Maturity is not connected to fatherhood; in fact, in the NBA, it isn't even within walking distance.

Still, it is anticipated that now that Carmelo Anthony is a father, his responsibility will grow beyond the mere agreement that he should have it, that he must show it and the Nuggets need it.

Whatever the distractions that concerned Anthony in anticipation of the birth of his first child, any veteran parent can tell him that they will not now be less, merely different.

While wisdom is not at the other end of a diaper change, that particular duty does keep you alert, especially with sons.

This would seem to be another division in the Nuggets season, separated in pieces by the loss of Kenyon Martin, the fight in Madison Square Garden and the suspensions, the trade for Allen Iverson, the return of Anthony, his All-Star angst and now the arrival of young Kiyan.

With only six weeks to go in the season, there is getting to be less time for further events that seem more like diversions than destinations.

It is time for the Nuggets to get serious about the playoffs, about preparing themselves to succeed in the playoffs, to come together with a common purpose and a coherent plan.

This has been a season of stumble, stop, start and excuse, the single theme being that there is time to get it right.

That time has passed, leaving only urgency and alarm, awakening an obligation to focus on a better finish.

Maybe now Anthony can get on with his paid job, which is to lead the Nuggets to bigger things, or to sixth place, which is about all that is left.

The Nuggets might very well have lost to Golden State with Anthony, who chose to attend the birth of his first child. The Nuggets have lost 21 other games with Anthony on the floor.

But more than likely the Nuggets would have beaten a team clearly worse than they are with Anthony doing his share.

Likewise, an opportunity was missed to move toward the Lakers, who were without Kobe Bryant for a different reason - wild elbows, which Bryant insists is just as natural as, oh, reproduction.

The NBA was not convinced, thus leading to Bryant's second one-game suspension. The Lakers, too, have lost with Bryant, but in every case, it is better to be with stars than without.

So, on the night when choice (Anthony) and punishment (Bryant) might yet determine playoff seedings, it matters not which is the more noble. Instead of being tied in losses with the Lakers and a mere game and a half behind, the Nuggets went back below .500 and gained nothing.

It still seems doubtful the Nuggets will miss the playoffs altogether, but merely making the postseason was never the goal, certainly never the expectation.

There is no chance Anthony will be benched, as George Karl reportedly suggested, because stubbornness is never a winning strategy. If Karl has not learned yet how to get the best out of Anthony, then maybe he is not the coach for Anthony.

And as Karl must surely know, in the NBA, if it ever comes to the choice between the head coach and the star player, the coach never wins.

Belittling Anthony to do better might not be the best way to inspire him, though it has been Karl's method to pick fights with his star players wherever he has been.

That usually previews failure, and it does seem a little soon for surrender caused by pigheadedness, whoever is wearing the snout.

Hauling this all back together might be more up to Allen Iverson than to Karl, because Iverson has been Anthony and Karl has never been either one of them.

Iverson has the skill, the experience and the scars to direct the Nuggets from within. Whether he has the will or the want is yet to be seen.

Playing no worse than they are now, the Nuggets would win 40 games, likely to be enough. Playing only up to the remaining schedule, the Nuggets should lose no more than 10 games, giving them 42 wins, easily enough.

With a refocused Anthony and a better adjusted Iverson, more is possible.

Should the Nuggets miss sixth place by one game, or the playoffs by one game, it will be easy to remember the date it happened. The day Anthony became a father.

Time to deliver, so to speak.

lincicomeb@RockyMountainNews.com

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