Los Angeles – Comedian Billy Crystal claims he once slipped on the court to play in an NBA game with the Clippers, and nobody in America noticed. Crystal was kidding. Wasn’t he?
When people say you’re a patsy for the oldest joke in pro hoops, those are fighting words.
No wonder Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony is fighting mad.
Denver lost Saturday night to an NBA franchise that had not won a playoff game since 1983, when Anthony was eating lunch in the third grade.
The Clippers beat Denver 89-87 in the opening game of their best-of-seven series.
“We aren’t getting no respect right now. That’s motivation,” Anthony said Saturday morning, after reading and hearing how Denver was doomed to failure in L.A. “Actually, I feel disrespected, to be honest with you.”
As forward Elton Brand, who finished with 21 points for the Clippers, stepped to the foul line during the first quarter, success-starved fans in the arena chanted: “MVP! MVP! MVP!”
Not to question the basketball wisdom of anyone who cheers for the Clippers in a Lakers town, but Brand is not even the best player in Los Angeles. That honor belongs to Kobe Bryant.
And riddle me this: If you were starting an NBA team tomorrow, who would you rather have as your franchise player: Brand or Anthony?
That’s a no-brainer so obvious that even a Clippers fan should be able to handle the truth.
“Not to incite anything, but you’ve got to go with Melo. No question,” Denver general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said. “How many players in the whole league are better than Melo right now?”
From chronic injuries to trade rumors to locker room whining throughout the season, the Nuggets have endured what Vandeweghe delicately calls a lot of “stuff.”
At an age when he should have been finishing his senior year at Syracuse, it is Melo who has held Denver’s stuff together.
He will not win the MVP. Expect the trophy to be handed to Cleveland superstar LeBron James, who will defeat Bryant in the polling, more for popularity than merit.
But, if the voters for postseason awards cared enough to open their eyes and minds, Anthony would be named the most improved player in the league in a landslide.
The unwritten rules of the most improved category require that candidates have a decidedly mediocre history in the league, only to blossom unexpectedly. Boris Diaw fits the description. Diaw is a favorite to win the award, primarily because Phoenix gave him the chance to prove he is not a stiff.
From accusations of immaturity as thick as a cloud of marijuana smoke a year ago, Anthony has grown up, gotten buff and proved himself to be the lone indispensable individual in Denver basketball.
Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke could unwisely let Vande- weghe walk away as general manager, coach George Karl will eventually return to the TV work that allows him to moan freely about the commitment of the modern athlete, and creaky joints might have forward Kenyon Martin on his last legs as an intimidating force in the lane.
But, so long as Anthony wears a Nuggets uniform, there will be reason for genuine hope in Denver. Which is why it is so reassuring to hear Anthony declare he has found a home and say: “I don’t want to go nowhere.”
The Nuggets put Game 1 in the hands of Anthony.
He failed to deliver, misfiring on all eight of his shots in the fourth quarter, including a jumper that could have sent the game to overtime, but bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
“You can’t miss a shot if you don’t take it,” said Anthony, who needed 26 shots to score 25 points.
But here’s what you should remember, and what the Clippers will not be able to forget. Anthony and Denver often played horrendously, yet almost stole a win.
“It’s going to be an interesting series,” Karl said.
Karl claims he’s so old that a victory in playoff basketball is better than sex.
Melo and the Nuggets can’t get no satisfaction.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-820-5438 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
