You can’t blame George Karl for feeling a bit like a mad scientist these days. With suspensions, injuries and key players coming and going, the Nuggets’ season has been a crazy experiment.
Their search for team chemistry continues tonight in Portland when Karl plans to start Steve Blake at point guard. Blake was obtained from Milwaukee on Thursday in a trade that sent spark plug Earl Boykins to Milwaukee. Karl is eager to see how Blake and scoring guard Allen Iverson co-exist. Blake scored 13 points, all in the second half, in his debut Friday night as the Nuggets lost 90-86 to Houston.
“I don’t have time to be patient, so I will probably start Steve (tonight) and see what he can do,” Karl said after Saturday’s practice. “I want to see how Steve and A.I. play together. If I have to cut minutes from Yakhouba (Diawara) or J.R. (Smith), I’m going to do it.”
Since coming back from his 10-game suspension, Smith’s shooting has been erratic. In two games, he’s shot just 9-for-30 from the field.
Indeed the Nuggets’ entire offense has been in a funk. They shot just 34.8 percent in their loss to the Rockets and scored a season-low in a 92-83 loss to San Antonio on Wednesday night. The Nuggets have lost seven of 10 to slip to .500 (17-17).
Denver’s moment of truth arrives Jan. 22 when star forward Carmelo Anthony is scheduled to return after serving a 15-game suspension for fighting. The Nuggets have gone 4-8 without Anthony, who believes it will not take long to build a potent combination with Iverson.
“We are going to get our team chemistry going in practice,” Anthony said. “We’ve got a lot of time to practice next week, and I think that will kind of mesh everything together. We will get A.I. up to speed and Steve Blake to speed and get everybody playing together.
“So I think it will probably take two games and a couple of practices.”
Others don’t anticipate the process being quite so swift.
“It’s going to take some time,” center Marcus Camby said. “We’ve been working hard at it at practice, but games are a different ballgame from practice, so it’s not going to happen overnight. We all have to understand that. But once we start playing well with each other – hopefully right after the all-star break – we should really take off.”
When asked to predict how long it will take the Nuggets to jell once Anthony returns, Karl quipped: “Probably November of next year.”
He was joking, but he’s not kidding when he said the Nuggets are in dire need of a quick turnaround.
“Coaches usually look at 20-25 games into a season until they feel that their team is who it’s going to be,” he said. “It can’t take that long with us. I’m hoping because of A.I.’s professionalism and experience, and Melo’s scoring and athleticism that it will take maybe five or 10 games.”
That being said, Karl knows it’s important the Nuggets pocket a couple of wins before Anthony returns.
“We are at the stage where the suspensions are hanging on a little too much,” he said. “The speeches about how we’re going to get better are getting old. We need a win.”
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
