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Karl celebrates with 900th win as Nuggets top Raptors

Denver coach feels humbled, fortunate to reach milestone

By Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 31, 2008 at 11:06 a.m.

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Nuggets forward Nene gets fouled by Raptors forward Chris Bosh while trying to dunk Wednesday night.

Photo by Ron Turenne / NBAE Via Getty Images

Nuggets forward Nene gets fouled by Raptors forward Chris Bosh while trying to dunk Wednesday night.

The Nuggets' George Karl said he thought he would "coach a few years in pro ball."

Photo by Rick Bowmer / Associated Press

The Nuggets' George Karl said he thought he would "coach a few years in pro ball."

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TORONTO — When he was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1984, George Karl didn't consider himself to be upwardly mobile.

"I never thought I'd get this far," he said. "I thought I'd coach a few years in pro ball and wear out my welcome and go coach in college and wear out my welcome and go coach in high school and wear out my welcome and end up in junior college or junior high somewhere."

More than 24 years later, Karl walked into the Nuggets locker room Wednesday night to a standing ovation from his players and coaching staff.

Career victory No. 900 felt almost as sweet as the first.

"For me, it's kind of like, 'Wow,' humbling a little bit," Karl said after Denver's 114-107 win against the Toronto Raptors. "You're fortunate. You have good players, you have good situations, you have good coaches."

Karl, 57, credited assistant Tim Grgurich for keeping him grounded for much of his career. Grgurich, a former college coach, has been with Karl for 12 of his 21 NBA seasons.

Grgurich, who is to basketball what Yoda was to Jedi training, shrugged off any special attention but predicted Karl will reach 1,000 wins.

"A thousand is like winning the home run crown, the batting title and the RBI title," he said. "It's the triple crown. . . . He'll get there."

No. 900 still was in doubt midway through the fourth quarter at the Air Canada Centre.

Jose Calderon's three-pointer pulled the Raptors to 101-98 with 4:23 remaining before the Nuggets' version of the Big Three put the game out of reach.

Nene, playing through the pain of a strained neck, scored on a putback, Chauncey Billups made a three-pointer and Carmelo Anthony hit a midrange jumper to cap a 9-0 run that effectively put the game on ice (along with the beer and champagne).

"I'm not a champagne guy," Karl said, holding a cup of soda in his hand. "I'm a beer guy and some red wine. I think it's Coors Light (on Wednesday night)."

About 10 minutes later, Karl walked through the locker room with a smile across his face and a Coors Light in his hands as he received another round of congratulations from his players.

"Nine-hundred wins, that speaks for itself in any sport," Anthony said. "It just goes to show his longevity. For him to have 900 wins means a lot."

Anthony, 24, was not yet 6 months old when Karl won his first game Nov. 15, 1984. It ended an 0-9 start to his career with the Cavaliers.

"Every (newspaper) columnist in Cleveland, Ohio, was saying they're idiots if they don't fire me," Karl said. "I thought if I won 250, it would be a hell of a career."

Karl, the 10th NBA coach to reach 900 victories, hasn't had a losing season since a 16-48 record with the Golden State Warriors in 1987-88 led to a three-year hiatus from the NBA.

"It's pretty impressive," 23-year-old Nuggets swingman Linas Kleiza said. "You never know where you're going to end up in life. I watched George coach and it's pretty amazing to be coached by one of the best coaches to ever coach the game. It's a great honor."

Kleiza was one of many players who came up with big contributions against Toronto. Scoreless through three quarters, he scored all 10 of his points in a 1:56 span of the fourth, helping the Nuggets keep the Raptors at bay.

"Definitely found my rhythm," Kleiza said. "Try to do the best I can with the time I got."

Fellow reserves Chris Andersen (10 points, 10 rebounds) and J.R. Smith (16 points) also helped round out a balanced attack.

Nene led the Nuggets with 21 points, while Anthony added 20 and Billups finished with 18. Kenyon Martin chipped in with 15.

