Game 50: Nuggets @ Wizards

(Denver-CO) The Denver Nuggets have a golden opportunity tonight to extend their current winning streak to four games for the third time this season against the woeful Wizards. Washington is tied with the Clippers for the league’s worst team, record-wise, at 10-39 and have lost seven of their last eight games with their only win coming against -guess who - the Clippers!

This game is a bit of a homecoming for Carmelo Anthony. ‘Melo, who was born in Redhook, Brooklyn, New York, moved to nearby Baltimore when he was eight years old. And if prior games against the Wizards are any indication of what we should expect tonight it should be an awesome game for Anthony.

Carmelo scored his career-high of 49 points against the Wizards back on February 8th, 2008 and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if part of the fuel for that performance came from Andray Blatche shooting his mouth off saying that he is the best thing to ever come out of Syracuse. Furthermore, ‘Melo is averaging 39.3 points and shooting 64.5 percent (49-for-76) in his last three meetings with Washington.

The Wizards, despite their inability to win this season and the seemingly endless recovery of Gilbert Arenas, are not without star power. Caron Butler is one of only two players (the other being LeBron James) averaging at least 20 points, six rebounds and four assists per game. The Wizards also have jack-of-all-trades forward, Antawn Jamison. The former College Player of the Year winner out of the University of North Carolina has poured in five consecutive double-doubles while averaging 22.8 points and 11.8 rebounds during that stretch. Antawn leads the Wizards in both scoring and rebounding while hoisting the second most three-point attempts per game on the team.

But enough about Washington!

The Nuggets are going to evaluate Chauncey Billups and Kenyon Martin before the game, but it wouldn’t be a shock to me if Billups sits. The Wizards are just not a team he needs to rush coming back for, but Kenyon’s presence would be a plus for the Nuggets against the big front line of Washington. The beefy Darius Songaila and seven-foot tandem of JaVale McGee and Oleksiy Pecherov are going to be a load for Big Brazil and the Birdman to handle without K-Mart. Notice how I purposely left out talented from the adjectives I used to describe them…

With all that laid out, this is another game the Nuggets should win handedly so that probably means it will come down to the final few possessions. It’s almost like the Nuggets have been playing with their opponents of lesser caliber as of late, and that’s ok if you’re winning, but in the long run it’s a very bad habit to get into. In tonight’s game, I would like to see Denver put an old fashioned ass kickin’ on the Wizards of which afterwards we can see Sonny Weems get some playing time.

Go Nuggets!

Carmelo Steals Oklahoma's Thunder - Again!

(Denver-CO)) This game against the Thunder was like a bad roller coaster of which you throw up after getting off of only to find $50 bucks in the trash can when your done. The roller coaster was how bad the Nuggets played in the first half. Throwing up was Denver being behind by 17 points in the second quarter and allowing 70 points in the first half. Finding the $50 bucks was the Nuggets winning this game on Carmelo's 10th career-winning field goal, his second this season against the Thunder, and a career-high eleven assists while Denver orchestrated its second largest comeback win of the season without Chauncey Billups and Kenyon Martin in the line-up!

It pains me to do so, but I'm taking off the gloves and really going to tell you flat out what I went through in the first half at work tonight (yes, I have a job where not only is the game on, but I'm sitting there watching it with an ex-Nugget and media types alike). Now that you've been formally warned here it goes... Dahntay Jones fumbled the ball over and over again in the first quarter. The rock slipped out of his hands on a dunk attempt, he lost it on the dribble, and on defense he couldn't put a steal in his pocket if it were a silver dollar. Offensively, Carmelo Anthony acted like he had never seen a double-team before. The double would come and instead of either splitting early with the dribble or giving it up to the open man, Carmelo would ball fake his way into making either a bad pass or getting the ball stolen. However, once Carmelo accelerated his action with the ball it was poetry in motion as he would either score at the rack himself, get fouled and go the free-throw line, or find Nene for dunks. In fact, 'Melo fed Nene four assists in the first quarter, including one dime for perhaps the scummiest disregard for another player's family when Big Brazil rocked the rim so hard that Joe Smith actually ended up on his can from the sheer force the ball was thrown down with.

But things went to hell in a hand basket quickly in the second quarter after the Thunder trailed by just one at the end of the first. Oklahoma City went on a 16-5 run giving them a, 47-42, lead with 7:10 remaining because the Nuggets went absolutely narcissistic offesnively and stopped playing any kind of defense recognizable to even a junior high basketball team. Denver's transition defense was rediculous. On three separate occasions I counted Kevin Durant, Earl Watson, and Russell Westbrook stroll down the length of the court before flipping in routine lay-up as the Nuggets were scattering like roaches with a spotlight turned on. The Thunder outscored the Nuggets 20-2 in fastbreak points in the second quarter and after the Nuggets missed 18 of their first 22 shot attempts Denver found themselves down by eleven, 70-59, after allowing 39 points to be scored by the Thunder in the second quarter alone.

I was still feeling slightly nauseous after the first 24 minutes of basketball, but I will admit that an energized, and perhaps ashamed, group of Nuggets took the floor in the second half. And after a tongue-lashing that I'm sure would have made a group of Marines blush was dished out by George Karl at halftime, the Nuggets slowly but surely erased the Thunder's lead by playing with, and for, one another defensively. The Oklahoma City lead was cut to seven with less than eight minutes to go in the third. Then it started to dwindle as the Denver defense picked up. The Nuggets trimmed it to six with under six, four with under five, three with under three, and then down to just one, 86-85, with two minutes to play before a minor relapse left them down by five at the end of the third quarter.

The Nuggets had fought all the way back after playing what I strongly believe was their worst 24 minutes of basketball so far this season. The third quarter was a true testament to the Nuggets' resiliency and tendency to play to the level of their competition while also having the new trait of taking control of their own destiny before it's too late in games that shouldn't become losses.

Once the fourth quarter started I knew the Nuggets weren't going to lose this game. Denver cut the lead to one again, 98-97, with 9:25 remaining in regulation after consecutive jumpers from J.R. Smith. The Thunder surged again, but J.R. still had a trick up his sleeve with the game tied at 102 apiece. The Prodigy jumped into the passing lane and intercepted an errant pass by Jeff Green. Earl Watson had no choice but to foul Smith or allow him to bring down the house with one of his gravity-disrespecting dunks and J.R. was awarded a clear path foul which meant two shots and the ball for Denver. Smith missed the first, but made the second and on the Nuggets' ensuing possession J.R. drained a three-pointer to boost Denver into a four-point lead!

The Nuggets then lost, regained, and lost the lead again all within the last two minutes after Kevin Durant put OKC in the lead, 113-112, with 17 second remaining. Then in a moment of deja vu, the Nuggets called timeout and drew up a play for Carmelo Anthony to potentially win the game in dramatic fashion. Remember, Kevin Durant hit a huge three the last time these two teams met to give the Thunder a two-point lead with five seconds remaining before Carmelo stole his thunder with a three of his own to win the game for the Nuggets. This time around, Durant and 'Melo exchanged lay-ups with the same results. 'Melo burned some clock before going to work first driving the left side before turning back into the paint and making an impossible shot over Jeff Green and Durant for his tenth game winner of his young career!

It was the $50 bucks sitting right next to the pile of vomit this game was otherwise.

It was about as ugly of a win as there possible could be, but a memory those of us who watched will never forget. The Nuggets came back from down 17 points in this one to steal a win from the more deserving team for the second time this year. Carmelo scored a game-high 32 points and handed out a new career-high eleven assists. His was the only double-double of the game for Denver, but without J.R. Smith's 22 points, including a perfect 4-4 from the land of plenty, this win doesn't materialize. Nene did add 20 points and eight rebounds, but the true story was how Carmelo and Smith brought this team back from the grave in the second half. Both men were spectacular in different ways at different times with the result being pure magic.

Go Nuggets!

Game 49: Nuggets @ Thunder

(Denver-CO) There is only one thing you need to know about the 11-37 Oklahoma City Thunder - They’re better than their overall record indicates. But, I didn’t have to tell you that because the last time the Nuggets played the Thunder it took Carmelo Anthony hitting a game-winning three from the left corner with under a second remaining for Denver to prevail.

Plus, they have an old friend coaching the team. Former Assistant Coach to George Karl, Scott Brooks, has the Thunder rolling over their last 14 games. In that aforementioned stretch, OKC has been a .500 team (7-7) with solid wins over the Utah Jazz (I snicker as I type that) and the Detroit Pistons. The Thunder are led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Second-year player Kevin Durant is living up to his second overall draft position by averaging 32.2 points per game in his last five games, including a 46-point, 15-rebound performance against the Clippers just over a week ago, with a season averages of 25 points and 6.6 rebounds. Durant continues to improve with every month and there's really no slowing him down. By season's end it would not be the least bit surprising if he starts putting up double-doubles on a regular basis. His rookie sidekick, Russell Westbrook, is fresh off scoring a team-high 34 points in the Thunder’s most recent loss to the Kings, but is adjusting nicely to the NBA game with an average line of 15 points, five rebounds, and 4.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.

The other main scorer the Nuggets have to keep an eye on is Jeff Green. Green, also a second-year player, is the Thunder’s second leading scorer behind Durant with an average of 16.6 points per game and he’s not afraid to hit the boards as his 6.5 rebounding clip indicates. Green scored 25 points and hit a career-high five treys in last Wednesday's win against Memphis.

With all that said, and credit given to OKC for stepping up their game to the NBA level since starting the season 4-30, this is a game the Nuggets MUST win. It’s just unbecoming of a team on the cusp of being considered an elite team in the Western Conference to drop a game like this at this point in the season. However, Chauncey Billups and Kenyon Martin are both game-time decision and if they don’t play the Nuggets are going to need a much more disciplined showing than last night’s slide-by win over the “resting” Spurs. Denver turned the ball over 17 times and only handed out 18 assists on 34 made baskets against the Spurs and were very scattered in the last five minutes of regulation. Granted, the Thunder are far more prone to getting up and down the court in what should be more of an offensive minded style of play, but nevertheless if Denver plays as sloppy as they did last night the result of tonight’s game could be less than favorable for the Nuggets Nation.

Go Nuggets!

Resting Parker and Duncan, Spurs Lose to Nuggets

(Denver-CO) What is it with teams resting their star players against the Nuggets? First Phoenix rests that old run-down diesel once known as Shaq and lose and tonight Gregg Popovich rests Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili (who may or may not have been legitimately injured), and Tim Duncan! Wow, talk about disrespect, do they not realize that Denver is only two games behind them overall in the Western Conference standings?

With San Antonio starting the game without it’s presumed starting five the Nuggets decided to change things up as well. George Karl, finally, started J.R. Smith without giving even the announcers a word of the decision before game time. And in another surprise, Renaldo Balkman started for Kenyon Martin who sat ill.

The first quarter of play was a little bit helter skelter for the Nuggets. Without their stars, I think the Nuggets may have taken the reserves a bit too lightly as evident by an early six-point lead, 18-12, for the Spurs just six minutes into the game. George Karl quickly had seen enough and called a timeout to rally the troops. He inserted Anthony Carter for Chauncey Billups and Chris Andersen for Renaldo Balkman and the rest of the Nuggets instantly responded to the personnel changes. Denver went on a 19-7 run over the duration of the first quarter on the back of Carmelo Anthony’s 14 points in the first twelve minutes. And had it not been for the Birdman rising to the challenge defensively on back-to-back rejections after two terrible decisions by Linas Kleiza and a failed alley-oop pass by Anthony Carter the Nuggets’ lead might have been slimmer than, 31-25, entering the second quarter.

The energy Bird brought on the defensive end carried over to the offensive end as he scored six of the Nuggets’ first eight points in the second quarter with the other deuce coming by way of a circus-reverse by Linas Kleiza. The Nuggets had opened up a 14-point lead, 39-25, with ten minutes to play in the half, but yet still Popovich rested his big three. Denver maintained a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the second quarter, but there was a scary moment when Chauncey Billups came up a touch lame after converting a nice double-clutch lay-in with under three minutes to play. Chauncey would remain in the game with a slightly tweaked ankle and the Nuggets would remain in the lead entering intermission, 56-44.

Carmelo Anthony was the only player in the first half to reach double-digit points with a game-high 20 points and game-high tying six rebounds. Carmelo’s impact was unassuming in the first half mainly due to taking a backseat to Chris Andersen’s performance off the bench. The Birdman was absolutely fabulous in nine minutes of burn finishing the half with nine points, four big blocked shots, and three rebounds. Anthony Carter also deserves mention because when he and the Birdman came in the game early in the first quarter there was a noticeable perk in the Denver’s intensity defensively and continuity offensively. AC handed out a game-high five assists and scored six points in the first half. Overall, the Nugget bench outscored the Spur bench 20-12, but it pains me to say that Linas Kleiza didn’t have his best half of the season. LK did score five points and grabbed five rebounds, but his attitude, body language, and shot selection were all horrid. On one occasion, he turnover the ball over at half court and proceeded to pout when he could have been busting his tail back on D to prevent an easy score. Linas also threw up a questionable behind-the-head, lay-up attempt and air mailed in a three before getting hit with a technical foul after wrestling the ball away from Carmelo Anthony and lost it going back up. Maybe he was fouled on the put back maybe he wasn’t, but to get hit with a technical foul with under ten seconds remaining and your team ahead by 13 points is just not warranted.

The first three minutes of the second half made me want to puke. Four Denver turnovers in the first three minutes let the Spurs back into the game, 60-51, which cut the Nuggets’ lead to under ten for the first time since early in the second quarter. Perhaps once again the Nuggets came out and took the Spur reserves too lightly, but one star in this game wasn’t taking the night off. Carmelo scored six of the Nuggets’ first eight points of the second half, but bad news was handed down when it was reported Chauncey Billups was done for the night with the bum ankle. X-rays were negative for any breaks, but with Mr. Big Shot sidelined the Nuggets were going to have to tighten up collectively to pick up his slack.

And pick up they did. Denver opened up it’s largest lead of the game, 70-53, on Carmelo Anthony’s finger roll in transition before Roger Mason hit a big three followed by five straight points by Malik Hairston which cut the Nugget lead back down to 13 with under three minutes to play in the third quarter. The Nuggets only scored 22 points in the third and led by just ten going into the fourth because they fell in love with the jumper on offense. They stopped taking the ball to the basket and didn’t put any fouls on the Spurs and as a result only shot two free-throws in the quarter. Thankfully, Carmelo Anthony put the team on his back with ten third-quarter points to head into the fourth with 30 points.

There was still no sign of Tim Duncan or Tony Parker to start the fourth, but an unforced turnover by Anthony Carter and yet another missed jump shot to start the quarter off offensively brought the Spurs within six, 78-72, with eleven minutes to play. The Nuggets were playing right into the San Antonio trap of committing unforced turnovers and true to form the Spurs made Denver pay. Another AC turnover in transition led to Fabricio Oberto scoring a bunny to whittle Denver’s lead to four with 9:37 remaining and the atmosphere became nerve-raking in the Pepsi Center. Jacque Vaughn’s jumper from the right baseline cut Denver’s lead to two with under nine minutes to play and the Nuggets were flat-lining. Denver scored only three points, all on free-throws, in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter before Linas Kleiza hit a critical three from the right corner to extend the Nuggets’ lead back to six before LK hit a pair of free-throws to push it to eight. The Nuggets may have saved this game with back-to-back defensively stops capped off by J.R. Smith draining a long three from the right wing to give Denver an eleven-point lead, 89-78, with just over seven minutes to play, but credit the San Antonio Spurs’ reserves starters for making this a game after being down by as many as 17 in the third quarter. Linas Kleiza hit his third three of the game to give Denver its second eleven-point lead of the fourth quarter and it was evident Gregg Popovich had made a mistake resting Tony Parker and Tim Duncan as the spurs eventually lost the game, 104-96. If Parker and Duncan play with Billups going down and Kenyon a scratch due to strep throat San Antonio probably wins this game which is why with four days of rest before their next game I still don't understand at least inserting either or both San Antonio All-Stars and trying to steal this win on the road...

However, I will acknowledge that the Nuggets played very undisciplined in the final five minutes of this game. Not getting the ball beyond half court within eight seconds is inexcusable, not pulling the ball out when the game is in hand and running down the clock is just plain stupid, and forcing bad passes - on the fast break nonetheless - when the game is in hand is moronic. Denver was lucky their poor decisions didn’t cost them this win.

Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 35 points and bagged nine rebounds. Nene added a double-double of 17 points and eleven rebounds, but it was the bench that picked up the slack left by Kenyon Martin sitting ill and Chauncey not playing in the second half due to a slight ankle sprain. Led by Linas Kleiza’s 13 points, the Denver bench was huge with Carter , the Bird, and Dahntay Jones combining for 36 points.

Up next for the Nuggets are two very winnable road games against the Thunder tomorrow night and the Wizards on Friday. Tomorrow’s game kicks off Denver’s longest road trip of the season, eight games, broken up by the All-Star break.

Put the rest of the league on notice: Don’t sleep on Denver!

Go Nuggets!

Game 48: Spurs @ Nuggets

(Denver-CO) After starting this season riddled with injuries, the San Antonio Spurs have returned to their old form of fundamentally sound basketball resulting in the W’s getting stacked. Since a 5-5 start in their first ten games, the Spurs are 28-9 since that mediocre point of the season and now hold a solid grip on second place in the Western Conference by two games over the Nuggets. Denver was able to defeat the Spurs in the first meeting between these two teams, but San Antonio made short work of the Nuggets in round two.

If there is any immediate advantage for the Nuggets in tonight’s game it will be that San Antonio is in the midst of their annual rodeo road trip where the Spurs play eight consecutive games away from the Alamo City. Last night, the Spurs needed a tremendous 18-6 run late in the fourth quarter to force overtime against the Golden State Warriors before emerging victorious for their eighth win in nine games. Hopefully, this means the Spurs will be tired physically and emotional sapped after the overtime thriller against the Warriors, but I’m not counting on it. The Spurs are chalked full of veterans that know how to regroup after such outings.

With that being said, to beat the Spurs, you can’t beat yourself.

The Nuggets will need a very efficient overall performance to beat the Spurs. That means the unforced miscues have to be kept to an absolute minimum and that leaves me a little nervous when considering how Denver likes to play. The Nuggets have committed the fourth most turnovers in the NBA this season while the Spurs have committed the second fewest. San Antonio also allows the fewest offensive rebounds per game and play at such a snail’s pace that if you waste precious possessions offensively with turnovers and bad shots you’ll find yourself wondering “what if” as the Spurs suffocate any and all chance for a win from the very air you breathe.

San Antonio has managed to win 33 games this season with the offensive trident of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu “The Flopper” Ginobili. Both Parker and Duncan are averaging just a shade over 20 points per game while Manu is third on the team in scoring with an average of 15.3 ppg. You might be thinking to yourself, “Well, the Nuggets should be able to outscore the Spurs any given night of the week”, but the truth be told on how the Spurs win games is in the pace at which they play. As a team, they average 97.4 points per game, but that decent output offensively in combination with an instinctual way of capitalizing on their opposition’s misfortunes before clamping down defensively where they allow 94 points per game is a recipe for victory long patented by Coach Gregg Popovich. And within that recipe are a few spices only discernible to the acute NBA palette. For instance, the Spurs allow the fewest opposing free-throws per game in the NBA. This could be because Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili have still yet to ever commit a foul in an NBA game. But, in all honesty, this could be a pivotal aspect of this match-up because the Nuggets are still shooting the most (31.2) and making the most (23.6) free-throws league-wide.

The marquee match-up in tonight’s game will be Nene vs. Tim Duncan in the post. We’ve seen how well Nene can hold his own offensively against the Big Fundamental, but it’s defensively where Big Brazil has his work cut out for him. Duncan definitely got the better of Nene in San Antonio’s win over the Nuggets on December 4th with a stat line of 21 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and five blocks, but in the last six games the artist formerly known as Hilario has been pouring it on. During that stretch, Nene has averaged 17.8 points on 68.9 percent shooting and 9.6 rebounds over his last six games, including a 10-for-11 shooting performance against the Bobcats and a 12-12 performance against the Jazz.

For the Nuggets, this game is a great test before they too hit the road for eight straight games away from Pepsi Center. On the immediate horizon are the putrid Thunder and the even worse Wizards to get the long odyssey on its way, but for Denver to really have a good feeling before packing their bags they have to take care of business tonight because immediately following those two nearly sure wins are a slew of very tough games.

Go Nuggets!

Taking Care of Business

(Denver-CO) The Denver Nuggets ate the Bobcats up like catnip with a combination of solid defense, fundamental offense, and a great energy from their bench. The almost boring win was a perfect example of a team punching in and taking care of work early against an overmatched opponent.

You’ve got to love the first Nugget possession offensively. Chauncey immediately recognized that Okafur can not guard Nene and entered the ball into Big Brazil. The result was an easy spinning lay-up and on the next possession Nene got it again with similar results. ‘Melo then scored points five and six for Denver with his first jumper since the fifth of January. The Nuggets then extended their lead to nine, 14-5, off a sly behind the back pass from Chauncey Billups to Nene for a thunderous slam and Carmelo Anthony going to work in the post for another easy deuce. But in all honesty, the Charlotte Bobcats looked terribly discombobulated committing six turnovers in the first eleven possessions to start the game.

