NBA: Where embarrassment happens.

If you’re from Los Angeles, the NBA may still be where amazing happens. But if you hail from the great state of Colorado, the NBA is where pathetic happens. It’s where laziness happens. It’s where giving up happens.

The Denver Nuggets have the best team in the NBA—on paper. On the court, they have a miscellany, a gallimaufry, if you will (thank you thesaurus). They have a disarray of talented players seemingly unaware of what their other teammates are doing. In AI and Melo, they have incredible offensive talents capable of racking up 25-30 PPG every year. In Camby, they have the erstwhile defensive player of the year who led the NBA in blocks per game and was second in rebounds per game. They also have another incredibly talented offensive and defensive player in K-Mart, even if he takes a few plays off. Add to this a passable point guard in AC and a very good bench with the big and fast Linas Kleiza, the offensive force of JR Smith and Najera hitting threes as a power forward. Sounds like a good team, no?

Uhhhh… No, it’s not.

In basketball, they call it a team for a reason. The Nuggets are not a team. A team can’t take plays off or mail it in on defense. If you want a team, look at the Spurs. Or look at the team making embarrassment happen—the Lakers. Obviously, they have possibly the best player in the NBA in Kobe Bryant; as well as another outstanding player is Pau Gasol. Outside of that, they have mostly role players and people who do their job. So far, their job seems to be to make the Nuggets look awful and they do a damn fine job of that.

I don’t what the problem is—too many egos, George Karl isn’t coaching them properly—but it needs to be fixed in a hurry. The Nuggets are better than many of the Eastern Conference teams in the playoffs, but they sure don’t look like it. The Lakers are disrespecting the Nuggets right now. I’m hoping the Nuggets’ players can maybe find some solidarity and work together in stopping this disrespect. But my hopes aren’t very high.