More trouble brewed for the Nuggets in the season’s second half. After their .500 record in February, the team enjoyed its best month in March.
With newly acquired Reggie Evans and Ruben Patterson aboard and a renewed effort to coalesce, they went 11-5 in March. Included was a 5-2 road trip, best in franchise history for a trip of that length.
“Everyone thought we’d go on the road and fail,” coach George Karl said. “But we got a little confidence going. We were playing well. We did it with different people. A fun month. Legitimate wins.”
But more injuries would cripple the team.
Guard Earl Boykins fractured his left hand in mid-March and was lost for the rest of the regular season. Forward Eduardo Najera injured his right knee around the same time and missed five games in March and five more in April because of a fractured right foot. Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby continued to hobble with injuries.
And yet the Nuggets increased their pace and by season’s end had averaged 100.3 points per game, fifth best in the NBA.
“Sometimes I don’t know how we were doing it on offense without making jump shots,” Karl said. “I didn’t know how we were going to score 100 points, but we always seemed to score. Carmelo (Anthony) posted up. We played three guards a lot. But the injuries continued to stop us from building the foundation of who you are, from reaching a stronger level. We weren’t building who we were.”
The Nuggets clinched their first division title in 18 years when they won at Portland on April 10. But then they lost their final four regular-season games. Karl tried to rest his injured players, and a letdown followed.
“April,” he said, “did not have a good feel to it.”
A wounded team was bounced from the playoffs in five games by the Los Angeles Clippers. Martin was suspended after a halftime blowup in Game 2. After the Game 4 loss, Patterson yelled at Karl, “I can see why Kenyon went off!” Patterson was benched for the series’ final game.
In Game 4, Evans embarrassed himself and the franchise when he grabbed the groin region of Clippers center Chris Kaman. Evans was fined $10,000 by the league. He played less than five minutes in the playoff finale.
The early playoff exit illustrated the Nuggets’ weaknesses, including a lack of cohesiveness in the locker room. With a season-and-a-half under Karl complete, some of his players are grumbling louder about his coaching tactics.
One Nugget said: “George’s style is a smart-ass fashion. George never takes the blame. He can be an egotistical (jerk). Guys by the end of the year had had enough of it. It showed in the playoffs.”
To which Karl responded: “I tell them things in a lot of different fashions. Smart-ass is one way. Most things are told first one on one. If they refuse to listen, I go to something else. I go back to our first meeting as a reference. I’ll ask them in front of the team.
“Is it my job to push players to be the best or let them be soft? My job is not to be liked. My job is to push them to win. A lot of times players just want it one way. Sorry. I’m going to attack things that affect my basketball team. Sure, I know my ego.”
Karl said that in postseason meetings with his players that some asked him to be “harder and tougher” on the team. Karl said he will have “a calm aggressiveness now to managing this team.”
One Nuggets player said it’s needed. “All of the guys on this team are overly sensitive. And quite a few of them are very immature.”
Karl added: “The injuries, the drama of last season? Players are definitely for the team or for what I call the NBA b.s. Those kind of players make life hard.”
Nuggets players complained about their roles and their minutes, saying their roles were not defined, leading to confusion. Karl did not buy it during the season and is not now.
“Roles?” he asked. “It’s not how I coach. Your role is to play the best basketball you ever played. We’re not a ton of stars. We are a ton of good basketball players. Defining roles is a cop-out.”
It is clear the Nuggets need changes in personnel, and attitude, to reach a higher level.
Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke believes that will happen.
In his e-mail response for this series, he stated: “In our dealings with other owners and front offices, we are viewed as a team that is on the verge of doing great things. Again, there aren’t many teams that have made the playoffs each of the past three seasons. If we can stay a little healthier next season, then special things can happen. As is the case with most teams, we are focused on our own house and winning championships.
“Our goal will remain the same. We are focused on building a team that will compete for a championship on a consistent basis.”
When asked what qualities he will seek in naming a new general manager, Kroenke answered: “We are evaluating management structures that make the most sense here in Denver and we will announce that decision when our analysis is complete.”
Several Nuggets officials who talked for this series believe Kroenke’s leadership does not provide stability. One Nuggets official was critical of Kroenke’s communication style.
“Kroenke should be more open and honest to the media,” the official said. “His team was lying to the media about Kenyon, especially about his injuries. Stan is not talking like he should. You get rid of your GM and have no press conference? That doesn’t sound right. Somebody is giving Stan bad advice. He has a responsibility to the media and fans to let people know what is going on.”
Karl believes the Nuggets can build off three consecutive playoff appearances.
“I think we can come back and do good things next year,” he said. “We can come back and knock the socks off the NBA. They’re rooting against us. We do not have that many holes. We are still division champions. I think we can be division champions next year. It is about what we do to make the team stronger, not weaker. And we will be stronger from what we went through last year. This is a year we should be grown up. Last year was a forced year to grow up.”
He concludes with this jolting thought for all, especially his players:
“People say I am the same George Karl. Some of those people have not talked to me in 10 years. I am so different than I was 10 years ago. But I’m about to get back to some of that with this team.”
Staff writer Thomas George can be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
