The first quarter killed the Denver Nuggets, outscored by 18 points, and from then on the San Antonio Spurs had their way with Denver during their Saturday game in San Antonio. I could say it was the lack of shooting — Ty Lawson went 5-for-13 — the lack of urgency from most of the team, or blame it on George Karl, but it was clear that Denver’s abysmal perimeter defense was the one takeaway from this game.
San Antonio poured 16 three-pointers. Sixteen. Six-freaking-teen three-pointers were ALLOWED by the Denver Nuggets and that’s something that can’t continue.
Danilo Gallinari was improved, attacking the basket, and one of the few players that were defending. Lawson scored some points, but he’s still looks complacent, similarly to when Nene received that fat contract last season. If Lawson has any hopes of being an All-Star, he must get his head out of his ass because right now, he could barely make the cut on a high school team.
Kenneth Faried was able to contribute 14 points, but was in foul trouble early and never really was in a rhythm. Faried CAN NOT be the offensive guy for this team, but when Gallinari, Lawson, and even Iguodala, go ghost in games, Faried has too much pride to just watch this team fail.
Speaking of Andre Iguodala, he gets the milk carton treatment; he was totally invisible for this game. I was very optimistic when Denver traded for him, but as of late, I’m just mehish about his lack of consistent drive. This was an issue in Philly and why he was on the trade block for two seasons.
This was a game in which it was lost during the first quarter, and make no mistake about it, the starting lineup needs to be shaken up, but will George Karl do it is the question? A better question would be if Josh Kroenke or Masai Ujiri are going to be proactive and have a sit down with Karl or will they wait for another trio of horrible losses.
The Denver Nuggets looked like a band of cockroaches who had disbanded every which way; they had no idea what the heck was going on and that is where I look questionably at George Karl.
I’m not blaming a 26-point loss on the coach, that would be asinine, but it’s Karl’s job to inspire, to pump sort of life into this zombie-like team, and to ADJUST accordingly.
The team lost because they have no idea who they are. There are no defined roles. It’s a team with multiple GOOD players, but as a unit it’s like watching an apocalypse.
Until they find themselves, it’s going to be more of the same. As much as I would love to write George Karl a breakup letter, much of the game is to be blamed on the lack of urgency from the players. For a team that has a top three wing defender, he sure as hell didn’t help during this game.
This is only 10 games, but it’s also a 4-6 start that fans across the board would like to forget. It’s easy to fire up the “Fire George Karl” propaganda bandwagon, but this team’s issues are deeper than just coaching. It’s a mix of players that look like a Rec League instead of a professional ball club.
This team needs inspired. This team needs to soul search. This team needs to be consistent in every single game of the season; it’s too early in the season to do any crazy team adjustment, but this could be the beginning of a startling trend.
Let me put it this way, if someone had turned on this game Saturday night, and never had seen the Denver Nuggets before, they looked like a lottery team.
Monday they face the Memphis Grizzlies — the team that has won 8 consecutive games — and that team is looking to be one of the best teams in the league.
It’s time for this team to knuckle down, cohere, and play some Denver basketball.