The chip on the shoulder that I’ve been talking Carmelo coming back with surfaced when Anthony put a tricky dribble on Adam Morrison, faking the crossover left, and driving right to the rack for the hoop and the harm to extend Denver’s lead to twelve points, 17-5, midway through the first quarter. However, the score did tighten despite the ‘Cats turning the ball over eight times in the first eight minutes and the first quarter ended with the Nuggets leading, 24-19. One thing that I really missed in the first quarter was the absence of J.R. Smith’s energy. After Chauncey Billups missed two open three-pointers the feeling in the Pepsi Center was as flat as a two-liter of cola left out over night with the cap off and I think J.R. sitting on the bench had something to do with it.

Seemingly on cue, J.R. Smith got the second quarter started with an aggressive drive to the rim on which he was fouled on and went to line to redeem his two free-throws. The Birdman then began to make his presence on the defensive end felt with his second rejection of the night and a great challenge that altered a sure lay-up make before spreading his wings on a great feed from Anthony Carter for a two-handed flush. After taking flight for his first dunk of the game on the previous possession, the Bird caught an alley-oop off an inbounds play before soaring again on the defensive end with his third completely dominating block of the game.

The Nuggets extended their lead to 15 points with under a minute to play after the Bird snared his fourth block of the half and Kenyon Martin brought the house down with a backboard shaking jam. Denver held that margin going into the half, 57-42, led by a trio of Nuggets offensively. Nene was a perfect 7-7 from the field with a team-high 14 points while Carmelo scored ten points in his first 14 minutes of action. Linas Kleiza added another dozen off the bench as the Nuggets were a smoking hot 20-36 from the field in the first half. Denver handed out 17 assists on their 20 makes and everyone was getting into the act. Anthony Carter was the top distributor with four dimes in the first half as seven different Nuggets handed out an assist. Defensively, the Nuggets were actively controlling the point of attack and limited the Bobcats to just 36% shooting at the break while forcing ten Charlotte turnovers. I also liked the discretion Denver was displaying when applying defensive pressure after committing just twelve fouls and only allowing the ‘Cats ten free-throw attempts in the first half.

The third quarter was solid on all fronts and the Nuggets held their 15-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Denver was like a boa constrictor slowly tightening their grip on the game as the fourth quarter went on and by the 9:24 mark were up by 20 points, 94-74. For the remainder of this game the Bobcats acted content to just lose quietly. Usually when the Nuggets are handing out an old fashioned ass paddling I have a lot more to report, but this game seemed to drag on and on. Partially because the effort by the Bobcats was deplorable and at a certain point I think Coach Larry Brown tuned out with the game out of hand and partially because the Nuggets were winning with fundamental defense and simple offense. Denver out shot the Bobcats from the field 54-45% while forcing 18 Charlotte turnovers and handing out 28 assists.

It was a rudimentary, 110-99, win with five scorers reaching double figures. Nene led the charge with 22 points, twelve rebounds, three assists, and two steals while Carmelo scored 19 points and handed out five assists in 29 minutes in his first game back. Mr. Big Shot had a quiet night offensively making just 3-9 shot attempts for twelve points. It was also the first time in his last 30 games that Chauncey Billups didn’t make at least one three-point attempt. Linas Kleiza’s 21 points on 7-11 shooting was tremendous off the bench. As a whole, the Nuggets' bench collectively outscored the Bobcat bench 43-32.

Up next for the Nuggets is a home look at the San Antonio Spurs before Denver hits the road for a season-long, eight-game road trip up and down the east coast.

Go Nuggets!

Game 47: Bobcats @ Nuggets

(Denver-CO) Tonight, the Nuggets look to get back on track after dropping the second game of a back-to-back to the Hornets on Wednesday night. Their potential victim, the Charlotte Bobcats, who are fresh off a big victory over the Lakers earlier this week, but will be without Gerald Wallace and D.J. Augustin. Charlotte is also playing their third game in four nights and lost its last game to the Trailblazers after scoring only 74 points. However, the Nuggets will be returning to full strength tonight after Carmelo Anthony got the green light from team physicians yesterday after missing ten games with a broken bone in his hand.

The 'Cats will be hard pressed to find a way to make up for Gerald Wallace's absence. Wallace was injured on a collision with L.A.'s Andrew Bynum which looked like a dirty play to me. You be the judge...

Tests revealed that Wallace suffered a partially collapsed lung and fractured rib. Wallace's lung has been restored to full capacity but he'll remain hospitalized over the next 48 hours for observation. In the meantime, Charlotte has to find a way to compensate for losing its leading scorer and best defender, second leading rebounder, and top thief. D.J. Augustin will also be a scratch tonight due to an abdominal strain and missing his 12.1 points and 4.1 assists compounds the problems facing the Bobcats.

The Nuggets will have to figure out how Carmelo fits back in with the rest of his team who have stepped up over the last three weeks tremendously in his absence and that's a problem I'm sure George Karl is delighted to deal with. Adding Carmelo to a team that was able to fare 6-4 over the ten games he missed while playing eight teams over .500 can only help and with 'Melo being snubbed for the All-Star Game be sure to watch for an extra chip on his shoulder tonight.

I'm so excited to see how this team looks after weathering a very tough schedule without their superstar. Denver is currently the fourth overall team in the Western Conference picture trailing the Lakers, Spurs, and Hornets, but would have the third seed if the postseason started today due to being first place by a game and a half over Portland in the Northwest Division.

Go Nuggets!

Congratulations Chauncey!

(Denver-CO) Chauncey Billups has been names an All-Star reserve for the Western Conference! Mr. Big Shot is averaging a career-best 18.8 ppg (including 19.0 ppg with Denver), 6.5 apg and 1.45 spg through 44 games this season. He is shooting .387 (89-230) from three-point range and .903 (262-290) from the free-throw line (seventh-best in the NBA). The Denver Nuggets are 29-13 since starting the year 1-3 before trading for the Denver native on November 3rd, 2008. Congratulations, Chauncey!

Go Nuggets!

'Melo Not an All-Star Not All Bad

(Denver-CO) It's official. Carmelo Anthony was overlooked by the coaches of the Western Conference and will not be an All-Star this year.

My take?

So what!

These exhibition games are more important to the fans than the players themselves anyways and the snubbing is going to light a fire underneath him of the likes of which we've never seen. You watch just watch as Carmelo Antony takes this as a slap in the face and sticks it to every Western Conference coach the Nuggets face when he returns. I'll even goes as far as saying this is actually a good thing for the Nuggets in the long run. Follow me here... it gives 'Melo a full week to work himself back into shape right after he returns from the broken bone in his hand (hopefully tomorrow night against the Bobcats) and another week for him to stew for a bit longer after he gets his first taste.

The results are going to favorable because Carmelo Anthony takes a lot of pride in his image. From his sneaker line with the Jordan brand to his reality show, "Carmelo's Way", it's pretty clear this is the case and to not be considered one of the top 12 players in the league, hands down regardless of injury, after he played a major role in the USA bringing home the Olympic gold medal from Beijing this summer is going to make him want to prove himself even more...

Thank you, coaches of the Western Conference. Carmelo and crew will be seeing you soon!

That. Was. Gross.

(Denver-CO) The Denver Nuggets just didn’t have their “A” game tonight in The Big Easy. In fact, nothing came easy as the swarming Hornets used a combination of solid defense and eleven different offensive scorers to down the Nuggets, 94-81, in a game where the Nuggets couldn’t throw a seashell in the ocean offensively.

Ugh, the first quarter was an absolute abomination. I don’t know if Denver was tired from the trip or the game itself in Memphis, but the Nuggets looked sluggish as all get out as they scored a mere 19 points in the first quarter on 8-18 from the field including a woeful 1-5 from downtown. Adding insult to how lackadaisical the Nuggets looked offensively was their lack of a rebounding effort as they were only able to clear six rebounds total in the first quarter. And it wasn’t like the Hornets were playing great basketball. New Orleans turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter and thankfully the Nuggets were able to capitalize to the tune of ten of their first 19 points on said miscues.

Trailing, 20-19, after one, Denver regrouped offensively in the second quarter with the help of some easy buckets, but still could not hit the broad side of a barn from long range as they missed another four out of five attempts from the land of plenty bringing their grand total from three for the half to a sickening 2-10. However, this game was still well within a winnable margin at the half as the Nuggets were down by just two, 46-44. Even after Kenyon Martin was hit with a technical foul when Chris Paul bought himself a whistle by grabbing Kenyon’s arm trying to break the full court pressure of Denver with five seconds left in the half I still thought the Nuggets would be able to regroup and get this win on the road. It was a good technical. It sent a message that the Nuggets weren’t going to be spectators while Paul’s antics stole the show.

The Nuggets gained their first lead of the second half, 59-58, with under five minutes remaining in the third quarter, but it was short-lived. The Hornets quickly regained the lead and held it until the ten minute mark of the fourth quarter when J.R. Smith’s floater gave the Nuggets back the lead, 70-68. What came next was complete déjà vu from last night only this time it was the Nuggets who completely flat-lined and surrendered to the Hornets. Denver went scoreless over the next 4:50 as New Orleans went on a 14-0 run that sealed the Nuggets' fate.

Denver's 82 points scored is a season-low game total and the box score reflects the kind of game that needs to just be forgotten. About the only bright spot I can point to is the play of Kenyon Martin. K-Mart finished with 22 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots on 10-12 shooting and was one of only two Nuggets (Nene being the other) to shoot over 50% from the field. J.R. Smith scored 20 points, cleared six rebounds, and handed out five assists, but was an inefficient 7-17 from the field and looked off-beat from his usual self from downtown finishing just 2-7 from long range.

Peja Stojakovic tied a season-high mark of 26 points and Chris Paul recorded his 29th double-double of the season with 12 points and ten assists. All eleven Hornets who saw the floor scored; even former Nugget and all-around stiff, Ryan Bowen. And as a whole the Denver reserves were outscored 46-13 by the subs of New Orleans.

As I said in my recap from last night’s win against the Grizzlies, Denver didn’t take care of the ball tonight and their 19 turnovers and it really turned around and bit them. Those 19 turnovers resulted in 23 points for the Hornets and kept the Nuggets from establishing any kind of continuity offensively. Every time Denver would seemingly be mounting some momentum an unforced turnover would occur and completely pull the chair out form under them.

Overall, this was a hard game to watch, and one that should be forgotten.

Game 46: Nuggets @ Hornets

(Denver-CO) The only thing the Nuggets Nation needs to know about tonight's game with the Hornets is Chris Paul. I'm not gay, not there's anything wrong with it, but I do have a serious man-crush on CP3! If the Nuggets can contain Paul from having a triple or quadruple double (don't laugh, he missed it by three steals two nights ago) their chances of winning go up exponentially with fellow Hornets All-Star, David West sidelined with back spasms.

But allow me to gush about Paul for a second. Even without West in the line-up and the balky ankle of Tyson Chandler, CP3 has taken this team and put them on his back for five wins in their last six games. He is easily the best point guard in the league today, perhaps should have won the MVP last year over Mr. Bryant, and is well on his way to having one of the best seasons by a point guard since the days of, dare I say... Magic Johnson. He can beat you with his offense, he can beat you with his defense, or he can beat you by setting up others on his team on offense. As he goes, so do the Hornets. And, if he gets his motor running hot he can be an unstoppable force much like LeBron, Kobe, or our local superstar Carmelo Anthony.

Dahntay Jones will probably get the starting assignment of trying to slow Paul down, but it's going to take a conscious team effort to keep him from slicing through the Denver D like a hot comb on nappy-ass hair (credit Outkast for the analogy). Look for Anthony Carter to come in early in an attempt to match up with CP3 after Jones gets into early foul trouble.

Other than my obvious obsession with Chris Paul, I do feel the Nuggets walk away tonight with the W because the Hornets are so shorthanded without West and Chandler. With that being said, Denver can ill-afford to lose track of "Dont' Call, I'll" Peja Stojakovic around the three-point line after he hit six big bombs against the Sixers in the Hornets' last win and an average of 3.6 makes over his last five games.

Go Nuggets!

Nuggets D-Claw the Grizzlies

(Denver-CO) The Denver Nuggets can feel good about blowing out the Grizzlies, 100-85, just not for too long. The Grizzlies basically folded down the stretch after closing the Nuggets’ lead down to four in the fourth quarter before all but giving the Nuggets their 30th victory of the season. However, tomorrow night the Nuggets will need a better effort to continue their winning ways against the Hornets.

I really liked the Nuggets intensity on the defensive end in the first five minutes of the first quarter. Dahntay Jones came up with a nice steal on the perimeter and took the cookies from Rudy Gay coast-to-coast for an easy deuce. That play set the tone for a great quarter overall defensively despite the offense getting out to a very slow start and the Nuggets trailing, 25-24, after one. J.R. Smith, although he was whistle for a loose ball foul, deserves a lot of credit defensively. I thought he really played smart, and under control basketball despite O.J. Mayo scoring twelve points in the first quarter to J.R.’s eleven. And what made the quarter a “moral victory” for me was how the Nuggets came back from down eight, 20-12, after fighting some bad calls and bad bounces of the ball to finish the quarter out on a 12-5 run heading into the second quarter.

Once the second got underway, the Nuggets really struggled breaking the Memphis full court pressure turning the ball over three times in the first two minutes. The easy points off those turnovers turned into a seven point lead, 31-24, for the Grizzlies before Chauncey gave a disheveled Nuggets offense a calming three to get the Nuggets on the scoreboard after starting the second quarter scoreless through the first two minutes. Nene then sustained the Nuggets with six straight points before Denver took control of this game with a 20-point flurry that included Chauncey Billups scoring his 12,000th point as a pro to close out the half up by nine, 54-45. J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza led the offensive charge for the Nuggets at the break with 15 and eleven points, respectively, and Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups each added eight more. One area the Nuggets could easily improve on in the second half were all the turnovers that were more or less avoidable with just more cautious basketball. Denver turned the ball over eleven times in the first half, but luckily the Nuggets escaped unscathed as the Grizzlies were only able to capitalize on said miscues for eight points.

As for the Grizzlies, they might as well have gone into hibernation in the second quarter. After putting up 25 in the first, Memphis could only muster 20 points in the second while shooting a tepid 33% from the field for the half. O.J Mayo didn’t score in the second quarter after hitting for a dozen in the first and had it not been for Darius Miles scoring all ten of the Grizzlies first ten points in the second things could have been much worse for the Memphis at halftime.

Nene picked up his fourth foul with nine minutes to play in the third and was banished to the bench for the remainder of the quarter, but his feathered friend, The Birdman, came in a did a great job in extended minutes. He didn’t allow Marc Gasol to get to a favorable position on the low block, played disciplined defense not buying any of Gasol’s head fakes, and sealed off well when the ball went on rim. With that being said, the quarter would belong to Chauncey Billups on the offensive end. Mr. Big Shot scored the Nuggets’ first 14 points of the second half before Chris Andersen’s free-throw make broke what was a one-man show that when on for the better part of eight minutes. The Birdman’s free-throw ballooned the Nuggets’ lead to 16 points, 69-53, with four minutes remaining before the Nuggets went scoreless on their next four possessions and connected on just 1-6 of their shot attempts to close out the quarter. This funky stretch of discombobulated offense where everyone just stood around flat-footed allowed the Grizzlies to close out the half on a 15-6 run which left the door cracked for the Grizzlies entering the fourth quarter down by just seven, 75-68.

The fourth quarter started the same way as third as Chauncey Billups connected on his fourth three-pointer of the game. Nene then found Andersen on a nifty bounce pass in the paint that gave the Bird enough room to spread his wings for a slam to give the Nuggets a nine-point lead with ten minutes to play. Back-to-back heady defensively plays by Anthony Carter kept the Nuggets ahead by nine before Hakim Warrik tightened the score back down to six with the hoop and the harm on the next Memphis possession. Kyle Lowry’s short jumper cut things to four with under seven minutes, but Kenyon’s Martin’s steal which led to Linas Kleiza getting flagrantly fouled by Lowry gave the Nuggets two free-throws and the ball. The Nuggets extended their lead back to six after LK made good on both free-throws, but an offensive foul called on J.R. Smith for a hook on the baseline left me a bit unsatisfied. Thankfully, Kenyon Martin went to a fundamentally sound, left-handed hook on the next offensive possession to put the Nuggets back into the lead by eight and then Denver was on top by ten after Nene’s jumper from the right baseline with under six minutes left in regulation.

The Denver lead had been earned during this defining stretch on the defensive end of the floor. The Nuggets continued to block shots, a fantastic steal by J.R. Smith on one possession in particular sticks out, and the team rotating very efficiently as they held the Grizzlies scoreless for more than five minutes after Kyle Lowry’s jumper that cut their lead to four led to an eventual 15-point Denver blowout, 100-85. Chauncey Billups scoring 16 points in the third quarter paced him to a team-high 29 points. Mr. Big Shot was also a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe and filled up the stat sheet with four rebounds, four steals, three assists, and two blocked shots. J.R. Smith also played a superb all-around game scoring 20 points, nabbing five boards, and two assists, blocks, and steals.

Linas Kleiza continued his scoring surge since ‘Melo went down with 16 points tonight and seven rebounds while Kenyon Martin’s double-double of twelve points and ten rebounds rounded out a great overall game by all the Nugget bigs. Chris Andersen blocked five shots while the Nuggets collectively swatted 15 shots in total.

27 turnovers were a real Achilles heal for the Nuggets in this good-bad-ugly win and the Nuggets will definitely not be as fortunate to over come that number of miscues tomorrow night against the Hornets. It is very rare to be -13 in assists to turnovers overall and still win a game in today’s NBA. And for those of you keeping track, the Nuggets are now 17-2 when Chauncey Billups scores 20 or more points and improve to 29-12 since Joe Dumars made my dreams come true!

Go Nuggets

The Lighter Side of 'Melo

(Denver-CO) There's nothing groundbreaking here, but nevertheless it's worth a watch because it's 'Melo being 'Melo! Enjoy.

Go Nuggets!

Game 45: Nuggets @ Grizzlies

(Denver-CO) I have teamed up with Josh from 3 Shades of Blue today to preview tonight's game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Be sure to head over there to read my answers to Josh's questions and don't let the boss catch you reading his answers to mine! A big thanks to Josh from our Bloguin sister site, 3 Shades of Blue, for the interview.

ND: What's the nastiest thing you've ever seen Rudy Gay do?

3 Shades: I'm assuming that you mean on the basketball court, so I'll leave that one locker room story out of this -- LOL. I'd probably have to go with this.

He's had more impressive dunks on breakaways and alley-oops, but for straight up nasty, that one takes the cake in my opinion. It's highlighted by the fact that Dikembe Mutombo comes over to help, but just becomes part of the posterization of Luis Scola.

ND: What's been the biggest problem this year for the Grizzlies?

3 Shades: Youth and the inexperience and inconsistency that goes with that. When you're looking at a team where the most experienced regular rotation player is Quinton Ross who is in his 5th year in the league, but comes off the bench, you know you are young. At the beginning of the season they started 3 rookies (O.J. Mayo, Darrell Arthur, Marc Gasol), a 2nd year PG (Mike Conley) and a 3rd year SF (Rudy Gay), with a 3rd year PG (Kyle Lowry), a 5th year SG/SF (Ross), a 4th year PF (Hakim Warrick) and Darko Milicic (in his 6th year, but really just completed his 3rd year) coming off the bench. Adding 27-year old Darius Miles actually increased the average age of this team! Obviously, playing time will cure that ill, as well as developing some much-needed team chemistry.

ND: O.J. Mayo: Future of the franchise or Future fizzle?

3 Shades: Definitely future of the franchise. I was as hard on Mayo as anyone prior to the draft and even after we acquired him on draft night. But he has proven me wrong in a big way. Even though he has hit the rookie wall, he still plays with an intensity and maturity that belies his age. Although he doesn't possess the athleticism or skills of Kobe Bryant, he has the same killer instinct and a relentless desire to win. It looks like it actually causes him pain when he isn't playing well.

ND: Same question, only this time for Marc Gasol.

3 Shades: I think that Marc is definitely part of the future, although he fills a much different role than Mayo does. Gasol is a rugged interior player that does a ton of dirty work. He's a coach's dream in that regard. He doesn't whine about his touches or minutes, but you can tell that he is a fiery competitor who will do absolutely anything to win.

ND: What about Lionel Hollins gives you an optimistic outlook for this team in the future? Any predictions for his first game as Head Coach?

