The Nuggets are a pathetic joke

I still in shock and awe that this club reached 50 wins in the regular season. If this demolition at the hands of the Lakers has proved anything, it's that Denver remains a team that has no heart, no guts, and no leadership. Period. It also goes a long, long way to reaffirming my long-held belief that any team featuring Allen Iverson (let alone a team lead by Iverson and Carmelo Anthony) is never going to win a damn thing. They're selfish, they're not team-oriented, and at times they seem actively disinterested in playing hard-nosed basketball. Because it requires constant effort.

Carmelo slammed his team after Saturday's game 3's pathetic excuse for a performance, labeling them as quitters. What was that about the pot and the kettle? The two guys who stepped up in defiance of that stupid remark by Anthony while on the verge of being swept, Kleiza and Najera, are really the only two that acquitted themselves from that shameful performance. And their objection to Captain Melo's genius comments only further illustrates what disarray this team is in. There was a lot of talk during game 3 from the commentary team about how frustrated George Karl and his coaching staff are. I can only imagine. Reports suggest that he'll be sticking around after the post-season, too. My only question: why?

Denver needs a makeover, complete with veteran leaders. Otherwise, they'll remain the gutless, heartless, disinterested Iversons that they are, with no character toughness to speak of. There is no fight in this series because only one team is playing hard. Allen Iverson will never win a championship.

Comments

Like an idiot, I accidentally had the comments settings set to "moderate comments" and then didn't provide an email address to be contacted at. I've fixed that problem, now. So to all of you who have been generous enough to comment on this page, sorry if I didn't get back to you. Technology eludes me.

Additionally, in the interest of having something sports-related included in this post, let me just say that everyone chirping about how the Nuggets are a contender, now, (ahem... John Hollinger, Screamin' A. Smith), is dead wrong about everything in life.

Iverson to Denver

Well, finally (thank God), the speculation over where Allen Iverson will be traded to is over and done with, or so it seems. Let's break it down.

Everyone, by now, must be familiar with the addage that if you're to trade a superstar, you must get a superstar in return. The fact is, Philly was never going to receive a superstar in exchange for Iverson. No contender had any interest in swapping their golden boy for a golden boy with massive ego and chemistry problems. But the 76ers did get some value. Andre Miller is a quality point guard who can step in for Iverson immediately. Obviously, he won't score like A.I. but perhaps the team will develop offensively as a unit. Joe Smith is a stiff (I don't think anyone has taken the plunge from rookie of the year to total nobody over their career like he has), but it's the two first round picks in the next draft that should have Philly at least smirking, if not grinning. Now, what they turn those draft picks into is another story, but Philly fans have to understand that they never had any leverage in this nightmare right from the start when their team stupidly said, "Hey NBA, we don't want him anymore. Any offers?" 2007 is a very deep draft, too, and this time next season, we could be talking about Greg Oden arriving in Philadelphia. All things being equal, Sixer fan, at least it wasn't as bad as the Charles Barkley trade.

As for Denver... well, what do we have here? To me, it looks like a team that is certain to have more internal problems while improving by perhaps 3-5 games over what their prior projection was. Still a first-round loser in the playoffs. The West is just full of so many good teams and Denver, for all their scoring presence, just flat out isn't as good. Consider, now, that Iverson is the veteran leader on a pretty young team, many players of which are already accustomed to standing around while Carmelo Anthony fills it up. It shouldn't go unnoticed that Melo is A) the current scoring leader in the league and B) Iverson has never gelled with another scorer in the history of his career. Jerry Stackhouse, Larry Hughes, Glenn Robinson, Chris Webber, they all resulted in total catastrophe. George Karl, experienced with players like Gary Payton, has his hands full. Iverson doesn't make his teammates better. It'll be interesting to watch as the microscope will be on Denver the rest of the year, now, but again, I can't imagine the Nuggets being any better than the 7-seed they're projected to be and exiting in the first round of the playoffs. If Iverson's transition is rocky in the early going, expect that same old malcontent garbage.

