The Lesser is More

Fuck the Nuggets.

Sure, I can understand the overwhelming wave of good feeling being poured forth from all corners of the basketball globe. But I feel that this is mere knee-jerk. Quick, the Lakers are playing an unknown team tonight; who do you want to win the game? My guess is that the other team garners the necessary electoral votes, even if this team happened to be the Nets (since we all know that there is nothing like about the Nets). This reeks of resistance more than it resembles support. What is being suggested is that people have, or at least should have, less of a reason to like the Nuggets than they think they do.

During the Melo era, the Nuggets have played like a team that generally doesn't give a fuck. Pardon the allusion, but their style of play fits neatly into the playground stereotype. An atmosphere was forged where style was welcomed over substance, where teamwork was disregarded, where urgency was unknown, and where defense was almost always an afterthought. Like a zoo attraction, they were a team to be gawked at for their features more than to be appreciated for their dynamic potential. Potential was what kept our attention, even when our tendency was to discount.

It is almost difficult to imagine the Nuggets prior to Melo. The severe trajectory upon which he entered into the league seemingly erased the existence of the Denver Nuggets as we previously knew them (the same with the Cavaliers prior to Lebron). The Nuggets no longer revolved around Denver, but now orbited a brighter sun. And they had no choice in the matter. Melo dictated the motion, direction, and sheer existence of this entity. The Nuggets took on the character of Carmelo Anthony. Project Mayhem was underway in Denver, and sooner or later, the team became what Melo wanted it to be.

But rather than bringing the consistent warmth that a sun promises, up until this season Melo could only provide the brilliant, albeit irregular flash of a comet. Spectacular in it's promise, but mercurial in form. This tendency led many to abandon the enormous potential that only a figure like Melo could promise, prompting one broadcaster to state that he wouldn't trade Melo "for a bag of balls." And while we should not dwell so much on the ornery remarks of the archaic (considering Melo is only 25, and in the league since he was merely young lad), it is important to note that this impatience and angst was not reserved strictly for the old-fashioned.

Up until this season, were the Nuggets ever to be taken seriously? Even during this season, their second-seeding seemed to bubble up out of nowhere. The Nuggets who had just dispatched a perennial Defensive POY in Marcus Camby, as well as one of the greatest scoring guards in NBA history, had suddenly become relevant, and even meaningful? And even if this is the case, do we simply forget about the willful lack of passion that this team displayed over the last 5 years? Have we already absolved the Nuggets like a benevolent creator who just wants to hear you say you're sorry?

The emergence of the Nuggets, and specifically Melo, as a legitimate, determined force in the NBA is not something to be lamented. But is it something to embrace right away? Can we be sure that it is for real? In the face of an ever-flattening, and even regressing Western Conference it seems that even the thinnest of creams could rise to the top. If the motives are pure and potential is truly actualized in this case, then maybe we could make a case.

However, can we truly, and positively support a team that casts characters such as K Mart, JR Smith, and the Birdman in such prominent roles? Some of these actors are loathsome by their character alone, some by their casual inconsistency. Others we seem attracted to purely for their novelty value. But when combined with the sheer basketball prowess of Melo, is this enough to override the Phil Jackson's cerebral approach to the game, Ariza's own (sneaky) potential, and Pau's crafty approach to post-play?

Granted, Kobe is indeed a loathsome character, and you won't find FSD coming to his aide very often. However, there is something undeniable about the beauty with which Kobe plays the game (when he is not sneering, or whining... which is often). He adds an element of poetry to the game which stands in stark contrast to the Nuggets jagged, Tom Robbins-like prose. Sure, I can plow through a whimsical piece of satire on a sunny afternoon, but in the dark nights I would prefer the metaphysicial weaponry of the artist, even a scowling one.

The point is, cut through the bullshit and see your support for what it is. Are you really pulling for the Nuggets or do you just not want the Lakers to win? And whichever you decide, examine the reasons for your decision. There are things to dislike about both of these teams, but consider the positives. Put them side-by-side and give them the analysis that they require. Does talent without effort wrapped in a shroud of unpredictability truly provide the better option for a championship appearance than cold-blooded execution delivered with a sneer? And if Kobe's apparent sense of entitlement is a distraction for you, then just take a look at Melo; he's been behaving the same way since he came into the league, just without the same results.

I will support the Nuggets next year, if they finally earn it.