3 Shades: Coach Hollins is very familiar with the Grizzlies organization, having been an assistant coach going back to their days in Vancouver, so that is obviously helpful, given that his transition won't be nearly as difficult as it could have been by joining the team in midseason. The one thing that truly gives me some sense of optimism in his hiring is something he said at the press conference on Sunday:

"I want to see if Mike Conley is a basketball player on a high level. I understand the pressure of being a high pick, of being the first guard picked. I was the #6 pick. But I want to see what he can do. I'm going to give him a lot of freedom, but I'm also going to push him."

The one thing that I do believe that Marc Iavaroni mishandled during his tenure as head coach was the point guard play, specifically where it concerned Mike Conley. I attribute the team's dead last ranking in assists to his ineffective offensive scheme this year. I'm anxious to see what Conley is capable of if he is given 30+ minutes per night and doesn't have to constantly look over his shoulder after an unsuccessful play to see if he's being yanked. Young players need to have confidence shown in them so that they can develop their game. That is especially true of point guards.

I don't expect that you'll see all that much difference in Hollins first game as the head coach than you saw in Johnny Davis' two games as interim coach. He simply hasn't had enough time to implement any "new" strategies or gameplans, so I expect that the offense will be a little more free-flowing, but that the casual observer won't see much of a difference at all. I realize that doesn't sound all that encouraging for a team that has lost 17 of their last 19 games, but that is the reality of the situation. He's had 2 days to work with the team, not an entire training camp. Things will change slowly, but they will change. You can count on that. I know that everyone in Memphis surely is.

Once again, thanks to Josh for the great content and as always...

Go Nuggets!

Utah Trumped Hard by Nuggets

(Denver-CO) Tonight, we toast the Denver Nuggets dominating the Utah Jazz, 117-97. Nothing makes me happier than sending the Utah Jazz back to Utah on a two-game slide as they slide a full game back in the divisional chase!

In the first few minutes the Nuggets allowed the Jazz four of their first six points on uncontested lay-ups as a result of defensive breakdowns. The Nuggets then buckled down defensively over the next five minutes and opened up a 20-11 lead after Nene stole an outlet pass before being rewarded on sneaky shuttle pass from J.R. Smith. The Prodigy scored 13 of the Nuggets’ first 25 points and handed out two assists to Nene. A lot of credit needs to be given to the Jazz though for fighting back and getting the game to within four, 27-23, before the Nuggets surged again in the final four minutes of the first quarter finishing with the lead, 35-26. The Nuggets shot a blistering 56% from the field in the first quarter and made eight of their ten free-throw attempts.

Once the second quarter started we saw the reinsertion of J.R. Smith and his hot hand. J.R. opened up with three-pointer that made the Nuggets 7-9 from the field to start the quarter as they opened up a 15-point lead, 45-27, with 8:22 remaining. Once again the Jazz cut the Nuggets’ down to ten on three separate occasions during the quarter, but on each of the ensuing possessions the Nuggets were able to answer with buckets, including a banked-in three by Linas Kleiza. LK hit two three's in the second with the second preserving a nine-point lead heading into halftime, 60-51. J.R. led all scorers at the half with 16 points and three assists while Anthony Carter provided a tremendous, although quiet, six assists for the Nuggets. Linas Kleiza added eleven points and a team-high five rebounds and Nene chipped in ten points on 5-5 shooting.

What I really liked about the first half was the Nuggets defense. Denver held the Jazz to just 41 % (17-41) from the field and cashed in for seven points on Utah’s ten turnovers. The Nuggets were also doing a tremendous job limiting their miscues committing just four turnovers in the first half.

To say that the Nuggets absolutely demolished the Jazz in the first half of the third quarter would be an understatement of epic proportions. Up by 20, 80-60, with 6:30 remaining, Denver was firing on all cylinders immediately as the half got underway. Chauncey Billup drained a three to get things going right out of the gate and then drew a foul and cashed three free-throws on a cagey move on C.J. Miles before J.R. Smith provided the bookends on yet another assist to the Big Brazilian with a pair of three’s.

But once again, I have to give the Jazz a lot of credit for rallying back and trimming the Denver lead to just thirteen, 83-70, with under four minutes to play in the third quarter. Although much of this lead was given back by the Nuggets missing six of their first ten free-throws and 10-19 attempts in the quarter, the Jazz comeback was short-lived after the Nuggets extended their lead back to 14 points, 91-77, entering the fourth quarter. Chauncey Billups scored ten points in the third despite still shooting a dreadful 3-11 from the field thanks to making the Jazz pay from the free-throw line where he was 7-8 for the quarter and 10-12 overall after three quarters.

The Nuggets extended their lead to 22 points with six minutes and change remaining in regulation after Nene tied Bobby Jones’ franchise record set in 1978 for most field goals made without a miss (12-12). The field goal also tied Nene’s career-high point total of 28 points set against the Sacramento Kings back in 2004. George Karl pulled Nene and the rest of his starting crew shortly thereafter as the win was cemented. Denver eventually won, 117-97, much to my delight and the dismay of our good friends over at True Blue Jazz. By the way, be sure to head over there after reading here and jab the ribs of CB Jack, Hammy, Booner, Scrumtrulescent, and Pick-N-Roll.

Three starters scored 20+ points led by Nene’s aforementioned career-high tying 28 points and nine rebounds. Big Brazil also finished with four steals. Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith each added 22 points with the Prodigy handing out six assists and Mr. Big Shot blocking two shots. Linas Kleiza was a huge shot in the arm off the bench finishing with 18 points and eight rebounds and Anthony Carter also deserves mention for his team-high nine assists despite a horrid night shooting the basketball 1-9 from the field. Anytime the Nuggets beat the Jazz it's special, but Coach George Karl reached a nice milestone notching his 200th win with the Nuggets to sweeten this win just a little bit more.

Up next for the Nuggets is taste of southern cookin’ as they have a back-to-back double dip on the road starting with Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday followed by the New Orleans Hornets the next night. The Nuggets are now 29-15 overall and still hold a 4 1/2 game lead over the Jazz and a 2 1/2 game lead over the Blazers for first place in the Northwest Division. Denver is 28-12 after their 1-3 start to the season and 5-3 without Carmelo Anthony in the line-up. The win also improves Denver's record when holding their opposition to under 100 points to 15-2.

God bless you, Chauncey. God bless you.

Go Nuggets!

Game 44: Jazz @ Nuggets

(Denver-CO) One of four of my favorite nights in Denver’s NBA regular season is here! Tonight, the Nuggets play host to the Utah Jazz; the most hated, least “jazz-y”, and always hyper-antagonistic team in the NBA. The Jazz were able to defeat the Nuggets on opening night, but this time around the Nuggets are a different team thanks largely in part to Chauncy Billups.

It’s no secret my dislike for the Jazz runs deep. Perhaps it’s because they have ruled the Northwest Division over the last three years and their recent run of success has incubated a fair amount of jealousy in me or because Matt Harpring is such a complete tool box that he even comes with his own tape measure. Either way, I’ve always rooted against the Jazz regardless of opponent. Period. However, I do have to say with the utmost respect that the gentlemen over at True Blue Jazz are some of my favorite bloggers.

One thing we know about tonight’s game is that it will be hard fought. My disapproval of Utah aside, it’s no secret that these two teams don’t like each other and when that kind of ill-feeling is between two opponents all the records, rankings, and stats go right out the window. One thing we do know about tonight’s game is both teams will be without at least one All-Star. Utah’s Carlos Boozer is still on the sidelines for at least two more weeks following knee surgery earlier this month and Denver’s Carmelo Anthony is not set to return to the Nuggets’ line-up until the end of the month after breaking a bone in his hand.

Without Carmelo, the Nuggets have been able to sustain their grip on the Northwest Divisional lead by winning four out the seven games he has missed largely in part to a home-heavy schedule in January despite a majority of the teams visiting Pepsi Center being over .500 in the W/L column. The Nuggets are 17-6 at home this year and currently lead the Jazz, who are in third place behind the Blazers, by three and a half games.

Utah has also been a very tough team to beat at home as their 17-5 record indicates, but they’ve had trouble stacking W’s on the road. The Jazz are just 8-14 on the road this year and have lost seven of their last eight games.

In tonight’s game there are some fantastic match-ups. At the point, youth meets experience when Chauncey Billups and Deron Williams battle at the point. Nearly carbon copies of each other physically, whatever advantage in speed Williams holds over Chauncey at this point in their careers is negated by Billups’ experience leading the perennial postseason powerhouse Pistons (try saying that five times fast) year-in and year-out over the better part of the new millennium. At shooting guard, the Nuggets will without doubt start offensive genius J.R. Smith due to Dahntay Jones still aching from a dislocated shoulder suffered in warm-ups against the Kings. The offensive minded Smith will match-up against defensive minded Ronnie Brewer in what should be a great look at two very different approaches to the game. Brewer is extremely long and will give J.R. trouble trying to get the rim, but if J.R.’s stroke is sweet like honeydew melon there won’t be much Ronnie can do. Moving right down the line, Andrei Kirilenko is listed as questionable and if he doesn’t play that moves C.J. Miles into the starting role to face Linas Kleiza at the small forward position. Both men fly under the radar on their respective teams due to rosters chocked full of star power, but both could be pivotal in tonight’s outcome. Proof for Denver Nuggets’ fans surely being the memory LK scoring a career-high 41 points against the Jazz last season in one of only two wins for Denver in their last twelve meetings against Utah.

But wait, we’re not done looking at how these two teams stack up.

At the power forward and center positions there is an interesting situation brewing. Typically, the Nuggets put power forward Kenyon Martin on their opponent’s best low post scorer. Tonight, that will be Jazz center, Mehmet Okur. Okur is a sharp shooting big man that will surely test the coverage of Kenyon around the three-point line. On the other side of the ball, Denver center Nene will almost surely be seeing a lot of the big body of Jazz power, forward Paul Milsap. Nene possesses superior footwork over Milsap in the low blocks, but Milsap is going to be a handful for Nene, and the rest of the Nuggets’ front line, as he is averaging 24 points and 14 rebounds over his last three games.

I can’t wait for this one to get underway! Denver should be well-rested after four days off while Utah should be tired after traveling and taking it on the chin last night against the Cavaliers, 102-97. Advantage - Denver.

Go Nuggets!

Both Teams Played Hard Interview

(Boulder-CO) A couple of weeks back I had a back-and-forth with a confused, and rather new, fan of the Denver Nuggets. His name is Jared Wade and he runs Both Teams Played Hard. After letting him know that he wasn't alone within the confusion, as most of us in the Nuggets Nation are all little bit bewildered from time to time, we talked shop on a few topics.

He also brought in Andrew Feinstein of Denver Stiffs to help him understand the Nuggets more. The similarities between Andrew's and my thoughts on the Nuggets are striking while the differences make me want to have a beer with him sometime and watch a game.

It's a good read, give it a look.

Nuggets Bust the Kings on Their Crown

(Boulder-CO) This game didn’t get off to a good start for the Nuggets. News came just minutes before tip that Renaldo Balkman would be jettisoned into the starting line-up due to Dahntay Jones suffering a separated shoulder resulting from a collision in pregame warm-ups.

It was a short-lived bad omen.

The first five minutes of the game offensively for the Nuggets were hard for me to watch. J.R. Smith tried to get too fancy with an unnecessary behind the back pass that caught Renaldo Balkman off guard. Compounding the turnover was how there was no reason for J.R. to even throw the pass because he had a clear lane to the basket for an easy lay-up. The play made George Karl bury his face in his hands for the first of many times in the quarter. Kenyon Martin made a bad decision shortly thereafter trying to hit Chauncey Billups with a backdoor bounce pass that had no chance to get through as the Nuggets opened up with three out of their first seven offensive possessions resulting in turnovers.

Thank God the Kings caught a touch of the buzzard’s luck in the second half of the first quarter. Sacramento turning the ball over on four consecutive trips down the floor after Bobby Jackson was whistled for an offensive foul with under three minutes to play were just what this doctor ordered. The Nuggets may have been down by a lot more than just eight points entering the second quarter after the kind of horrible funk they started this game with. And when you consider Denver turned the ball over five times, committed fouls, not once, but twice on long range shot attempts including a 30-foot buzzer beater by Francisco Garcia that could have easily turned into a four-play, and how Denver was 0-5 from downtown things could have been a lot worse.

I’ve seen more resistance from strapless prom dresses than the Nuggets showed in the first quarter and to say the Denver defense in the first was soft would be a gross understatement. Sacramento shot 73% from the field connecting on 11-15 of their attempts and eight of their eleven made buckets came with an assist.

The Nuggets tightened their belt on the defensive end and thankfully held the Kings to just 2-8 shooting in the first four minutes of the second quarter. And once the shots stopped falling for Sacramento, the Nuggets were able to saddle up the horses and run the break to regain the lead, 37-36, on a great pass from J.R. Smith to Anthony Carter for an easy lay-up in transition. Two made free-throws made by Linas Kleiza extended the lead to three, then a soaring tip-slam by the Birdman, and Linas Kleiza taking advantage of a huge size discrepancy on Kevin Martin for an easy bucket in the post led to three consecutive scoring trips down the floor and a five-point lead for Denver as they started to build some palpable momentum. The Nuggets continued to limit the Kings to one shot on the defensive end and after J.R. Smith climbed the stairway to basketball heaven for a scintillating two-handed stuff and LK muscled his way to another transition lay-up Denver was out in front by ten, 52-42, on the back of a 29-11 run spanning the first ten minutes of the second quarter.

The decision to defend, rebound, and run in the second quarter completely changed the complexion of this game for the Nuggets. Denver’s 34 second-quarter points were a direct result of holding the Kings to just 6-28 shooting after their red-hot start in the first quarter and numerous crisp, long outlet passes which led to easy transition scores as the Nuggets were able to score 18 points in the second quarter alone on the fast break. Linas Kleiza benefited more from this than any other Nugget. LK scored eleven of his 13 points at the half in the second quarter with eight of those coming on the fast break. J.R. Smith’s 15 points at the break were a game-high and four of his five rebounds came in the second quarter in the aforementioned effort to limit the Kings to one shot-and-out on the defensive end. Chris Andersen also deserves mention for blocking three shots and altering numerous others in 13 minutes of burn in the first half. The Birdman also finished the half with six points, two rebounds, and a steal.

Additionally, the Nuggets made 16-20 free-throws in the second quarter and 21-27 total in the first half as they led, 57-47, at the break.

The third quarter couldn’t have been scripted any better for the Nuggets. If there was one area in the first half that really left the Nuggets Nation pining for more it was the goose egg from downtown Denver posted on their first five attempts. Chauncey Billups started to correct that by cashing two treys within 90 seconds of each other as the Nuggets jumped all over Kings with a 17-4 run which opened up an 23-point lead to start the second half after Kenyon Martin did his part with a three from the right corner.

Following Denver opening up their biggest lead of the game, the Kings tightened the score back up with a 14-4 run of which cut the Nuggets’ lead to 13 with four minutes and change remaining in the third. I knew at this point in the game the Nuggets were going to do one of two things: A) Denver was either going to cinch things back-up on defense and win this game easily or B) play as if the game was already won and allow the Kings back into this game entering the fourth quarter.

Fortunately for my blood pressure, Denver’s choice was outcome “A”. The Nuggets carried a 19-point lead into the fourth after shooting a blistering 77% from the field (13-17) in the third quarter. Finally, Denver didn’t disappear in the third and it was largely in part to Chauncey Billups’ cool head and steady shooting hand. Mr. Big Shot scored 16 of Denver’s 37 points in the third while handing out three assists.

With the game cemented, everyone started to get into the act, and the box score, for the Nuggets. Anthony Carter and Chris Andersen hooked up on an alley-oop early in the fourth that the Birdman threw down reverse, and on Brad Miller, to open up a 26-point lead, 105-79. It was as if the piñata I eluded to in tonight’s pregame had been split open and the Nuggets were all scraping to get their share of the candy.

The Denver final stat sheet is bloated from the eventual, 118-99, laugher. Linas Kleiza led all Nugget scorers with 27 points on 11-17 shooting. Anthony Carter led all Nugget passers with ten assists. Chauncey Billups scored 16 of his 22 points in the third quarter, handed out eight assists, and made 10-11 free-throw attempts. Nene recorded his second straight and third double-double performance in the last four games with 13 points and twelve rebounds and J.R. Smith may have had the best overall game for the Nuggets with 19 points, seven rebounds, six rebounds, and four steals.

The rest of the box score is complete domination by the Nuggets as only former Nugget, Bobby Jackson, finished with a positive +/- for the Kings.

Up next for the Nuggets are four days of rest before the division rival, and hated, Utah Jazz come to town on Sunday. This four-day break is the longest stretch between games this season other than the All-Star break.

Go Nuggets!

Dahntay Jones Injured in Warm-Ups

(Boulder-CO) Just announced before the game: Dahntay Jones suffered a 1st degree separated shoulder in pregame warm-ups. Renaldo Balkman will start in his place against the Kings.

Go Nuggets!

Game 43: Kings @ Nuggets

(Boulder-CO) I’m going to stray from my usual statistical analysis and lay it all right down on the line in regards to tonight’s Kings/Nuggets game. First off, the Nuggets should be pissed about letting the Houston game slip their grasps. Call aside, Denver still had every chance given to them to win that ball game. Forget about being tired, the Nuggets need to get even tonight.

The second aspect about tonight’s game to be aware of is if the Nuggets play four quarters of basketball. Since the Detroit loss, the Nuggets have scored their fewest amount of points per quarter in the third and it has really come back to bite them in their last three losses. There is no excuse for this. Coming out after halftime players should have their second wind, made their adjustments on both ends of the floor, and be ready to play. Enough of the third quarter collapse!

The final point I want to make about tonight’s game is scoring. It’s been over two weeks since the Nuggets put on a good ol’ fashioned ass kicking. The last one was against the Pacers on January fifth, and that feel-good win has a black cloud hanging over it because ‘Melo’s hand was broken in the process.

And with the way the Kings play defense…. They’re a perfect candidate to be the Nuggets’ next victim.

Sacramento allows the second most points per game in the NBA at over 107 ppg. It would be really good for the Nuggets to beat the Kings offensively like children with a piñata until the sweet candy of win falls over the Pepsi Center floor. Trust me, they need it - the Nuggets have only one victory in their last five games when scoring over 100+ points and it came in overtime against the Suns.

Go Nuggets!

Will the Nuggs be Better with a Post-Hiatus 'Melo?

(Boulder-CO) I won't spoil the read for everybody, but Don from With Malice has put together a piece all Nuggets fans should read.

Go Nuggets!

Controversial Call Costs Nuggets in Houston

(Boulder-CO) The Denver Nuggets let a golden opportunity to beat the Rockets slip right through their fingers. What’s even worse about this, 115-113, loss is how the officiating played a role in it.

The first half was a defensive struggle for both teams. The Rockets' first quarter and first half point totals were season highs while the points they allowed Denver in the first quarter and first half overall were season highs for a Houston opponent. Denver was paced at the half by Kenyon Martin with 18 points on 7-11 from the field, Chauncey Billups handing out eight dimes, and Nene scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds. I felt the Nuggets did a great job attacking the goal early and was a little bit surprised by the restraint of Yao Ming not taking the bait - hook, line, and sinker - and falling into early foul trouble. Ming scored 12 points in the first half, but it was Rafer Alston’s 18 points and five assists that kept Houston from falling behind by more than just three points at the break, 68-65, after the Nuggets shot 65% from the field on all those lay-ups.

The second half was much more defensive minded by both teams. However, in a trend that is becoming all too familiar for Nuggets fans, Denver looked terrible in the third quarter offensively despite the improved Houston defense. In the last five consecutive games, the Nuggets have recorded their fewest amount of points scored quarterly in the third quarter and in two of those contests it can be argued that it may have cost the Nuggets the game. Against the Rockets, the Nugget offense went to sleep as they scored just 19 points to find themselves down by three entering the fourth quarter.

Once the fourth quarter started I feel that the game was over officiated and it really cost the Nuggets down the stretch on one call in particular.

J.R. Smith jumpstarted the Nuggets in the fourth with back-to-back three’s and a short jumper to bring the game tied at 95 apiece. Another trey by Smith with just under seven minutes to play gave the Nuggets a, 103-101, lead of which they would nurse for the next two minutes before having to play catch-up and battle an official in the final minute.

Down by one, with under 20 seconds on the clock, and possession of the ball, the Nuggets went into their offensive set. Linas Kleiza drove the lane and dished. The pass came way before Chuck Hayes was in position to even take a charge, and LK even tried to avoid the crowding Hayes after he moved into Kleiza’s path of momentum. On any other play, this is a no-call because Kleiza had already taken a step out of the way of Hayes. But, Bennett Salvatore bought Chuck’s theatrical performance and called a charge on Kleiza wiping a three-point play off the board for the Nuggets with just seven seconds remaining in regulation.

