Carmelo Anthony to be Benched?

[-Slap-]

George Karl has never been afraid to criticize his superstars, but its a pretty risky move in the player's league the NBA has become.

Report: 'Melo Could Find Seat On Nuggets Bench (http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006669582)

March 7, 2007 8:26 a.m. EST

Matthew Smith - All Headline News Sports Reporter

Denver, CO (AHN) - Carmelo Anthony could find a seat on the bench if he doesn't pick up his game fast.

Coach George Karl, according to the Denver Post, has been unhappy about Anthony's attitude and performance.

"I think that's the next move," Karl said, according to the Post. "I've told Melo in the last two weeks, 'I don't think you're listening. I don't think you're listening as well as you need to listen.' For me, the next step is to change the democracy back to a dictatorship."

http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/1910/sptcodz105nuggetscamplo7.jpg

Anthony has had a troubled season highlighted by a 15-game suspension for his involvement in a December brawl against the New York Knicks. Since Allen Iverson's arrival, the Nuggets have been in a tailspin, compiling a 15-20 record, which has dropped them into the seventh seed in the Western Conference.

"The inconsistencies, we have excuses for. But I'm tired of seeing it," Karl said, according to the Post.

Anthony could be distracted by other things, including the impending birth of his child. Regardless of what's keeping him askew, Karl would like to see less scoring from Anthony, who averaged 31.2 points the last five games heading in Tuesday.

"Personally, I think Melo should forget about scoring," Karl said, according to the Post.

Anthony scored just 21 points in the Nuggets' win Tuesday.

"Prove to people I don't have to score 30 points to win a basketball game," Anthony said, according to AP.

Karl said his comments were intended for the entire team, not just Anthony. But after Tuesday's game, Karl talked about the maturation process of Tracy McGrady, saying he'd like to see Anthony make similar progress.

"Tracy McGrady has grown up. Tracy McGrady gets it," Karl said, according to the Post. "And, right now, what you're saying is basically, 'When is Melo going to get it? Is it going to be next month?' As a coach, there's no one more frustrated, there's no one more angry than me, because I feel the pain."

[-Slap-]

Melo's not the only young superstar who's getting a lot of public scrutiny right now.

Q - Why shouldn't you ask LeBron James to give you change for a dollar?

A - Because LeBron can only give you three quarters.

Unfair expectations for such a young athlete? Maybe, but he is $100 million player and he's cultivating a reputation as a guy who misses a lot of big shots and big free throws.

James fails to produce in clutch for Cavs (http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6522086)

Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com

Cleveland's frustrating 95-92 loss Thursday night in Dallas demonstrated why the Cavaliers are not yet ready for prime-time. On the flip side, the Cavs did give some indications that their future does offer at least a glimmer of hope.

What's wrong with the Cavs

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/3361/6518792362pg0.jpg
LeBron James scored 39 points
but missed big shots down the
stretch.

Collectively, they missed a total of nine layups: Eric Snow blew 3, Donyell Marshall and Zydrunas Ilguaskas each missed 2, Sasha Pavlovic and David Wesley missed one each. All that coach Mike Brown could do about these abject failures was to say, "Ouch!"

The game marked Ilgauskas' third appearance since he returned to the team after his wife prematurely delivered stillborn twins. Obviously this was a devastating personal tragedy that affected his performance. Still, he was scoreless in 19 minutes and was even more timid than usual near the basket. Repeatedly faking and re-faking instead of boldly challenging the defense. He took fadeaway jumpers instead of attacking the hoop, while missing all three of his field-goal attempts and both of his free throws.

Yes, there were mitigating circumstances. Nevertheless it's clear that the Cavs are going nowhere with Ilgauskas and his cotton-candy game clogging up the middle.

Anderson Varejao played his usual energetic defense, yet he was often confused on the Mavs' ball-penetration. Such as making a tentative show on a driving Dirk Nowitzki, but lingering too long and allowing DeSagana Diop to execute a catch-and-dunk behind him. Varejao also needs to develop some kind of go-to offensive move.

