Memories of his team’s recent performance haunt Nuggets coach George Karl. He hopes the fire and passion his team showed early this month when it clinched a playoff berth will return for the playoffs.
The Nuggets, coming off ugly back-to-back home losses, play their final regular-season game tonight in Seattle, then get ready to face the Clippers in the playoffs, which can’t arrive soon enough for Karl.
“The first two weeks of April were fine,” Karl said. “The last few games haven’t been fine. For me, and I’m sure it feels the same way for the players, it seems as if the playoffs should have been here two weeks ago.”
In early April the Nuggets recorded consecutive victories over the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State and Portland. However, recent losses to Utah, Sacramento and Houston have led to Karl’s criticism of his team’s effort and have left players wondering what is going on. There’s even word around the NBA that teams want to play the Nuggets because they think their ship is sinking.
“That’s fine,” Karl said. “We’ll be there and be on the court and we’ll be ready. We’ll play better than we have the last three games. We’ve accomplished our goals all season.”
The players have been asked if they can turn on the switch when the playoffs begin, either Saturday or Sunday.
“We’re looking at the bigger picture,” center Marcus Camby said. “Our goal is to win a championship. We don’t look at the talk as being bad chemistry. We have a team that can win it all.”
Carmelo Anthony stopped short any talk of team turmoil.
“I’m happy. We don’t have time for people to be unhappy,” Anthony said.
Asked about the team’s recent sluggishness, Anthony said, “A lot of people are ready for the playoffs to start. I think that’s it.”
Guard Andre Miller added: “It’s a good feeling to be in the playoffs, but we haven’t been playing good basketball. I’m not unhappy about anything. You have ups and downs throughout the season. We’re going to try to pick it up.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