Dahntay Jones committed the quick foul on Aaron Brooks, a 91% free-throw shooter, and Brooks missed the front end of two free-throws to give the Nuggets one more chance to win or tie the game. Denver advanced the ball with a timeout and during the 20 seconds George Karl had to draw up a strategy he came up with a gem that will surely be copied by coaches around the world. Kenyon Martin inbounded the ball to Chauncey Billups and it was quickly entered to Nene in the post. Kenyon then went to up high to set a screen for Billups, but slipped back door and received a beautiful pass from Nene. Kenyon was on his way to the rack to dunk the ball and tie the game when Brent Barry fouled him as ball rattled in and out. The hoop and the harm wasn’t meant to be, but Kenyon still had a chance to tie the game from the charity stripe. Unfortunately, Martin missed the front end and was then forced to try and miss the second hoping the Nuggets could get a tip. J.R. mistimed what would have been a spectacular dunk-tip after Martin clanged his second attempt off the backboard and rim, and after the ball was wrestled away from Nene by Yao the Nuggets were forced to take the loss.

That call by Salvatore was bull. Not only because of the context it was called (so late in the game and under such circumstances), but because he flat out bought into what was nothing more than a cheesy flop by Hayes. Kleiza clearly didn’t just bowl right into him and he was in the act of passing from a controlled drive to the hoop to boot! LK wasn’t in the air, he was in control, and he was passing. Three things that should all be considered when not making that call in addition to it being in the final seconds of the game when the players, and not acting, should decide the final outcome.

C’est la vie!

The Nuggets can look back on Salvatore’s call or Kenyon not making his free-throws, but the bottom line is they really lost this game in the third quarter when they decided to coast through what is usually the most important stretch of the game. Only shooting three free-throws in the third quarter is a direct reflection of what kind of offense the Nuggets played and it comes as no surprise that Denver was 8-19 from the field, including 0-3 from long distance.

Yao Ming led all scorers with 31 points, but the Nuggets did a great job keeping him off the boards as the 7’6” big man finished with just three rebounds. Former Nugget Von Wafer and street ball legend Rafer Alston each added 18 points with Skip finishing with a team-high eleven assists. Chauncey Billups recorded his seventh double-double of 13 points and twelve assists, but was a dreadful 3-12 shooting. Nene also recorded a double-double, his eleventh on the year, with 23 points and twelve rebounds. J.R. Smith rebounded nicely after two deplorable outings shooting the ball to score a team-high 24 points on 9-14 shooting, including 5-7 from downtown, in a team-high 41 minutes as a starter.

The Nuggets need to forget about this game because the Kings are coming to Denver tomorrow night and they will be looking for revenge after losing, 118-85, the last time these two teams met in Sacramento. Denver now only holds a two-game lead over the Portland Trailblazers who play later tonight. If Portland wins, they will be just a game and half behind the Nuggets for first place in the Northwest Division.

Game 42: Nuggets @ Rockets

(Boulder-CO) In a rare afternoon game, we celebrate Martin Luther King Day with the Denver Nuggets taking on the Houston Rockets. The Nuggets are fresh off their longest home stand of the year of which they fared 5-2 overall despite losing Carmelo to a broken hand that is going to keep the All-Star sidelined until at least the end of January. The Rockets started off the new year on the wrong foot losing their first three games in 2009, but have since rebounded nicely winning four out of their last five contests.

The Rockets have always had a giant liability on their roster by the name of Tracy McGrady. Whether it’s his testy back that has a history chocked full of spasms or his more recent chronically sore knee, the Rockets are playing without him again. Houston will also be without Ron Artest today due to a balky ankle that he injured in the Rockets’ loss to the Lakers last week. The two combined, when healthy, are averaging over 30 points for the Rockets and in their absence Houston has been starting former Nugget, Von Wafer, and Shane Battier.

Battier is coming off a foot injury himself and has slowly been working himself back into the fold, but Wafer has been everything the Rockets have needed in McGrady’s absence and that Nuggets wanted him to be. Wafer is averaging 16.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and two rebounds over his last five games, including a 23-point outburst against the Lakers in the aforementioned loss.

So, now that Houston’s injury report is handled, we’ve got to take a look at Yao Ming. The Rockets’ center is having another All-Star caliber year and is taking the load dumped on him by his teammates’ injuries and running with it. In his last outing, Ming set a new Rockets’ franchise record by hitting all twelve of his field goal attempts and grabbed eight rebounds finishing with 26 points. Yao also scored 19 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and handed out five assists during the Rockets' 105-100 loss to the Lakers in just 32 minutes of playing time. The first time these teams met, Yao struggled, if you can say that, with a double-double of 18 points and eleven rebounds on just 5-12 from the field. The Nuggets won that game at home, 104-94. But, in the second meeting with the Nuggets this year, Yao really hurt Denver with 32 points and seven rebounds as the Rockets won that contest, 108-96, in Houston. So, for the Nuggets to win today it is paramount of the Denver bigs that they slow down Houston’s primary offensive weapon. They can do this a number of ways: First is by foul trouble from taking the ball right at Yao early. The Nuggets can also immediately double team him when he gets the ball and force him to rely on his teammates offensively or another way is to get this game going at a breakneck pace and have Ming lost in transition. Either way, anyway, the Nuggets key to success today is to keep Ming from taking over the game offensively for the Rockets as he is their only player that can single handedly carry Houston to victory.

Go Nuggets!

How Good are These Nuggets?

(Boulder-CO) The Nuggets’ 27-14 mark is the third-best record at the midpoint of the season in the team’s 33-year NBA history. The 1976-77 Nuggets were 29-12 and the 1977-78 team went 28-13, but how does this team stack up to those from the past?

Here are the rosters from the two teams that were just a slight bit better in the W/L column and how those teams did in the post season. You be the judge and leave your thoughts in the comments section.

1976-77 (50-32) Head Coach: Larry Brown

Roster: Byron Beck, Gus Gerard, George Irvine, Dan Issel, Bobby Jones, Ted McClain, Paul Silas, Fatty Taylor, David Thompson, Monte Towe, Marvin Webster, Chuck Williams.

This team lost to the Portland Trailblazers in the Western Conference Semi's in six games (2-4). *Portland eventually won the NBA Championship that year.

1977-78 (48-34) Head Coach: Larry Brown

Roster: Byron Beck, Mack Calvin, Jacky Dorsey, Bo Ellis, Dan Issel, Bobby Jones, Tom LaGarde, Jim Price, Anthony Roberts, Robert Smith, Brian Taylor, David Thompson, Bobby Wilkerson.

This team won the Western Conference Semi's against the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games (4-3), but were eliminated in the Western Conference Finals by Seattle in six games (2-4).

Go Nuggets!

Hocus Pocus - Nuggets lose to Magic

(Boulder-CO) This game was like a bad episode of the Twilight Zone. In the early goings you didn’t really understand what was going on and towards the end you were disinterested in the outcome. That’s exactly how I would describe the Nuggets as they conceded, 106-88, to the Magic who continue to terrorize their opponents on the road where they are now 17-5.

The Nuggets shooting really struggled early as they connected on just 1-7 from the field to start the game. Then the big men decided to squabble. Nene and Dwight Howard decided to mix it up landing Nene his second and Howard his first on a double-foul that brought the Birdman off the bench with 8:04 remaining in the first. The Birdman then put two fouls on Dwight Howard prompting Superman to say the magic word to referee Mark Ayotte to get hit with a technical foul on his way to pine. The rest of the quarter was one you can chalk up to pure luck as Nuggets really didn’t play very well. Denver shot just 7-20 from the field, including 0-3 from downtown, and just 9-14 from the charity stripe. Starters Nene, J.R. Smith, and Chauncey Billups, were a combined 0-7 and Dahntay Jones didn’t attempt a shot in just six minutes due to picking up two quick fouls. However, thank goodness for the bench because Linas Kleiza (8), Chris Andersen (1), and Anthony Carter (4) were a combined 4-6 from the field as the Nuggets should have felt pretty lucky to be trailing the Magic by just three, 26-23, after the first twelve minutes of play.

In the second quarter the Nuggets Nation got reacquainted with an old friend. Renaldo Balkman saw his first playing time since he played two minutes on January 5th against the Pacers and he didn’t waste anytime making his presence known with a two-handed flush and the corkscrew dismount for an old school three-point play. Balkman’s dunk tied the game at 28 and his made free-throw gave the Nuggets their first lead. The rest of the quarter was a tug of war back and forth with eleven lead changes and 13 ties in total at the half after Nene and Howard each picked up their third fouls on back-to-back possessions. But the Nuggets former 20th overall pick in the 2004 draft, Jameer Nelson, played superb basketball and kept the Denver comeback from turning into much a lead as the half ended with the Nuggets up by the slimmest of margin, 48-47.

How the Nuggets were in the lead was an anomaly all in itself. Denver shot just 14-41 from the field in the first half, including a shoddy 2-7 from three. The Nuggets also had eleven turnovers, but surprisingly were out rebounding the Magic 27-18, but somehow, some way, Denver was actually in the lead despite playing one of their poorer halves of basketball.

Jameer Nelson scored 21 points in the half to lead all scorers and Linas Kleiza paced the Nuggets with 14 points off the bench. For the stat heads, not a single Nugget starter had a positive +/- (to be fair, Kenyon Martin was even, but J.R. Smith, Dahntay Jones, and Nene were each -6), while all Nuggets reserves were in the black.

Once the second half got underway the Magic pulled the three-point rabbit out of their hat and started to put the Nuggets away. Through two quarters, the Magic had only made 4-13 attempts from long range. In third quarter alone Orlando cashed in on four long distance bombs and none were as demoralizing than Hedo Turkoglu’s 30-foot turnaround to close out the third quarter with the Magic up by nine, 79-70.

The Nuggets offense in the second half looked awfully tired. Jumper after jumper, the Nuggets just couldn’t get any continuity going, there was a real lack of movement off the ball, and eventually as a team Denver just fizzled out in the fourth quarter. Part of the problems started with Denver not being able to crank up their fast break like they did in the first half. In fact, the Nuggets only scored three points in transition in the second half while being outscored 59-40 in total. The Magic’s long distance barrage didn’t stop in the fourth quarter either. The fourth opened up with Rashard Lewis and Courtney Lee hitting back-to-back triples and Hedo Turkglu pu the nail in the coffin with another late as the Magic hit seven three’s in the second half and eleven in the game.

This loss was just bizarre from the opening tip. There was the first half that the Nuggets somehow managed to be leading by one at intermission despite it being one of the ugliest 24-minute stretches this season. Then the 40-point effort in the second half from Denver didn’t provide much resistance as the Magic repeatedly tickled the twine from the land of plenty. And then there’s this puzzling twist: The Magic bench only scored two points. That’s right, Anthony Johnson scored the only bucket off the bench while all five starters scored in double figures led by Hedo Turkoglu’s 31 points.

Linas Kleiza was a bright spot scoring a new season-high 26 points. Other nuggets of note were Johan Petro and Sonny Weems both making their Nuggets debut with 3:31 to play. Weems scored his first NBA bucket with 2:15 remaining and finished with four points. Johan Petro also recorded his first deuce as a Nugget by tipping in his own miss, but the Nuggets conceded, 106-88, without as much as peep while being outscored 27-18 in the fourth quarter.

Here’s another statistical outlier: J.R. Smith was -22 +/- in his 36 minutes on the floor. Ouch!

So, Denver concludes their longest home stand of the year 5-2 overall and lost Carmelo Anthony in the process. However, their 27-14 record at the midway point of the season is a sweet surprise for all of us in the Nuggets Nation. On the horizon for Denver is a stretch of the season that is going to either prove this team to be either a true contender or well disguised pretender. 15 of Denver’s next 23 games are on the road including an eight-game Eastern Conference road trip. Up next the Rockets in Houston on Monday in a rare afternoon game.

Go Nuggets!

Game 41: Magic @ Nuggets

(Boulder-CO) Tonight the Nuggets face a tremendous challenge. The 32-8 Orlando Magic are in town after beating the Lakers last night, 109-103, to extend their current win streak to six games. And if you haven’t been paying attention to the rest of the league lately, the Magic have knocked off both of the other two division leading teams in the Western Conference during that streak with a, 105-98, defeat of the Spurs just under a week ago while posting the NBA’s best road record of 16-5.

The Magic are also the NBA’s only team with both 32 wins and only eight losses.

The Nuggets aren’t anybody’s chump either. They own a 27-13 record, and win or lose tonight, they’ve already have solidified themselves as one of the best Nugget teams in franchise history with that W/L record. That mark is the third-best record at the midpoint of the season in the team’s 33-year NBA history. The 1976-77 Nuggets were 29-12 and the 1977-78 team went 28-13.

But tonight we are going to see just how good this team is -- even without their All-Star forward, Carmelo Anthony. Denver is 5-1 so far in this seven-game home stand, with their only loss being to the Pistons who for some reason ALWAYS beat the Nuggets, and are 3-1 since losing Anthony.

When you think of the Orlando Magic, obviously, Dwight Howard is the first thing that comes to anyone’s mind. Howard is leading the NBA in rebounding (13.9 rpg) and blocked shots (3.2 bpg) while also leading Magic in scoring (20.3 ppg). But, most people don’t realize that the Magic are also the Eastern Conference’s leading three-point shooting team connecting on 40.2% of their attempts from the land of plenty and that has nothing to do with Howard.

The men behind this complimentary inside-outside attack which leads the NBA in three’s made per game (10.5) are Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis, and Hedo Turkoglu. Rashard Lewis is attempting an average of seven long distance bombs per game and is making 42% of his attempts. Nelson, while shooting the fewest attempts of their three-headed three-point attack at just over four attempts a game, is connecting on the highest percentage of the trio at 45.9% while Hedo brings up the rear in efficiency from behind the line at 35%. Regardless, the Magic as a whole are putting up over 25 three’s per game and are making over 40% as a team combined.

Luckily for Denver, Chauncey Billups has stepped up his game since Carmelo has been on the IL. The King of Park Hill has boosted his output from his season scoring average of 18.7 points to 24.8 points per game over his last five outings of which he’s been battling flu-like symptoms.

And he’s not alone.

Nene and Kenyon Martin have picked up some of Carmelo’s slack too. Nene has seen a bump in his offensive output with an average of 16.8 points per game over his last five games in comparison to his season average of 14.9 while Kenyon has had a similar increase over the same stretch of games with an average of 16.4 in comparison to his 13 ppg average on the year.

For the Nuggets to win tonight’s test against the Magic I truly believe their focus needs to be on the defensive end, and more specifically, the three-point line. The Nuggets are in the bottom third of the NBA when it comes to makes allowed from long distance and if they don’t make an adjustment tonight they could very well get the lights in the Pepsi Center shot out. This Magic team is a trident of great distance shooters and they have a couple of role players who can hurt the Nuggets from deep as well. In congruence to this, long shots mean long rebounds so the Nuggets need to show fundamentally sound rebounding technique when the Magic start to bomb away so they can clean the defensive glass and get out and run their fast break. I will be keeping a very close eye on both the rebounding battle and the fast break points because they will be critical aspects for the Nuggets to win if they’re to win this game.

Dwight Howard may have a 20/20 night tonight on the undersized Denver frontline, but it will be in vain if Denver rebounds as a unit and shares the ball on the break for somewhere in the neighborhood of 25+ assists.

Go Nuggets!

Cuban Fined!

(Boulder-CO) Mark Cuban has been fined $25,000 for walking onto the court, yelling at J.R. Smith at halftime during Tuesday night's game in Denver ,and for actions after the game, the league has announced. Part of the fine also stems from Cuban's language toward an official as he exited the court after the Mavs', 99-97, loss at the Pepsi Center despite Cuban denying that his tirade was aimed at the official.

But does the $25K mean anything to Cuban?

Probably not.

It's just Mark being Mark and I'm sure it's not the last time something like this happens.

He should have just taken the shoes!

J.R. Safe From Cuban's Whistle Blowing

(Boulder-CO) Mark Cuban's attempt to get J.R. Smith fined and/or suspended has failed miserably and in an ironic twist may very well land HIM in hot water with league officials. Whether or not Cuban is fined doesn't really pose much consequence for the billionaire, so I think the league should make him sit in the cheap seats at away arenas to make him learn his lesson about running onto the court like he's more than just an owner!

And here's the message J.R. should have sent to the visitor's locker room instead of a pair of signed sneakers:

Stop crying, Cuban. You'll have plenty of time for that when the Mavericks miss the playoffs this year...

Go Nuggets!

Nuggets Prevail Over Suns in Overtime

(Boulder-CO) The Nuggets were slapped in the face when the Phoenix Suns decided to “rest” Shaq for tomorrow night’s game against the Timberwolves. Evidently, without Carmelo, Phoenix feels the Nuggets are so soft inside that it would be to their advantage to rest their big fella after he scored a game-high 26 points and ten rebounds just two nights prior in a big win over the Hawks.

The Nuggets made the decision look brilliant in the first quarter.

Even with early foul trouble to reserve centers Robin Lopez and Louis Amundson, the Suns outscored the Nuggets, 35-26, in the first quarter after the Nuggets handed out just two assists on eight made field goals in the first twelve minutes. Adding insult to injury insult was how 22 of the Suns’ 35 first quarter points came by way of either a field goal inside of ten feet of the goal or by made free-throws due to the Nuggets being out of position defensively.

The interior buffet didn’t stop until over seven minutes into the second quarter as all but two of Phoenix’s first 22 points came by way of, once again, very short field goals or made free-throws. In fact, it wasn’t until Steve Nash drained a long three-pointer with just 13 seconds remaining in the half that the Suns scored on anything BUT the aforementioned as the only other deuce of the quarter came on a 20-foot jumper by Jared Dudley in the first two minutes.

Luckily, the Nuggets were able to find some continuity after falling behind by 14 points, 53-39, after Grant Hill tipped in a Steve Nash miss with five minutes to play in the half. Nene got the Nuggets started with a lay-up on a great feed from Chauncey Billups that led to an 11-0 Denver run over the next 3:45 minutes. Much of this run was due to the Nuggets kick starting their fast break on several Phoenix miscues with Linas Kleiza being the beneficiary of two easy dunks and Kenyon Martin flushing a very heady dish from LK to help trim the Phoenix lead to three, 53-50, and under two minutes until halftime.

The Nuggets were very for fortunate to be trailing by six at the half with all things considered. Denver was murdered in the paint in the first half as the Suns were shooting 52% from the field despite connecting on only 4-12 from the land of plenty. On the other end of the floor, the Nuggets had done an admirable job weathering a poor shooting first quarter starting the game 8-23 from the field and rebounded slightly in the second to finish the half 18-44 shooting including a dismal 2-9 from downtown. Once again, this improvement was mainly due to getting easy hoops on the fast break as the Nuggets outscored the Suns 20-2 in transition in the first half.

The second half speech by George Karl included controlling the paint by upping the defensive intensity and not settling on the other end of jump shots, and the Nuggets definitely heeded his message.

Denver quickly erased Phoenix’s six-point halftime lead with four of their first six points coming quickly and by way of crisp passing from J.R. Smith to Kenyon Martin for easy dunks. The first slam from Kenyon came from a very sneaky behind the back pass from Smith on the right baseline before Martin came up with a great one-on-one pickpocket on Steve Nash and Smith rewarded him for running the floor by giving him back the ball for another dunk. Smith and Martin weren’t done yet as a monster rejection by Kenyon on Jason Richardson on the next defensive possession went ricocheting off the glass setting up J.R. Smith for a three on the other end. Kenyon then finished yet another great pass from Smith to give Denver a four-point lead, 67-63, before the tandem hooked up one more time with Smith being the finisher on a run out dunk after a steal by K-Mart! The duet combined to score eleven of Denver’s first 13 points as the Nuggets outscored the Suns 13-1 in the first 3:12 of the second half.

The icing on cake was Kenyon Martin connecting on a long two-pointer and Smith stealing the ball from Nash at half court and finishing the deed with a scrumptious windmill to extend Denver’s lead to eight points, 77-69, on back-to-back plays.

However, after Denver came roaring back in dramatic fashion, Phoenix quietly had regained the lead, 82-80, after two made free-throws by Leandro Barbosa with just over a minute remaining before the third ended knotted at 82 apiece.

J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin carried over their third quarter chemistry by getting the Nuggets the first bucket in the fourth quarter on a dunk by K-Mart on a Prodigy dime. Denver then lost the lead after consecutive buckets by Grant Hill, but the relentless (even to a fault on a few occasions) onslaught of effort by J.R. Smith boosted the Nuggets to a four-point lead, 92-88. After taking the kind of quick three that makes George Karl’s blood boil, Smith came up with great steal in the passing lane and set up the L-Train finishing with two hands. Kleiza then stroked a very clutch trey on a heads-up recognition of his hot hand by Chauncey Billups with under seven minutes remaining. Phoenix then went empty on their next nine consecutive trips as the Nuggets steadily built an eight-point lead, 96-88, before an 8-0 run by the Suns tied the game at 96.

Back and forth, the game tied again at 103 with under 1:30 to play after Kenyon Martin rebounded his own miss from the left baseline setting up J.R. Smith for three from the same corner. Both teams came up empty on their next possession, but an offensive rebound for Phoenix gave them the ability to ideally win the game or send it to over time with the shot clock off and 17.4 seconds remaining. Coming out of the timeout, Steve Nash deferred to Grant Hill for the final shot, but Hill lost control of the ball when Nene stepped up to help Dahntay Jones.

