I know about the old saying that defense wins playoffs, but I would amend that to say that offensive-minded teams that can play defense win the championships. It's not like JVG's Knicks, defensive studs that they were, ever brought home a trophy. In the off season, we mortgaged the immediate future to bring in T-Mac. At the time, everyone was saying that he'd be able to adjust to JVG's "system" because he's got the tools to be a defensive stopper. Still, I think anyone in his right mind would consider T-Mac to be an offensive player. So this year, we have both of our two offensive superstars substantially altering their games to fit the "system." Could someone please tell me just why the hell that is? Do you try to force Peyton Manning into a ground-control offense? Do you make Ben Wallace the centerpiece of your high-powered offense? I honestly don't get it. Senor Van Gundy, it's great to have a system and all, but PLEASE take a look at the strengths of the players on your roster and be a bit flexible. Either that, or hit the road and let us find someone who will be. I got to thinking of this after reading the column below by Dave Krieger of the Denver Rocky Mountain News about Jeff Bzdelik (also a Pat Riley protege at one point). I post it here in the GARM because some parts of it sound VERY familiar. Is this the future of JVG? The Rockets? Anyway, here's the column.... By not running, Bzdelik is run out of town You saw this coming. I saw this coming. The new president of Ukraine saw this coming. And, of course, Jeff Bzdelik saw this coming. He always took the high road in public, but coach Buzz knew exactly what it meant when he engineered one of the best turnarounds in NBA history last season and then, going into the last year of his contract, was not offered an extension. Kiki Vandeweghe deplored the "rumors and innuendo" that followed this decision, especially the rumors and innuendo that coach Buzz would be replaced at the first opportunity by new lead assistant Michael Cooper, who got a three-year deal as Bzdelik entered the final year of his. Then, of course, Vandeweghe did exactly that. It was a little like Pierre Lacroix indignantly denying he would replace Tony Granato with Joel Quenneville, then replacing Tony Granato with Joel Quenneville. Master spinmeisters these guys are not. But Bzdelik's fate was sealed by a single number, and it wasn't wins or losses. The number is 19. That's where the Nuggets rank in the NBA in scoring. Vandeweghe wants the Nuggets to run. Running teams play high-scoring games. The Nuggets don't do either. Coach Buzz insisted he wanted them to run, too. The players all said the team had to run. But it didn't. Phoenix is a running team. Sacramento is a running team. Orlando, thanks in part to Paul Westhead, is a running team. Seattle, Washington, Dallas all run more than the Nuggets. A lot more. A year ago, coach Buzz did a better job meeting Vandeweghe halfway across their philosophical divide. The Nuggets were fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 97.2 points per game. Anything less than a hundred isn't really running, but Vandeweghe appreciated the effort. He also couldn't do much to a coach who took a 17-win team to 43 wins a year later. But he could indicate his tepid support by withholding that contract extension, and he did. Still determined to build a running team, Vandeweghe went out and got the best running big man he could find. Power forward Kenyon Martin was a key piece of the up-tempo New Jersey team that went to the NBA Finals twice. Vandeweghe thought he'd be a good fit on a young, running team. Unfortunately, that's not the kind of team he joined. He's clearly not a good fit on a stand-around team. K-Mart is an athlete, not a traditional post player. Bzdelik paid obligatory homage to the running game he knew Vandeweghe advocated. He certainly yelled, "Run, run!" from the sideline enough. {Ha! Sound familiar?} But there is ample evidence this was largely for show. The Nuggets practiced running only sometimes. To get in the physical condition required to run teams into the ground at altitude, you have to do the cardiovascular work in practice at every opportunity. Vandeweghe brought in Doug Moe, the purest running coach in NBA history, hoping Bzdelik would learn from him. Never happened. This was mostly Bzdelik's doing. When I'd ask him if he talked this or that over with Moe, he'd say he talks to older coaches quite often. The respect for Moe and his views just wasn't there. That's not uncommon among the more conventional minds of the NBA. Pat Riley, Bzdelik's previous employer, is definitely not a Moe fan. But Vandeweghe played for Moe. He saw Hakeem Olajuwon sucking oxygen on the visitor's bench in the fourth quarter. He knows what is possible here. Bzdelik, by contrast, was considered an expert advance scout before joining the Nuggets. He was all about the intricacies of half-court sets and how to defend them. Vandeweghe must look down the highway longingly toward Phoenix, where Mike D'Antoni is running a very Moe-like system. The Suns average 108.8 points per game. Now that's running. The Nuggets average 94.9. Of course, D'Antoni coached here before Dan Issel fired him, but that's another story. The irony now is that Cooper says he will try to jump-start the running game by picking up the defense, which was supposedly Bzdelik's specialty. Asked what he would do to help Carmelo Anthony reach his potential, Cooper gave the most candid answer of the day: "Get him to play some defense." I'm sure coach Buzz wishes him luck on that. To become a better defensive team, the Nuggets will have to work much harder than they do now. If Cooper can't find that switch, his "interim" tag suggests Vandeweghe will keep looking for someone who can. But Kiki's long honeymoon is finally over. When you tear a team down to nothing and start over, the first couple of years are full of exciting improvement. Then you have to get beyond surprising. You have to get good. The Nuggets have stumbled at this stage before. Under Bernie Bickerstaff, and again under Issel, they got to about .500 and stalled. The question now is whether Vandeweghe's building blocks are any better. He doesn't have coach Buzz to kick around anymore. This might just be on him now.
