In a weird way, Nuggets coach George Karl thinks some of the New Orleans Hornets’ underachievement could help them overachieve against No. 2 Denver, starting tonight in Game 1.
Asked at today’s shootaround about an underplayed story line, Karl said, “I think they have some really good veterans who have had mediocre years who are going to take the playoffs pretty seriously to kind of recoup their season.”
Karl made reference to a handful of Hornets, be it Peja Stojakovic, the former all-star who has battled back issues, to Tyson Chandler, whose rebounds are down by three a game.
“I think you’re going to see a very angry, together team,” Karl said, “even though they might not have had the ability to do that in the regular season because of injuries and circumstances.”
This morning, Karl also talked about his favorite subject – guard Chauncey Billups, with whom he has a pretty cool relationship.
“I think he’s one of the best winners in the NBA. Not spectacular, more probably into understanding the game and figuring it out, as much as a coach. An example I make is, we don’t have a lot of baseline out-of-bounds plays. He came to me today and said, ‘We’ve got to put in another baseline out-of-bounds play.” And I already had it in my notes. So he thinks with us.”
Tipoff is 8:30 at Pepsi Center tonight, and the game will be aired on TNT and Altitude.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
