standings while getting blown out a regular basis? At some point the bleeding must cease. Even if it’s just some good, passionate, heartfelt basketball and not wins — we as fans MUST see some life from this team moving forward. Either that, or someone needs to be held accountable.

Posted on March 25, 2012 at 4:20 pm | filed in Analysis, Game Recap, Rapid Reaction | 68 Comments
  • Andrew

    Awful. Nuggets cannot play perimeter D and Karl gets an “F” for playing Moz 6 minutes, Bird 4 and Stone 3 in a blowout loss with players out.

    • bdmacl

      In tandem with your grade of Karl, why doesn’t the coaching staff get a grade every game? I personally blame the coach for the inability to do anything right at this point, and more because nothing is changing.

  • Andrew

    Seriously, Karl might be a decent overall coach, but I honestly think he is the worst game manager in the entire NBA.

    • Dubz

      I 2nd that. He’s great behind the scenes developing players. But when it comes to in game strategy and adapting to game circumstances, he’s absolutely atrocious. I’m actually glad this team has Andre Miller now because he’s the only one who looks like his head is screwed on tight. Karl has totally lost this team

  • Andrew

    I never root for the Nuggets to lose, but they would honestly be better off if they missed the playoffs, replaced Karl and got a beast in the draft. Hopefully Masai and Junior Kroenk have a plan to ship Miller and some other players out to improve.

  • Andrew

    Ha ha. OK. Last post. I still think the Nuggs should either go after the San Antonio assistant coach or bring C Bill back. I thought the Nate McMillan idea was ok. The D’antoni suggestion was terrible. We need somebody that understands defense, half court offense and game management.

  • http://www.swag.com Gerardo

    Let’s break up the roster!!!!!! And trade away as many draft picks and get Anthony Davis!!!!… And even if we do I bet Geroge Karl won’t play him… SMH

  • GK4Prez

    Good game, there were several positives that can be taken from this game moving forward.

    • Andrew

      Ha ha. I had to scroll down to make sure nobody else picked up on your dry wit. That was excellent. I felt like I was reading an excerpt from the Bobs in Office Spaces.

  • al68

    Definitivamente este equipo no sabe a lo que juega en defensa en malisimo, en ataque estatico no saben que hacer,
    Parece un equipo hundido y a la deriva GK no grita ni hace nada cuando necesitamos algo de defensa sobre todo exterior PORQUE NO JUEGA STONE!!!!!!! a ver que pasa.

    LA CONSISTENCIA DE UN EQUIPO EMPIEZA POR LA DEFENSA.

    Hamilton muchas veces estaba solo y nadie le pasa, Mcgee moviendose en ateque muchas veces como un pollo sin cabeza, TENEMOS JUGADAS DE ATAQUE o todo en juego libre.

    Cada vez parece más claro que no entramos en playoff.

  • trekk_the_force

    I beginning to wonder if Lawson will ever understand he has to play fast and smart every game and not relaxed like he has been lately.

    • bdmacl

      This pains me to say it, but we need to get rid of Ty. I also like Mosgov, but with McGee and KK, why don’t we package Ty and Mosgov and go for a taller, quality point guard who actually wants to be a leader. Ty doesn’t look like he has what it takes to direct a team. I thought he had learned under Chauncy, but it doesn’t look like it stuck. As Hastings says, Ty needs to think he is going to score every time he drives, and having clear vision of the floor, take plan B and dish if the defense prevents him from scoring. Instead, he attempts a half-hearted drive only to pass, and the defense knows this. I wish GK would play Stone more so we can see what we have in a real game situation.

    • bdmacl

      This pains me to say it, but we need to get rid of Ty. I also like Mosgov, but with McGee and KK, why don’t we package Ty and Mosgov and go for a taller, quality point guard who actually wants to be a leader. Ty doesn’t look like he has what it takes to direct a team. I thought he had learned under Chauncy, but it doesn’t look like it stuck. As Hastings says, Ty needs to think he is going to score every time he drives, and having clear vision of the floor, take plan B and dish if the defense prevents him from scoring. Instead, he attempts a half-hearted drive only to pass, and the defense knows this. I wish GK would play Stone more so we can see what we have in a real game situation.

