Nuggets' Karl: Fewer 'bad plays' without Iverson

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The Nuggets won five of their first six games with Chauncey Billups in the lineup, including a victory at Boston. Coach George Karl told the Denver Post that the Nuggets are being more efficient with Billups at the controls than they were with Allen Iverson:

"There are less bad plays, more solid plays," Karl said. "I think the wasteful, cheap possessions that we used to have 10 to 15 a game, they don't exist very much anymore."

What always irked Karl was Iverson's inability to run the offense like a general. Arguably, Iverson shot too much, and like Karl said, Denver could outscore about half the teams in the NBA. But when it came to beating the elite teams, the Nuggets had too many questions with "The Answer" -- about his shot selection, his dedication to defense and his ability/inability to trust his teammates.

"We have contested-shot charts, bad-shot charts and cheap defensive possessions," Karl said. "I would say that when A.I. was here, we had most games in the teens of contested, tough shots, sometimes in the 20s. And I don't think we've had a double-digit one since [Billups has] been here.

"I don't think there's any question coaching a team for many minutes, without a passing and point guard mentality, is frustrating for a coach. Sometimes I saw something, but I couldn't get it done on the court because I didn't have a playmaker out there."

But with Detroit, Karl thinks Iverson can thrive, because he is surrounded by more veteran playmakers and will trust his teammates, as opposed to forcing a shot he thought he had a better chance of making.

"A.I., at times, had trouble trusting the guy he's throwing it to," Karl said.

Of course there are less bad plays... With AI and Melo you had two scorers. With Billups you have a true point guard that can get shots for the others that aren't really good at getting their own shot. JR, Kleiza, etc.

 

[Lake Louise]

Well, when you have problems trusting the guys on your team because your team doesn`t have very many playmakers, it makes things tougher on him.

In Detroit, he has more playmakers, in the starting 5, and even bench guys like Stuck, Mad Max & Afflalo that can make shots and help you have a confidence boost in who you throw it to, and knowing if they will make the shot or not.

Honestly though, I never really liked George Karl.