What always irked Karl was Iverson's inability to run the offense like a general. Arguably, Iverson shot too much, and like Karl said, Denver could outscore about half the teams in the NBA. But when it came to beating the elite teams, the Nuggets had too many questions with "The Answer" — about his shot selection, his dedication to defense and his ability/inability to trust his teammates.

"We have contested-shot charts, bad-shot charts and cheap defensive possessions," Karl said. "I would say that when A.I. was here, we had most games in the teens of contested, tough shots, sometimes in the 20s. And I don't think we've had a double-digit one since (Billups has) been here.

Ok, I think we get your point...

"I don't think there's any question coaching a team for many minutes, without a passing and point guard mentality, is frustrating for a coach. Sometimes I saw something, but I couldn't get it done on the court because I didn't have a playmaker out there."

No seriously George, you can stop now.

"A.I., at times, had trouble trusting the guy he's throwing it to," Karl said.

So, uh, yeah. I guess you could say Karl was no fan of the Answer.

Although, in truth, Karl is 100% spot-on. It was incredibly vexing watching the Nuggets play with Iverson because while they were loaded from an offensive talent standpoint, they essentially had no point guard. Combining Iverson with Carmelo, JR Smith, Camby and Kenyon Martin was pretty much a nightmare scenario, considering Camby was about the only unselfish player in that entire mix (and he's since gone). There just weren't enough basketballs for that team.

When you combine that with the fact that Iverson never exactly busted his butt on the defensive end, and that certainly had a trickle down effect, is it any wonder this team underachieved so badly during his time there? Not in the least.

Point guard play; Billups over A.I. [Denver Post]