Overtime.

Denver struck first with Chauncey hitting a jumper and that set the tone for Mr. Big Shot to take over overtime as he scored five of the Nuggets first seven points and found Kenyon Martin for an acrobatic lay-up to put the Nuggets up by seven, 112-105, with under two minutes to play. Kenyon Martin then drove the dagger into the heart of the Suns with a cold-blooded three-pointer from the top of the arch! The huge three and “brass balls” celebration by Kenyon gave the Nuggets a six-point lead with under 30 seconds remaining and cemented the eventual, 119-113, Denver win.

Kenyon Martin’s second half was the kind of performance that you tell your kids about. After scoring just six points and grabbing two rebounds in the first half, K-Mart finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, and a career-high seven steals. He and J.R. Smith were the energy that propelled Denver to this victory with their duet of complimentary plays in the second half combining for 34 of the Nuggets 63 points after halftime. Smith finished with 19 points, seven assists, and five rebounds after a sluggish start of only three points in the first half.

And if Martin and Smith were the horsepower Chauncey was the driver behind the wheel. Mr. Big Shot commandeered the Nuggets with a team-high 26 points and eight assists which included a 13-14 performance from the charity stripe. Nene’s game-high 14 rebounds and 17 points, and LK’s 18 points off the bench rounded out things for the Nuggets. Up next for the 27-13 Nuggets is the last game of this seven-game home stand of which they are currently 5-1 and 3-1 without Carmelo.

I hope Shaq is well-rested for tomorrow night in Minnesota, Phoenix. Maybe it’s time for the Big Cactus to think about hanging it up if he can’t handle the NBA game night-in and night-out anymore…

Go Nuggets!

Game 40: Suns @ Nuggets

(Boulder-CO) For our preview of the Phoenix Suns I have teamed up with Ben York of Ben's Suns Blog for a short Q&A. Below are my questions for Ben with his answers, but you will need bang this link to read my answers to Ben's questions. He runs a great Suns blog so give him a "hit" in preparation for the Suns coming to town.

ND: It's of my opinion that Steve Nash is on the downside of his career. His numbers support my opinion, but can you sway me otherwise?

BSB: Here is my best attempt to sway you....

I will admit there are a few stats that are on a "decline", but his value to the Suns certainly isn't. It's actually a common misconception - he is only averaging 2 less points a game and about 2 less assists per game compared to last season. However, it obviously correlates with less playing time and less shot attempts. Perhaps more importantly, the Suns aren't relying on him to do everything - and that's a good thing. They're success isn't solely dependent upon Nash's play anymore.

The Suns have made a commitment not to run Nash into the ground this year. Why? Because the same old formula didn't work in the playoffs time after time. They made a conscious effort to surround Nash with more playmakers and (attempt) to find him a capable back-up point guard; though it hasn't panned out the way we thought it would with Goran Dragic. The Suns got off to a slow start initially because they completely stopped running.

At that point, anyone in the league could've done Nash's job which, essentially, was dumping the ball into Shaq or Amare. When the Suns realized that wasn't working they adjusted (something D'Antoni never was good at). Now, with the addition of J-Rich giving Nash another Joe Johnson-type player, the Suns have won 6/7 and three in a row - and Nash is creating again getting 11 or more assists in 4 of the last 5 games.

ND: Shaq has been playing, shall we say, better as of recent, but can he hold up during the second half of the season or do you see him grinding down again like in years past?

BSB: Well, I think I speak for every Suns fan in the world and say...I sure as hell hope so. In my opinion, Shaq has truly been the MVP of the Suns this year. In fact, when he scores 15 or more points the Suns are an amazing 21-3. Part of this has to do with the Suns also making a conscious effort to rest Shaq more in that he isn't usually playing two games in a row.

One of my colleagues for the site I wrote for stated that our head athletic trainer, Aaron Nelson, is actually our MVP this year. It's hard to argue against that. He and his staff have kept Nash, Shaq, Grant Hill, and knee-surgery-Amare healthy and active in an up-tempo pace.

If Shaq continues at this pace, I guarantee that no team will overlook the Suns in the playoffs.

ND: Stoudemire is playing more minutes this year than in any other year previously in his career. His numbers are also considerably down from last year too. What do you attribute this to?

BSB: Good question. Based on the way he finished last year, Suns fans pegged him to have an MVP type year this season. He certainly started that way, scoring 49 in the Pacers game and having one of the best games I've ever seen a NBA player play. However, I think his decline correlates with Shaq's production. The more Shaq produces, the less need the Suns have for Amare to be dominant.

Amare has, at times, turned into a complimentary player to Shaq and Nash this year - much different than I expected. However, I don't think we'd be having this discussion if Amare made more of an effort on the defensive end and rebounding. Plenty of players have had to sacrifice their play for the betterment of the team (see Grant Hill) - but I'm not sure Amare is ready to do that based on his comments to the media etc. I do give him credit that he is putting more of an emphasis on rebounding and defending than recent years.

All in all, I think it will just take time for Amare to find his niche in the offense. It's clear that he isn't the focal point we thought he'd be, but we do need his energy and determination to go anywhere in the playoffs.

A big thanks to Ben for the interview!

Go Nuggets!

Trouble on J.R.'s Horizon

(Boulder-CO) There is storm brewing on J.R. Smith's horizon. No, it's not with George Karl (this time), but rather with the law as he could be cited for contempt of court for failing to appear in Municipal Court on Tuesday in Millstone, New Jersey, for a pre-trial conference on traffic summonses related to his car accident resulting in friend Andre Bell's death back in June of 2007.

But his problems don't stop there.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban evidently has it out for Smith in defense of his own player. Cuban's war path stems from the final seconds of the first half when Smith threw an elbow toward the head of Dallas swing man Antoine Wright that missed. Cuban stated in the linked article above, "I do take exception with players throwing elbows that could have severely injured one of our players. I was very cordial in letting Mr. Smith know (at halftime) that I will be turning it into the league, and I expected him to be suspended for it.''

In an attempt to smooth things over, J.R. Smith sent a peace offering to the Dallas locker room last night that wasn't graciously accepted by Cuban after the Nuggets prevailed in the final seconds of regulation. Smith's offering was a pair of signed shoes of which Cuban sent back with this message, "I sent them back, saying he should sell them, if you could get anything for them, to help pay for the fine he was going to face.''

If they were the shoes worn in his 1-14 shooting performance I can't blame Cuban for sending them back...

Dirk's 44 Spoiled in Denver

(Boulder-CO) The Denver Nuggets jumped all over the Mavericks early in their, 99-97, victory over Dallas for the third time this season, but it wasn’t until the final seconds of the game that Denver knew they had taken care of business. Thankfully, Mr. Big Shot once again lived up to his namesake, the Birdman was flying high, and the slam-fabulous effort from Dahntay Jones combined to give the Nuggets their 26th victory of the year.

In the first half things were looking fantastic for the Nuggets. Great ball movement fruited twelve first half assists as Denver enjoyed a double-digit lead for the majority of the second quarter. The Nuggets went into halftime up, 60-47, and things seemed to be pretty normal. Only the problem with normal is that the Nuggets normally come out flat in the second half and in the second half against the Mavericks it was Denver business, or a lack thereof, as usual. The Nuggets started out the third quarter with a decent effort, but right around the mid way point in the third things fell apart offensively as a result the Nugget offense going completely stagnant. With just under six minutes remaining in the third, Jason Terry sparked the Maverick run with a three to cut the Nuggets eleven-point lead down to just eight, 68-60. From that point and including Terry‘s trey, Dallas went on an over four-minute 10-0 run to cut the Denver lead to just one before Dahntay Jones got nasty on Eric Dampier. I present the video evidence to the Nuggets Nation:

That monstrous dunk may have been the most important deuce of the night for two reasons. The first being it lifted the Nuggets’ spirit and gave them something to cheer for as the entire team had basically stood around for the last four minutes waiting for someone to do something to stop the bleeding. The second reason is more immediately intrinsic but still related to the first, but for whatever reason Dahntay’s complete and blatant disregard for gravity paved the way for the Nuggets scoring eight more points in the final 46 seconds of the third including a half court heave from the Birdman that kissed off the square and dropped straight down into the net at the buzzer!

The Mavericks had come close enough to smell the pie cooling on the window sill at the end of the third only to have Dahntay Jones and Chris Andersen slam the window closed. But Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry were not content on going to back to Dallas without another attempt at stealing desert.

The Nuggets once again extended their six-point lead at the end of three to nine after Chris Andersen hit a baseline jumper to put the Nuggets ahead, 86-77, with over eight minutes remaining in regulation. Too bad that was Denver’s last score for the next four minutes of the fourth quarter as Dirk and Jason Terry alternated scores for nine straight Dallas points before Chauncey Billups hit a three at the four minute mark to break an, 86 -86, tie. The next four minutes were pressure filled as Dirk tried pulling out everything in his repertoire on his way to finishing the game with 44 points. Dallas took their first lead since scoring the first bucket of the game on Jason Terry’s third made three-point attempt from deep on the right wing, 93-91, with 2:11 remaining in regulation. On the very next Denver possession, J.R. Smith, who had his second miserable shooting night in as many games, then missed a wide open lay-up that would have tied the game giving Dallas possession of the ball with a two-point lead. On the next Maverick possession, Kleiza was bullied by the much larger Dirk Nowitzki on the left elbow which led to a foul and two more automatic free-throw makes for Nowitzki putting the Nuggets down by four with under two minutes to play.

Chauncey then wisely took the ball right at the slower Jason Kidd and drew a shooting foul that resulting in two made free-throws. Down by two, the Nugget defense clamped down with help from the Birdman being reinserted to relieve LK of his duties guarding Dirk and on the ensuing possession Jason Terry was forced into a long two-point jumper with the shot clock running down. The JET missed, Bird grabbed the rebound, and Chauncey went to work on Kidd again. This time, Kidd didn’t buy the head fake Chauncey Billups threw at him, but his penetration had drawn a double-team and left Nene in position for a short shot from inside the paint to tie the game at 95 apiece. Anthony Carter and Dirk Nowitzki exchanged a quick stop-and-pop jumper and a driving dunk to bring the game tied, again, at 97’s with 19 second remaining before Chauncey’s final plan was put into action.

Mr. Big Shot dribbled out nearly all of the remaining 19 seconds with the Pepsi Center on its feet before penetrating, pulling out, and popping a midrange jump shot on Jason Terry with his legs flailing in an attempt to solicit a whistle. The outside official was in perfect position to see Jason Terry crowd underneath Billups as Chauncey was in the air and the ensuing foul put Mark Cuban into a tirade that would have made Bobby Knight proud. Did Terry need to crowd Billups? No one will ever know, but the game was won with Billups sinking both attempts and thus winning an ugly game, 99-97.

Much of this victory was built on the efforts by Dahntay Jones and Chris Andersen. The Birdman recorded his second double-double of the year with 15 points and ten rebounds to fit nicely with his three steals and two blocked shots. The Birdman was 7-8 from the field and seven of his team-high ten boards came on the offensive glass. Dahntay’s effort started on the defensive end with five steals, but it carried over into 16 points and three assists on offense, including that nasty cram on Dampier that lifted the Nuggets out of their funk in the third period. As for Chauncey, despite his -4 in the +/- for the game, his team-high 23 points and four assists all seem to come at the right times. He was also 9-9 from the free-throw line and provided the steady hand the Nuggets needed down the stretch. Nene chipped in 20 points after nine in the first quarter, but only scored four in the second half. J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza continued their offensive struggles after both men hit blackjack with 21 points against the Heat. J.R. was 1-14 from the field, but did hand out a team-high seven assists while LK scored just five points and looked visibly confused at times on the offensive end.

Up next for the Nuggets are the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night. Denver is 4-1 during this seven-game home stand and are now 2-1 since losing Carmelo to a broken hand against the Pacers.

Go Nuggets!

Carmelo Anthony: Nugget, All-Star, Film Producer?

(Boulder-CO) Via SLAM Online: Carmelo Anthony has his own record label, shoe, race car, reality show, and now he is adding film production to his already impressive reach beyond basketball. Variety magazine reports, "Sony Pictures Classics has sealed a deal for North American rights to James Toback’s docu “Tyson,” unspooling in the Sundance Film Festival’s Spectrum section. SPC began talks to acquire the boxer’s portrait after its Cannes fest preem. NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony will join the project as exec producer."

Jazz Fans Cheat!

(Boulder-CO) The Nuggets will face the Utah Jazz later this month and thankfully the game will be played at the Pepsi Center. Play the video below and notice how a bogus whistle comes from a Jazz fan under the basket that Utah is defending. Not only do the Jazz players not stop as Kyle Korver streaks down court like a cheap-ass for the easiest two points ever scored in an NBA game, but it's baffling to me how referee Bennett Salvatore doesn't stop the game play either!

Just one more reason to hate the Utah Jazz and their fans.

Go Nuggets!

Game 39: Mavericks @ Nuggets

(Boulder-CO) Next up for the Nuggets during this seven-game home stand are the Dallas Mavericks. Denver is 2-0 so far this year against the Mavs, but this time they will be without Carmelo Anthony, or roughly a quarter of their offensive output in the first two games against Dallas. However, the good news is the Nuggets will not have to face Josh Howard this go around again after he missed the first two match-ups already this season. Howard still being watched on the IL with the injured wrist.

In both of Denver’s victorious meetings over the Mavs this season the Nuggets have received a tremendous effort from their bench. In the first meeting, it was the balanced scoring of J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza combining for 29 points in addition to seven assists from Anthony Carter, and six rebounds from Chris Andersen. The reserves scored 34 out of 108 points for the Nuggets in that match-up and outscored the Dallas second crew 34-29. In the second meeting, it was J.R. Smith’s 25 points that were a huge shot in the arm for the Nuggets, but it was LK and Carters’ six points each that when combined made up a much larger percentage of the 98 points Denver scored when defeating Dallas, 98-88. With that larger portion of the scoring accounted for, the Nugget reserves were able to outscore the Dallas second crew, 37-32, in that match-up, but the Mavericks shooting 34% from the field played more of a role than anything else in the Denver win.

Changing gears, the one area that has me concerned against the Mavericks this time around is rebounding. The Mavericks are the second best rebounding team in the NBA with an average nightly mark of 44.2 rebounds per game. In both meetings between these two teams Dallas was able to win the battle of the boards while enjoying a 30-19 advantage on the offensive glass when totals are combined from both games. Without Carmelo Anthony, Denver’s second best rebounder by average in those two contests with a mark of eight rebounds per game, the Nuggets are going to need gigantic efforts from Nene, Kenyon Martin, and Chris Andersen on the glass. Combined, those three have made up an average of 21.5 rebounds in the first two meetings in comparison to 25.5 rebounds combined between Dirk Nowitzki, Eric Dampier, and Jason Kidd.

The next area that has me a bit concerned is the Denver offense. Coming off a twelve-assist showing against the Pistons that I would compare to dangling a sharpened pencil above my eye and dropping it once or twice, the Nuggets need to have a night distributing the ball like they did against the Mavericks in their second meeting and not the first. In the first meeting, Denver handed out just 19 assists on 34 made baskets and their shooting percentage suffered as a team finishing at 38.6%. In the second meeting, Denver was much more generous with the basketball handing out 22 assists on 36 made baskets, which at first glance doesn’t seem like a big difference, but when you consider the Nuggets won by scoring ten fewer points it really is. Their shooting percentage in the second meeting was a far more favorable 46.2% while taking ten fewer shot attempt as well.

Another underlying plot to this ongoing story is rooted around the free-throw line. In Denver back in November, the Nuggets shot 40 free-throws in comparison to just 16 shot by the Mavericks. Denver made 37 of those 40 attempts in that game and the large discrepancy at the charity stripe helped Denver stave off the Mavs when the game became tightly contested in the final minutes of regulation. Denver’s last eight points coming by way of free-throws were enough for Denver edge the Mavericks on that night, but in the second meeting in Dallas the Mavericks shot more free-throws than the Nuggets did. In the second game it wasn’t a pivotal point because it was the stingy defense of Denver in the fourth quarter that allowed Dallas just 17 points that proved to be the difference maker. However, with Carmelo making up almost a third of the Nuggets combined free-throw attempts in those two games, the Nuggets will need to be aggressive around the rim to try and make up for those attempts in his absence because although Dallas doesn’t shoot many free-throws on a nightly basis. They do however shoot the third highest percentage in the NBA at the line and could easily turn the tables on the Nuggets in this regard if Denver doesn’t make an attempt to get to the line early and often.

I’m expecting the Mavericks to give Denver their best shot as it is very difficult to beat another group of professionals three straight times. Making things even tougher for the Nuggets is how Dallas has lost their last two games and are just 3-3 since starting 2009 with a 19-12 record overall making them a wounded animal on the brink of quite possibly missing the playoffs due to right now being fourth in their division and currently on the outside looking in if the post season were to start today.

With that being said, you can’t keep J.R. Smith or the Nuggets down for long and the Prodigy is coming off a dreadful 3-13 shooting performance against the Pistons last Friday. His performance - good or bad - will be pivotal with ‘Melo out, as he is now the Nuggets' leading scorer against the Mavs this year with an average of 20ppg on better than 50% shooting. So, I leave you with a video of J.R. Smith making the extremely difficult look rather routine.

It’s time to tame the Mavericks.

Go Nuggets!

Streaks Get Broken - It's Just What Happens

(Boulder-CO) The Denver Nuggets broke two of their most impressive streaks last night after losing to the Pistons, 93-90. The first being their undefeated mark of winning games when entering the fourth quarter with the lead and the second being their season-high, five-game win streak.

In the first half, it was all about Chauncey. Facing his former team for the first time since the November 3rd trade essentially swapped him for Allen Iverson, Chauncey scored 20 points in the first half while handing out three assists. His offensive explosion was capped off by scoring the final eight Denver points in the half which included hanging, hitting, and being fouled by Arron Afflalo plus a 20-foot jumper with twelve seconds remaining to put the Nuggets up by ten, 48-38, at the half.

Much of the Nuggets first half lead was due to their defense. Denver held the Pistons to just 37% shooting through two quarters that included Allen Iverson scoring just three points on just one made field goal. Dahntay Jones, Anthony Carter, and J.R. Smith deserve much of the credit for holding the Answer in check, but the Pistons as a team didn’t do themselves any favors from the free-throw line missing seven of 13 attempts. The starters and reserves for Detroit split the 38 points worth of offensive output 50/50 while Denver’s 48 points were anchored by their starting five and Chauncey’s aforementioned 20 points.

The second half was a complete abandonment of any sort of team basketball and an abomination offensively for the Nuggets. Perhaps it was Chauncey thinking that he could carry the Nuggets offensively by himself or George Karl thinking that by allowing the Nuggets to play without any sort of structured offense they would still be able to win the game, but either way the plan back fired and the Nuggets went to pieces. The jump shots wouldn’t stop and there was no semblance to an NBA offense in the second half. Nene shooting too many outside jumpers left him with a very uncharacteristic 3-7 from the field and if it hadn’t been for Big Brazil hitting nine of his twelve free-throws his 15 points would have been far fewer. Linas Kleiza was a total dud after scoring 21 points in his first start for the injured Carmelo Anthony against the Heat with a stat line that reads 0-6 shooting, just one point, and four rebounds. Kenyon Martin’s outside shooting came back down to earth as he finished just 6-15 from the field for 14 points, and J.R. Smith rounded out the miserable, one-on-one happy, Nuggets with a final line of 3-13 from the field and eleven points. In J.R.’s defense, he didn’t take what I would consider a bad shot the entire game, but nevertheless he couldn’t throw a seashell in the ocean. Furthermore, the Nuggets only handed out six assists in the second half en route to just twelve assists for the game.

I kept asking myself why do the Nuggets play like this? Why do they abandon everything that’s responsible for their winning ways when they know that the only way this team wins is by sharing the basketball?

There were no answers to be had for Denver in the second half, that is unless you’re the Detroit Pistons and you’re led to victory by The Answer, Allen Iverson.

Allen Iverson scored 20 of his team-high 23 points in the second half, including ten in the fourth quarter. All of Iverson’s ten fourth quarter points came in the first seven minutes of the quarter and led the way for Detroit outscoring the Nuggets 32-23 in the money period. It’s hard to say if Allen Iverson’s second half explosion was due to the way the Nuggets ceased playing as a team offensively, but I know the selfish display on the one end didn’t help their cause on the other.

Despite my complete rebuking of Denver’s YMCA offense they still had a chance to win this game down the stretch after Tayshaun Prince’s running jumper gave Detroit their first lead of the game, 87-86, with just 20 ticks remaining in regulation. After trading a pair of made free-throws by Arron Afflalo and Nene, and another two from the charity stripe made good on again by Afflalo after a quick foul. The Nuggets were down by three with just seven second remaining and the ball underneath their own basket. J.R. Smith shook Allen Iverson and went streaking down the left sideline and caught a great over the shoulder inbounds pass that set him up for a last second three-point attempt. The defensive gambler that I outlined AI to be was proven as he very unwisely fouled Smith on his 25-foot shot attempt to tie the game sending him to the line for three free-throws. With a chance to put the game into almost certain overtime, Smith missed the first free-throw and by doing so sealed the win for the Pistons. Arron Afflalo would then make two more free-throws to ice the game for Detroit, 93-90.

