Veteran coaches shaking heads

No playoff berth with 49 victories? It's new to them

By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Friday, March 28, 2008

Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld, Getty Images

Golden State coach Don Nelson, who has coached 29 NBA seasons, and Denver's George Karl, a 20-season veteran, know the game tonight at the Pepsi Center is "huge."

Don Nelson has coached 29 NBA seasons. George Karl has been at it for 20.

This is all new for these guys.

"Some poor guy is going to win 49 games and not get in (the playoffs)," Nelson, Golden State's coach, said by phone Friday.

The only such poor guy in league history was Cotton Fitzsimmons, who was coach of the 1971-72 Phoenix Suns, who went 49-33, making them the best team ever to stay home for the postseason.

Nelson, second on the NBA's all-time coaching wins list, and Karl, Denver's coach who is 10th, are quite content to be in the vicinity of 12th-place Fitzsimmons. But they sure don't want to join him on any coaching hard-luck lists, and neither does Dallas' Avery Johnson.

But with 21/2 weeks left in the regular season, there are nine teams in the West on pace to win 50 games or more. One will be left home.

The Nuggets (44-28) are a half-game behind the Warriors (44-27) for the No. 8 playoff spot and a game behind the Mavericks (45-27) for No. 7. The picture soon could get a bit clearer, with the Nuggets playing host to Golden State tonight and the Warriors facing Dallas twice next week.

"It's huge," Karl said of the game tonight.

A win would indeed be huge for the Nuggets, who have a slightly easier remaining schedule than the Mavericks and Warriors. The Nuggets also hold the tiebreaker over Dallas, and a win tonight or April 10 at Golden State would give them the tiebreaker over the Warriors if the teams finish tied.

"If you are asking me to predict, there will be a tiebreaker somewhere in the Western Conference," said Karl, whose Nuggets are 1-1 in the season series against the Warriors but would hold the tiebreaker because of a better conference record if the teams finish 2-2. "I don't know if it will be us, but there will be a tie."

Seems as if these veteran coaches are doing a lot of predicting these days.

"I think if you win 50, you'll get in," said Nelson, calling the game tonight "as big as it gets all season."

On the eve of the monumental game, the teams prepared a bit differently. The Warriors practiced and then flew to Denver.

The Nuggets were off, although not necessarily by design. Karl gives his players a day off when they get 30 assists or more, and they had 31 in a key 118-105 home win against Dallas on Thursday.

Still, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson took to the court Friday. They served as coaches at Metro State's Auraria Events Center for an event in conjunction with Fort Carson in which children of deployed soldiers played a basketball game.

"Hopefully, for an hour or two, they can take their minds off it and just have a good time," Iverson said of the 25 children, ages 12 and younger, having fun playing while more than 1,000 Fort Carson residents watched.

Iverson said the event also was helpful in taking his mind off the pressures of the playoff race. Then again, are there really any such days off from it now?

"Right now, we're scoreboard watching," said Anthony, who was quite proud his team beat Iverson's 28-14.

In the locker room after the game Thursday, Anthony was hooting and hollering, watching on television as Portland took a big early lead at Golden State.

But it didn't last, as the Warriors came back to win 111-95.

So the Nuggets might just have to take care of business themselves. This season is much different than 1984-85, when Karl, in his first season as an NBA coach, led Cleveland into the playoffs with a 36-46 mark.

There aren't many things in the NBA that veterans Nelson and Karl haven't seen before. But the West playoff race this season is one.

Warriors at Nuggets

* When: 7 tonight.

* Where: Pepsi Center.

* TV/radio: Altitude; KKFN-FM (104.3).

* Starting lineups:

Golden St. (44-27) Pos. Ht. Pts.

1 Stephen Jackson F 6-8 20.9

3 Al Harrington F 6-9 14.1

15 Andris Biedrins C 6-11 9.8

8 Monta Ellis G 6-3 19.8

5 Baron Davis G 6-3 22.1

Coach: Don Nelson

Denver (44-28) Pos. Ht. Pts.

15 Carmelo Anthony F 6-8 25.6

4 Kenyon Martin F 6-9 12.1

23 Marcus Camby C 6-11 9.4

3 Allen Iverson G 6-0 26.7

25 Anthony Carter G 6-2 7.9

Coach: George Karl

* Injuries: Warriors - F Mickael Pietrus (right groin strain) is out. Nuggets - None reported.

* Notes: The Warriors are averaging an NBA-best 111.0 points, and the Nuggets are third, at 109.6. . . . Denver, which made Taurean Green inactive in its 118-105 win against Dallas on Thursday, has all players available, with forward Nene having returned against the Mavericks after missing 21/2 months following testicular cancer surgery. . . . The Nuggets are 29-7 at home and have won seven straight. "We play great here," forward Eduardo Najera said. "We have a lot of confidence." . . . Denver has won four straight and 7-of-9; Golden State has lost 4-of-8. . . . Pietrus will miss his fourth straight game.

Sizing up the race

How remaining schedules compare for the three teams battling for the Nos. 7 and 8 playoff seeds in the West:

DALLAS

* Record: 45-27

* Games left: 10

* Home: 4

* Road: 6

* Vs. winning teams: 7

* Vs. losing teams: 3

GOLDEN STATE

* Record: 44-27

* Games left: 11

* Home: 5

* Road: 6

* Vs. winning teams: 7

* Vs. losing teams: 4

NUGGETS

* Record: 44-28

* Games left: 10

* Home: 5

* Road: 5

* Vs. winning teams: 6

* Vs. losing

teams: 4