djohn2oo8
11-30-2009, 09:39 AM
DENVER -- George Karl said he wasn't going to overreact to the loss.
Then he overreacted.
But that's quite understandable. Two weeks earlier, the Denver Nuggets (http://nba.fanhouse.com/team/nuggets) had walloped the Los Angeles Lakers (http://nba.fanhouse.com/team/lakers) at home, and point guard Chauncey Billups (http://nba.fanhouse.com/players/chauncey-billups/3174) was saying his Nuggets are definitely an elite team.
Sunday night, though, they looked more asleep than elite. The Nuggets (12-5), who had won 17 straight regular-season games at the Pepsi Center, were stunned 106-100 by Minnesota (2-15), which had lost 15 straight. It's got to be one of the biggest regular-season upsets in recent NBA history.
Karl, Denver's coach, started his postgame press conference relatively calm, saying he wouldn't "overreact to a loss.'' By the end, though, he got heated.
"The play-hard thing is driving me crazy,'' Karl said. "Tell me my play-hard team. Tell me the five guys I put out there on the court to play hard every possession. Tell me it. I had it last year. I had a play-hard team last year. I don't have a play-hard team this year. And it's making me very angry.''
After their shocking win, Timberwolves players were talking about how the Nuggets are known for letting teams get back into games.
Keep in mind these comments were coming from a team that hadn't won since Oct. 28. And that was a 95-93 defeat of New Jersey (0-17), the NBA's only outfit that is more lowly.
"Denver is a type of team that will let you back into the ballgame, and they did,'' said center Al Jefferson (http://nba.fanhouse.com/players/al-jefferson/3832).
"We didn't respect them enough to come out and try to put them away,'' Billups said of the second half
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/11/30/lowly-timberwolves-put-bite-into-nuggets/
Then he overreacted.
But that's quite understandable. Two weeks earlier, the Denver Nuggets (http://nba.fanhouse.com/team/nuggets) had walloped the Los Angeles Lakers (http://nba.fanhouse.com/team/lakers) at home, and point guard Chauncey Billups (http://nba.fanhouse.com/players/chauncey-billups/3174) was saying his Nuggets are definitely an elite team.
Sunday night, though, they looked more asleep than elite. The Nuggets (12-5), who had won 17 straight regular-season games at the Pepsi Center, were stunned 106-100 by Minnesota (2-15), which had lost 15 straight. It's got to be one of the biggest regular-season upsets in recent NBA history.
Karl, Denver's coach, started his postgame press conference relatively calm, saying he wouldn't "overreact to a loss.'' By the end, though, he got heated.
"The play-hard thing is driving me crazy,'' Karl said. "Tell me my play-hard team. Tell me the five guys I put out there on the court to play hard every possession. Tell me it. I had it last year. I had a play-hard team last year. I don't have a play-hard team this year. And it's making me very angry.''
After their shocking win, Timberwolves players were talking about how the Nuggets are known for letting teams get back into games.
Keep in mind these comments were coming from a team that hadn't won since Oct. 28. And that was a 95-93 defeat of New Jersey (0-17), the NBA's only outfit that is more lowly.
"Denver is a type of team that will let you back into the ballgame, and they did,'' said center Al Jefferson (http://nba.fanhouse.com/players/al-jefferson/3832).
"We didn't respect them enough to come out and try to put them away,'' Billups said of the second half
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/11/30/lowly-timberwolves-put-bite-into-nuggets/