As wounded as we are, I still gotta believe in my team and give the Spurs the win in 5 - one win coming in denver. This is much tougher with Karl - no doubt - but you cant say that because a team has just started to play defense it is better than a team that has had a defense philosophy for YEARS. I think the Spurs will get it together and come to play come this sunday. I dont think my team is the "team to beat" any longer now that we have had so many injuries, I think Miami is THE team to beat in the playoffs now, so hopefully we can keep our walking wounded on the court long enough to win us a title.
Lincicome: Follow this to letter to learn why Nuggets will advance
April 22, 2005
The Nuggets over the Spurs in seven.
What, you want reasons? I'll give you reasons. I'll give you reasons in alphabetical order.
Ankle. Tim Duncan's. The bad one.
Bench. The Nuggets'. The amusing one. Here comes one-name, one- move Nene. Look out for the miniature terror, Earl Boykins. Hey, by the way, stick figure DerMarr Johnson, how do you hold those socks up, with thumbtacks? The Spurs will be laughing too hard to play. Others have.
Center. As in Pepsi. Maybe it should be called Pepsi Alley. Pepsi Gulch. Something dangerous. Because it will be basketball's version of nails on a blackboard. Amplified. The Nuggets have lost one game under George Karl at the Pepsi Center. That won't happen again.
Defense. And if that's not enough. Dee-fense. Dee-fense.
Elbows. Marcus Camby's. In some places, a permit would be needed to carry them around. And if not his, Francisco Elson's, less-educated, more conscience-free.
First-round draft choices. Add it up. Like golf, low number wins. The Spurs have Duncan at No. 1 overall. But so do the Nuggets in Kenyon Martin. None of the other Spurs starters were drafted in the first 25. All the Nuggets' were in the first 10, Andre Miller the highest at No. 8.
George. That would be George Karl, King George, President George, Sir George, Duke George, Baron George, Pope George, Savior George, there is an exalted rank in there somewhere to signify his elevated status. Any is better than what he used to be, Out-of-Work George.
Horry. Yes, that Horry. Now a Spurs artifact. You can't have an NBA playoffs without Robert Horry, more games, more minutes than any other player in the postseason. Say good night, Robert.
Intelligence. The Nuggets have grown much smarter, with the ball, without the ball, ordering pizza minus the anchovies.
Jump shots. And rebounds. And steals. And breakaways. And screens. And free throws. All that basketball stuff.
K. Pick a K, the Nuggets are overrun with them. K-Mart. Karl, Kroenke. Kiki. BoyKins. BucKner. Karmelo. Sweet Karmelo, for this discussion, anyway.
Luck. Don't need it.
Momentum. The Nuggets have more of it than the Spurs. Sure, Denver lost two of the last three, but the Spurs lost three of the last four. Since the All-Star break, the Spurs are 18-11 and the Nuggets a league- best 25-4. The coincidence of all that big mo coinciding with Big Doug Moe getting a seat on the Nuggets bench is no coincidence.
Nettle and Annoy. Maybe just enough. The suggestion by Karl that the Nuggets can live with losing in the first round but that the Spurs won't be able to is the first move in the coach's mind game. He should know, Denver did it to him when Karl was in Seattle.
Overachievement. It isn't yet for the Nuggets. It already is for the Spurs.
Pick and roll. Or is it pick a roll? If it is, I'll take the brioche, with a little raspberry jam, please.
Quickness. The Nuggets have it. The Spurs recognize it from the back.
Replica jerseys. Go to any sporting goods store. Melo outsells Duncan 5-1.
Shoes. More like 10-1 with the shoes.
Turnaround. None greater, ever, than the Nuggets, from indifferent, unresponsive and bored to confident, bold and daring in about 21/2 months.
Unity. Karl's jacket and pants almost always match.
Visitors bench. Close, very close to some very dodgy Nuggets fans. I'm just saying.
Whoosh, there it goes. Home-court advantage lasts only as long as it can be held. One win and a whole season's advantage vanishes just like that.
X-rays. If you know how to read them, they say Camby's hamstring, Miller's back, Martin's knee and Eduardo Najera's hand will all work when needed.
Youth. Too much of it in blue and gold and not enough in silver and black.
Zone. Time. Not just Mountain Exhaustion Time, but Melo Come of Age Time. And about time. It's been two years.
lincicomeb@RockyMountainNews.com 