      • Andrew

        I don’t want to trade Ty, bu I do agree we need a bigger back up pg. If Stone could develop, maybe he’s the deal. If Karl would play Moz and Bird to boost their stats, they could trade one or both for a serviceable pg just in case Stone does’t work out. Then, I would send Miller to someone desperate for a pg and get back a defensive sg that can shoot an automatic three when he is open. At that point, this team would just need a big, mean, post defending PF and a new head coach. Voila!

        • Joe

          We can’t trade away Miller. The trade deadline has passed, and he is a free agent after this season

        • Golden Fan

          I think RMC has to stop being harsh on Miller. I just read this article and see why he’s important to this team:

          http://www.denverstiffs.com/2012/3/20/2888239/the-truth-about-andre-miller-and-the-value-of-lineups

          • Kyle Obergfell

            I agree that he has shouldered way too much of the blame..
            He is by no means a complete player..
            but he still gets the assists night in and out..
            Plus in January.. he was the biggest weapon in several games.

            If what I saw in Sacramento happened all year..
            he would win 6th man of the year hands down.

  • Dubz

    It’s amazing how we lost Nene and suddenly this team looks like it has no identity. I was a supporter of that trade but I’m starting to wonder if Nene was just another victim of GK’s system. Look what Nene has done in 3 games in Washington. He’s had 2 20pt 10 Rbnd efforts in 3 games. How many of those did he have in the last 2 years in Denver? Amazing. Also, Brewer can’t start. He’s great in short stints off the bench, but he kills the team when he plays large stretches at a time. Start JHam over Brewer if Afflalo is out. Come on Karl!

  • Evan S

    Yeah Brewer killed us tonight with alot of long jumpers. Javale should be the starter now, theres no doubt about it. With him and Faried in at the same time they can be tough to score on. They were the reason for that little surge in the 3rd quarter that got it down to 17. Andre Miller is absolutely terrible when he’s in though he doesn’t play any defense it’s so frustrating.

    • Charlie

      The good news is I think the breaking point has been reached and JaVale should start from here on out.

  • ny nugs fan

    it’s not the players; it’s very clearly the lineups on the floor; our substitutions tend to put weaker, not stronger lineups on the floor

    there is now reason that stone and hamilton shouldn’t be getting good minutes

    and the whole miller lawson deal is making lawson least effective bcse old man miller thinks that he should be the pg, but he’s probably the worst pg in the western conference; and it’s screwing up lawson’s growth and making him look not “aggressive” (which is a line of popular thinking that i never bought into)

    i would sit miller and give those minutes to stone

  • HD

    Bird needed to play more, so did stone, and Hamilton. Game was over by the half time and maybe these energy guys could have provided a spark. Bird did in his 5 minutes or so of playing. Also why doesn’t mozgov play more and get the ball in the post like NENE used to. He has nice range and some nice post moves. I wish we would use him…

  • Jeff G

    I’m starting to doubt coach K! Over a 1000 wins is great, no championship though?? I’m starting to think he is a average coach that had very good teams!
    If you look at the teams that won the last 10-15 championships the thing they had in common is they had TWO 7 foot starters playing at the same time. Karl can you please put mozgof at the power forward position and mcgee at the center!
    I’m also starting to doubt a gaurd that lives with a bunch of dudes and not a chick.

    • Andrew

      Ha ha. Who’s that?

  • italianintellecto

    pf/sf: chandler: another fair game B–.
    pf faried: horrible in D. but energetic on Offence C+
    pf: harrington: gk makes him a center….
    so D, but better an “F” to GK:

    sf: brewer bad on the offense and defense D
    sf: jham fair on defense and offense B+

    c: timo….again a starter? F–
    horrible on offense, but for the first time decent on the help defense.
    c: mcgee…emotionally bad in the first, but in the second absolutely great on defence. A+ and good on offence
    c: andersen: good on offence but very bad on d C+

    pg: lawson….that’s a leader? lol F——-
    pg: miller…..good on A, and very very bad on D……. C+

    the story is:
    fire GK, for this imputation:

    1. for giving credit to ty, that’s only a question of staying “aggressive”, without teaching how to defend, and how to create plays alà miller or felton.

    2. to over-stimate timo and bypass the directories of masai, creating every time with timo a break in the offensive system.

