Wait, who?
Yep, Nuggets undrafted rookie Julyan Stone has started the past two games for Denver. Now, coach George Karl has quality veterans on his bench, but the coach likes to keep those guys playing together, notably Andre Miller, Rudy Fernandez and Al Harrington. So with Danilo Gallinari (ankle) out for a month — and Corey Brewer with family after the death of his father — Stone got the call (Stone started for Arron Afflalo the previous game).
At 6-foot-7, Stone is a long, active defender who can play numerous backcourt positions.
Karl was asked why Stone is playing ahead of a fellow seldom-used rookie, Jordan Hamilton (a first-round pick).
“I think the decision to start him the past two games is defense — you have Kevin Martin and Vince Carter,” Karl said. “There’s no question Julyan’s a much better defensive player than Jordan is. I don’t think anybody in that locker room will disagree.”
Tough news. Many around the Pepsi Center hold Chauncey Billups in high regard, so when news trickled in about Billups tearing his Achilles tendon, many Nuggets reached out to the Clippers point guard.
“I’m sad — I texted him last night and we had three, four texts back and forth,” said Karl.
Getting his kicks. At the Nuggets’ shootaround, Karl wore a Real Madrid soccer jersey, courtesy of Fernandez. Real Madrid has a basketball team too — Karl coached the team in the late 1980s, and Fernandez played for it during the lockout.
“Gallo is kind of upset — I told him I do have an AC Milan jersey too,” Karl said. “I might have to wear that. And I have an Italian national team jersey. So I might go soccer for a while. … I’ve never told Nene this, but I enjoy watching the Brazilians play soccer. I kind of can see why they’re good. The Spanish, too. I follow Real Madrid and Arsenal and Barcelona some. I try to catch a soccer game once in a while. It’s somewhat basketball-oriented — there’s spacing, the pass, cutting, when to cut, how to cut.”
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