Snow can play savvy body-up defense above the arc, but lacks the lateral quickness to keep his man out of the paint. In his younger days, Snow could drive to the middle, then spin, fade and let loose an accurate jumper. These days, he can't score with a pencil.

Drew Gooden works hard, can knock down uncontested mid-range jumpers and is a decent one-on-one defender. But he's simply talent-deficient and is best suited to be a backup power forward.

Marshall can't play a lick of defense.

Pavlovic can't defend quickness.

Young Daniel Gibson makes poor decisions when he picks up his dribble and looks to pass. The rookie's defense is earnest, but he (understandably) has difficulty defending screen/rolls. He also loses concentration when playing off-the-ball defense.

LeBron James plays defense with his hands. Swiping at the ball. Reaching and gambling for steals. Avoiding body contact. Seldom showing on S/Rs.

When LBJ doesn't have the ball in his hands (and often when he does), the offense is stagnant. Where are the weak-side screens? The dive-cuts? The curls?

The team defense is full of holes. Their bigs show too high and too long on most S/R, limiting their ability to recover. This tactic wouldn't be so damaging if their teammates' baseline rotations were more efficient, and if they had a legitimate shot-blocker roaming the paint.

Little things mean a lot department: After every Dallas score, the Cavs were programmed to have their point guard in-bound the ball. Unless the pass came to LeBron, the ball was returned to the point, who then carried the ball across the time-line. This is a bad idea for several reasons.

Two passes are required before the ball can be moved toward the attack zone.

If the defense suddenly springs a backcourt press wherein a small forward or a power forward steps up to harass the in-bounds pass, the point guard's vision is easily compromised.

If such a press/trap does occur and the ball is successfully in-bounded, then a lesser ball-handler is forced to move it downcourt or make the proper pass under extreme pressure.
That's why the wisest course is to have a big man (usually a power forward) be assigned the task of putting the ball in play after the opponent scores. Only one pass gets the rock into the right hands. The bigger in-bounder will also have an easier time seeing the court and making the correct pass.

The Cavs' most egregious wrong, however, was LeBron's miserable performance in the endgame. In the last minute of play, he missed both shots from the stripe (will the Cavs' opponents begin resorting to a Bop-A-Bron strategy?), and then bricked a back-to-back brace of uncontested treys that would have knotted the score. Indeed, LBJ's habitual failures in the clutch are even more alarming than his half-hearted attempts to play defense.

What's right with the Cavs

Nobody in the league has a better left hand than James. And nobody — not even Dwyane Wade — is more potent when he drives the lane. In halfcourt situations, LeBron attacked the basket with his dribble a total of 13 times with the following results:

He made six layups and one floater.

An erstwhile assist pass went for naught when Ziggy missed a layup.

He missed a right-handed hook.

According to the book, he had a layup blocked. In actually, he was blatantly fouled.

He was fouled twice.

He threw an out-pass that gained no advantage.

On his only two fast-break opportunities, LBJ dropped in a layup and was hacked in the act.

Also, when someone else triggered the offense and LeBron, moving from the weak- to the strong-side, was enabled to catch-and-attack, he was 4-for-4.

He missed the only shot that eventuated when he caught the ball in the low-post. Hey, Coach! What about sending him into the pivot more often?

He was 2-for-2 from midrange and, deleting his clutch-time misses, was 3-for-6 from the perimeter.

Overall, James was 17-27 from the field and recorded 39 points. Obviously, the guy's a monster on offense. One of the most explosive point-makers extant. Just as obviously, one-man bands can make a lot of noise, but can't play symphonies.

Oh, he did make one excellent play on defense when he rotated into the middle and forced Nowitzki to turn into another help-defender.

What else can Cavs' fans pin their hopes on?

Gibson's potential. He's a shooter who will eventually learn how to be a play-maker.