    3. to mix the 2PG line-up, with crazy zone-defense, and limitating all the potentially of the team on the run both at the enf og the paint with no-sense rotation.

    there’s only one solution: fire gk.
    that will no be in the next 2 years….

    the hope for us, fans, is to recreate some of the energy we have at the beginning of the season, and pray we can see a better game.

    obviously, no hope in PO, when the scoring and pace, will behalf.

    good luck with timo. lol!

  • http://www.swag.com Gerardo

    How long till the Front office realizes that George Karl will never take us to the promise land? Only 1 good year the others failures.. 7 years of playing lousy against sub 500 teams, 7 years of playing 2 guards… 7 years of having a horrible defense… He’s a good guy, but as a coach I think he’s one of the most overrated…. Lots of players didn’t like playing for him not just melo and JR. Always gets out coached… Never gives players advice when he calls timeouts… He always says “Gentlemen run run run”…. In the western conference finals back in 09 it should of been a championship year for us… It should have been a sweep against the lakers… And I understand he was coaching against Phil Jackson but Phil made Karl look like a girls high school basketball coach… First Anthony Carter inbounding the ball against lamar odom then carter playing defense on Kobe…. Going small against them… I could go on and on… I get depressed every time I see the highlights of that series… But anyways.. I have hope that masai Ujiri will see Karls not the right coach for us… Faried would of still been riding the bench if nene never got injured… Like its incredible… I never want my favorite team to lose but if we do keep losing like this I hope Karl is gon… And we make a play and move up in this years loaded draft class….

    • bdmacl

      I hear you Geraldo. I too hate to wish for losses. But if that is what it will take to get rid of Karl, and possibly get a decent draft pick, so be it. Hell, even if we don’t get a draft pick and Karl goes bye-bye, it is worth it. I have to agree with everything you have said. If Karl was playing chess, he would be the easiest person to beat, every time, because you know exactly what he is going to do, every time.

      • Andrew

        Haha. Unfortunately, Karl is playing checkers…everyone else is playing chess.

  • Kyle Obergfell

    I’m sorry but I’m posting stats again.
    This just continues to blow me away.

    Minnesota shot 35 three point attempts.
    Word is spreading fast re: our generous perimeter defense..
    And Wolves took an incredible 99 total shots from the floor.
    That was helped by bullying Nuggets D for 18 offensive rebounds.

    Another game flirting with giving up 120 on defense.

    I’m not sure why Brewer and Mosgov keep getting in the
    starting lineup. IDK.. but it seems GK uses starting lineups
    as a power ploy. Why he seems to keep rewarding Mosgov
    for being so completely worthless… I have no idea.

    Glad to see Birdman in for a whopping 5 minutes though.

    • Kyle Obergfell

      Oh .. can’t forget K-Love’s 21 rebounds.

      Got to have some reason to keep watching.

      The futility on defense is getting near legendary.

  • Bryan

    Here comes the lottery.

  • jc

    Karl needs to learn that the nuggets win with defense if he dosent then he needs to go

  • bosc0

    I’m not one to rat on a coach ever, but after seeing such a good lineup play so pathetically, where else do you turn.

    The Nuggets have an amazing amount of talent, only half of which is utilised due to poor in game managment.

    GK NEEDS to play the hot players! He also needs to realise that rebounds are our key! If we dominate the boards and get as many s/c points as we can, we win! Simple.
    Playing a small lineup has proven not to work. Most of our bigs are athletic and push the floor, so why not run with them? The Manimal and MaGee combo will work well as shown and stated above.

    Things aren’t working GK, time to change it up man! The talent is there, no doubt!

    • bdmacl

      If you have read any of my other posts today, you know I want GK to go, and am very critical of him. However I do have to express shock that today was one of the first times I saw him actually leave the team on the floor that was hot, even when he had Harrington going to the table before a TO, and then didn’t put him in. But one good decision doesn’t outweigh the hundreds of bad decisions.

  • Kyle Obergfell

    Kalen,
    for what ever it’s worth..
    best commentary of the year.

  • DAN

    I appreciate Karl for the man he is and the job he has done coaching in the past, it just seems like he’s lost it. Lost his fire lost this team and lost the will to win.
    As Andrew said I can never root for my team to lose but until we go a different way with the coach we will. The team has just checked out, it’s time Karl did too.

