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KRIEGER: Team trumps Melo vs. LeBron

By Dave Krieger, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 19, 2008 at 11:56 p.m.

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Kenyon Martin slams the ball in the first half of the Nuggets' game Friday night against the Cavaliers at the Pepsi Center.

Photo by Chris Schneider / The Rocky

Kenyon Martin slams the ball in the first half of the Nuggets' game Friday night against the Cavaliers at the Pepsi Center.

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The temptation, always, is to make it about LeBron and Melo. It's been that way since they entered the NBA together as friends, rivals and preternatural talents in 2003.

Nobody understands this better than King James, as brilliant a marketer as a basketball player.

"I think the competition between me and him has really been good over the past few years, but it's going to be a lot better in the future, and now, in the present, because we know what it takes to win basketball games," James said Friday night.

"We thrive on offense and defense. We've grown into our own as basketball players, as men, and taken responsibility of trying to get wins for our team."

We listen politely, then return to our parlor game. Who scored more? Who had more SportsCenter highlights? Who's the next Magic, the next Bird, the next Jordan? Who's ahead in their personal duel?

"I don't think I'm a good guy to answer that question because I've always been anti-individual hype versus team hype," Nuggets coach George Karl said.

"I've been in ESPN meetings and league meetings and I've always asked the question, 'Why do we hype the star and not the team? And why do we hype statistics and not winning?' I know that sounds like a coach thing."

Bor-ing. LeBron goes 6-for-6 from the floor in the first quarter; Carmelo Anthony goes 1-for-5. Round 1 to LeBron.

"Carmelo obviously can impact the game, reboundingwise," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "LeBron can impact the game, reboundingwise or assistwise. I think Carmelo is getting there, assistwise. Right now, Carmelo shoots the three ball very, very well.

"LeBron still can get better in that area. So they're different players, but yet and still, they both can have an impact on any game being played."

In truth, the question that matters for both James and Anthony in their sixth NBA seasons is whether they are ready to lead their teams to a championship. And that's a much tougher trick than putting up shiny numbers. More players are capable of doing it, too.

"You look at a guy like Dwyane Wade," Brown said. "When all of the best of the best were together (on Team USA at the Beijing Olympics), I think he led them in scoring and he shot 67 percent from the field. Yet and still, Kobe (Bryant) was on that team, LeBron was on that team, and everybody kept having the debate as to whether Kobe or LeBron is the best player in the world.

"So there are a lot of great players out there. That's what's really making this league as interesting as it is right now. You have a lot of different guys that can step up to the plate and carry a team, or even carry the league."

The individual competition and highlights are an important part of the NBA's marketing machine, which is why the league so often contradicts the message of its coaches by promoting individuals.

LeBron is in the neighborhood of a triple-double, while Melo is fouling out. This time, the individual duel is no contest. Trash-talking rights to LeBron for now.

Of course, neither coach cares a whit about this. If pressed, they'll talk about it to feed the marketing machine, knowing that sales are a part of the gig. Karl entertained the questions Friday, knowing they were coming, but his focus was on another issue altogether.

"I'm excited about the challenge, but four games in five nights is also a great challenge for this team," he said of the stretch that began Friday night, continues tonight in Phoenix and concludes with home-and-home meetings with Portland on Monday and Tuesday.

"If we can somehow go 3-1 or 2-2 and sustain somewhat of an advantage over the division in the toughest part of our schedule against four good opponents, that's part of the challenge, too," he said. "I think we started off well, going 1-1 on the road in Dallas and Houston, but it's probably the toughest six games we play all year."

If you're keeping your eye on the ball, this is what matters. Despite their fine early record, the Nuggets have not yet proved they belong with the association's elite. Aside from their celebrated upset of the Celtics in Boston, they've generally kicked sand in the faces of the NBA's weaklings in the early going.

So, yes, LeBron outdueled Melo on an individual basis Friday night, but that didn't matter as much as the Nuggets' utter inability to guard Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Delonte West, despite their defensive improvement this season.

The individual soap opera is the more compelling story, which the NBA understands and promotes. It sells tickets.

But in the year in which they acquired Chauncey Billups and began to appreciate the finer aspects of teamwork and defense, that couldn't matter less for the Nuggets.

To take the next step, they need to compete on an equal footing with teams as good as the Cavs. In that department, they still have some work to do.

Comments

  • December 20, 2008

    9:17 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jbowen43 writes:

    Carmelo and his team mates in the starting five (except Dahntay Jones) all but disappeared in this game. Sometimes you have to sit the players who aren't performing and let them assume the role of back up to the reserves who are performing.

  • December 20, 2008

    2:01 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jersey writes:

    If the pathetic sensationalizing happy media, most of whom never scored a point or grabbed a rebound in organizied competition on any level, would not inundate us with their asinine comparisons in keeping the pot boiling, just maybe they could give us a good show and not press like Melo did last night in trying to live up to the hype!

  • December 20, 2008

    9:29 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Weeman writes:

    These guys are losers....Might as well lose every game for the rest of the season so we could get a good draft pick....This Nuggets team is the most disappointin....They trick us, and have fans like me believin they are contenders, then all of a sudden play worse then high school kids....I could shoot better then these morons on this team.

  • December 21, 2008

    10:14 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    den2mke writes:

    I have an idea...Let's find a coach that actually is capable of putting in an offense and then we could actually see if it's possible to put Melo into scoring positions where the defense isn't already set or if the Nuggets could actually contend against the elite teams of the league. Barring that, I don't know that it's real accurate to judge.

    Chauncy's brought a much more sensible game to the Nuggets, but when you see teams like Cleveland, San Antonio and New Orleans play--teams with offenses that actually spread the court, create motion and move the ball--you realize how primitive Denver's offensive game really is. In addition, Karl seems to have little answers defensively for teams that spread it out with players that can hit from deep on ball-reversals.

    This team's still a player or two away from real contention--another big would be nice--but they'll certainly never approach their capability with Karl at the helm.