Marshall's streaky shooting, which can keep both teams in the game.

Varejao's hustle and athleticism.

Although every questionable call went against Pavlovic, the guy is a player. He can attack the basket with power, quickness and enough creativity to be effective. Pavlovic can also knock down triples, although he needs plenty of time and space. And he can do a decent job defending opponents of comparable size and quickness.

Shannon Brown impressed greatly in his 7-minute rotation. He bagged a 3-ball, showed outstanding quickness and speed, and has lively skills. Hey, Coach! Give this young man more burn! What have you got to lose?

If the Mavs played only as hard as they had to, the best aspect of the Cavs' game was that they never went belly-up. Their perpetual hustle and grit wasn't enough to overcome a vastly superior team, but they sure made Mark Cuban sweat.

For the time being, the Cavs' resilience and heart are definite indications that their future will be better than their present. But only if the roster is properly tweaked during the off-season, and only if LBJ commits himself to playing both ends of the court.

In the timeless world of the NBA, however, it's commonplace for ifs to quickly become certainties.

[freak6]

Melo needs to listen to his wise coach, forget scoring just to score. He's best when he takes it within the flow of the game. Outside of the 4th qtr, he needs to just play hard basketball. The points will come.

[Taco John]

The NBA has become a developmental league.

[RhymesayersDU]

Good post Slap. I was going to post the DP article but I got sidetracked and forgot.

What has happened to this draft class? LeBron is choking away everything, DWade is talking **** to Dirk and then getting carted off the court in tears, and now Melo may be benched. Besides Chris Bosh, they're all going to ****.

Anyways, I've cut Carmelo a lot of slack for various reasons, but there is one glaring statistic that was mentioned in the DP article that wasn't mentioned in the article above: Carmelo had more double-doubles in 1 year at Syracuse than he has in 3 1/2 years in Denver. Granted, Carmelo isn't asked to rebound a lot, because he's supposed to be getting out on the break to run-and-gun, but still, he played what, maybe 40 games at Syracuse counting tournaments (pre-season and post-season)?

I'm as big of a Melo fan as there is, but that is just plain crap.

[crush17]

He's more concerned with his thug image then playing winning, team basketball.

I hate the NBA right now.

[Nuggets4]

I hate the Nugs right now.

[Tredici]

Give 19 year old kids a bizzillon dollars and then except them to have any type of urgency in earning it?

Gosh, I can't figure out where that formula might go wrong.

[Garcia Bronco]

I hate to break this to you good folks, Athony isn't really that good of a basketball player.

[TheChamp24]

I hate to break this to you good folks, Athony isn't really that good of a basketball player.

Right, he totally sucks and should be out of the league or at best a backup who gets 10 minutes a game.

[Garcia Bronco]

Right, he totally sucks and should be out of the league or at best a backup who gets 10 minutes a game.

That's not what I said....people think he's a 10....when really....he's a 7. ESPiN and the like are looking for the next Jordon and they are trying to call the shot. So guys like Anthony get a bunch of hype they really don't deserve.

[sixtimeseight]

I'm sure Carmelo's really torn up about a pasty, overweight 40 year old calling him overrated. I bet he's crying into his piles of money about it.

[GonzoLays]

I watched a Nuggs game the other night and they were unbearable to watch. They looked like a really, really, really talented rec league team out there.

If it wasn't Iverson going one on five it was Carmelo shooting as soon as he touched the ball. No ball movement, no TEAM.

You can take Iverson out of Philly, but you can't take the Philly out of Iverson. The guy still plays like he has George Lynch and Eric Snow running the wings. I must say that I am very dissapointed in the way he is playing. I thought for sure he would have been a 10 assist a game man with Melo and Smith but he still plays like he is at the Y. Iverson is not a PG and never will be. I was completely wrong about that guy. The only reason he racks up high assist numbers is because the ball is always in his hands.