Although J.R. had his chance to tie the game for the Nuggets this loss wasn’t his fault. This L gets slapped on the Nuggets as a whole, George Karl included, for allowing themselves to fall into the same selfish trap they always do. No passing, very little screening, and even less defense led to this loss. Chauncey deserves some of the blame because he was fooled into thinking his first half explosion would continue in the second, but only he, J.R. Smith, and Anthony Carter were the only Nuggets to even notch an assist in this contest. Chauncey and J.R. each handed out four dimes, and Carter two, but for the other five Denver players to not even record a single assist combined is deplorable. And for a coach to allow his team to play with that kind of selfishness, over an entire game, is just as bad. This is a game the Nuggets should have won. Hell, it was a game the Nuggets should have won even with as poorly they played in the second half! However, the fact still remains that animals, much like teams in the NBA, with a real shot of living, or of winning an NBA championship, are smart enough to chew their own foot off when it gets caught in in a trap akin to the way the Nuggets fall into selfish stretches of basketball. But, until this team stops doing so, or is smart enough to chew their own proverbial foot off when does it falls into such traps, Denver is going to continue to lose games they could, and should, have been able to win.

Game 37: Pistons @ Nuggets

(Boulder-CO) Tonight the Nuggets host the Pistons with a familiar friend, Allen Iverson. For the big reunion, I needed some psychological help and who better to turn to than Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed? So there I was, horizontal on a leather button couch with the tables reversed as I was the one seeking help from a doctor for a change. "Dr." Natalie Sitto and I then proceeded with a free association session centered on Allen Iverson and Chauncey Billups… Go figure!”

My answers are over at Need4Sheed but you can read all of which Natalie associates with former Nugget Allen Iverson right here.

Enjoy!

ND: Likes

N4S: Like the fact that Iverson breaks down the defense. Detroit had always been more of a jump shooting team so With Stuckey and AI on court at the same time Detroit has two players that can drive to the lane and either put up the layup or dish to the open man. I like his durability, he takes a licking and keeps on ticking. I like the fact that he's trying to fit into Detroit's style of play, doing his best on the defensive end while making a point to take over games only when he's needed.

ND: Dislikes

N4S: Nothing much to do about concerning Iverson himself, it has more to do with how he fits with the team. Coach Curry's first plan of action with a Iverson at the point didn't really work. Then his small lineup with Stuckey at the point AI at the 2 and Rip 3 Tay 4 and Sheed at center didn't work either. With Rip sidelined everyone in their correct positions things have started to gel. What happens when Hamilton returns from his injury is anyone's guess.

Oh, and I'm not a big fan of the colored socks.

ND: Changes they brought

N4S: A go to guy that demands attention. Detroit has a stacked starting lineup that can each have the hot hand on any given night. Add Iverson to the mix and opposing teams don't know who to concentrate on. And Detroit finally got the Superstar they always craved.

ND: Surprises

N4S: AI's willingness to defer to his teammates. This isn't the Iverson I have seen in the past, he's dishing the ball so much that sometimes you just want him to take the shot himself.

Another surprise, the fact that he skipped a practice after only being with the team a couple of weeks. Sure it was on Thanksgiving, but everyone else showed up.

ND: Expectations

N4S: A good showing in the Playoffs. Detroit has underachieved the past four seasons so if they just beat who they should, I'll be happy. My expectations are more set for the future. Chauncey may be Denver's future, AI is Detroit's way to the future.

Be sure to go check my answers by clicking the link above and a big thanks to Natalie for taking the time to "examine" me.

Go Nuggets!

Nuggets Boost Front Court with Petro

(Boulder-CO) The Denver Nuggets announced today that they have traded Chucky Atkins, a conditional 2009 first-round draft pick, and cash considerations for the Thunder's 2009 second-round draft pick and seven-footer Johan Petro. Petro is averaging 4.6 ppg and 4.3 rpg in 15.5 minutes per game in 22 contests, including 12 starts for Oklahoma City.

Kudos to Denver Brass for trading what was essentially a useless piece for a big body that can contribute.

Go Nuggets!

Nuggets Win Fifth Straight Sans Carmelo

(Boulder-CO) The Denver Nuggets didn’t miss a beat against the Heat as they won their fifth straight game for the first time this season, 108-97, in the first game without the injured Carmelo Anthony. The win improves the Nuggets’ home record this season to 12-5 at the Pepsi Center as Denver is currently holding the second seed in the Western Conference while extending their divisional lead to 3 ½ games over the Portland Trailblazers who have lost two in a row.

This game got out to a very inauspicious start with Chauncey Billups picking up two early fouls in the first quarter. Two early fouls on Michael Beasley in the first quarter balanced things out a bit, but ten first quarter points for Beasley kept the Heat competitive through one. However, even with Chauncey on the pine, the Nuggets played complimentary and within their own games. Kenyon had a great block on D-Wade and I was especially impressed with the Denver defense as they held the Heat to just 21 points on just 8-20 shooting in the first quarter. Wade was held to just two points in the first much to the praise of Dahntay Jones’ hounding effort, but if there was one area the Nuggets could eliminate it was the seven turnovers in the first quarter of which materialized into ten of Miami’s first quarter points.

The second quarter opened up with Chris Andersen and Anthony Carter hooking up with a great alley-oop on a fast break opportunity off of a made basket. Two early fouls on Chris Andersen then brought Nene back in the game with over ten minutes still to play in the second before Kleiza hit his third three to extend the lead from three to six, 35-29. The Nuggets were energized after a great extra effort on the offensive boards by Linas Kleiza and Nene that created an extra opportunity of which Chauncey cashed in a big three to put the Nuggets up by nine, 44-35. An amazing drive by J.R. Smith finished with a fancy reverse extended the lead to eleven, 46-35.

Wade heated up with 12 second quarter points to finish the half with 14 points after the aforementioned slow start, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Nuggets from closing the half with all the momentum after back-to-back beautiful lay-ins by Chauncey were followed up by a sneaky steal by J.R. Smith finished at the buzzer with a two handed slam as the red game clock light exploded like fireworks. However, the basket was waived off and the Nuggets concluded the half up by 11 for the third time, 59-48. At the break, LK had exploded for 15 points in 19 first half minutes. Denver was sharing the ball well with 15 first half assists and were led by unselfish play on both ends of the floor. J.R. gave the Nuggets a big boost of the bench with nine first half points.

The Nuggets weathered Miami’s scoring storm led by Dwyane Wade’s seven of the Heat’s first 13 points in the third of which cut Denver’s lead to just three before Chauncey Billups and LK combined for five-straight Nugget points. But before that point it was tedious basketball to watch for the Nuggets Nation. Denver had come out flat offensively missing ten of their first eleven field goals as a result of too much stand and watch basketball. This horrible stretch of offense in combination with Dwyane Wade heating up was broken up by Chauncey’s crafty bank shot and his heady dish back to Kleiza in transition which set Linas up for his fourth three of the game and extended Denver’s whittled down lead back up to eight, 71-63. Mr. Big Shot then made a three of his own from the same spot on the left wing that LK just hit from to extend Denver’s lead to eleven for the fourth time of the game, 74-63.

Enter J.R. Smith.

The Prodigy scored seven of the Nuggets final nine points of the third quarter to put the Nuggets back up by eleven again, 83-72, at the end of three.

The Nuggets could have maintained the momentum from J.R. Smith’s flurry to end the third but that would have just been too easy. The damage had already been done and Miami’s 10-2 run to open the fourth brought the game within three before Nene’s jumper broke Denver’s drought of missed field goals. Chris Andersen then rejecting our old friend Yakhouba Diawara’s futile attempt around the basket to emotionally recharge the Nuggets, and the Bird continued to soar as he scored three more consecutive points, and perhaps the most important three points of the game, to put the Nuggets back up by eight, 90-82, with just seven minutes remaining.

Enter J.R. Smith

With the Nugget lead once again trimmed back to just six points, the Prodigy put the Nuggets back up by nine with a three, 99-90, followed by an ill-advised three of which he missed but made up for with a hustle play on a loose ball that led to a soaring two-handed slam to keep the Heat at bay.

And wouldn’t you just know it?

The Nuggets beat the Heat by eleven, 108-97, after Kenyon Martin made his tenth three in just 17 attempts on the season and Dwyane Wade threw in a garbage bucket off the glass!

The win gives the Nuggets their first five-game win streak of the season and came by way of three different Nuggs scoring 21 points. Linas Kleiza, Chauncey Billups, and J.R. Smiths’ equal while different efforts more than made up for the absence of Carmelo. Linas led the trio in rebounding with seven rebounds, Chauncey led in assists with six, and J.R. led in steals and blocks with three and one respectively. The Nugget bigs also all had well balanced games. Starters Nene and Kenyon Martin each scored 14 while Kenyon’s team-high eight rebounds and game-high tying three blocks were crucial as Nene was an uncharacteristic 4-9 from the field shooting. The Birdman Chris Andersen also deserves special mentioning as does Anthony Carter. The Bird gave another yeoman effort of six points, seven rebounds, and a pair of blocks in a very productive 21 minutes while his reserve running mate handed out a game-high nine assists.

And it’s no surprise with such balanced scoring that Denver also shared the ball very effectively. The Nuggets out passed the Heat 24-19 in the march of dimes and dominated the boards 41-34 by way of every Nugget that played grabbing at least two rebounds.

The win brings the 25-12 Nuggets 13 games over the .500 mark for the first time this season and improves Denver to 19-3 when scoring over 100 points. Up next for the streaking Mile High crew is a reunion of sorts with Allen Iverson and the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Feelings are sure to be mixed when AI comes to town for the first time since being traded for Chauncey Billups after Denver opened up their season 1-3.

Go Nuggets!

Game 37: Heat @ Nuggets

(Boulder-CO) The first game the Nuggets play after learning they will be without Carmelo Anthony for an extended stretch makes writing a preview against the Heat a very difficult task. On one hand, Denver is 3-2 without their two-time All-Star in the line-up this year. On the other, Denver is 16-20 without Anthony in the lineup since his rookie season, compared to going 239-171 with him. And, this is the first time Carmelo has missed extended time with an injury with his previous longest absence stemming from the 15-game suspension he received for pimp slapping Mardy Collins.

It’s going to be interesting to see who George Karl gives the starting nod to without Anthony anchoring the offense. On the one hand, J.R. Smith is the best option for making up for Carmelo’s scoring void. On the other, Linas Kleiza has been a worthy candidate as of late for the start and his productivity always gets a shot in the arm when he plays a starter’s share of the minutes.

Ah, just another Nuggets conundrum.

When looking at the Heat, their success starts and ends with Dwayne Wade. Injury after injury has sidelined Wade after what seems like an eternity since he and Shaq hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy and he was seemingly on top of the basketball world. But since returning to a healthy state, Dwayne Wade has had a resurgence in his career that’s included leading Team USA to an Olympic Gold Medal and currently leading the NBA in scoring with a mark of 28.7 points per game.

And he has the Heat back on track too.

Miami has already passed last season’s dismal win total of 15 games with 18 wins so far in 2008-09 against just 15 losses. Much of this turnaround has to do with Wade, but he’s not the only reason why Miami is so much hotter this season. Rookies Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley have paid immediate dividends for Miami in supporting cast roles behind Wade. Beasley is averaging the second highest scoring average on the team at 13 points per game to fit nicely around 5.1 rebounds and Chalmers has also made an immediate impact with averages of ten points and 4.6 assists as Dwayne Wade’s backcourt running mate.

The Heat also still have the services of Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem, but from there things get pretty thin. Marion and Haslem round out the Heat’s double-digit scorers, but only Daequan Cook has a scoring average even close to ten points (9.8) as the Heat bench has been their biggest weakness. As a result, Miami is in the bottom third of the league’s team scoring averages at 95.6 points per game as well as in the categories of free-throws made, attempted, and shooting percentage; which is surprising seeing as Wade has been a maniac in the box score this season.

For the Nuggets to win, even without Carmelo, the prescription stays the same as with him: Play as a team, win as a team. Play individualistically and lose.

To back up my prescription, let’s look at the three games that Denver has played without Anthony and since acquiring Chauncey Billups. They’ve managed to split a home and home-away with Portland on back-to-back nights and defeated the 76ers, and it comes as no surprise that in the one game they lost they were held to just 15 assists while losing the overall assist battle and shooting 30-70 from the field. In comparison to their win over the Trailblazers when Denver out passed the Blazers 23-22 in the assist column, the Nuggets’ shooting percentage was only marginally better at 33-72 but their defense was much stingier as they held Portland to just 89 points compared to 101 allowed in the loss. In the win over Philly, the same story is in the box score. The Nuggets won the assist battle, 23-22, on essentially the same 33-76 shooting, but once again it was a great defensive effort in the second half that fruited the Denver win. Meaning, when the ball is shared on offense the defensive end becomes more of an opportunity than a burden because guys know they have a good chance of getting rewarded back on the other end of the floor. It’s just simple team concept and without Carmelo the Nuggets are going to need to embrace that ideal for the next three weeks.

Against the Heat, we’re going to see just how strong the bond is that holds this team together.

Go Nuggets!

'Melo Out at Least Three Weeks

(Boulder-CO) The basketball Gods have spoken and have put 'Melo on the shelf for at least three weeks. The good news is the fractured finger in 'Melo's shooting hand will not require surgery.

THIS JUST IN: Any trade rumors involving Linas Kleiza have since died. Someone get me a ticket on the L-Train!

The silver lining in all this is with 'Melo sidelined we are going to really see just how good tradable Linas Kleiza truly is. In the past, I've analyzed Kleiza's production as a reserve compared to as a starter and if the stats tell even a partial truth the Nuggets should be OK as long as the rest of the crew picks up some extra slack.

This injury could also expedite any trades concerning solidifying the frontcourt the Denver front office was mulling around in an attempt to compensate for 'Melo's absence.

Go Nuggets!

'Melo's Broken Finger

(Boulder-CO) Jeremy over at Roundball Mining Company has a great speculatory piece on Carmelo's broken finger. Just how long Carmelo may be out is unknown as Anthony will see a hand specialist today after the injury occurred in last night's win over Indiana. X-rays showed Anthony has a probable non-displaced fracture on the third metacarpal of his right hand and as Jeremy illustrates that could mean a number of different outcomes.

'Melo has missed five games this season (two because of a suspension to start the season stemming from his DUI charge late last season) and three in December because of a sore right elbow. The Nuggets are 3-2 without the All-Star forward.

Hold your breath, Nuggets Nation. Hold your breath.

Samb Traded - Prelude to More?

(Boulder-CO) The Rocky Mountain News reported yesterday that Cheikh Samb and cash considerations have been traded to the Clippers for a future conditional second-round pick. The move is obviously a salary play and I wouldn't be surprised if it's a prelude to a larger deal for a more "ready" big man.

What's unfortunate about the deal is I believe Samb really does have potential in this league. Intangible things like shooting and defensive presence are things you can't teach a big man and Samb had a decent foundation in these categories. However, the Nuggets are a team ready to make a front court move right now and really don't have the luxury of waiting for Samb to come around in other areas.

So, as I said, I'd be willing to bet that something is brewing on the back burner with Nugget brass. But, one thing is for sure: The Nuggets need help up front as I have detailed in losses to teams with a true BIG man and I think trading Samb is part one to a bigger plan.

Go Nuggets!

Denver Runs Indiana Out of Town

The Denver Nuggets continue to streak with their, 135-115, win over the Pacers matching their season-high four consecutive win mark with five more games remaining in this seven game home stand.

The first quarter was another example of superb Nuggets basketball. Quick passing and crisp off ball cuts paved the way for the Nuggets handing out twelve assists on their 13 made field goals in the first twelve minutes. Carmelo recorded six assists while Nene finished three traditional three-point plays as the Nuggets led by as many 17 points with under a minute remaining in the first before a late Pacer run trimmed the lead to 14, 40-26, at the end of one. The 40 first quarter points on 61% shooting tied a season-high for points scored in the first quarter set against Minnesota earlier this year and included a perfect 14-14 from the free-throw line.

I also felt that the Nugget defense looked rejuvenated as Denver did a good job of allowing the Pacers just one shot on rim before cleansing the boards. Four Nuggets (Jones, Nene, Anthony, and Andersen) each grabbed two rebounds apiece while Kenyon Martin led the way with three boards in the first quarter.

The second quarter was a different story. After holding the Pacers to 26 points in the first, the Nugget defense just collapsed. Indiana torched the Nuggets for 42 points in the second while they couldn’t buy a whistle down on the other end. The Pacers out shot the Nuggets 17-5 in free-throw attempts in the second quarter after not shooting a free-throw in the first. The most direct beneficiary of this was Danny Granger. He did half of his 18-point damage in the second quarter from the charity stripe on a perfect 9-9. from the line He would finish the half with a game-high 26 points after a modest eight point first quarter. Troy Murphy also hurt the Nuggets from the three-point line. The former Notre Dame standout missed his first two three’s in the first quarter, but then hit three of five attempts in the second to finish the half with 15 points.

Offensively, the Nuggets were able to sustain the 42-point Indiana outburst because the Pacers defense was almost as bad. Denver countered with 34 points of their own and J.R. Smith’s 372nd made three-pointer at 2:21 in the quarter put him into fourth place all-time in Nuggets franchise history for three’s made in a career. Smith passed the great Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf’s 371 mark for that place in Nuggets history with Nick Van Excel in third place with 425.

Also of note is how the opportunity for J.R. to make that three materialized. In what could be the block of the year so far, Dahntay Jones climbed the ladder about three or four steps higher than Jarrett Jack can even imagine and hung in mid-air before spiking Jack’s lay-up attempt directly to the floor. It was an incredible example of the rule stating the defensive player has the right to his position straight up to the ceiling of the arena as Jones completely shut the top on Jarrett Jack’s convertible.

And had it not been for Indiana’s horrendous defense I don’t think the Nuggets would have been leading, 74-70, at the break. Denver’s 74 points set new season-high for points scored in a half, but even with the lead at the midway point the Nuggets defense would have to improve for the team to win.

The second half was a completely different story from the first as the Nuggets tightened the defensive clamps to limit the pacers to just 17 made field goals while outscoring them 61-45. But tonight's win didn't come without a spirited fight by the Pacers With 11:10 minutes to play in regulation, the Pacers were within three, 99-96, before Denver went on a 36-19 run led by Chauncey Billups scoring 13 of his 24 points in the final quarter en route to blowing the Pacers out. Indiana, after battling back from down by 20-points in the first half, once again found themselves down by as many as 23 before conceding, 135-115.

The Nugget box score is gaudy to say the least as the 135 points scored set a new season-high for points scored in a game breaking the old record of 132 points set against the Raptors that prompted the firing of Sam Mitchell. Kenyon Martin scored a team-high 25 points, including a three-pointer that brought him to 8-15 from beyond the arch on the year, to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Chauncey Billups added 24 points, eleven assists, four rebounds, and a steal. Billups was also a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line and an economical 4-7 from downtown as the Nuggets stayed perfect (8-0) when he reaches double figures in assists.

He wasn’t the only one sharing.

Carmelo Anthony set a season-high mark of nine assists and finished with 21 points and six rebounds, and Nene rounded out the starters with 18 points on 7-8 shooting to fit nicely with a game-high three blocks. Anthony Carter handed out seven assists off the bench as the Nuggets handed out an unselfish 38 dimes collectively. The Nuggets also dominated the Pacers on the glass, 49-36, with ten different Nuggets grabbing at least two rebounds led by the Birdman with nine caroms.

This was a great win for a couple of different reasons. First, the Nuggets were up early, then allowed the Pacers to get back in the game, but found away to put them back to bed. In the past two games the Nuggets have sprinted out to similar big leads but have had to claw their way to victory in dramatic fashion down the stretch. Tonight, they closed things out and made things easy on themselves. The next reason why I like this win is it showcased a lot of unselfish play. I truly believe that this season could become something special if the Nuggets play for each other first while letting the stats fall where they may. The 38 assists are one way to highlight this, but it was the way that Denver played defense in the second half that showed true unselfishness. Guys were stepping up for one another, the hedging on pick and roll was consistent, and the 41 defensive rebounds prove the Nuggets were boxing out Pacers - not spaces. That’s a testament to a great team defensive effort as the 45 points they held Indiana to in the second half reinforce.

Up next for the Nuggets is a look at the current NBA scoring leader, Dwayne Wade, and the vastly improved Miami Heat on Wednesday night. With the win, the Nuggets improved to 24-12 on the season, match a season-high four-game win streak, and stay undefeated (18-0) when ahead entering the fourth quarter.

Go Nuggets!

