George Karl didn't sound like the coach of a Denver team on a streak not seen in 43 years. He sounded like a coach ready to shake things up in the final weeks before the playoffs.
Moments after his Nuggets beat the Sacramento Kings 101-95 on Saturday night for their 15th straight win, Karl was lamenting his players' second straight lackluster performance.
''What I've been telling the team, telling them for three days, the next (11) games I don't want to hear about rest, I don't want to hear we're tired, I want our attitude to be the best basketball we've played all year,'' he said. ''And if you don't want to do that then I'll play somebody else. I don't want to hear about my body hurts, I'm sore. Everybody plays the same amount of games, and resting's not going to get us ready for the opportunities.
''If we had a bunch of 30-year-olds I might have a different opinion but we have a bunch of 25-year-olds.''
Karl was talking after the Nuggets tied the franchise record for consecutive wins, which was set by the Denver Rockets in the 1969-70 ABA season. While he was happy to get the win and stay ahead of Memphis and the Los Angeles Clippers for third place in the Western Conference, the way Denver has played the past two games is an issue.
It was also an issue for the players, who heard Karl's thoughts in the locker room.
Moments after his Nuggets beat the Sacramento Kings 101-95 on Saturday night for their 15th straight win, Karl was lamenting his players' second straight lackluster performance.
''What I've been telling the team, telling them for three days, the next (11) games I don't want to hear about rest, I don't want to hear we're tired, I want our attitude to be the best basketball we've played all year,'' he said. ''And if you don't want to do that then I'll play somebody else. I don't want to hear about my body hurts, I'm sore. Everybody plays the same amount of games, and resting's not going to get us ready for the opportunities.
''If we had a bunch of 30-year-olds I might have a different opinion but we have a bunch of 25-year-olds.''
Karl was talking after the Nuggets tied the franchise record for consecutive wins, which was set by the Denver Rockets in the 1969-70 ABA season. While he was happy to get the win and stay ahead of Memphis and the Los Angeles Clippers for third place in the Western Conference, the way Denver has played the past two games is an issue.
It was also an issue for the players, who heard Karl's thoughts in the locker room.