I thought the Nuggs were perfectly constructed after the A.I. trade. You had your two big time scorers (Melo and AI) with a plethora of role players (Najera, Camby, Evans, Blake, Yinkira, Klieza, Nene) to compliment the defencies of their two superstars. But no. And they are not even close to complimenting each others talents.

I read the other day from some paper that Karl said he might miss Miller more than Melo does. How true was that comment or did Karl even make it? I don't know, but there is a lot of truth to it. When you have a guy averaging 32 points a game, you need to compliment him with players who fit into to that agenda.

Maybe it is early, but I don't see the marriage between Iverson and Melo working.

[BroncoBuff]

Last night's win over the Bobcats supposedly fixed everything. 'Melo had just 21 points, but tallied 6 rebounds, 7 assists and supposedly played some actual defense ... :~ohyah!:

[RhymesayersDU]

I watched a Nuggs game the other night and they were unbearable to watch. They looked like a really, really, really talented rec league team out there.

If it wasn't Iverson going one on five it was Carmelo shooting as soon as he touched the ball. No ball movement, no TEAM.

You can take Iverson out of Philly, but you can't take the Philly out of Iverson. The guy still plays like he has George Lynch and Eric Snow running the wings. I must say that I am very dissapointed in the way he is playing. I thought for sure he would have been a 10 assist a game man with Melo and Smith but he still plays like he is at the Y. Iverson is not a PG and never will be. I was completely wrong about that guy. The only reason he racks up high assist numbers is because the ball is always in his hands.

I thought the Nuggs were perfectly constructed after the A.I. trade. You had your two big time scorers (Melo and AI) with a plethora of role players (Najera, Camby, Evans, Blake, Yinkira, Klieza, Nene) to compliment the defencies of their two superstars. But no. And they are not even close to complimenting each others talents.

I read the other day from some paper that Karl said he might miss Miller more than Melo does. How true was that comment or did Karl even make it? I don't know, but there is a lot of truth to it. When you have a guy averaging 32 points a game, you need to compliment him with players who fit into to that agenda.

Maybe it is early, but I don't see the marriage between Iverson and Melo working.

I'll start from the bottom up, because I keep hearing everybody say that "Oh no, the Carmelo/AI experiment isn't working." The problem isn't Carmelo and AI, at least offensively speaking. AI does a lot of passing, to be quite honest, but nobody on our team can score consistently. Nobody can finish besides Melo and AI. I guarantee if we looked at the box scores of all the games, you'd see the losses all have the common denominator of guys like Steve Blake having 0 points, Camby having under 10, etc. I'm not going to say that AI is a Steve Nash type guy, but at least in the games I've seen, he's shared the ball. But guys either aren't catching the passes or they're missing shots.

I'm not saying Carmelo and AI are perfect, but even if they both throw up 30 points, we still are struggling finding the other 30-40. JR Smith is hot and cold. Actually, all of the guys are.

We want to play Suns style basketball, but that only works if you have consistent scorers at all 5 positions. We don't. Not even close. In the past week or so, Nene has been coming on strong as a 3rd scorer, and games have been better for the Nugs.

This season is lost. But Carmelo and AI will be fine, IMO. Who will decide the team's success? Nene and JR Smith next season. If they can be consistent, it's going to be gravy. If not, we're going to have problems. Role players are good to a point, but you need guys in between role player and superstar to help fill out the team.

Nene will be the key, because he is the only guy who can score down low. Marcus Camby just shoots jumpshots. Melo can post up, but we need a PF or C who can stay down low and score.

I don't even want to start on defense. That would be a whole book.

[rubaiyat]

Good post Slap. I was going to post the DP article but I got sidetracked and forgot.

What has happened to this draft class? LeBron is choking away everything, DWade is talking **** to Dirk and then getting carted off the court in tears, and now Melo may be benched. Besides Chris Bosh, they're all going to ****.

