Those words came out of the mouth of Carmelo Anthony after Game Three on Saturday night.

This time he wasn't referring to their often transparent defensive play but instead the team's overall performance level and effort in a debilitating 102-84 loss to the Lakers, putting the Nuggets one loss away from the end of their often rocky season. This turn of events was especially embarrassing considering how Allen Iverson said he thought the Nuggets were the best team in the West.

Then, after this game, Iverson had a different tone----not defiance towards the doubters, but instead towards head coach George Karl for not putting him back in the game for the final 10:49 of the fourth quarter and for according to Iverson, not talking to him after the game. The response from Iverson seemed to be part incredulous and part anger. He said "I played every game with a broken finger and all. I always come to play, every game we had. So why not tell me nothing?"

Karl may not have coached his last game with the Nuggets, but it seems pretty clear that the players have tuned him out----perhaps for good. With that logic, why not change coaches? Well, Karl is on the hook for a few million dollars and owner Stan Kroenke may not just want to hand it over to him along with a pink slip. However, for all parties involved, an end to this relationship seems best.

We have been talking about it all season and the larger picture is currently in focus. The team did not really listen to Karl about playing defense and today showed they may not listen to him at all, in regards to moving this team forward. Karl can coach, he took Seattle to the NBA Finals and Milwaukee to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, and even won 32 of his first 40 games as the Nuggets head coach. However, he never seemed to build off of that initial spurt and the team has been treading water for almost his entire tenure. They are good, just not good enough and this season, that isn't going to get you far.

The Nuggets are down 3-0 and while mathematics says they are still alive, emotion shows they may not be....after all, just look at the headline of today's entry.

Enjoy your Sunday, hope to see some of you at the Cherry Creek Sneak.

-"z"