Then and Now

The locals are not restless.

It may be a side effect of the gut punch that has been the sage of Jay Cutler versus Josh McDaniels. It may be the realization that Matt Holliday isn’t on the diamond when you sit down at Coors Field these days. More likely, it is the expectation that doom and gloom are lurking in the shadows ahead.

The Nuggets are approaching the playoffs as the #2 seed in the West, they’ve posted a record of 13-7 through March and early April to get there, and no one in the city of Denver is paying much mind.

If you ask coach George Karl, there is no reason to talk about the rise in Mile High. “We’ve been to the playoffs every year that Carmelo has been here. We’ve been to the playoffs every year when I’ve been here. We have yet to win a playoff series,” Karl told Dan Patrick during his radio show. “The goal is to put an end to that before we start projecting to the conference finals.”

Maybe it’s Karl’s lack of interest in staking a claim to the role of sleeping giant in the NBA playoffs.

Whatever the reason, the Nug faithful are excited about the team’s recent play but they seem content to agree with Karl. There is no reason to expect a run of significance from the team, but a move to Round 2 might get us more involved.

This writer wonders if the apathy isn’t as concerning as any of the potential competitors the Nuggets might face in the battle to achieve their apparent goals.

Consider the situation at hand. Karl has enjoyed five years at the helm and, as he noted, there is a severe lack of playoff success that has followed. If the Nuggets were to fall in the first set of the postseason, would the franchise bring him back for another ill-fated attempt at success? They say insanity is the decision to repeat the same actions and expecting different results.

What about the roster? Carmelo Anthony is already suffering the indignant honors as the failure of the class of 2003. LeBron has been to the finals and appears to be paving his way to a repeat performance. D-Wade has a ring and enjoyed another MVP-worthy campaign. Those three player were the crux of the game’s best draft-day debate since Magic and Bird entered the league. Now, any reasonable fan would question why Melo would be included in the discussion. Another early dismissal from the playoffs puts another brick on that ever-growing wall.

More importantly, it puts the reigns as team leader squarely in the hands of Chauncey Billups. CB 2.0 has been much better for the Nuggs, providing the facilitation skills and reliable scoring the team lacked with The Answer at the two. You would be hard pressed to find a dedicated observer who would rank Melo ahead of Billups in terms of contribution to success, and the decision to bring Billups onboard may rank as the most influential trade the NBA witnessed this season. However, if the Nuggets fail to turn that good fortune into a win in Round 1, you will see Billups transform from veteran leader to aging, overpaid question mark. Billups is 32-years of age today, 35 in basketball years. The gradual slide away from prominence will not be avoided, making the urgency of 2009 that much more powerful.

A series victory in the first round is not good enough. Someone need to remind Karl and the rest that progress is not earned by the passing of time, and five years of failure will not be moved forward by a 1st-series win. It would not be one step closer to a better day.

It will be one step closer to the end.

Tags: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets, George Karl