Anyways, I've cut Carmelo a lot of slack for various reasons, but there is one glaring statistic that was mentioned in the DP article that wasn't mentioned in the article above: Carmelo had more double-doubles in 1 year at Syracuse than he has in 3 1/2 years in Denver. Granted, Carmelo isn't asked to rebound a lot, because he's supposed to be getting out on the break to run-and-gun, but still, he played what, maybe 40 games at Syracuse counting tournaments (pre-season and post-season)?

I'm as big of a Melo fan as there is, but that is just plain crap.


Unfair expectations? The group in 3 years has a title amongst them. They need 8 to match Bird/Magic...and they are still playing rookie scale contracts.

I'll wait and see.

And Melo has Camby/Martin/Nene taking up rebounds...

Though he could certainly pass more.

[Garcia Bronco]

Another thing people need to come to the realization...NBA basketball has ruined team basketball. It's almost un-watchable from a TV perspective until the near end of the game...and the season.

[Nuggets4]

Another thing people need to come to the realization...NBA basketball has ruined team basketball. It's almost un-watchable from a TV perspective until the near end of the game...and the season.

Are there other mods that like to troll threads or are you the only one Garcia? Isn't there a baseball thread you could be ruining right now?

[RhymesayersDU]

Unfair expectations? The group in 3 years has a title amongst them. They need 8 to match Bird/Magic...and they are still playing rookie scale contracts.

I'll wait and see.

And Melo has Camby/Martin/Nene taking up rebounds...

Though he could certainly pass more.

Fair enough on your first point.

As for your second point, you're right. On a night to night basis, Carmelo won't sniff a double double because his job isn't to rebound, it's to get out on the break and run the ball.

But still, He's played what, around 300 games for the Nuggs? He should have more double doubles than he had in one 40-game season in college.

[Clockwork Orange]

On the positive side, Carmelo seemed to take the message to heart as he only took 18 shots last night, grabbed 7 boards and dished out 6 assists to go with one of his better defensive efforts in a while.

That's what he needs to bring to the floor every night. Not just when he's called out by his head coach, every night.

Camby also had a very nice game. Hopefully he's done pouting over his lack of a role in the offense. He's been like that ever since Iverson got here and it became apparent that some of the shots Iverson was going to take away were going to be his. Sorry, Marcus. Maybe if you weren't a 6'11 guy with no post up game to speak of (how on earth that happened is beyond me, but that's another thread entirely) you're not going to have plays run for you.

Let's see how long it all lasts.

[Garcia Bronco]

Are there other mods that like to troll threads or are you the only one Garcia? Isn't there a baseball thread you could be ruining right now?

I can appreciate where you are coming from, but I'll put it to you like this....there is no matchup from a team perspective today as good as anything that occurred in the 70's, 80's, and mid-90's league wide. Lakers/Miami today doesn't even come close to the pure entertainment value of the Laker/Celtics(70's/80's), Detriot/Celtics(80's/90's), Detriot/Bulls(80's/90's)Miami/Knicks(90's), Bulls/Knicks(90's), Indiana/Knicks(90's), Indiana/Bulls(90's). The team game isn't there and it's a handful of dedicated players now versus a league through out those times. It's a main stay of uneducated thugs playing a game with little to no concept of winning a championship. It's all about the money.


Now...you can call it great...or you can get mad about that and do what many have done in the past decade....turn it off...because it's become a waste of time to invest your emotion in a collection of guys that do not care about winning.

[Taco John]

I'm sure Carmelo's really torn up about a pasty, overweight 40 year old calling him overrated. I bet he's crying into his piles of money about it.



I just wanted to chime in here... If -slap- is anything, it's definitely pasty. He makes flourescent lights jealous. ;)

[RhymesayersDU]

Sorry, Marcus. Maybe if you weren't a 6'11 guy with no post up game to speak of (how on earth that happened is beyond me, but that's another thread entirely) you're not going to have plays run for you.

Count me in on this take. I love Marcus on the defensive side, but yeah, jump shots are a no-no. He wants to be a perimeter guy at 7 feet tall. Give those shots to Nene down low.