  • NickL

    huge disappointment? absolutely?
    inflated expectations? I’d also say–more controversially–ABSOLUTELY.

    we have Gallo, Lawson, Faried, all of whom could solidify their status as good NBA starters next year; and we have a bunch of average NBA players, guys on the way up or the way down, but not guys who are major assets right now. with good coaching and effort on defense, Gallo in the lineup, everybody healthy, maybe this team wins one playoff series.

    if you look at most lineup based states [eg 82games], AAA looks like a real weakness. he’s a stand-up guy, but what’s his NBA skill? can’t create his shot, not a shutdown defender: close enough to average at everything that the total package is way overvalued. I would be shopping him around, for draft picks, to teams that think he might be the missing piece.

    basically, we’re gonna be in the frustrating middle of the NBA for a while. gotta hope one of the three abovementioned guys takes the leap, or we luck out with a lottery pick.

  • http://espn.com Chris

    Geoge Karl is horrible, Mosgov is weak, and not very atheletic, George Karl has no idea on how to play these guys, why do u think Karl ha never won with any of his teams. Bill Lambeer is need now,

  • Jason

    Goodness gracious Kalen, would you at least be fair in your analysis of Andre Miller. We get it – you hate him. And some of your frustration with Miller is valid. But Miller was one of the only players out there playing with some heart and effort. He far and away outplayed Ty Lawson. Give credit where credit is due. Though to be fair, the whole team played like a Jr Varsity team out there.

  • Max Ireland

    I think GK lost his edge. Whatever he once had isn’t working. His nonchalance and dislike of rookies does not mix well with his extremely young team. They’re obviously not being held accountable and it shows in lack of effort which translates into lack of wins. Just sitting on the bench smirking or shaking his head might work if Chauncey or Kobe are on the floor, but these guys are young and need to be COACHED. Pulling them the second they make a mistake doesn’t help them develop either. Repeat mistakes? Sure, but give them a chance. George Karl is well suited to coach an All Star team or something, but it’s not working for the Nuggets. Time to get someone who cares more!

  • Alex

    It makes me sick to my stomach to see a young Jazz team that is consitrating on building around a strong young core and playing good basketball that can win games. Then look at the Nuggets who are more talented and just crapping away their full potential, right now I hope we miss the playoffs and get a lottery pick and a new coach that focuses on defense and the very talented young core that we have. Also in the off season let miller and rudy go. Last of all J Stone is dieing to play and is going to work hard to get better so since this season is a joke why not let him play and get some game experience. College teams play better defense than the Nuggets.

  • Will

    did Lawson have a bad stat line? Yes he did. 5-14 fg is terrible and most starting point guards can easily rack up 5 assists. plus he had only 2 rebounds.. we all like him cause hes fast but hes just an average point guard most nights.

  • Andrew

    As I look up at all of the comments, I am suddenly feel in very optimistic. If so many of us are questioning Karl’s personnel decisions and game management, you can bet Masai, et al have at least broached the subject. So, the more this turns into a stinker of a season, the more likely Nuggs management will had to reevaluate Karl. At that point, if they really burn to win a championship, they are going to have to realize that they must take a chance on someone else coaching these players to see what they can get out of them. After seeing the Nene for McGee trade, I am confident that management IS looking to win and they will be moving Miller/Moz and possibly some others to get this team closer to a championship run. GO NUGGS!

  • Whimanji

    I agree with everyone comment made here. GK is the reason this young talented team isn’t flying. The only reason why he is still here is because chauncey took us to the conference finals and saved his job. Too many years of underachieving. We hve made some good player changes but now let’s make a great coaching change.

  • evan

    Can we have melo back yet.?

    • evan

      Please?

    • Kyle Obergfell

      I would rather have Chauncey any day.

  • Whimanji

    Really? Melo?

  • allAround

    Hi again, McGee and Farried should start playing defence this is one of our problems .Espetially McGee should stop try blocking every shot and start keeping some “space” inside .

    Example:

    http://www.nba.com/games/20120325/DENMIN/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0021100720#nbaGIboxscore

    With the changes to our “bigs” we have become worse in defence.

    I hope McGee learns how to defend , but I am not betting on that since he is a player that loves to go for the block ( looks better in his stats )

  • Greco21

    allAround I agree 100%. While fans see value and excitement in Farried and McGee i see defense breaking down. They might be good shot blockers but if you pile up the points in the paint or the percentage of in the paint baskets they are not encouraging. So i would not agree to the B and B+ handed to them. Especially when Kevin Love reaches his average so easily. I mean its ok if Kevin Love puts great number against you because he works really hard. But I kind of believe that this was one of his easiest great statistical nights.

