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Mike Trudell: George Karl: "I hate Steve Blake tonight, but I love him as a player." Blake had a playoff career high 19 points. Twitter

Denver Nuggets, George Karl, Steve Blake 

Scott Howard-Cooper: Karl says how much he likes Magic Johnson, but calla Brown comment "totally out of control," "wild and crazy" and "ESPNish." Twitter

Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, George Karl, Coaching, Mike Brown, Magic Johnson 

Eighteen years later, the image still torments George Karl. Dikembe Mutombo is lying on the floor underneath the basket at Seattle's Key Arena, his outstretched arms holding the ball above his head in triumph. Mutombo's Denver Nuggets had just come back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Karl's SuperSonics in the deciding game of their best-of-five series, becoming the first eighth-seeded team to defeat a top-seeded opponent in the first round. "It was probably the worst day of my life," Karl, now coach of the Nuggets, said Friday. "I mean, I can't remember, other than my dad dying maybe." Los Angeles Times

Denver Nuggets, George Karl, Coaching, Seattle SuperSonics, Dikembe Mutombo 

Scott Howard-Cooper: Karl:"The Lakers, I have no doubt what they’re going to come out with: the best game they’ve played all series.We’ve just got to be better.” Twitter

Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, George Karl 

Before Game 6 tonight, Karl fielded questions about Chris “Birdman” Andersen and his excusing from the Nuggets: “For me right now, I’m in a stage where I don’t know enough information and we’re advised probably not to talk about it until we know the information, but the one thing I will say is – I trust Chris. My years with him, he’s been fantastic and he’s really grown as a person. We’re going to support him and stand by him.” “I talked to Bird for about 5-10 minutes after shootaround. He was emotional and I was in a state where I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on that.” “I think enough guys individually have been told what’s going on. We don’t have the full story to analyze and scrutinize.” “I trust Bird, I think Bird will figure this out.” Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, George Karl, Law, Chris Andersen 

Karl said he expected the Lakers to counteract the Nuggets' young interior players by repeatedly pounding the ball inside to their veteran duo. "I think they're going to go there a lot," Karl said. "But if they overpower and maybe we can make them miss, we can run the other way. Sometimes you overextend and we're just going to have to react to them — what successes they have and what plays they're running." Karl was in a jovial mood, even letting TNT reporter Craig Sager, the king of garish ensembles, show the coach how to fold his pocket squares and insert them into his jacket. A reporter asked Karl if he would wear the outfit again Sunday, but the coach said he was afraid it might cause a distraction and annoy a certain Laker. "Yeah, that's the problem," Karl said. "It might [tick] Kobe [Bryant] off." Los Angeles Times

Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, George Karl 

Mike Trudell: George Karl: "The game for us was all about our energy and enthusiasm." Twitter

Denver Nuggets, George Karl 

Soon after Lakers center Andrew Bynum dropped a triple-double in the Lakers' 103-88 Game 1 win Sunday over Denver, Nuggets Coach George Karl contended that "he was playing nice illegal defense," that 30 instances went uncalled. The argument sparked amusement from Bynum, Kobe Bryant and Coach Mike Brown, who contended again Tuesday that Karl is "doing what a lot of coaches do." Before Game 2, however, Karl suddenly didn't consider it a big deal. "You guys talked about it much more than I talked about it," he said. "There's a lot of teams playing illegally against us because that's what we do, the best way to stop us is to put someone in the middle of the paint as much as you can. We've conquered it many nights." Los Angeles Times

Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, George Karl, Andrew Bynum, Mike Brown 

There might be 16 championship banners hanging from the rafters and Jack Nicholson sitting courtside, but Staples Center is not an intimidating place to play, according to Denver Nuggets coach George Karl. "This is not a hot building. It's kind of a stage. It's a Broadway stage," Karl said before the Nuggets took on the Lakers in Game 2 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series on Tuesday. "It has a history and an energy to it, but it's not one of those where you can't hear or sometimes you're afraid to feel (the opposing crowd). This is more of a stage than an intense building like Oklahoma City (has) or something like that." ESPN.com

Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, George Karl, Andrew Bynum, Mike Brown 

So, exactly how did the Lakers muzzle the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 and limit them to only 88 points on 35.6 percent shooting Sunday at Staples Center? The Lakers said it was a good defense; the Nuggets said it was cheating. Denver coach George Karl said Lakers center Andrew Bynum was guilty of playing an illegal zone defense on "about 30" possessions, which helped to account for his NBA record-tying 10 blocked shots. "If people cut through the lane, you can touch them and you can stand there the whole time," a smiling Bynum said when told of Karl's accusation after the Lakers' practice Monday. "That's part of the game." Los Angeles Daily News

Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, George Karl, Andrew Bynum 

Mike Brown, the current Lakers coach, said he applauded Karl for trying to gain an advantage for Game 2 by complaining about illegal defenses in Game 1 by adding, "Maybe George is doing the right thing, following Phil's lead. "I know I've said stuff before. Does it change things for the next game? I don't know. If Phil's done it, Phil's got 11 of them (NBA championships as a coach), the most. It's got to work to a certain degree." Los Angeles Daily News

Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, George Karl, Andrew Bynum, Mike Brown 

