May 7, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) talks to NBA official Gary Zielinski in action against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second half in game two of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Nuggets news:

• @SmoothsHoops went in today on his blog about a variety of Denver Nuggets’ topics///SmoothsHoops

Naturally, everyone wants to lay blame at the feet of someone. Unfortunately, for a team without a “star”, the easiest person to blame is the head coach. George Karl deserves some blame. But, there’s plenty of it to go around.

This team, like Karl’s first few Denver teams, suffered a devastating injury when Danilo Gallinari went down during the final week of the regular season. Many conveniently forget to mention that when writing the Nuggets’ 2012-13 season opus. Gallinari’s injury, while a convenient excuse, is a valid one. It put Denver’s entire rotation in flux and forced its head coach to give playoff minutes to players who wouldn’t have seen the court except in spot duty — players like Wilson Chandler, Anthony Randolph, Corey Brewer, and Evan Fournier.

• Draft insider has Denver Nuggets selecting Allen Crabbe///Nugg Love
• What will the Nuggets do with the 27th pick?///Denver Stiffs
• Denver Nuggets’ Masai Ujiri built the team differently///Denver Post

News/reads around the league:

• KD versus the world, great read from PFlanns///SBNation
• Damian Lillard was more than ready for the NBA///SBNation
• Dirty, dumb and ugly///TrueHoop

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News around the league:

March 19, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets president Josh Kroenke speaks to the media during a press conference held at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Nuggets news:

• Nuggets President Josh Korenke Discusses 2012-13 season///NBA.com

From Josh Kroenke:

“We’re an exciting young team. we’ve got a long way to go, but I did see some growth. There were some positives, but the results speak for themselves. We did lose in the first round again. We had a tough break coming in with some injuries with (Danilo) Gallinari and Kenneth (Faried). We’re still positioned very well going forward and I believe in the guys in that locker room. It’s on us. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out how we’re going to go about getting to where we want to be.”

• The Denver Nuggets Must Keep Andre Iguodala///NuggLove
• What is great about the city of Denver///Denver Stiffs
• Firing George Karl Not the Answer///RoundballMiningCompany
• Can we blame George Karl for the fact that every George Karl team falls apart in the playoffs?///Grantland

From Bill Simmons:

Of course not. You can’t forgot that (a) the 2013 Nuggets overachieved, and (b) he was probably the biggest reason. And he’s been an inspiring human-interest story, to say the least. I don’t know anyone who isn’t rooting for George Karl.

• Woody Paige: Look who was outcoached in the NBA playoffs again///Denver Post

News around the NBA:

• The second round of the NBA playoffs start today! Here’s your playoff schedule.///NuggLove
• Kevin Durant’s biggest test///SBNation
• Betting on Paul George or the Knicks’ shooting///SBNation

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Thanks for reading and follow me on Twitter @lashy.