Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 10:00 am  |  76 responses

Carmelo’s Side of the Story

by Marcel Mutoni

With Carmelo Anthony making his return to the Denver Nuggets’ lineup tonight against the Blazers, he and his coach say the incident that led to a one-game suspension is behind them. This, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that ‘Melo agrees with the punishment.

According to Anthony, he didn’t scream at Karl, and was simply trying to win a game … by refusing to sit on the bench when asked.

From the Denver Post:

“In my eyes, I thought the situation was minute,” Anthony said in his first public comments about the suspension. “Nobody really knew what happened. I didn’t think it was going to get as big as it got. He (coach George Karl) took that stance. At that point in time it wasn’t no need for me to even try to argue with it. He was already in the mode about a suspension. The suspension already took place. It happened.”

Karl and Anthony talked Wednesday about the incident and the suspension, to make sure they could move forward. “Like I told other people, I never had no words with George; we never had an argument,” Anthony said. “It’s just he took a stand on what happened and resolved it with a suspension.”

George will be happy to know that next time Carmelo’s instructed to sub out of a game, like a good soldier, his star forward will “sprint” to the bench.

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  • donlaker

    carmelo blame it on the henny, or you can blame it on the other alcohol…chauncey is an upgrade
    but they miss camby’s blocks and rbounding
    and nene can’t fill camby’s shoes ,and balkman
    should get more time, he is a big body they need to hit open 15 footers, but it comes down to coach karl, he has to rest the starters at some point to get them to the playoffs 2nd round.
    and im not sure he is confidant with his bench
    hence melo not wanting to come out.

  • http://ittakesanationofmillionstoholdthissac.blogspot.com ciolkstar

    Not sure I agree with you there Cub. I think the main reason for the defensive improvement is that AI is no longer there falling off screens and getting blown by by every other PG in the league.
    Nene has seriously stepped his game up too, especially the insane FG%. I agree that camby may be overrated defensively because shot blockers get all the credit, but good D is usually just about making other teams consistently take tough shots, and the fact that Billups is on the perimeter (instead of AI)has made all the difference. That and Melo rebounding more consistently.

  • http://ittakesanationofmillionstoholdthissac.blogspot.com ciolkstar

    And Camby’s contract really wasn’t that Bad, What was he making? 6 mill a year?

  • http://www.ravingblacklunatic.blogspot.com Allenp

    Ciolk
    Iverson sucked on pick and rolls, but Camby was just as bad, plus he’s a bad on ball defender.
    Camby never showed on pick and rolls, and Iverson always died on picks. So teams put those two together and your guard gets a wide open 15-footer every trip.

  • http://ittakesanationofmillionstoholdthissac.blogspot.com ciolkstar

    Good point AllenP. I prolly haven’t watched enough Nuggs games to challenge Cub on anything Nugget-related anyway. Nene is pretty good on the ball, he’s got quick hands and gets a lot of strips befoe the offensifve player can get the ball above his shoulders. I really am rooting for this Nuggets team now(after my hometown Spurs of course).

  • Drew

    I agree with Cub that it is deceptive that the Nugs are only 2 games ahead of where they were last year. The just went on a long road trip and had a bad 7 games. Hopefully, they turn it around the next few games.

  • Drew

    Cub, I only half-agree that the Nuggets are a better defensive team without Camby. They are a better defensive team with Nene starting, because he can hold his own against other bigs, which Camby had a hard time doing. They would be even better with a Nene, Camby, Anderson rotation, and they would have less injury risk. But they probably wouldn’t have signed Anderson had they not traded Camby.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    I don’t care about the Nuggets, but riggs sure sucks!

  • http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=243084247 Witness

    I dont care…but doesnt it make you proud that leron james is the face of the nba and never gets into anything like this. the most hes ever said was call barkely stupid.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Cub Buenning

    The Nuggets improved defense isn’t JUST because of no-Camby, but his contract was basically taken entirely “off the books” without having to replace the dollar signs. Not so much how much he makes per year (which i believe is actually 8), as apposed to removing the entire contract.

    True, Camby + Iverson on the pick and roll was misery.

  • http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=243084247 Witness

    nene, dahntay jones, billups and the birdman are the reason they are so much better.

