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Nuggets' inconsistency baffles observers, including their coach

By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 19, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Nuggets guard Allen Iverson shoots as the Rockets' Tracy McGrady, left, and Carl Landry watch during Denver's 49th win this season. "They can look so good and then the next night, 'What are they doing out there?' " Houston's Rafer Alston said.

Photo by Darin McGregor / The Rocky

Nuggets guard Allen Iverson shoots as the Rockets' Tracy McGrady, left, and Carl Landry watch during Denver's 49th win this season. "They can look so good and then the next night, 'What are they doing out there?' " Houston's Rafer Alston said.

George Karl, pacing during Denver's 151-147 double-overtime loss at Seattle, said his team will be motivated against the Lakers: "If we turn the light switch on and tape it on, we'll be fine."

Photo by John Froschauer / Associated Press

George Karl, pacing during Denver's 151-147 double-overtime loss at Seattle, said his team will be motivated against the Lakers: "If we turn the light switch on and tape it on, we'll be fine."

The Nuggets managed 50 wins and a 33-8 home record in the regular season but lost 11 times to teams that didn't make the playoffs.

Photo by Darin McGregor / The Rocky

The Nuggets managed 50 wins and a 33-8 home record in the regular season but lost 11 times to teams that didn't make the playoffs.

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If you want volatility these days, don't just play the stock market. Watch the Nuggets.

Just as the Dow goes up 100 points one day and falls 100 the next, the Nuggets have had their wild stretches. And, whenever they give up only 100 points in a game, it's cause for celebration.

The Nuggets (50-32) enter their playoff opener Sunday (1 p.m., KMGH-Channel 7) against the Los Angeles Lakers having won 50 games for the first time in 20 years. But with a team featuring All-Star starters Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Camby, many observers expected more.

Even Nuggets coach George Karl, who set a preseason goal of 55 wins, has his moments of being perplexed. He wonders if Denver's erratic play might entitle him to combat pay.

"That's who we are," said Karl, who often says his team stubs its toe when too happy. "Do I wish it was different? Yeah. Do I think it's healthy to play that way? No. After being with them for four years, I don't think I have a genius talk in me that's going to change them.

"And the thing, as a coach, I have to understand is, they're good. So I got to work to figure (it) out. Do I feel there's a little overtime pay to George Karl because of how you have to react in game situations?"

To the Nuggets' credit, they won several big games down the stretch to claim the West's No. 8 seed. Included were home wins against Dallas, Golden State, Phoenix and Houston and a huge win at Golden State.

Losing to Seattle? Go figure

But April featured a home loss to Sacramento and a mind-numbing 151-147

double-overtime loss at Seattle. Those would be the same SuperSonics the Nuggets destroyed by an average of 47 points in the previous two meetings.

"Every year, you always have (the Nuggets) as a team that you're going to be aware of," Houston guard Rafer Alston said. "But they have those stretches during the season when you watch them on League Pass, and they're night and day. They can look so good and then the next night, 'What are they doing out there?' "

Alston's teammate and former Denver standout Dikembe Mutombo said the Nuggets are "very talented and my thought was they were going to be much better." Alston said he never has seen a more up-and- down team.

"You got two of the top eight or nine players in the game (Anthony and Iverson) and you got the league's best shot blocker (Camby) and then you've got good supporting role players like (Kenyon) Martin, (Linas) Kleiza, (Anthony) Carter and (J.R.) Smith," Alston said. "I can't put a finger (on Denver's erratic nature)."

Neither can the Nuggets.

"If I knew, I would preach it. I would be a pastor in that locker room," Iverson said.

"If I knew that answer, I would tell everybody how to fix things," Camby said.

Ask Martin, and he quickly says the problem is on defense, which is readily apparent. While the Nuggets averaged 110.7 points, they gave up 107.0.

"Guys realize we're capable (of playing defense)," Martin said. "It's not like we can't do it. We've proved we can. It's just a matter of going out and doing it."

Analyzing the Nuggets

So the big question is: Why don't the Nuggets do it more often?

"We can play defense and we can be gritty," guard Chucky Atkins said. "It's just about us deciding that we want to do it. I think it's a mental thing."

That brings us to Dr. John F. Murray, a Palm Beach, Fla., sports psychologist. Murray's clients have included NFL quarterbacks and golf and tennis pros.

Murray worked a few years ago with the Florida Atlantic basketball team coached by Sidney Green. The former NBA forward is the father of Nuggets guard Taurean Green.

While Murray doesn't profess to know a great deal about the Nuggets' up-and- down nature, he's not hesitant to say this appears to be a team that could use help.

"If (Karl) isn't having a sports psychologist come in on a weekly basis to help coach the players on mental aspects, he's missing out on a huge opportunity," Murray said. "There's a huge opportunity in the mental realm. It's often the most neglected area in sports. But it's a very hard thing to do, because there are not that many (sports psychologists) out there and coaches feel that sometimes they're letting go of control."

Murray said numerous individual athletes, including top golfers and tennis players, work with sports psychologists, but that team athletes lag behind. He predicts that, within 40 years, every NBA team will have a sports psychologist.