    Afflalo and Gallo are obviously key parts of the team.

    George Karl needs a new strategy. A new plan. Double teams and traps with specific line-ups are not effective

  • stevesf47

    IF we don’t make playoffs, GK should be let go right? I mean we all had high expectations. We went 18-7 after melo trade last year. We started 15-7 or something like that this year. This is unacceptable right?

    Would MGMT let him go? Do they have the balls to do it? idk

    If they would, i like Mcmillian but not sure he’s a great fit. He’s a great coach especially D which is what we need but he loves a slow pace offense. I do NOT want Dantonio in here. He’s basically the same as GK. Very stubborn and cant coach D at all.

    I’d love a shot at Scott Skiles if the Bucks decide to let him go, but that’s doubtful.

    Other Candidates:
    Brian Shaw – Runs a triangle, not sure if we want that.
    John Calipari – Dribble drive offense and always been a solid D coach. Would love him.
    Mike Malone – Dont know much about him but hear he’s a top assistant.
    Mike Budenholzer – SA assistant under Pop. Any coach under Pop would be a solid coach imo lol.
    Patrick Ewing – Would help groom our Bigs
    Kelvin Sampson – Good underrated coach
    Mike Woodson – If he’s not brought back by NY. Iso type coach, not sure it’s a fit.

    • al68

      Obradovic es bastante mejor que todos esos, lo único es que es europeo y creo que en USA no lo aceptariais muy bien, pero es el mejor entrenador que yo conozco ahora mismo en el mundo.

  • Ryan

    Going along with what everyone else is saying, there have been times when a team has quit on their coach (e.g. the Pistons mutiny on Kuester), but in this case, it seems that Karl quit on the team first by playing favorites with his bizarre lineups. When players realize that their performance has no impact on the amount of playing time they get (e.g. Andersen), it’s hard not to rebel against the coach. It may be a chicken or the egg thing, but I definitely blame Karl more than the players’ effort

    • Kyle Obergfell

      absolutely Ryan..
      That goes the other way as well…
      ie… Mosgov.. has never lost his
      starting job (other than injury)
      all season.
      Brewer chocks in the minutes
      despite being a disaster.

      Birdman is the example I’ve used
      all year. How in the hell does anyone
      see Mosgov earning more minutes..
      let alone being a starter on this team??

  • DH

    An article in the Post said that Karl has been preaching defense for the last week or so. In that time, we’ve had about as bad a defensive stretch as I can possibly imagine from this team. It seems obvious to me that the players are tuning him out.

    I don’t think he’s going anywhere this year, though. So maybe AAA, K2, and Gallo will come back, McGee will get acclimated, and things will turn around 180 degrees. But it doesn’t seem likely, to say the least.

  • Smokin nugs

    I’m someone who generally doesn’t like to dog on Karl because I think the coaching job is very complex and hard to evaluate…but I think he should be fired. And right now. Anything to get it into our players heads that they need to play inspired ball again.

  • Charles

    Can they win 12 of the next 18? Then what should we say?

  • JO

    Look, I will never be one to hope my team loses so we can get a desirable outcome. If we continue to lose, GK needs to go. It looks as though he has lost his team. This team could easily jump from 9th to 4th if we could figure out how to string a few wins together, which seems like it would be enough motivation for the players. Yet, they seem disinterested and passionless. They have no guts or determination on the defensive end and are painfully lazy and disinterested, outside of Faried. No one fights through screens, no one makes a wholehearted “I want to be here” effort to hedge screens and there are countless miscommunications on switches, leading to wide open jumpers. A lot of this has to do with GK’s leadership, his ability to motivate or hold players accountable. He constantly sticks to his substitution patterns, so players know they’re going to get their minutes regardless of their effort or lack thereof. Conversely, he sits Faried in favor of Harrington, which further tells everyone on the team that effort doesn’t matter. Either GK has to change, or the front office has to make a coaching change.

  • DJ

    Kalen….Let you know that I directed Scott Hastings to your rant (which I fully agree with and have said for a long time) and he took a read. His response …. “Interesting”

    I missed the beginning of his talk show, so he may have mentioned this blog…might have to check that out.