[Clockwork Orange]

Just a note here, Carmelo will miss tonight's game at Golden state due to the birth of his son.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2791021

DENVER -- Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony became a father on Wednesday afternoon when his fiancee, actress La La Vazquez, gave birth to a son, Kiyan.

Kiyan (pronounced kai-ann) weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.

Anthony stayed in Denver and will not play against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
-------

Congrats!! :)

[GonzoLays]

Just a note here, Carmelo will miss tonight's game at Golden state due to the birth of his son.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2791021

DENVER -- Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony became a father on Wednesday afternoon when his fiancee, actress La La Vazquez, gave birth to a son, Kiyan.

Kiyan (pronounced kai-ann) weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.

Anthony stayed in Denver and will not play against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
-------

Congrats!! :)

Too bad Carmelo's last name is not Pepper.

[GonzoLays]

I just wanted to chime in here... If -slap- is anything, it's definitely pasty. He makes flourescent lights jealous. ;)

I always thought Slap beared a strong resemblence to J. Howard Marshall.

http://www.mrsanotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/anna-nicole-marshall.jpg

Like two twins seperated at birth.

[-Slap-]

I just wanted to chime in here... If -slap- is anything, it's definitely pasty. He makes flourescent lights jealous. ;)

I thought that scrub was talking about George Karl.

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9301/picture415iz8.jpg

I am devastatingly handsome.

[Pendejo]

I thought that scrub was talking about George Karl.

I am devastatingly handsome.

?

[Kaylore]

I always thought Slap beared a strong resemblence to J. Howard Marshall.

http://www.mrsanotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/anna-nicole-marshall.jpg

Like two twins seperated at birth.

beared? You mean bore, Gonzo.

[RhymesayersDU]

Pendejo nailed it. Slap looks like Busey with a buzzcut. That is uncanny.

[epicSocialism4tw]

On the positive side, Carmelo seemed to take the message to heart as he only took 18 shots last night, grabbed 7 boards and dished out 6 assists to go with one of his better defensive efforts in a while.
That's what he needs to bring to the floor every night. Not just when he's called out by his head coach, every night.

I thought that Anthony had the best set of tools coming into the pros from that draft class. He has the skills and natural athletic ability to play as low as the block and to play a back-to-the-rim game at the elbow. He's so quick and deceptive on his feet that he could build a cache of moves that would be nearly unstoppable at either of those spots, then he could step out and face up from the perimeter. The guy has a great set of offensive tools and as far as defense goes, he has quick feet, great balance and size, and long arms. He could be whatever he wants. That's what is so frustrating about him. He seems to be content with the lifestyle.

What Anthony doesnt have is a sense of urgency. If he was motivated to win, he would recognize the talent that he has on his squad and would marshal them together for a serious run at the gold.

If I was wheelin' and dealin' for the Nuggets this offseason, I would do whatever it took to parlay Anthony into either Oden or Durant NOW before Anthony's value drops.

[Clockwork Orange]

If I was wheelin' and dealin' for the Nuggets this offseason, I would do whatever it took to parlay Anthony into either Oden or Durant NOW before Anthony's value drops.

Yeah, last year you said they should trade him for Chris Paul.

No thanks, I'd rather hang on to the 22 year old and see what happens over the next five or six years.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Yeah, last year you said they should trade him for Chris Paul.
No thanks, I'd rather hang on to the 22 year old and see what happens over the next five or six years.

At this point, I wouldnt trade Chris Paul for Anthony.

I dont remember saying that, but I would gladly take Paul if I could move Anthony for him for the simple fact that Paul is probably the more promising player and plays a more important (and hard to fill) position.

I think that Denver might have put Anthony's career back a few years with the signing of JR Smith and the acquisition of Iverson.

[Pendejo]

Yeah, last year you said they should trade him for Chris Paul.

No thanks, I'd rather hang on to the 22 year old and see what happens over the next five or six years.

