What a Week for Nuggets Nation

It’s been a little while since my last article. Since the Spurs game last Thursday many an event has transpired for the NBA and the Nuggets. What a difference a week makes.

We started out the week looking forward to a Nuggets themed All-Star weekend. Chauncey did well enough in the Three Point Contest, getting beaten in the second round by a red-hot Paul Pierce. This turned out to be the highlight of my Saturday night as the Dunk Contest went down as the worst I have ever beheld. What happened? Gerald Wallace and Shannon Brown dunked like they were afraid the rim was made of razor wire. Then Demar Derozan did his best to spice things up, but after having Dwight Howard in it the last two years, it just seemed like the league and the fans were ready to hand over the title to Nate Robinson simply for showing up. Seriously, come on LeBron, Dwyane Wade, etcetera. If Jordan can compete in it three times, you guys can do it at least once. You owe it to the memories of guys like him, Dominique Wilkins, and Vince Carter, oops he’s still playing I heard, to get out there and give it your best shot. You also owe it to me, whom hasn’t seen a truly remarkable display of dunking that raised the bar since VC did it in 2000 (sorry D12, you are awesome, but Vinsanity is still king in my mind). Sorry, I had to get my disgust with the Dunk Contest on to the web, before I flew down to the player’s union meeting and went postal.

The All-Star Game itself turned out to be one of the best I had ever seen. I guess it’s just the law of averages. If the Dunk contest sucks that bad, the All-Star Game would have to be at least a decent endeavor. Melo had a great game, just doing his Melo thing. He scored quietly and at will, as would make sense in a game devoid of fouling. Then Chauncey came in and got hot himself, draining threes like he should have in the Three Point Contest, whatever, and getting the other guys involved in the second half. Both of our Nuggets did their best to bring back the West and got them within two at the end. If Deron Williams hadn’t given that stupid, unnecessary foul, they might have had a better chance, but at the end it came down to a Melo three point attempt. Personally, I was hoping either Chauncey or Dirk would get the last shot, as Chauncey was hot from three and Dirk had been knocking down outside shots all game and it would have been nice for him to win the game in front of the Dallas crowd. It fell to Carmelo though, and he did his best to hoist up a shot from outside. I think he was a little bit surprised at how aggressive Dwyane Wade’s defense was on him. It looked like when he first got the ball he was ready to take a couple steps forward and jack it up, but D-Wade got in his grill and Melo had to try and go around him which threw off his shot.

With Melo sheepishly smiling at the end of the game, everything seemed like just fun and games for once in the NBA. Little did Nuggets Nation know what it was in for come just two days later. With most NBA coaches fans, players, GM’s, and owners wondering about the trade deadline one coach was wondering about his expiration date. George Karl has had cancer before. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer almost five years ago. He fought through it and then had to watch his son battle his own thyroid cancer just two years later. Then, Karl supported Nene through his ordeal with testicular cancer. Finding out now he has to battle this disease again could not be a more daunting task. How much does one man have to take? George Karl is renowned for his generosity, poise, basketball wisdom, and work ethic. He has improved every team he has coached since the early nineties. He has taken the high road with players often in his career, Payton, Kemp, Melo, Martin, J.R. Smith, and been able to resolve issues with them, get wins, and build bonds with those same players that last to this day. It is unfair for someone of such upstanding character to have to go through a life threatening illness twice in the same decade.

My hope is the Nuggets will truly rally around their coach and take on his instruction and desire to win for the rest of the season. They owe it to this man who has dealt with so many problems in his relatively short tenure in Denver. Karl values the game of basketball in terms of the sacred. Like me, he sees the game as something when played unselfishly, bravely, and for your teammates as transcendent of mere sports. Basketball rewards those who take what can easily be an individual effort and create a group mentality. If the Nuggets take everything into account that Karl has tried to relay, they will go into the playoffs stronger than ever and ready to take down a team like the Lakers who only feign team spirit. The best medicine, besides chemotherapy and radiation, for any person with a life threatening illness is hope. The Nuggets need to come together as a team like never before to keep their coach’s hope alive for a championship. If they can do this, it will speed his recovery and get him back in time at least for the Western Conference Finals.

With the trade deadline here and gone and the Nuggets standing pat, it seems the improvement Denver needs to make is within. Unless they can pick up a free agent like Drew Gooden, cut to me salivating, before March first, they are going to have to bolster each other’s spirits to play like they made a blockbuster trade. These guys can do it. Carmelo is going to have a sensational last twenty-nine games, bet on it, Ty Lawson can still pick it up, and J.R. Smith could definitely start taking some of Karl’s advice more seriously. I think the player most important in stepping up his play is still Nene. I look for him to take some inspiration from Karl’s cancer diagnosis and take his game to a new level. Nene has still not hit his ceiling and he knows how important he is to Karl and this team.

Tonight will be a good test of their resolve. The Cavaliers are still on a thirteen game winning streak, but with no Ilgauskas and Antawn Jamison waiting in the wings, the Nuggets could steal one in Cleveland. Until then, my best wishes to the Karl family and as always; GO NUGGETS!!!