    • Kalen

      Whoa, that’s crazy. Thanks. I was talking with him on Twitter but didn’t mention anything about the blog. Not sure if you’ll see this, but how exactly did you direct him here?

  • Guy

    Teams like Philly, Memphis, Indiana and Houston have been successful playing without a true star because they commit to playing defense. That is the only way teams without stars can win. You can’t outscore good teams with inferior players. So either the Nuggets need to do whatever they can to get stars or they need to get a coach and players who will commit to defense. Our perimeter defense is nonexistant which is inexcusable considering we have 4 7ft’ers. Andre Miller’s stat lines are completly meaningless because he can’t guard my mailbox. I don’t see too many Nuggets games out here on the West Coast but couldn’t take watching Miller come down every posession against Utah and either shoot it himself or make one pass to Harrington, completely ignoring the other 3 players on the floor.
    No player with possibly the exception of Faried and McGee should feel safe in the offseason. I’d keep McGee because there are so few decent centers nowadays. I’d love to see the Nuggets go after a pick that would give us Kidd-Gilchrist, Bradley Beal or Marquis Teague later in the 1st round.

    • GK4Prez

      Guy: Yes to Kidd-Gilchrist, no to the other two. Gilchrist is going to be a T. Allen type lock down defender in the NBA, he is pure effort and hustle. Whatever team gets him is going to get a gem.

      Beal is a bit small, doesn’t have the greatest handle, and while the form on his shot is very nice, he misses quite often.

      Teague, I don’t know what it is about him, but I am just not sold on him and I have watched several Kentucky games this season. Maybe I am being too rough on the young man because trying to keep a college all-star team happy all season long is no easy task and he did manage to do it and do it quite well.

      Next topic:

      I really think people are being too harsh on Ty Lawson, look who he starts with compared to who Dre comes in with. Ty starts the game out with Moz and Faried, Moz can’t catch and Faried really has nothing run for him at all, so basically it is Ty, AA, and Will.

      Harrington comes in with Dre, Moz or Faried sit for AL, and either Ty or AA sit for Dre. The offense is more balanced with this lineup and recently it has been even more balanced because Mcgee has been coming in with them. For all of the dislike that gets thrown at AL, he is a much better offensive player than Mozgov/Faried right now.

      What makes it even worse on Ty is when the Nuggets are forced into a half court set, they run a high p&r where Moz is the guy setting the pick, he rolls, he never pops, which clogs the lane and prevents Lawson from penetrating.

      Maybe I am wrong in all of this, but I am not ready to throw the towel in on Ty yet.

  • GK4Prez

    Another thing that is making Lawson stand out as being bad is the fact that the Nuggets defense has sucked for several games now. His strength of running isn’t being utilized because a team can’t run in transition when they are always taking the ball out of the net to start the offense. Yes, he is a big part of the problem on the defensive end, but he is far from the only problem on that end of the floor.

  • bosc0

    Nuggets will beat the Bulls by 6-10 today, just sayin…

    • bosc0

      Awwww man! So close, nearly had some $!

  • chronicnugs

    not sure how we get smoked by the twolves and 8 of the 11 players get ‘C’ or higher ratings. unless getting rocked by a mediocre team is average. then this makes sense.

    Al and Corey both got a D+. Let’s review their combined stat line….

    58 minutes, 5-17 fg, 16 pts, 5 reb, 4 asst, AND A COMBINED -38.

    Can someone explain to me how thats a D+ and not a rock solid F for both players?

  • gfacekillah8

    as much as i hate to say it i am kind of glad we are going in the tank right now. i absolutely hate watching the nuggets lose (especially to the effing jazz) but once we traded Nene we weren’t going to win anything more than a couple of playoff games. now we are going to hopefully end up in a stacked lottery where we can continue to develop our young core. my hope is that masai keeps the core of ty, gallo, AAA, chandler, faried and mcgee together and uses the lottery pick on a power forward with a good low post game or a knock down shooter. i think if masai really thought we could compete this year he would have kept Nene. but the writing was on the wall that the other teams were better than us and he needed to clear room to rebuild. the future looks bright for the nuggets even though this season is as good as gone.

  • economy

    I would buy a reproduction of this. The trouble with true vintage clothing is fragility. You can’t relax when you wear it for fear of getting something on it.


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