Yeah...you've got to give him time to grow up. Millions of dollars is not, or never will be a substitute for maturity. Pretty much everything that Carmelo has done which is negative has been a result of a tantrum. Look at the game he got kicked out of against the Clippers last year. He was awarded free throws, and still kicked the ball.

Physically...he has the goods. He doesn't seem mentally weak...just used to having his own way. He had his cage rattled pretty good during the olympics...when Larry Brown criticized him, and he responded well for the Nuggets. At some point he's going to get it. In the DPO article Karl put a shot over the bow as it were...the best thing for Carmelo is to have the ownership back Karl up.

A good deal of the kids in the NBA now will tell you that they looked up to Michael Jordan, but they don't realize how fundamentally sound MJ was, or how hard he worked to bulk up for the beatings he took. Moreover...they can't wrap their minds around the fact that he was a stud on defense.

(Substitute Magic Johnson for MJ if you'd like.)

[Clockwork Orange]

At this point, I wouldnt trade Chris Paul for Anthony.

I dont remember saying that, but I would gladly take Paul if I could move Anthony for him for the simple fact that Paul is probably the more promising player and plays a more important (and hard to fill) position.

I think that Denver might have put Anthony's career back a few years with the signing of JR Smith and the acquisition of Iverson.

Well, I'm thankful that you're not the Nuggets GM and I'll leave it at that.

Carmelo will be fine. He needs to be kicked in the ass every once in a while, but that doesn't really bother me. He's still very young, his prime is still way ahead of him. I'm confident that he'll put it together.

What I'm wondering now is where is the criticism of George Karl? I know that it's easy to just blame Carmelo for everything that ails the Nuggets (and he deserves his share of criticism), but why is Karl getting a pass here? Does anyone remember before this season started? When he was preaching run, run, run? So now that his Phoenix Suns wannabe strategy didn't work, he wants to start getting on guys about defense? Why wasn't that being stressed from the beginning? And why is it that Carmelo is the only one being singled out? Has he watched Marcus Camby play lately?

It also strikes me as odd that he has to publicly call Carmelo out. Someone like Greg Poppovich doesn't tell reporters that he's going to bench a guy for not playing defense, he just does it. He sends the message by planting their asses on the bench and keeping the matter in house. This all really smacks of George Karl trying to cover his own ass for the team performance and doing so publicly to avoid being shredded by the media.

[RhymesayersDU]

Well, I'm thankful that you're not the Nuggets GM and I'll leave it at that.

Carmelo will be fine. He needs to be kicked in the ass every once in a while, but that doesn't really bother me. He's still very young, his prime is still way ahead of him. I'm confident that he'll put it together.

What I'm wondering now is where is the criticism of George Karl? I know that it's easy to just blame Carmelo for everything that ails the Nuggets (and he deserves his share of criticism), but why is Karl getting a pass here? Does anyone remember before this season started? When he was preaching run, run, run? So now that his Phoenix Suns wannabe strategy didn't work, he wants to start getting on guys about defense? Why wasn't that being stressed from the beginning? And why is it that Carmelo is the only one being singled out? Has he watched Marcus Camby play lately?

It also strikes me as odd that he has to publicly call Carmelo out. Someone like Greg Poppovich doesn't tell reporters that he's going to bench a guy for not playing defense, he just does it. He sends the message by planting their asses on the bench and keeping the matter in house. This all really smacks of George Karl trying to cover his own ass for the team performance and doing so publicly to avoid being shredded by the media.

What it comes down to is, this upcoming off-season will be very important to this organization. They either need to play defense and run offensive sets, or they need to run. Period. Either way is fine with me personally, but they need to pick a horse and go with it. If we're going to play Suns basketball, we need to acquire shooters in a hurry. We need to dump Camby. We need to pray Nene keeps developing, JR gets better, and K-Mart can at least play in some fashion.

