Balkman is in Karl's doghouse.
Maybe Balkman was late to a practice, repeatedly failed to heed Karl's instructions, shit in Cobe Karl's shoes, or maybe simply pointed out how poorly Karl's sets have been lately.
That is the only possible explanation that I can possibly come up with as to why he has logged almost zero minutes in these last games, of which Denver has now gone 2-4.
Dahntay Jones is atrocious on offense. He plays mediocre defense, and I have never seen a shooting guard take worse shots. He charges the basket without the finesse to get around slower defenders nor the size to get around larger ones, and frequently turns the ball over. In fact, tonight against the Blazers he was 0-5, 2 T.O.s, 2 rebounds, 3 fouls - in 17 minutes. That is an inexcusable line for a starter.
(oh, and in last night's game, he was 2-4, 6 points, 1 T.O., 0 rebounds, and 3 fouls in 16 minutes.).
Dahntay is simply not a qualified starter, and I have absolutely ZERO idea as to why Chucky Atkins got Balkman's minutes tonight in Dahntay's place. In fact, it was one of the most head-scratching decisions I've ever seen from Karl when he ran a set of Chauncey, A.C., and Atkins, rather than sub in Balkman to guard Aldridge or Frye. 3 guards on the floor, 2 of which are barely 6 feet tall? Really, George Karl? Really?
Ridiculous. In any case, I don't doubt Dahntay's athletic prowess, but when you average 3 points, 3 fouls, 1 rebound, and 1 turnover, you do not deserve 16.5 minutes a game.
Dahntay can provide invaluable defense off the bench to go with Kleiza and JR's scoring. Meanwhile, Denver makes an immediate upgrade on the offensive end by starting the quick and lanky Balkman, while barely losing - or even improving - their offense with Balkman's frequent cuts and tenacity on the offensive glass.
Continuing to play Dahntay while his play remains extremely poor like this when ignoring the solid contributions Balkman has given all season is a very dubious decision by Karl. I sincerely believe that if Balkman logged an average of only 10 minutes over the previous 6 games instead of zero, rather than 2-4, the Nuggets would be 3-3 or 4-2. They could have used him to keep on Delonte West or Mo Williams and frustrate them with his length. He could have bullied Dragic and Barbosa in Phoenix, and tonight would have been more than capable against Aldridge, Frye, or Roy.
I've said my piece. I cannot possibly see any reasoning by Karl, other than bad blood between he and Balkman, that Balkman is not getting minutes.
And that worries me even more than when I watch Dahntay shoot a running off balance contested jumper in the lane.