  • CP34MVP

    i totally agree with witness. Karl’s job was in need of saving whoever said that it wasnt. if he didnt make it into the 2nd round of the playoffs this year he would of been fired. Chauncey Billups has indeed saved his job.

  • chintao

    If I were Carmelo, I would be quietly assassinating Karl’s character and lining-up my choice for his sucessor.

  • Tuomas

    R3Z, you do realize that 1) being a “winner” couldn’t be a much more subjective concept, mostly because by your standards there would probably only be a handful of them in the league, 2) without one Michael Jordan, Karl would have a ring, and thus be a “winner”?

  • http://slamonline WeezyLeezy

    Melo jus signed that extension too, right? I dont think he’ll last much longer out there. Knicks should make a trade. Lee/Harrington for Melo or somethin like that.

  • http://slamonline WeezyLeezy

    George Karl is wack, they are like oil and water

  • Jacob

    George Karl would do this,what a joke I hope that Karl doesnt try to divide the locker room, thats a damn good team down there in denver

  • Ned Mahony

    ciolkstar with the homerun.
    ……..almost.
    3 off – close enough.

  • Drew

    I live in Denver, and I am a Nuggets ticket holder, and I wanted to clarify one thing: nobody out here is talking about getting rid of Melo. The Nuggets were one of the worst teams in the league for years before he came here. The Nuggets team office is disfunctional, but they aren’t so stupid to understand that he is important to the team. And if you watch him game in game out, you realize that he is better than a lot of people think. He has been off this year, but he is still a really consistent scorer. He has the longest streak of games in double digets in the league. He gets to the line all the time. He has turned into a good rebounder. He is getting better on defense.

  • http://indianz.com R3Z

    I have been a supporter of Melo since ‘Cuse, but his actions have me questioning his approach to the game. I doubt if you want to be the best or play in the Finals, you start of the Playoffs with a DUI. The fight in New York, Melo has to priortize what he wants to accomplish.
    As for the poser Coach Karl, his coaching career is cushioned by the surplus of player talent on his teams. The Bucks where in the same situation as these Nuggets, never really fullfilling thier chamionship potential. The Nuggets have never seen the second round with Karl, I doubt they ever make it to the Finals with him either.

  • malanacream

    that’s witness… I’m 100% agree. Nene rules

  • Tuomas

    R3Z, can’t really argue with the second Karl post. What can I say, I had so much alcohol in my system yesterday that I’m glad I was able to even write coherent sentences. But yeah, Karl should indeed have more to show for the teams he coached. The ’96 Sonics were something else though.

  • Jack

    Mendel’s a hater. Melo could be a top 5 guy in the league talent wise. There was a reason it was LeBron and Melo 3 years ago, not LeBron and D-Wade. Melo has always had a co-star since then, so therefore he doesn’t need to do as much as either LBJ or D-Wade. Take away Billups, Melo’s averaging 30,8 and 6.

  • clapzilla

    @Drew, Melo’s Streak of 10+ Points Was Broken When He Only Played A Few Minutes of A Game Against Houston. Secondly, There’s An Absurd Amount of Denver Sports Fans That Want Melo Gone. Alot of The Nuggets Fans Think We’re Better Off Trading Him For 2 Good Players. They Don’t See It The Way You And I See It, They Have It Out For Him, They’re Crazy.

    And R3Z, Those Bucks Weren’t That Great. Go Look At Their Rosters, Its Far From Championship Material. But, They Were A Game Away From The Finals So Everyone Involved Deserves Some Credit.

  • OneStep

    He’s your coach Melo. Show some respect. He asks you to do something? You do it. Unless you fancy becoming player-coach of the Nuggets that’s how it is. It’s called a hierarchy and you don’t call the shots. If Karl sucks then he’ll be gone. But you’ll do what the next coach tells you too because that’s your job. Anarchy is never going to lead to success on the basketball court. Remember when you were mentioned in the same breath as Lebron and Dwyane? It’s incidents like this and your poor play that you need to focus on redressing. The coach is the least of your worries fool.

  • chintao

    OneStep needs to take his Geritol. Dude sounds like he farts dust.

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