Enough..its time to blame the right people

That is pretty funny to blame the bench.  Najera was D first, and will be if they re-sign him.  Nene as well.  Diawara is the same.  But if you want to look at the heart of the defensive problem, it isn't talent.  It is players going out and putting forth the effort.  We've all seen Carmelo play great D at times.  We've all seen AI make steal after steal while preventing penetration.  We know Camby is the best off the ball defender in the league.  We know K-mart can play D on just about anyone.  We have seen Anthony Carter play good hustle D.  Why can't it come together with any regularity then? 

If the talent and ability is there, I think it is time to look at a different system.  Who couldn't coach the talent on this team to the playoffs?  Honestly, I didn't even feel a single playoff vibe from anyone other than Carmelo's rant.  Watching the games, you couldn't have convinced me that this was a team fired up to be in the playoffs. 

I agree with slash... The bench is not to blame. As mentioned, Diawara is most likely on the team just because of his defensive abilities. Anthony Carter is an under-rated defender. As for starters, KMart and Camby are elite defenders. The issue lies within the coaching. If your players do not even repect you enough to listen to your instruction, they may as well play without a coach and dedicate George Karl's salary to another bench player.

It is evident to me that the players do not respond to George Karl. Even in games where he constantly tries to emphasize defense... the players seem to follow their team leader, Melo. Have you noticed the way the teams swagger and attitude change when Melo is present versus when he is not? The team seems to have more focus on the defensive end for what ever reason when he is suspended or injured.

When building a team you have to play to your strengths. This does not mean you do nothing to improve your weaknesses. If players do not respond to a coach, its not the players fault. The coach must be the team leader, not the star player.

Here is my take on the Nuggets defense … Every single starter has shown the ability to play stong defense. We have a shut down defender in K. Martin and a perennial defensive player of the year candidate in M. Camby. A.I. is always a league leader in steals. Now with both Camby and A.I. those stats (Blocks and steals) are generally high risk high reward, but I’ll take it. A. Carter has shown that he is also an under rated defender. So with 4 out of the 5 starters (Melo sometimes plays tough “D” too) why is it that those things – steals, block, shutdown D – don’t transfer to more Wins or more importantly playoff Wins. 50 wins is a great season.

I think it starts with the offense. You can see it every game. George Karl tries to get Camby into the game offensively first. Camby almost always takes the first shot of the game. A player will be more motivated to play strong defense if they are a big part of the offense. We also saw it with Melo; when he struggled offensively, there was no D. You will never see that with Tim Duncan. He always plays tough D. That will come with maturity.

Look at some of the best defensive teams – Pistons (R. Hamilton 21.7 PPG), Spurs (T. Parker 22.4 PPG), Celtics (K. Garnett 21.3 PPG). The leading scorers for those teams are closer to 20 points per games. There is a better balance. On the Nuggets there are 2 scorers – Melo and A.I. You compound that with the Phoenix run and gun philosophy now you take away Kenyon’s ability to shut down Tim Duncan. You reduce Marcus’ ability with the help D/Blocks. A.I. will always get his steals.

Our second unit has to buy into that as well. J.R. Smith and L. Klaiza both can score, in fact I think that again if they are more involved in the offense they too play pretty strong Defense.

As a Denver fan I love to watch the run and gun. But we don’t need it. I think you do the run and gun when you don’t have the defensive players that we have. I personally will take an 89 – 75 victory over a 125 – 135 loss any day.

If we get down on offense set it up with a more balanced attack I think the defense will come. Either we change our offensive philosophy or be content with a 50 win season and a quick exit out of the playoffs. Honestly, I really don’t think we can have it both ways.