Told of the Nuggets having gone 7-13 in the second game of back-to-back situations while often being wiped out (nine of the losses by 11 or more points), Murray said that has a "mental component to it."

While he hasn't had one since arriving January 2005 in Denver, Karl said he had "life" coaches in Milwaukee from 1998-2003 who talked to players more about sociology than psychology. Karl wouldn't be opposed to having a similar individual in Denver but wouldn't be keen on someone solely a psychologist.

"I'm not a big psyche guy, because psyche is kind of a negative science," Karl said. "Something's wrong with you. I'm not sure there's something wrong with you as much we just need to repath and redirect it and rewire sometimes."

Nevertheless, Karl invited "some sports psychologist out there (to) send me a book, and maybe I can figure it out.''

Karl, as well as several of his players, expressed confidence that the big stage of facing the top-seeded Lakers should be enough to keep the Nuggets motivated.

"If we turn the light switch on and tape it on, we'll be fine," Karl said.

At least the bulb, unlike last season, mostly has been burning lately at home. The Nuggets went 33-8 at the Pepsi Center, with the Kings' setback their only bad home loss after Jan. 1.

It's mainly on the road they sometimes look like the enver Nuggets. That's right, no 'D.'

The Nuggets had road wipeouts of 119-93 to Boston, 109-81 to Houston, 127-99 and 116-99 to the Lakers, 137-115 and 132-117 to Phoenix, 117-93 to New Orleans, 135-121 to Chicago, 136-120 to Detroit and 132-105 and 124-97 to Utah. With the exception of the Lakers and Pistons, they beat all those teams at home.

Denver lost 11 games to non-playoff teams. The final two, to Sacramento and Seattle, could have proved fatal had the Nuggets not come up with some big wins after that.

"Sometimes, you don't really know what to expect from them," said New Orleans forward Peja Stojakovic. "Some nights they're really hot and tough to guard and some nights it's the opposite."

Welcome to Karl's world. If he signs another contract with the Nuggets, maybe he'll seek an overtime pay clause.

TOPSY-TURVY RIDE

The Nuggets had an up-and-down time of it during the final month of the season:

* March 16: Assaulted record book in 168-116 home win over Seattle.

* March 18: Went defenseless in 136- 120 loss at Detroit.

* March 27: Scored key 118-105 home win over Dallas.

* March 29: Beat Golden State 119-112 at home in showdown of teams contending for the No. 8 playoff spot.

* March 31: Blew 22-point lead in 132-117 loss at Phoenix.

* April 1: Rebounded to beat Phoenix 126-120 at home.

* April 5: Stunned 118-115 at home by undermanned Sacramento.

* April 6: Suffered stunning 151-147 double-overtime loss at Seattle.

* April 10: Won 114-105 at Golden State in critical showdown.

* April 12: Perhaps a too-happy team got pounded 124-97 at Utah.

* April 13: Held off Houston 111-94 at home, then clinched playoff berth the next day when Golden State lost at Phoenix.

Comments

  • April 19, 2008

    9:31 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    singularity99 writes:

    Well, there you have it, the explanation of why the Nuggets, with one of the most expensive payrolls in the NBA, if not the most expensive, have lost in the first round of the playoffs the last four years. Martin and other players correctly state that they don't consistently play defense, and they don't understand why. Karl doesn't believe in sports psychologists or working on players psyches.

    As a longtime researcher of the subconscious mind, I could definitely get them all to play defense and win the championship, just by using some Ericksonian language patterns on them. Of course, I would want at least the level of compensation Iverson and Anthony are getting. After all, the bottom line is winning a championship, and neither of them have been able to deliver so far.

  • April 19, 2008

    10:30 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    fuzzyjim writes:

    Maybe this group needs a coach who believes in "psyche" stuff. Maybe they need an excellent player who will also give the rest a vocal butt kicking, especially about consistent defensive effort. Since Iverson and Camby seem to know the problem, maybe it should be them. But without doubt, the final ingredient is missing.

  • April 19, 2008

    11:41 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jkl writes:

    Perhaps this article should be included in the contract package given to the new coach next season. With Karl's attitude and record in the playoffs since his arrival, he does not deserve to be around next season.

  • April 20, 2008

    3:31 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    wwelwayd writes:

    I have been a Denver sports fan for 30 years and I cannot remember a coach who took less responsibility for a team's performance. It is unbelievable that a coach that has AI, Melo, Camby, and a strong, young bench can produce this type of season and then simply throw up his hands and essentailly say "I have no control over the outcome". I became aware of this very un-coach like behavior about half-way through last year and have paid close attention - not once in that timeframe has he taken an ounce of responsibility for the team's poor performance. Multiple times he takes credit for good performances, but always the "hands thrown up" shrug after a loss. Can you imagine Mike Shanahan stepping to the podium after a bad loss and saying "these guys are tough to figure out. They seem to play the way they want to play. I think I will need some combat pay next year. Dum-de-dum-de-dum." Please, Stan, please: No Karl next year!

  • April 20, 2008

    5:31 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    anugsfan writes:

    i'm with ya oldtimer. just goes to show, you can't coach ego with more ego (albeit passive-aggressive ego these past couple years).

    the nuggets need to make some changes next year, and maybe it does need to start with the general.