"I think that's who we are," Karl said. "I think we're going to have some horses some nights.

"For us to be as good as we can be, team's got to stay No. 1 ahead of the individual. I think that's the truth of any championship team or any team that wants to fight for a championship."

For all the regular-season milestones, Karl still is in search of a championship. Maybe then he'll trade the Coors Light for Dom Perignon.

ETC.: Billups was called for a technical foul for the second consecutive game. Referee David Guthrie whistled Billups for slamming the ball down midway through the fourth quarter. "That one was crazy," Billups said. "Oh, well, whatever." . . . The Nuggets improved to 16-0 when leading after three quarters."

Comments

  • December 31, 2008

    11:51 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    fuzzyjim writes:

    Dear Stanley K,
    Man up and pay a little luxury tax. This team needs another decent big man for depth!

  • December 31, 2008

    3:33 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    lsider writes:

    why should he? he's paid it probably every year we took a u turn out of the playoffs. we need to either trade martin,or just wait 'til his contract expires, because he's not playing up to his salary. i'd rather see them make a serious effort to build through the draft. what have we got in the draft besides melo and kleiza? i guess you can count nene, but we usually draft poorly, if at all. if you want to trade for somebody get biedrens from golden state. i can be patient if we are doing the right things, like keeping a good core together and adding 1 solid young guy every year through the draft. if we would have drafted a 6' 11' or 7' guy with our first rounder instead of trading it forward 'til who knows when, then maybe we wouldn't be talking about a team with that piece missing.

  • December 31, 2008

    11:32 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    GOPteacher writes:

    Not playing up to his salary? Are you watching games from 2005? KMart is playing as well as any Nugget right now. I was not on board when we signed him, and for the first few years I was sure he was a bust. However, if you look at how he's playing right now, you could make a case that he's as important as Chauncey to this team.

    Who's talking about the missing piece now? Of course, a backup big guy would be nice, but we've got as solid a rotation as anyone. Our missing piece is a guy who wouldn't see the court on a regular basis. (I agree we need to set someone, but whoever we get won't be averaging more than 5-6 minutes a game, I'll bet.)

  • January 1, 2009

    12:56 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    lsider writes:

    yeah, i'd say he's our 5th best player behind cb,melo,nene and jr smith. i think we could fill that position with someone who makes half the money. we should be able to win and stay under the luxury tax with a combination of good management and coaching.

  • January 1, 2009

    10:16 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jersey writes:

    Karl..."I never thought I'd get this far"...Too easy. I'll give him a break today being the holiday. Got at least the split I was hoping for and now hoping to exceed it starting with OK City tomorrow and NO on Sat. Both very winnable, especially OKC. Home to a 6 game in a row stint and 8 of the next 9. Let's get some breathing room in the standings. Birdman is really starting to win me over with his controlled effort and focus. It seems his days of flying around for show and no substance are over. Kmart your range is 5-7 feet my man in order to be affective as to scoring. Anything further out is rolling the dice and likely to come up "Snake Eyes". Wishing a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all!

  • January 1, 2009

    10:48 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jscarp writes:

    Well Said Jersey....
    I will give Karl a break also though he still maddens me when
    he leaves Carmelo in when he shoots the percentages he does.
    It looks like to me that he does not have the nerve to take Carmelo out when he shoots like that....Jumpers instead of driving to the basket......and how many times Carmelo gets stripped in the paint...another turn over....most in the leauge I am sure...
    Carmelo is at least trying very hard in other ways and I am not saying he should not play .....just sit him down and make him a little more hungry for quality minutes, with less turnovers.
    I think Kmart is playing very good and we do need him.
    Does anyone know why Balkman is sitting so much....I love his energy....

