Things to do in Denver When Your Stars Are Overrated

A question for Bill Simmons:

Can someone tell me why the Nuggets stink so bad? Two superstars - check. Great rebounder/shot blocker - check. Solid role players - check. Fat ugly coach - check.

The obvious answer would be that, as some people have been saying for a long time, their "superstars" aren't really that great. Instead, Simmons offers:

Come on, the Nuggets had no heart all season. None of this was a surprise. When the going gets tough, they get going. In their defense, it's tough to get motivated to win a title when you've already broken the "Most tattooes on one team" record. How do you dip into the well and get fired up after that?

You would really think that the experience of the Iverson trade would have caused a few people to reconsider this stuff. Before the trade, Philadelphia was a pretty bad team and Denver was a decent one. Then Allen Iverson was swapped for Andre Miller in a move that was widely expected to help Denver and hurt Philly in the short-run. But that hasn't been the outcome. The obvious conclusion is that the Iverson-skeptics were right all along and he's just not that good. Denver fans should be asking themselves how good their team might have been if they'd been able to execute the reverse deal -- something like Carmelo Anthony for Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert, and a draft pick.