In many ways you'd think these would be the good times for fans of the Denver Nuggets. Two All-Star Starters, some thrilling and heated rivalries, and a place in one of the hottest conference battles in NBA history.
The Nuggets are three games out of first place in their division.
But at least in the eyes of Andrew Feinstein, the cracks are starting to show. He's a longtime Denver fan who recently launched the website FireGeorgeKarl. He writes:
This blog is NOT a personal attack on George Karl, whom I admire greatly for devoting his life's work to basketball, battling cancer and remaining in the grueling, public cauldron that is coaching in professional sports. That being said, Coach Karl makes $3 million per season, the Denver Nuggets are loaded with talent and have the fourth highest payroll in the NBA ... and yet they're at the bottom of the playoff race, or might miss the postseason altogether!
The litany of blown games, losses against sub-.500 opponents, porous defensive performances and incoherent offensive schemes must end. I hope I'm proven wrong and the Nuggets advance in the playoffs for the first time during Coach Karl's three-and-a-half-year tenure, but it's not looking good. Should we fail to win a first-round series this year, Coach Karl should be dismissed immediately, or resign.
Remember when Portland used to stockpile stars? Rasheed Wallace, Scottie Pippen, Steve Smith, Damon Stoudamire and the like? When Denver was in hot pursuit of Ron Artest, the Nuggets were starting to remind me of those teams -- with big contracts at nearly every position, and very few of those "run through walls" inexpensive types that have fueled the title runs of the San Antonio Spurs.
As a Portland fan, I feel I have been burned by that roster philosophy, and am therefore probably unfairly biased against it. But here's why I don't like it: when things go badly, and there are umpteen guys used to being "the man," it is natural for everyone to think that the way for the team to get better is for "the man" to be more heavily featured. And in every single game you have at least one, if not three or four, stars who want more touches.
Sometimes some stars can put those alpha dog feelings aside for the sake of the team. But it's not something I'd want to count on.
Adversity can pull some teams together. A little losing streak here or there can get you to prioritize differently. But I think it's just too much to ask for adversity to bring together a team of superstars. They lose, and the wheels can come off the wagon a little.
I suspect that's why very few ensemble teams, those teams with massive payrolls and stars at nearly every position, have won titles.
Especially when you consider the collective bargaining agreement and how marvelous it is to have the flexibility that comes with lower salaries, it strikes me as the smarter approach to have a clearly defined collection of two or three highly paid stars, surrounded by inexpensive and largely replaceable role players who excel at well-defined tasks. (Mainly: play defense, don't turn the ball over, and hit open shots.)
Which is all a really roundabout way of saying, I'd be nervous if I were a Denver fan too. That is a lot of salary for only pretty good production. Is it George Karl's fault? The front office? I don't really have enough information to say.
And on top of all that: it could work. This team could prove everybody wrong. Some nights they're amazing. Carmelo Anthony could make us all look foolish. But until they win a playoff series, I suspect this new blog will be pretty busy.
