I don’t mind dying, I just don’t wanna go out like some punk. – Samuel L Jackon

As a Nuggets fan I’m used to first round exits. I wasn’t expecting anything more this season but I just wanted to go out with dignity. I got what I wanted. I still get to end the series upset. Of course, the things I’m upset with are the things are the things that have upset me for most of the season. Let’s review.

Harrington kills the Nuggets

Has Lawson arrived? Lawson has shown flashes of brilliance. In game 6 he played an amazing game. He followed it up with a great game that ended in a loss. This was after a season where he lead the Nuggets in Wins Produced. This could be huge for the Nuggets.

McGee and Faried are good There’s been a lot of questions about if these two can really run the Nuggets front court. Against arguably the toughest front court in the League both of these players played great. My only complaint is their lack of playing time.

Dre Miller? He’s been one of my favorite players but I was sure he was past his prime. He played amazing in the playoffs. It was probably his last stint with the Nuggets, but I’m happy he went down swinging.

Harrington and Karl killed us Harrington is a terrible player. He’s always been a terrible player. This series was no difference. He was the worst player on the Nuggets and with two losses decided by fewer than five points that’s huge. The bigger complaint is that our terrible coach in George Karl saw fit to give Harrington so many minutes. This point kills me so much.

Where was Gallo? This last part hurts. I loved the trade for Gallo and he played well for the Nuggets. He was injured this season and he just hasn’t come back. I kept hoping he’d show up this series but sadly it didn’t happen.

Kobe, Kobe, Kobe

Bynum and Gasol are good There was a rumor if the Lakers lost that Bynum, Gasol and Mike Brown were gone. Patrick pointed out how stupid this was. These two players pretty much single handedly kept the Lakers in the series.

Steve Blake? No seriously, Steve Blake vs. Andre Miller was a major factor in this series? Am I going crazy? Apparently former Nugget guards felt obligated to show up. I’ll admit I was surprised.

Where did Sessions and Barnes go? Barnes was a top player during the regular season. Sessions finally gave the Lakers a real point guard. Both of them vanished in the playoffs. They weren’t as bad as Harrington and Gallinari…but they were close.

Kobe will get the credit Kobe did not play well..at all. Yet his high PPG and the fact he called out his bigs will certainly help keep his aura of greatness alive. At this point I pretty much have to give up. If the Lakers win Kobe will get the credit and it doesn’t matter what he does.

Summing up

To start the series Arturo said the Nuggets could win. They got so close! In fact, they outscored the Lakers, so I guess that’s a moral victory. The real problem came down to coaching. Your coach can’t sit your great players in the playoffs and hope to win. Notice the Lakers played both Gasol and Bynum over 250 minutes, whereas neither Faried or McGee hit 200 minutes. The difference of 60+ minutes between the two teams’ sets of bigs could easily have changed this series from a seven game nail biter to a six game victory for the Nuggets. I’ll go into the offseason the same as I always seem to: optimistic about the Nuggets roster and pessimistic about how Karl will play them.

-Dre