"It's been a hard year. I would phrase it close to ugly sometimes," Karl told The Denver Post this past week. "There are disappointments, there are failures, but there have also been some special games and special moments too. It's a balancing act. I always talk about good-bad players — I think I've been a good-bad coach a little bit this year. "I stay away from the excuses and the rationalizations, but I get disappointed when I don't think I pushed the right buttons. As a coach, you're always looking for that sunrise, where everything is going to be better. This year, it doesn't seem like the sun has come up — we've been in Seattle, it's been cloudy." Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, George Karl, Coaching 

He sometimes wears soccer jerseys to basketball practice. He challenges his players to half-court shot competitions after shootarounds. He overlooks common statistics and obsesses about intangibles such as "play-hard" and "team-ness," words he's invented. He can be found in the arena chit-chatting with anyone from a fan in the hallway to a Hall of Famer. And he'll famously converse with the media, off the record, for minutes following a news conference, debating political issues and cracking jokes, all to the point that a radio host sarcastically joked last week, "Yeah, I had the same types of talks with Josh McDaniels too." Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, George Karl, Coaching 

"He's a little bit of a renaissance man," Nuggets assistant coach Melvin Hunt said. "I had a coach in college, Gene Iba, brilliant guy. We used to say — this dude knows a little bit about everything. We had a running joke about Mongolian bullfrogs. We were going to come to him and say, 'Coach, I'm doing a report about Mongolian bullfrogs,' and we envisioned him saying, 'Well, I'm glad you asked!' George knows a lot, he's experienced a lot, and as a staff, we all tap into George the man in a lot of different ways. "We'll be talking about basketball and George will bring up his days in the CBA. And before you know it, somehow, we're talking about Yakima, Wash., and he's giving us insight: 'They have great cabins there. And a bed and breakfast!' " Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, George Karl, Coaching 

Karl's trust in his staff, he said, helps him balance his life. He has said he wants to keep coaching until his son Coby, a pro basketball player overseas, can join his staff as an assistant. Karl signed a three-year extension last spring. The front office supports him. And he adores most everything that is Denver and Nuggets, even during a season that has tested his patience. "I don't foresee me getting out of it, as long as I feel I have an edge to be a good coach," Karl said. "To be honest with you, I think my edge is a higher standard than most coaches in this league. I tell my staff all the time — I'm not happy just being good. ... I still think I'm a person who needs to get better every day. One of my philosophies is — have a peace to what you've done and challenge yourself to be better in the future. "My life is, come on, I can't complain about my life. I can complain about my health, but not my life. It's how do I take the next hours, days, months, years and make them special?" Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, George Karl, Coaching 

Well, guess who's back treading water? The Nuggets are right back in the mire. How, possibly, do Karl's Nuggets stay out of the pond? The buzzword has been consistency. Or a lack of it. "For the past month, we haven't had a proper focus after a good game," shooting guard Arron Afflalo said. "We've done a great job of bouncing back and recovering, but usually when we win a game, we come out and lose the next one. That's a habit that we can't afford to have at this point in the season. "We'll have to try to get this next one (tonight at Charlotte) and also concentrate on the following game and kind of get a streak going. I can't remember the last time we won back-to-back games. Maybe the two road games after the all-star break? It's been almost a month now. That's not because of our ability. That's just not being focused after going out and competing the night before." Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, George Karl 

"My message (to the team) was more about mental maturity," said Karl, who has veteran leaders in Al Harrington and Andre Miller but hopes to get more from youngsters such as Ty Lawson. "It's not going to get any easier. All the games are going to get more difficult. And a lot on the road. You're going to have to win close games with the pressure that everyone around is trying to win close games. "We have fought to be in a good place — and I still think we are in a good place. The schedule is difficult, but it isn't impossible. There's going to be a lot of maneuvering in the West. In general, you're going to see a pretty tight race. You look at this road trip, if you have three, four wins, that's the goal. I still think we can reach that goal." Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, George Karl 

Karl wore an FC Barcelona soccer jersey during his pregame media session. Karl said he chose the top as a tribute to Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio, who is from Spain. Rubio will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury. "I felt bad for Ricky Rubio," Karl said. Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, George Karl, Ricky Rubio, FC Barcelona, Injuries, Spain 

But Karl is convinced that the difference between many good teams and great teams is the incalculable intangible of playing hard — be it hustling for a loose ball, fiercely setting a pick (and sharply rolling off it), passionately playing help defense, consistently making the game tougher for your opponent. "I've been trying to figure out how to say this to the players, in a different language or a different way, because they're tired of hearing it," Karl said. "But we will not be great without play-hard." Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, George Karl, Coaching 

So who are the league leaders in play-hard per game? "I think the leader right now is Tony Allen (of the Grizzlies)," Karl said. "The guy who's been incredibly good over the years has been (Boston's) Kevin Garnett, from a superstar standpoint. He was a leader of the play-hard game. I think the Derrick Rose kid plays awful hard — also Joakim Noah. I think Chicago wins because of that. And same in Memphis because of Tony Allen. From a veteran point guard situation, (Dallas') Jason Kidd — he doesn't have that energy hustle game, but the combination of his brain and his play-hard mentality is pretty (darn) good. (The Spurs') Manu Ginobili would be on that list. Denver Post

Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, George Karl, Coaching, Tony Allen, Kevin Garnett