Do You Trust This Man?

The good natured fellow above is the key to the Nuggets universe. I know, I know. I'm worried too.

Cards on the table: I've always liked his game, more than most. It's easy for older, paler folks to discount him, because of the chest-pounding, the tats, the flagrant fouls, the stuttering "knowwhatimsayin" interviews. And, let's be honest, the game, constructed around frightening athleticism and barely controlled aggression. Remember when he body checked professional softie Eddy Curry all those years ago? I was scared for the kid. (Also, a little scared that Kenyon would be absorbed into the pillowy abyss that is Ed's midsection.)

On the other hand, teams need that. Teams like the Nuggets, with Baby Phat at the 3, Mr. Glass patrolling the middle like a hummingbird, and Calf-Strain Hilario watching cow-eyed from the bench.

We need toughness. We need speed and explosion and the occasional hard foul. We need to knock down Tony Paker, dammit! The league knows this. The coaches know this. Kenyon knows this.

The rapidly decomposing corpse of Charley Rosen and the buttery enigma known as Tim Thomas have both tossed 'fugazi' accusations at our boy in the recent past. From their respective glass houses. Listen: I don't give a fuck if you're hard or street or whatever. That's for fetishists, kids who watch too much TV, and dudes who want to distract from the fact that dude from Atmosphere is their favorite MC.



So fine, he's a fake ass thug. Whatever gets Timmy through the day. On the court, where it matters, K has never looked soft to me. Unskilled? At times. Out of control? Yeah. Overzealous? Certainly.

But here's the thing: K caught two oops from Iverson in the first quarter of his preseason debut. I like that. Develop that. Cuz, for all of A.I.'s faults (detailed elsewhere), he's a guy who men will follow. Legends are hard to come by anymore, and he uses his.

As good as Melo is, he's not a leader of men. Don't get me wrong, he's cool, everyone likes him, he's a great guy. But on the court, he's gonna get his 30 regardless, silky and cold. Which is great if you need 30, or if you need a dude to make a jumper as time expires. But Manny Ramirez isn't inspiring his teammates to new heights, you know? He just gets his and smiles a lot.

A.I. makes people play harder, makes 'em believe. And let's be real: Kenyon's a believer. That's why he hates Tim Thomas, for what all that implies. So here we are: K is back. And K wants to be the muscle. Which is good, cause our boys need backup.