No One is Safe

(Boulder-CO) We all have heard the stories about Nuggets players talking smack to each other in practice. We have all heard the stories of Coach Karl letting his two cents rip too. And we have certainly not forgotten about the mutiny that occurred last season, but with the article I just read in the Denver Post by Mark Kiszla. It would appear that this entire city is joining in on the fun of putting everyone on blast. People, we are only three games into the season, and I have a formula that should calm everyone the (expletive removed for the kids) down.

The mathematics is simple Nuggets fans. If you breakdown the season into eight, ten-game stretches with the goal being to win fifty games in the season. A team must only win, on average, six of their ten games to end up with 48 victories. That leaves a franchise with the remaining two games of the 82 game season to round out the W column to an even 50! One game over .500 in every ten game stretch is all that it takes. So if you put away the suicidal rational for a second, despite being 0-3, the Nuggets are just fine.

Onward now to my reasoning behind the title of this post. The aforementioned article in the Denver Post essentially puts everyone, but Doug Moe, (bless his heart), on blast. Andre Miller is laced up as the, “Wrong man to run an up-tempo offense for Karl”. Maybe it was his extra chub that has the Denver Post writer feeling this way, but to me it is the same old problem that Andre has always had that is his major hang-up. He can’t shoot the ball plain and simple. Both J.R. Smith and Yakhouba Diawara were not safe either. The article says, and I quote, “Between the offense of J.R. Smith and the defense of rookie Yakhouba Diawara, the Nuggets have one dangerous shooting guard. Unfortunately, league rules strictly prohibit substitutions on the fly, every time the basketball crosses center court.” Ouch, but I can’t say that I disagree.

Next on the chopping block for Kiszla was Kenyon Martin. Kiszla writes, “It's all over for forward Kenyon Martin except the crumbling. He worked hard to get his act together. But his body is falling apart. What happens to a bulky NBA player when the knees go bad? Anybody recall how painful the final days in Denver of Calvin Natt and LaPhonso Ellis were to watch?” Geez, if this is the case why don’t we just throw him out in the street and throw our loose change at his feet! I mean, Kiszla must assume the guy is paralyzed or something to say something along those lines.

Thought the guillotine session was over? Listen to my chuckle when I say that it is far from through! Now it’s time for Earl Boykins to wear the black bag over his head on his way to the noose stand. Kiszla writes this about the mighty micro, “If fan-favorite Earl Boykins is not already on the block, the number on his cell phone will soon be changed to 303-TRADE ME. He is a 5-foot-5 shooting guard, which is a bad strategy unless your team plays in a middle school. The little man has a huge heart, but he has worn out his welcome”. Why don’t you just tell us what is really on your mind, huh?

If you thought the weak and the hobbled were safe, think again! Kiszla even has some thoughts about where Nene’s progress is, and I’m not talking about his recovery. Kiszla is brutal when he writes, “From head to toe, Nene appears to be a new man. The beard. The jumper. Looks cool. But the dude has gone all GQ on us. He has forgotten how to get down-and-dirty on defense and seems content to play a pretty game”. Damn and I thought that Nene was looking pretty productive in his limited minutes. How about anyone else?

And if all this wasn’t enough the man holding the sword, I mean pen, has even got some bones to pick with Carmelo. He writes, “Despite all the points forward Carmelo Anthony scored in the names of patriotism and maturity as a member of Team USA during the summer, he has thrown away two victories for the Nuggets already this season, by stupidly getting tossed against the Los Angeles Clippers and by chucking brain-dead shots against Minnesota. Melo stood up like a man and took the blame on both counts. So you've got to love Anthony, but you better expect a bumpy ride when the captain leading the way is 22 years old.” I almost forgot that the other four guy’s on the floor didn’t play any role in giving up fourth quarter leads. And as for Carmelo’s ability as a team leader, Kiszla must have forgotten about the National Championship he led the Syracuse Orangemen to back a few years ago…

The point is Nuggets fans; do not get pulled into this rhetoric of despair. The Nuggets do have some problems, no doubt about that, but if you forget the doomsday scenarios for a moment. And keep in mind the complex math I explained in the beginning of this post. You will realize that the Nuggets are going to be alright. Do you need another kind stroke to help you sleep well at night? Well, here it is. The Nuggets are historically a better without Kenyon Martin when wins and losses are concerned. Maybe his injury has a silver lining for this team and good times are just around the bend. The Nuggets will have an opportunity tonight to have history repeat itself when they face off with the 76ers at 5 pm. Go Nuggets!