Odom good, Iverson bad

Despite watching a 27-point lead late in the game shrink down to freaking 2, the Lakers still managed to pull out of Houston with a win, last night. I credit this entirely to Tracy McGrady being out of the lineup, as his presences surely would've resulted in a successful Rockets comeback. Yao was hassled with foul trouble in the second half, anyway, so T-Mac was obviously the difference. Especially after Lamar Odom sprained his knee in the second quarter and had to leave the game. They're saying he's out for roughly a month and it's going to be incredibly difficult for the Lakers to replace his production. Lamar was playing like a 1st-Team All NBAer, this season -- like the MVP for the first two weeks. So now, Luke Walton, who has stepped up his game significantly this season (especially over the last handful of games) will be expected to step into the #2 role behind Mamba while either someone or some combination of players (likely a Kwame/Bynum hybrid) needs to assert themselves offensively and on a consistent basis. I think taking advantage of our inside muscle is probably the best, most effective way to neutralize the absence of Odom over the next month. We'll see what Phillip does.

On the topic of Allen Iverson, there are a few things I have to get off my chest. Yes, Iverson's a HOFer, but A) he won't transform any team -- and I mean any team into a winner and B) I could really care less about where he goes. And consider some of the potential destinations that have been put out there by the rumor mill. Golden State, Charlotte, Sacramento, Minnesota (who has no one to offer in return!!!)... these teams would be mortgaging their future (Charlotte, Boston) or whatever prominent, team-leading stars they do have (Sacto and Bibby -- a guy who actually makes his teammates better) for what? The hope of finishing 10th in their conference? Iverson doesn't make his teammates better. He's a phenomenal talent, but not a leader of men and the revolving door of second bananas in Philly over the years are evidence to that, not to mention every fiasco he gets himself into with management over truly frivelous issues. But I want to address these insipid rumors and queries being purported by some Laker fans on LA talk radio about A.I. possibly joining the Purple and Gold. Seriously, these people are morons and here's why:

1. If anyone has been watching, this year, it's plain to see that something special is coming together with the Lakers. Walton has finally grasped the triangle offense and has stepped up his game as a result, Kwame is playing with more confidence after last season's strong showing in the playoffs, Bynum is showing flashes of greatness and could be a true centerpiece in about three years, Jordan Farmar is excelling in the triangle and is the first true and talented point guard the Lakers have had in ages, and there's depth with solid role players like Turiaf, Mo Evans, and Radmanovic. To wit, the Lakers have become more than just Kobe and the occassional contribution from Lamar. There's a real team, here.

2. Acquiring Iverson means parting with Odom, among a few other players. Given the circumstances, I wouldn't make that trade if my life depended on it. Odom rates amongst the most versatile players in the game and is very much an inclusive teammate, improving the performance of his teammates by constantly finding them on the court. What Jason Kidd is to triple-doubles, Lamar Odom is to near-triple-doubles. On top of Odom, you'd have to lose another backcourt player and if that player isn't named "Smush Parker," you can forget it.

3. Kobe is not going anywhere, that much is certain. Kupchek has invested too much of the franchise into the Black Mamba for him to be dealt somewhere else. Try to imagine, now, a backcourt featuring Kobe and Iverson. Before you start thinking, "Wow, that's the best backcourt in history," consider that these are the two biggest egos in the NBA, one of which has finally come around to reason with Phil Jackson through years of trial and error and the other being a headcase who is literally being kicked out of Philadelphia. You thought Shaq/Kobe was a power struggle? You ain't seen nothing yet.

What it really all comes down to is that no contenders are in the running for Iverson because they all plainly see that acquiring him won't improve their team. He's got a hefty price tage attached to him and I couldn't ever imagine Phoenix, the Lakers, Houston, Dallas, the Spurs, Miami, Detroit, or even Cleveland opting to break up their current rosters for the chance to be sucked down into the mire of mediocrity and team turmoil. That's what Iverson brings to the table. And thus, his imminent arrival at a peripheral club that has no chance of making the playoffs will have Iverson finding himself in a situation exactly the same as the one he just left. How happy is he going to be about that?