If we're going to slow it down, play more defense, run offensive sets, etc, that's fine too. And maybe the team is better suited to do that, and if they can do that through the summer and camp, they can get better defensively and do it.

But either way, it needs to be done. And we need to have a good draft, if possible. Do we have a first rounder, or was that dealt for AI?

[Clockwork Orange]

What it comes down to is, this upcoming off-season will be very important to this organization. They either need to play defense and run offensive sets, or they need to run. Period. Either way is fine with me personally, but they need to pick a horse and go with it. If we're going to play Suns basketball, we need to acquire shooters in a hurry. We need to dump Camby. We need to pray Nene keeps developing, JR gets better, and K-Mart can at least play in some fashion.

If we're going to slow it down, play more defense, run offensive sets, etc, that's fine too. And maybe the team is better suited to do that, and if they can do that through the summer and camp, they can get better defensively and do it.

But either way, it needs to be done. And we need to have a good draft, if possible. Do we have a first rounder, or was that dealt for AI?

I get what you're saying, but my question is why does Karl get to walk away clean as a whistle after the system he attempted to implement didn't work? He gets to just pawn off the blame on Carmelo? Sorry, I have to call bull**** on that.

Carmelo deserves to be criticized for his lack of effort on defense, Karl deserves to be criticized for throwing his best player under the bus in an attempt to cover up the fact that his system was a failure.

[RhymesayersDU]

I get what you're saying, but my question is why does Karl get to walk away clean as a whistle after the system he attempted to implement didn't work? He gets to just pawn off the blame on Carmelo? Sorry, I have to call bull**** on that.

Carmelo deserves to be criticized for his lack of effort on defense, Karl deserves to be criticized for throwing his best player under the bus in an attempt to cover up the fact that his system was a failure.

Oh you're fully correct. Karl hasn't been perfect by any means, and he's not without criticism. But IMO more finger pointing won't help. Hopefully the organization will get on the same page this off-season and get better.

[-Slap-]

I get what you're saying, but my question is why does Karl get to walk away clean as a whistle after the system he attempted to implement didn't work? He gets to just pawn off the blame on Carmelo? Sorry, I have to call bull**** on that.

Carmelo deserves to be criticized for his lack of effort on defense, Karl deserves to be criticized for throwing his best player under the bus in an attempt to cover up the fact that his system was a failure.

Karl did the same thing to Ray Allen and Gary Payton. He's always talked about his stars in the media. Hasn't paid off with any championships yet.

[rubaiyat]

Oh you're fully correct. Karl hasn't been perfect by any means, and he's not without criticism. But IMO more finger pointing won't help. Hopefully the organization will get on the same page this off-season and get better.

I don't think we have a pick..

Gave up 2nd's for JR

gave up 1sts for AI

[Dr. Broncenstein]

Gary Busey is a funny mofo...

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rAmUp4BTfqQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rAmUp4BTfqQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

[Rascal]

Yet again melo has more TO's then assits, and this time by more then a 2-1 margin.

Bench his ass till he learns to be a team player and not turn the ball over so much.

[azbroncfan]

What team has two players in top 5 of turnovers per game?

[Rascal]

What team has two players in top 3 of turnovers per game?

Fixed.

[watermock]

Mello went 6 for 21 and we got the silent treatment from Iverson.

I don't know the reasons...but whatever it is, it's not working in Denver with this dynamic duo.

[theAPAOps5]

I guess some fan was reaming Melo at the end of the game saying you suck and why are you here. There was a commotion at the end of the game but Melo said he ignored the jeering. He said he understands why people are upset and he would have understood being benched the way he played the second half.

So at least he says the right things. Now for the love of god do the right things on the court.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Mello went 6 for 21 and we got the silent treatment from Iverson.
I don't know the reasons...but whatever it is, it's not working in Denver with this dynamic duo.

Iverson is a career .500 street baller.

He's mediocre.

The best thing Philly's done over the past 5-6 seasons was to get rid of him.