Game 36: Pacers @ Nuggets

(Boulder-CO) I guess as long as the W’s keep piling up there’s no reason to complain. The Nuggets have won three straight games and six of their last eight since losing three in a row in mid December. Denver is also in the midst of a seven-game home stand that started off on the right foot as the Nuggets were able to defeat the Hornets, 105-100, Saturday night as the Indiana Pacers come to town to try and out run the Nuggets in what should be quite the scoring battle.

Danny Granger of the Pacers is having a career year. The fourth-year pro out of the University of New Mexico is averaging a career-high 25.1 ppg (5th in the NBA) while leading the league’s sixth highest scoring offense. The explosive Granger has scored 30+ points in nine games this season, including two games of 40+.

Along with the offensive exploits of Granger, Indiana is paced by four other Pacers averaging double-digits in scoring. Starters Marquis Daniels (15.7), T.J. Ford 13.8), Troy Murphy (11.5), and back up point guard Jarrett Jack (10.8) make up the lion’s share of the Pacer offense that likes to get up and down the floor as their 3rd ranked average of 86.1 FG‘s attempted and 2nd ranked average of 39 FG made per game indicate.

But the 12-21 Pacers’ problem this season has been on the defensive end. Indiana gives up the NBA’s fourth highest average points allowed (104.9 ppg), including allowing 108.5 ppg over their last six games of which they won the last two. This unusually high points allowed mark for an Eastern Conference team is due mainly to the pace the Pacers like to play at. When looking at their roster it’s painfully clear that there's not a defensive minded player on this team. 7’2” Rookie Roy Hibbert was billed as a defensive player coming out of Georgetown, but his 2.8 rebounding and less than one block per game averages suggest otherwise. In fact, rebounding leader Troy Murphy is shooting the team’s highest three-point field goal percentage while not a single Pacer is even close to averaging two steals per game.

For the Nuggets, this match-up could either be a dream come true or a trap waiting to spring. We’ve seen Denver go toe-to-toe with teams that love to run the floor like the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks with favorable outcomes, but we’ve also seen the Nuggets lose to high-scoring clubs like Phoenix too. Usually when the Nuggets lose to teams that like to score it’s because Denver completely abandons playing any kind of defense and the selfish offense is soon to follow. In the most recent loss to Phoenix, the Nuggets handed out a season-low 15 assists in what was a complete and utter offensive disaster despite Denver scoring 101 points.

But what makes-up the anatomy of a Nuggets win?

Is it offense or is it defense? And does it even matter who their opponent is?

Well, surely playing Sacramento and New York more often than the Lakers and Cavs would be in the Nuggets favor, but I’d be willing to bet you didn’t know a few things that are dramatically telling as to what makes this team win. For starters, when the Nuggets win they average over 107 points per game. They do so by shooting an average of 48% from the field with a third of their made buckets coming by way of an assist. In losses, Denver’s scoring drops a full twelve points per game and they lose in the overall assist column. If this isn’t a clear example of how selfish basketball has a negative effect on a good basketball team I don’t know what is.

Furthermore, in Denver’s seven victories against the six teams with 20+ wins the Nuggets have defeated so far this season (Boston, Portland, San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans, and Dallas twice). The Nuggets have handed out 20 or more assists in all but one of those wins over the Mavericks while the 28 assist plateau has been reached twice. This means, and I’m happy to finally says this, the Nuggets are no longer a team that can get by with individual efforts.

This is a direct result of losing one of the greatest one-on-one players of all-time in Allen Iverson in return for one of the headiest team players in the modern era in Chauncey Billups. The Nuggets, with Billups at the helm, are a much more well-rounded team and it’s with this collectivity that the key to Denver’s success is held. Carmelo is not having the kind of year he did last year when he averaged 25.7 ppg while he and AI combined for more than 50 points nightly. More people are involved this year, as evident by Nene and J.R. Smith averaging career-high marks in points, and the Nuggets are a better team for at it as their record would indicate.

So, against the Pacers I would like to see the Nuggets play for the lettering on the front of their jerseys instead of the ones on the back because this team can be a lot of fun to watch on both ends of the floor when the Denver offense is spread around and everyone gets involved.

Go Nuggets!

Horrendous, Horrible, Horrid, Hallelujah!

(Boulder-CO) For the second time in as many nights the Denver Nuggets didn’t deserve to win a game and did. Tonight, after opening up a 26-point third quarter lead, the Denver Nuggets actually had to come back late in the fourth to beat the Hornets, 105-100. Quite frankly it was a complete implosion on the behalf of the Nuggets that makes me wonder if this team, from the way to Coach Karl inefficiently managed his players and game situations to the way the players can play so selfishly at times, is a real contender or just a well camouflaged pretender.

Everything was fantastic about the first half. I felt that everyone on the roster played within their own respective games and within the flow of the game itself with the results being a sweet symphony of basketball purity. That’s honestly the best way I can describe the first half without highlighting everyone’s individually unique contribution. Just imagine each Nugget doing what they do best all at the right instances. Carmelo grabbed five rebounds and was 8-13 with 16 points to lead all scorers at the half. Nene got off to a quick start with twelve points and four rebounds despite picking up two very quick fouls in the first quarter. Anthony Carter came in off the bench and led Denver in the passing department with four assists, no turnovers, and an open court steal from Chris Paul that led to an easy flush for Linas Kleiza .

The Nuggets led, 58-40, at the break and much of that lead was built on the defensive end. Denver forced five New Orleans turnovers and capitalized on them for twelve points in the first half. The Nuggets had also done a great job on Chris Paul in pick and roll situations despite Paul finishing the half with eleven points. Denver basically forced Paul to be a one-man band offensively and with his teammates involvement limited it denied the Hornets any rhythm. CP3 had just three assists in the first half as no Hornet beside Hilton Armstrong scored more than six points while collectively New Orleans was 1-11 from the three-point arch.

Denver then jumped all over the Hornets in the early goings of the third quarter and opened up 26-point lead, 77-51, with just under six minutes remaining and clocked off the job. What transpired following George Karl’s full timeout at the 5:52 mark in the third quarter was just plain ridiculous. The Nuggets flat lined over the next 8:16 seconds while being outscored 29-6! Everyone wanted to be a superstar. Everyone took shots they shouldn’t take. Everyone slouched on defense. Everyone thought the game was over - Coach George Karl included. Karl didn’t call one timeout as what was once a 26-point lead was whittled down to just three points one agonizing possession at a time while playing everyone but Linas Kleiza, who after scoring nine points in the first half was never even looked at again for the rest of the game for reasons unbeknownst to anyone with even a quasi -respectable understanding of the game of basketball.

Thank God Karl had the good sense to replace Carmelo Anthony with J.R. Smith with 1:09 remaining in the third quarter. Carmelo was doing nothing for the team and Smith resuscitated the Nuggets with nine of Denver’s first eleven points in the fourth quarter following the monumental collapse that let the Hornets back into the game. Without Smith taking control of the Nuggets offensively I doubt Denver would have been able to hold on and win this game. The Denver body language before J.R. came in and injected some swagger back into them was defeated.

The Hornets had outscored the Nuggets 49-22 in the second half to take the lead, 100-99, after James Posey hit a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining. Carmelo Anthony then resurfaced and connected on a slashing finger roll to give the Nuggets back a one-point lead of which they luckily didn’t relinquish after a loose-ball foul on Hilton Armstrong put Chauncey Billups at the free-throw line to hit his sixth and seventh foul shots giving the Nuggets a 103-100 lead with 38.7 seconds left. Denver regrouped for one last stand defensively and after David West’s only offensive rebound of the game was squandered by a James Posey miss Nene grabbed what should have been the last rebound the Nuggets needed. Unfortunately, Nene missed both free-throws after a quick foul by Hilton Armstrong, but Chauncey Billups came up with a clutch loose ball after an errantly thrown outlet pass by Armstrong caught an unexpected David West by surprise for the straw that broke New Orleans’ back. Chris Paul was left with no choice but the foul Billups who made his eighth and ninth free-throw of the game to ice the victory for Denver, 105-100.

All five Nugget starters finished in double digit scoring, led by Carmelo Anthony’s 22 points and team-high seven rebounds. After scoring twelve points in the first half, Nene was next to nonexistent in the second scoring just two points and snatching only two rebounds.

J.R. Smith finished with 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists without a turnover. Chauncey Billups added 14 points, including a perfect 9-9 from the free-throw line, and six assists.

Up next in this seven-game home stand are the Indiana Pacers on Monday followed by the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Indiana is the only team in the next six games that isn’t above .500. So, by the end of this homestand Denver will have played 41 games and we should have a real good assessment of how the Nuggets stack up against quality opponents.

Go Nuggets!

Chronicling Carmelo’s Game-Winners

(Boulder-CO) After last night’s ninth career game-winning shot, I felt it was time to refresh everyone’s memory on Carmelo’s late game heroics. Here are all nine of ‘Melo’s clutch shots that put the Nuggets over the top. Rank them, remember them, or just marvel at one of the most crucial players in the clutch.

This list includes opponent, number of overtimes, date, what kind of shot it was, and how much time was left after ‘Melo put the Nuggets on top for the win! The video below shows some of 'Melo's most stoic moments, but not all of them.

9. Thunder - 1/2/09 - 122-120 - 3pt Jumpshot - .1

8. Lakers (OT) - 4/6/06 - 110-108 - Jumpshot - 3.8

7. Pacers - 3/15/06 - 101-99 - Jumpshot - 2.2

6. Timberwolves - 2/24/06 - 102-101 - 3pt Jumpshot - 3.4

5. Suns (3OT) - 1/10/06 - 139-137 - Jumpshot - 2.9

4. Rockets - 1/8/06 - 92-90 - Jumpshot -1.0

3. Hawks - 2/15/05 - 100-96 - Jumpshot - .9

2. Celtics - 12/15/04 - 100-99 - Jumpshot - 3.6

1. Sonics - 12/17/03 - 99-98 - Lay-up - 6.0

My personal rankings are : 5, 9, 6, 4, 7, 8, 2, 1, 3.

Go Nuggets!

Game 35: Hornets @ Nuggets

(Boulder-CO) The last time these two teams met, New Orleans escaped the Pepsi Center with a win, 115-101. This time, Denver isn’t planning on being so hospitable. The Nuggets open up their longest home stand of the season tonight with Chris Paul and the Hornets after winning three of their last four games on the road. Granted, Denver didn’t wallop the strongest of NBA competition with wins over the Thunder (barely), Raptors, and Knicks, but they were on the schedule and the Nuggets took care of business.

The Hornets are team also riding a nice wave of momentum. New Orleans has won its last four straight games since dropping one to the Orlando Magic and have done so with some very stingy defense. Aside from allowing their opposition just 86 ppg in their last four wins, the Hornets are holding opponents to an average of 88.6 points and just 43.6% shooting from the field while winning eleven of their last 14 games. Offensively, the Hornets have had four different players step up and lead the team in scoring in their last four games as well. However, if there is one thing we can bet on it’s Chris Paul, the NBA’s leading set-up man, leading the Hornets in assists as he has in all 29 games so far for New Orleans.

J.R. Smith had an incredible game the last time these two teams met. Perhaps it was because he feels he has something to prove to the team that dealt him to Chicago for next to nothing, but after last night’s lack luster performance by the Prodigy. The Nuggets sure could use Smith to return to his usual self. Last night, Smith looked out of control and out of synch as he committed a team-high three turnovers while scoring just seven points. He also didn’t record a single rebound, steal, or assists while making some very poor decisions defensively. The Nuggets will need Smith to have another performance like the season-high 32 points, five rebounds, and four assists he poured in the first time these two teams met to win against a very well-rounded New Orleans squad.

And while we’re one the topic of well-roundedness, the Nuggets were not the last time these two teams met. Denver only had three players score in double figures back on November 27th whereas the Hornets had five, including four out of five starters.

The good news for the Nuggets is New Orleans starting big man, Tyson Chandler may not be able to play tonight after being whistled for a flagrant-2 foul for delivering a forearm shiver to Portland’s Joel Pryzbilla. The official ruling hasn’t been made yet, but if he is suspended for tonight’s game it weighs heavily in Denver’s favor because Nene will not have to battle with the defensive minded Chandler.

Aside from that pending match-up, the next battle to watch (even if they don’t match-up head-to-head) will be Carmelo Anthony and David West. Carmelo should be brimming with confidence after hitting his ninth career game-winning shot last night and comes into tonight’s game averaging 24.8 points per game along with 6.8 rebounds and three assists over his last four games. Furthermore, he’s done so by shooting 46.1% from the field which includes a dismal 4-17 performance in the last Denver loss to the Hawks. David West is also playing great basketball as of his last five games with averages of 19.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and just 1.6 turnovers while shooting nearly 50% from the field. He’s also playing an average of 40 minutes per game over the last five-game stretch and has only missed three free-throws in his last 22 trips to the charity stripe. We may very well be looking at the two best small forwards in the Western Conference tonight and the game may be won by the team whose All-Star plays the best.

My final note is concerning Chris Paul. It’s no secret that Paul is my favorite player in the NBA today. He’s not humanly capable of being stopped, so the Nuggets best bet is to try and contain him. If he is held, in any statistical category, under his current averages of 19.8 points, 11.5 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 steals, and 2.8 turnovers the Nuggets have given themselves a tremendous advantage to winning the game. The turnover department is an area that I think the Nuggets can try to disrupt what affect Paul can have on a game. The Hornets are currently the safest team in the NBA with the ball and CP3 has everything to do with that. If Denver can force a slew of New Orleans turnovers I think their chances of winning the game go up exponentially for every miscue the force.

Regardless of any of my ramblings, five of the last six meetings between the Nuggets and Hornets in the Mile High City have been decided by seven points or fewer so we should be in for a great game.

Go Nuggets!

Carmelo's Ninth Game-Winner

The Denver Nuggets had no business winning tonight’s game against the Thunder, 122-120. Oklahoma City outplayed Denver in nearly all facets of the game, but yet still fell short despite Kevin Durant supplying some late fourth quarter heroics because of Carmelo Anthony’s stoic game-winning shot with just one tenth of a second remaining on the clock.

The first quarter was a great start for Nene and Carmelo Anthony. Big Brazil scored ten while Carmelo added nine as the Nuggets scored 31 points in the first. Denver’s defense left a little to be desired as they allowed 27 to the Thunder, but for the pace the game was being played at it was a solid quarter for the Nuggets. Kevin Durant scored the final twelve Thunder points in the first quarter to close what was at one point a seven-point Nugget lead with just over a minute to play down to just four entering the secodn quarter.

In the second, Denver completely self destructed. The Nuggets only had two turnovers in the first quarter, but eight more in the second led to 20 points off of for the Thunder at the break. The flip side of the stat wasn’t so kind to the Nuggets. Denver forced seven turnovers, but only capitalized on those miscues for five points. Additionally, the Nuggets surrendered the most points scored by the Thunder in a quarter this season (38) in the second thanks to those eight turnovers and thus trailed at the half, 65-52.

Did I mention the Nuggets had EIGHT turnovers in the second quarter?

The Denver tease of a defense the Nuggets displayed in the first never picked up either. The Nuggets were singed after the Thunder shot 60% from the field led by Kevin Durant’s 16 points and former Nugget Earl Watson’s 13 points off the bench. About the only bright spots after the Nuggets came up empty on that many possessions before the half were Carmelo Anthony and Nene. Both Nuggets went into intermission with 15 points with Nene grabbing eight rebounds while Carmelo added seven.

The second half started right where the Nuggets left off - being embarrassed by the Thunder. Oklahoma City connected on twelve straight made baskets spanning back into the second quarter as they opened up a 16-point lead, 75-59. It was at this point that I thought for sure the Nuggets had overlooked the Thunder thiking about their seven-game home stand looming on tomorrow's horizon. Oklahoma City was playing more physical than Denver, their fans were into it, and the Nuggets were obviously discombobulated.

However, Denver managed to hang around long enough for Chauncey Billups to ignite offensively. Billups scored 14 of Denver’s next 20 points spanning the entire second half of the third quarter and into the first two minutes of the fourth and by doing so single handedly pumped new life into the Nuggets. It started with two cold-blooded, back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Oklahoma lead to just seven points with 4:52 remaining in the third.

It was at this point that the Nuggets knew they still had a chance to steal Oklahoma’s Thunder and by tightening the defense the Nuggets outscored OKC 33-24 in the fourth. After two made free-throws by Carmelo Anthony tied the game at 108 with 3:42 still to play, rookie Russell Westbrook scored four straight points before an offensive rebound and put back by Nene, and Chauncey Billups hit his fourth three of the game to give Denver its first lead since the 9:51mark in the second quarter, 115-114.

The game came to another tie at 118 after Kevin Durant drove the lane and laid the ball in, but after running down the shot clock the Nuggets came up empty on a long three attempt by Chauncey Billups which left 3.4 seconds remaining for the Thunder to get a shot up. The Thunder advanced the ball to half court and Jeff Green inbounded the ball to Kevin Durant who drained what would have been the game-winning shot had it not been for Carmelo trumping it with Denver’s fifth three of the fourth quarter from the left corner. It was a shot reminiscent of the game-winner he hit against Minnesota almost three years ago to lift the Nuggets to a, 102-101, victory and much like the fans at the Target Center in Minneapolis - the patrons at the Ford Center were left speechless after Anthony’s ninth career game-winner!

Anthony’s game-winner capped off what could have been his best game of the year so far. ‘Melo scored a team-high 31 points on 10-20 shooting while grabbing nine rebounds and only committing two turnovers in 38 minutes of action.

But Anthony wasn’t the only Nugget who had a spectacular night. Nene, without a doubt, had his best game of the year. Big Brazil scored a season-high 27 points on 10-11 from the field and recorded his tenth double-double of the season with a game-high 14 rebounds. Nene also recorded four old fashioned three-point plays and was 7-8 from the free-throw line. Chuancey Billups led the Nuggets with seven assists and was 4-8 from the land of plenty while tallying 24 points in total while characteristically turning the ball over just once. Anthony Carter also played a nice game finishing with seven assists off the bench in just 15 minutes of playing time.

As I said before, the Nuggets really had no business winning this game. The Thunder played more physical, wanted it more, and played with more intensity than Denver, but yet still haven’t learned how to finish when a team is ready to go belly up. Fortunately, the Nuggets lingered around long enough to find new life, but at a certain point you’ve got to feel sorry for the Thunder. Now at 4-30 overall, they deserved to have Kevin Durant’s last second heroics stand on their record as a win. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and when you let a team like the Nuggets hang around you open the door to get robbed and that’s just what Denver did.

Go Nuggets!

Game 34: Nuggets @ Thunder

(Boulder-CO) 2009 starts with the Denver Nuggets getting their first look of the season at the Oklahoma City Thunder, or if you will, the league’s worst team. The 4-29 Thunder have experienced their fair share of misfortunes this season including the firing of their original head coach, P.J. Carlesimo after the team got off to a 1-12 start. Since getting out to one of the NBA’s worst starts, ex-Nugget assistant Scott Brooks was promoted to head coach of the Thunder and things have been improving, albeit very slowly, ever since.

With Brooks, the Thunder are 3-17 and have been relatively competitive. Nine of their 15 games in December were losses by less than ten points and the Thunder actually won their last game of 2008 against the Warriors, 107-100!

However, the former Seattle Supersonics have not been able to score much against anyone this season and come into tonight’s game with the NBA’s third lowest point per game average of 93.6 ppg. Against the Nuggets, that could be a huge problem because Denver was merciless offensively against the Sonics last season averaging 143.3 per game over four meetings, including a 168-point outburst which was the most points scored in a game by one team.

Aside from outlining how poorly the Thunder have played so far this season my feelings about tonight’s game revolve around certain Nuggets getting back to basics. Carmelo needs to stay on the right path to returning to a more consistent level of play since coming back from a week off to rest a sore right elbow. In his three games back, Carmelo tricked us into thinking that everything was back to normal with a 32-point showing at Madison Square Garden in a Nuggets win over the Knicks before a terrible shooting performance in a Denver loss to the Hawks where he only scored 16 points on 4-17 from the field. Things looked better for Anthony in Denver’s last win over the Raptors as he scored 20 points on 8-20 shooting with five rebounds and five assists, but I’m still not sold on his shot selection. Even with his 13-19 from the field in New York, Carmelo is still shooting below 45% in his last three games combined due to settling for too many jumpers before establishing his ability to get to the rim. Against the Thunder, a team which Carmelo averaged 28 points per game against last year, tonight’s game presents the perfect opportunity to regain some of that lost confidence by attacking the goal early and then once the defense sags to prevent his penetration he can let the jumper fly.

Chauncey Billups, like Anthony, needs to have one of his staple games. The Nuggets are a perfect 7-0 in games that Billups reaches 10+ assists and although the Nuggets have won three out of their last five games. Chauncey has only reached double digit assists in one of those victories. In my opinion, there isn't any reason why Chauncey, with this talented of a line-up, shouldn’t be able to get to ten assists against the Thunder.