  • January 1, 2009

    12:41 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ONEman writes:

    I still wonder why everyone thinks it's our players, I mean of course they are on the floor actually playing. But what we lack is any kind of control and intelligent play as a well coached team. This roster is hardcore, if every player knows his role, plays his position the right way, gets good position under the rim and moves without the ball. You cannot tell me that K mart,Smooth and Bird cannot rebound because of physical ability or tenacity we have guys who can score, no doubt. With CB this is about as good as Nuggets team as we've seen in years and he's a homeboy. But against the elite in the NBA we look like a B league team. All over the place with passes, wild shots,turnovers boxed out easy, fouls galore, and non calls. Why?
    Because were out of control running up and down the court for nothing, but to run back again and hack someone. The margin we lose by on average is most likely free throws by the opponent and bad game management by Karl. We need an identity and a coach who is willing to teach these talented athletes how to play the game by any means! Bobby Knight where are you? LOL

  • January 1, 2009

    12:44 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ONEman writes:

    Wow that was long, sorry guys did'nt mean to write an article. Happy New Year. Let's turn it around in 09. GO DENVER.

  • January 1, 2009

    12:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jersey writes:

    jscarp: Thanks man but you make it soooooo hard for me to give Karl a break today when you ask the question why is Balkman sitting so much? I'll stick to my guns though in giving him a break but come tomorrow it's back to "Open Season'! I'm sure I'm way off base with this but even though Melo had the monster 32 pt. quarter a couple of weeks ago he has not been the same player since he cut his "Locks". Samson had his cut and he was never the same. Pure coincidence I'm sure but food for thought. Unless he gets back to being on top of his game soon I'm going to send him some psuedo "Braids". The way he's been going lately, and I'm fully aware of the elbow problem, the reverting back to the old "Doo" can't hurt!

  • January 1, 2009

    1:06 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jersey writes:

    jscarp: I agree Melo has been getting stripped quite a bit lately and in expressing his frustration has lead to at least one Tech. The team leader has to keep it together and needs to be PROTECTED, oops, by Karl as to the refs. One more thing that I've pointed out in the past. Chauncey in all the great things that he has done and does has never been a strong finisher in getting to the hoop. He will either miss the shot and get fouled or miss it completely without the harm more times than not. Has always been that way. Keep an eye out and let me know if I'm off on this.

  • January 1, 2009

    1:09 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ONEman writes:

    Jersey I wanted to lay off Karl for the holiday, but after the Bronco end to 08, I see a lot more blues than orange for about 2-3 rebuilding years. So the Nuggets have to compete at a higher level to remain relevant in this city. Otherwise Denver sports could be pretty sour for awhile.

  • January 1, 2009

    1:09 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jersey writes:

    ONEman: no problem as to the length. Good points!

  • January 1, 2009

    1:14 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jersey writes:

    ONEman: I hear you about Karl. Like I led off in my first post he makes it too easy with all the amunition he provides us game in and game out. Nuf' said.

  • January 1, 2009

    1:21 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ONEman writes:

    Jersey true Chauncey isn't a strong finisher to the hole. But I believe he's been healthier for it. He doesn't take a whole lot of unnecessary contact either. If guys would cut to the basket he wouldn't have to anyway, he would get a lot more lobs like Andre Miller used to. Why is our offense so stagnant? Does it seem like we've even heard of a pick and roll?

  • January 1, 2009

    2:03 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jersey writes:

    ONEman: Why is our offense so stagnant? In a nutshell?...K...A...R...L!

  • January 1, 2009

    2:18 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    wj_nugs writes:

    It's all about defense in 2009. Period.

  • January 1, 2009

    7:35 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jsppro1 writes:

    Nugget fans, I keep telling you it starts from the top. A real GM is needed, not three different people making the choices. If AC is traded Karl cannot team him with Billups. If the salary cap was managed right, maybe a big will come. If the team is not run right, who fires Karl????????????????????? Once agian, if the Nuggets do not get more size. Nene, Martin and Anderson will have nothing left for the late run. Maybe something is being worked on that we don't know. Samuel Dalembert? Go Nuggets