The biggest question surrounding Carmelo Anthony’s all-star status if he isn’t voted a starter by the fans is: How will his suspension affect the coaches’ voting?
For Utah coach Jerry Sloan, not much.
The longtime Jazz coach said he would vote for Anthony, despite the 15-game suspension the Nuggets star is serving for punching New York’s Mardy Collins during a Dec. 16 game.
“I think you have to go on who he is and what he’s able to do,” Sloan said. “You’ve got to look and see where his team is and if he’s responsible for that. If there’s somebody ahead of him, you’d probably take another look. But he’s a great player. He deserves to be in the All-Star Game.”
Anthony went into Saturday night’s games leading the NBA in scoring at 31.6 points per game. Also going into Saturday, the Nuggets are 13-9 with Anthony, and 3-5 without him.
Sloan did say the suspension should be factored in, however.
“That has a bearing,” Sloan said. “I can’t hide from it, and I don’t think he should hide from it. It’ll either make you stronger or weaker. He seems to be the kind of person that it would make him stronger.”
Back to normal
After starting Julius Hodge on Friday at the Los Angeles Lakers, Karl changed to a scoring-heavy starting lineup of Allen Iverson, Earl Boykins, Nene, Linas Kleiza and Reggie Evans against the Jazz.
“I’m just trying to figure out a formula to give us a better start,” Karl said. “I’d like to start a little bit better.”
It didn’t work. The Nuggets fell behind 9-0 and trailed 27-16 after the first quarter.
One last apology
To be certain his feelings were heard, Allen Iverson released a statement Saturday apologizing again for his postgame comments on Jan. 2 about referee Steve Javie.
“I would like to offer my sincere apology to Steve Javie for comments that I made against my former team last week. Steve is a veteran official of the NBA and he deserves the utmost respect.
“I allowed my emotions to get away from me, and for someone who has played in this league for as long as I have, that is inexcusable.”
Footnotes
Center Marcus Camby didn’t play against the Jazz after hyperextending his injured right hand against the Lakers. An MRI exam revealed no further damage….Longtime Nuggets official scorer Bill Schaefer missed Saturday’s game as he is recovering from a recent auto accident. The Nuggets staff is hoping for a speedy recovery. In the meantime, Dan O’Connell has taken over official scoring duties.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