My final thought pertains to the Nuggets not becoming the first team to allow the Thunder consecutive wins this season. This is a youthful team, in a new city, with a young coach that is not accustomed to winning and it would be an outright disaster for the Nuggets to drop this game. That’s not meant to be a direct slap towards Coach Brooks, the OKC players, or the city itself, but these teams are on opposite ends of the NBA spectrum and the end result of the game should represent just that.

Go Nuggets!

Ending 2008 on a High Note

(Boulder-CO) The Denver Nuggets can pop a few bottles of champagne tonight on the flight to Oklahoma City to celebrate ending 2008 with a quality win over the Toronto Raptors, 114-107, and George Karl winning his 900th game. The win also gives Denver its 21st win of the season and keeps the Trailblazers a half game back in the Northwest divisional race.

I have to admit that I really enjoyed the first half. For one I like Jose Calderon's game a ton and the Nuggets were playing fundamentally sound basketball. The pace of the game was peppy as the, 31-29, scoreboard after one quarter of play could have only been better had the Nuggets been up by a deuce entering the second. However, as much as a like the first quarter's pace and shot selection by the Nuggets, it was the second quarter effort by the bench that made the half.

In the second, the Nuggets really got a tremendous boost from their bench. J.R. Smith scored seven of his team-high twelve first half points in the second and the Birdman provided some real toughness on the boards with four offensive and four defensive rebounds, and eight points in the nine minutes he saw the floor. Together, they combined for 15 of Denver's 24 points in the quarter. I thought the Nugget defense was also fantastic during this stretch. So good in fact, that after checking the play-by-play I realized that Toronto only scored six of their 19 points in the quarter in the paint because of Denver displaying dramatically improved pick and roll defense.

The first half even ended on a great note for Nene as he made his first NBA three-pointer with the shot clock running down on the Nuggets final possession. The swish came off an inbounds pass with just three second remaining and gave Denver a, 53-50, advantage heading into halftime.

What made this such a quality win despite the Raptors recent woes was how the Nuggets played in the second half. By the end of tonight's game there were twelve ties and 16 lead changes with the majority of the back and forth transpiring in the first ten minutes of the third quarter. I felt Denver weathered every blow the Raptors had in them in stride and then when the smell of blood was in the water they turned it up a notch. The Nuggets lost the lead for the final time with just 4:28 remaining in the third quarter after Jose Calderon's third of four three-pointers in the game broke a 72 all tie. From that point, Denver closed out the quarter with a 13-2 run, including eleven unanswered points to give the Nuggets an eight point lead, 85-77, entering the fourth.

Once the final twelve minutes were put on the clock the Nuggets never relinquished the lead.

Nene led all Nuggets with a team-high 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block. He was his usual efficient self shooting 8-12 from the field after missing Monday's game at Atlanta. Carmelo added 20 points, on 8-20 shooting, and five rebounds rebounding nicely from a dismal 4-17 shooting performance in the loss to the Hawks. Hopefully, Carmelo can find some consistency in the next few games after missing three straight games with a sore shooting elbow.

The Denver bench also deserves a lot of credit for tonight's win. Led by J.R. Smith's 16 points in 32 minutes of burn, Linas Kleiza and Chris Andersen each added ten points with the Birdman recording a team-high ten rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Collectively, the trio of Smith, Andersen, and Kleiza outscored the Raptor reserves 36-17.

Up next for the Nuggets is a match-up with by far the worst team in professional basketball, the 4-29 Oklahoma City Thunder. It should be an opportunity for the Nuggets to open up the 2009 stretch of this season's campaign with a W while starting a new winning streak with a seven-game home stand on the horizon.

Go Nuggets!

J.R. Smith Wants in All-Star Weekend

(Boulder-CO) After coming up short in his All-Star weekend debut as a participant in the Dunk Contest, J.R. Smith now wants in as a three-point shooter. The 3-point shooting contestants are tentatively scheduled to be announced on February 4th, 2009 and J.R. would be a great addition. Smith has connected on 58-of -156 attempts so far this season and is currently fifth in Nuggets franchise pecking order for three's made in a career and is only eight behind Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf for fourth all-time.

Go Nuggets!

Game 33: Nuggets @ Raptors

(Boulder-CO) The last time these two teams met someone lost their job. Sam Mitchell was fired after the Denver Nuggets walloped the Raptors, 132-93, in what I think could have been their best overall outing of the season. This time, not only will the country and venue be different, but this time the Nuggets very well may be without Nene and Denver is looking a lot more vulnerable since dropping five of their last eight games.

Under new Head Coach Jay Triano the Raptors have continued to struggle winning just 4-14 games since starting the season 8-9 with Sam Mitchell. However, unlike a few of the Mitchell led contests, Toronto has also lost seven of their last nine games by less than eight points meaning that the team is headed in the right direction as the play of pg Jose Calderon and All-Star Chris Bosh indicates.

Jose Calderon could be the best pure point guard in the Eastern Conference. Calderon is averaging a Conference best and career-high 8.9 assists with an assist to turnover ratio of +4.2. He’s also shooting a perfect 70-70 from the free-throw line so far this season while kicking a career-high13.2 points per game.

All-Star forward Chris Bosh has also been a bright spot for the Raptors. Bosh is averaging a career-high 23.6 points per game one of only a handful of players averaging a double-double with a respectable average of 9.9 rebounds too.

But aside from that duo the Raptors have really been hard pressed to find that consistent third amigo.

Jermaine O’Neal has not lived up to his top salary billing with averages substantially down across the board from his best years with the Pacers. In fact, O’Neal has only scored more than 25 or more points in a game once this season while averaging less than six rebounds per game in the month of December.

For the Nuggets, their success is predicated on sharing the basketball. In game that the Nuggets have won this year, they have handed out an average of over 23 assists and score 106 points per game. Most startling is how Chauncey Billups’ passing and scoring output affects this. In wins, Chauncey hands out 7.5 dimes per game and scores better than 19 points. In losses, the Nuggets scoring drops over ten points and Billup’s average drops a full two assists and four points.

It would also be nice for Carmelo’s offensive impact to be more consistent. So far this season, Carmelo has either been really good or down right disappointing. Much like how Chauncey’s passing dictates the Nuggets point total, Carmelo’s shooting percentage from the field has been key. In wins, Anthony connects on 45% the same nightly average of 17 shot attempts, but in losses that number dips dramatically to 37% as do his rebounds.

As Chauncey and Carmelo go - so do the Nuggets. With their games being somewhat erratic in the last 15 games so has been the outcome for the Nuggets. Tonight, what duo shows up will dictate whether or not the Nuggets drop consecutive games for the just the second time since opening the season 1-3 prior to the Iverson/Billups trade.

Go Nuggets!

Go to the NEW Nugg Doctor

(Boulder-CO) This site is obsolete! If you're here and wondering what's going on with the Denver Nuggets head over to the NEW and IMPROVED NUGG DOCTOR! What are you waiting for? Bang the link!

Moving Day!

(Boulder-CO) 2009 is going to bring in some changes for all of us, but for starters I'm moving from Blogger to Bloguin effective as of today! Update your favorites and be sure to read the welcome post at The New Nugg Doctor! There are a lot of great features with the new site and I hope everyone makes a user name and gets in on the new and improved action!

Go Nuggets!

All-Star Balloting Second Returns

(Boulder-CO) Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers lead the Eastern Conference, while Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets top the Western Conference after the second returns of 2009 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile. Howard, the reigning Sprite Slam Dunk champion, is the overall leader with 1,421,882 votes.

The rest of the voting tabulations are as follows:

2009 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: LeBron James (Clev) 1,259,764; Kevin Garnett (Bos) 905,506; Yi Jianlian (NJ) 762,162; Chris Bosh (Tor) 500,700; Paul Pierce (Bos) 313,474; Shawn Marion (Mia) 210,040; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 137,035; Danny Granger (Ind) 116,238; Josh Smith (Atl) 110,186; Michael Beasley (Mia) 100,257; Tayshaun Prince (Det) 98,262.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 1,229,858; Allen Iverson (Det) 858,469; Vince Carter (NJ) 600,087; Ray Allen (Bos) 354,642; Devin Harris (NJ) 267,504; Gilbert Arenas (Wash) 205,223; Derrick Rose (Chi) 203,687; Luke Ridnour (Mil) 197,933; Jose Calderon (Tor) 193,715; Jameer Nelson (Orl) 174,081; Joe Johnson (Atl) 162,772.

Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 1,421,882; Samuel Dalembert (Phi) 232,733; Rasheed Wallace (Det) 163,279; Jermaine O’Neal (Tor) 147,534; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 112,708; Al Horford (Atl) 107,118; Ben Wallace (Clev) 89,809; Emeka Okafor (Char) 69,015; Zyrdrunas Ilgauskas (Cle) 60,970; Kendrick Perkins (Bos) 54,772; Brendan Haywood (Wash) 28,182.

2009 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Tim Duncan (SA) 903,311; Amar’e Stoudemire (Pho) 626,796; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 602,457; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 553,611; Ron Artest (Hou) 509,717; Pau Gasol (LAL) 424,135; Shane Battier (Hou) 292,287; Bruce Bowen (SA) 286,923; Josh Howard (Dal) 209,802; Luis Scola (Hou) 181,253; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 145,857.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,280,912; Tracy McGrady (746,098); Chris Paul (NO) 725,251; Manu Ginobili (SA) 386,846; Tony Parker (SA) 358,107; Jason Kidd (Dal) 299,107; Steve Nash (Pho) 281,909; Jason Terry (Dal) 226,754; Rafer Alston (Hou) 211,017; Brandon Roy (Por) 174,244; Chauncey Billups (Den) 170,645.

Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 1,114,709; Shaquille O’Neal (Pho) 546,583; Andrew Bynum (LAL) 259,331; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 235,292; Greg Oden (Por) 144,650; Andris Biedrins (GS) 101,115; Al Jefferson (Minn) 86,296; Tyson Chandler (NO) 85,452; Nick Collison (OKC) 67,338; Marcus Camby (LAC) 49,235; Chris Kaman (LAC) 19,415.

Today's Date in NBA History

(Boulder-CO) Today's date is December 30th, and on this day:

'61- Wilt Chamberlain scored 42 points in a 116-111 loss to Boston, the 14th straight game in which he scored at least 40 points, an NBA record.

'71- The Los Angeles Lakers posted a 122-106 victory at Seattle, giving them a perfect 16-0 record for December, the best monthly record in NBA history. It was the Lakers’ second consecutive undefeated month, as they also posted a 14-0 mark in November, during their NBA record 33-game winning streak.

'90- Orlando’s Scott Skiles dished off an NBA record 30 assists as the Magic defeated Denver 155-116 at Orlando Arena. Skiles surpassed previous record holder Kevin Porter of New Jersey, who handed out 29 assists in the Nets’ 126-112 win over Houston on February 24, 1978.

'92- The Phoenix Suns defeated Houston 133-110 to finish December with a 14-0 record, tying for the third-best month in NBA history. The Lakers set the NBA record by going 16-0 in December 1971.

'96- New York became the fourth NBA franchise to reach 2,000 victories, following a 98-96 home win over New Jersey. The other three NBA teams that had surpassed 2,000 victories are the Celtics, Lakers and 76ers.

'97- Chicago's Michael Jordan scored 33 points to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's mark of 787 consecutive games with at least 10 points.

'97- San Antonio's David Robinson recorded five blocked shots to move into eighth place on the all-time chart ahead of George T. Johnson (2,082).

Enjoy your day!

Selfish, Selfish, Selfish

(AP Photo/John Bazemore)

(Boulder-CO) After hanging tough with the Atlanta Hawks for a half, the Denver Nuggets decided to play pick-up style basketball and as a result were embarrassed in the dirty dirty, 109-91. For some reason, this team forgets how to play as a team from time to time and the results are never favorable. Against the Hawks in the second half, Denver only accumulated seven assists as they were outscored, 55-38.

Things weren't all that bad in the first half despite the news that Nene would not play due to a sore neck stemming from the previous game in New York. Regardless, the Nuggets traded baskets with the Hawks in what was a very uptempo feel to an otherwise great first 24 minutes of action.

The Nuggets problems started in the third quarter when the ball stopped moving and the jumpers wouldn't cease. It also didn't help that every time the Nuggets would put together a solid defensive stand the Hawks would connect on a three from the club level. And as demoralizing as playing good defense is just to have the opposition hit a Hail Mary from deep, the Nuggets didn't do themselves any favors in pick and roll situations. The big men on this team just don't hedge strong enough and the result last night was Hawks shooting a combined 12-23 from the three-point line and 38-78 from the field overall.

And to be honest with you...

I really have a hard time watching this team when they stop sharing the ball. I channel surfed the latter half of the third period and throughout the fourth checking in on other games from around the league (God, I love League Pass) because it's so frustrating to watch a team so good collectively abandon fundamental team concepts. Maybe my patience is waning as I get older or perhaps it's just because I have such lofty expectations of this team, but either way, watching this team play a modified playground style is like sticking a pencil in my hand while trying to tell myself it doesn't hurt.

The results were, shall we say, less than favorable for the Nuggets. Carmelo was an ill 4-17 from the field for only 16 points while grabbing four measly rebounds and handing out three assists. Chauncey Billups had a less than efficient night offensively too. Billups finished with eleven points on 5-11 shooting, but handed out just five assists. Chauncey's long distance stroke has also been off lately as he has connected on just six of his last 30 attempts from downtown, including just 1-4 against the Hawks.

About the only Nugget who played well on the offensive end was Kenyon Martin. K-Mart scored eleven of his team-high 19 points in the second half with most of those buckets coming by way of aggressive moves towards the basket. Unfortunately, scoring was the only aspect of Kenyon's game that showed up as he grabbed just three rebounds and didn't block a shot.

Collectively, the Nuggets cleared just 18 defensive boards and 27 rebounds total in comparison to the Hawks 15 offensive rebounds which were instrumental in Atlanta dominating the glass, 44-27. And to depict the rebounding disparity even further, Chris Andersen led the Nuggets with just six boards in his first start of the year.

Up next for the Nuggets is somewhat of a trap game tomorrow night against the Raptors in Toronto. The last time these two teams faced each other, Toronto was embarrassed by Denver at the Pepsi Center in a game that prompted the firing of Sam Mitchell. There's no doubt in my mind that Toronto hasn't forgotten that game and will be loaded for bear and looking for revenge this time around. And without Nene, who's status is still up in the air, the chances of a Nuggets victory get that much slimmer. One thing is for sure though, Nene or not, if the Nuggets do not share the ball they will almost certainly lose.

Game 32: Nuggets @ Hawks

(Boulder-CO) The Mile High crew is down in the dirty south tonight to take on the dirty birds. The Atlanta Hawks are a solid team, led by an amazing player, of which the Nuggets should not take lightly.

The Hawks are currently riding a four-game win streak after once again falling short against their Eastern Conference nemesis, Boston Celtics. Individually, Atlanta's Joe Johnson is playing fantastic basketball with a triple-double and a season-high 41 points in his last two games. Johnson is averaging 23.2 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.7 rebounds so far this season and is shooting better than 45% from the field doing so.

Tonight's game also concludes an eight-game homestand for the Hawks where they are a very stout 13-2 on the year. Atlanta is 6-1 so far during this stretch which includes impressive wins over the Cavaliers, Pistons, and Bulls.

The starting five for the Hawks has been just as impressive as their 19-10 record. All five average double-digits in scoring, but it's the balance they provide that makes this team so talented. Mike Bibby comes into tonight's game averaging 16 points, 5.1 assists, and better than three rebounds, but it's his career-high +3.5 assist to turnover ratio that fuels the Hawks. Power forward Marvin Williams is also a big reason for the Hawks success. Williams is averaging career-highs of 6.4 rebounds and minutes per game while averaging just a shade under 14 points. His continued development is adding merit to the Hawks drafting the one-year Tarheel second overall in the 2005 NBA Draft.

The young Hawks are also seeing big things out of their undersized big man, Al Horford. The 6'10" second-year pro is averaging 10.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, and a career-high 2.8 assists while his shooting percentage is up above 50%, and his block average has nearly doubled since his rookie year. For the Nuggets to be successful, Nene needs to tutor this young big man down in the blocks in an attempt to lure him into foul trouble early as the Hawks are not deep on big men.

At small forward, we are in for a treat tonight as two of the most exciting players at the position face off. Josh Howard and Carmelo Anthony seem to relish in the opportunity to face one another. 'Melo has enjoyed more overall success against Smith and the Hawks averaging 25.9 points in nine career games against Atlanta, including putting up 31.0 in two meetings with the dirty birds last season. But, Smith is a defensive player and that's what makes this match-up exciting. Josh Smith is leading the team in blocks at 1.8 rejections nightly and is second on the team in rebounding behind Al Horford. And look out below when Smith takes flight around the hoop because the former Slam Dunk Champ has some serious hangtime!

I'm excited about tonight's game because I think the Hawks are the Nuggets of the East; a team on the rise with a lot to prove.

Go Nuggets!

Today's Date in NBA History

(Boulder-CO) Today's date is December 29th, and on this day:

'79- Houston’s Rick Barry scored 19 points in a 104-100 victory over Philadelphia, becoming only the 15th player at the time to surpass 18,000 career points.

'97- Dallas' Bubba Wells recorded six fouls in three minutes of a 111-105 loss to Chicago. He broke the 41-year-old NBA record of five minutes set by Dick Farley of the Syracuse Nationals.

'99- The late Wilt Chamberlain became the first player to have his number retired by three teams when the Golden State Warriors retired his #13 jersey at halftime of their game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The No. 13 jersey was presented to Barbara Lewis and Yvonne Chamberlain, Wilt's sisters, and Oliver Chamberlain, his brother. Chamberlain's number had already been retired by the Philadelphia 76ers, where he was part of the 1967 NBA championship team, and the Los Angeles Lakers, where he was part of the 1972 title team. Chamberlain spent six years with the Warriors organization, averaging 41.5 points and 25.1 rebounds in 429 games.

'99- Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown became the 11th coach in NBA history to reach the 700-victory plateau when the 76ers defeated Golden State 97-94 in Oakland.

'01- Don Nelson became the third coach in league annals to win 1,000 games as his Dallas Mavericks defeated Atlanta 113-97, and Jerry Sloan became the 10th coach in NBA lore to win 800 games when his Utah Jazz downed Philadelphia 89-81. Nelson joined Lenny Wilkens and Pat Riley in the 1,000-victory club.

Enjoy your day!

It's Nice to Have 'Melo Back

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

(Boulder-CO) The Denver Nuggets won consecutive games for the first time since mid December by downing the Knicks, 117-110, in Carmelo Anthony's first game back since missing three straight with a sore elbow. As for how the elbow is feeling with a week of rest... I think 32 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and a steal means Carmelo's elbow is just fine!

The Nuggets allowed too many points in the first quarter, but thanks to New York's extremely soft interior defense Denver managed play the Knicks even after one, 27-27. Oh, and you gotta get up to get down as evident by Dahntay Jones supplying the altitude on Tim Thomas.

It wasn't until the second half of the second quarter that the Nuggets started to pull away from the Knicks with their full offensive barrage. The Denver charge was started by reserves Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith doing what they do best. LK drove the lane and laid in a duece before J.R. hit a long three-pointer in rhythm on the fast break and put the moves on Chris Duhon as he pulled up and hit a ten footer. Carmelo Anthony added 13 of his 17 points at the half in the second and Kenyon another five as the Nuggets finished out the quarter with five free-throws and Renaldo Balkman sticking it to his old team with a steal on the last second inbounds pass to put the Nuggets up by ten, 66-56, at the break.

The Nuggets scored 39 points in the second quarter and for the half scored 42 of their 54 points by field goals in the paint. And it's no surprise when you get that many lay-ups that Denver shot 60.5% from the field in the first half. On the other side of Madison Square Garden, the Knicks made only 5-18 three-point attempts in the first half.

So much for shot selection... I'm all for an offense that likes to get up and down the floor in the way that Mike D'Antoni's clubs have done in the past, but it seemed to me that everyone on the Knicks has the green light to pull the three and it just doesn't work like that it if you want to be successful in the NBA. There has to be some descression used by certain players that just shouldn't have that kind of freedom. However, that's not our problem in Denver; sustaining a certain level of intensity is and in the third quarter the Nuggets really displayed just that.

The third was a bit of a disappointment for me. I felt the Nuggets were a little bit too loose on defense and the extra slack they allowed the Knicks on offense gave New York just the room they needed to start hitting some shots. As a result, New York's five three's in the quarter, including Nate Robinson's go-ahead trey with 1:05 remaining, gave the Knicks new life heading into the fourth down by only four, 93-89. What bothers me about quarters like the third is how the Nuggets play at times as if they can just coast through sections of the game in hopes that when times get tight they will be able to pull it together and put a team away. Today it didn't burn them, but against a more disciplined team than the Knicks Denver may not be so lucky and it's bad habit to have.

Thank goodness for J.R. Smith's buzzer beater from 27 feet because without that shot the Nuggets wouldn't have had any resistence against the New York momentum going into the fourth quarter. The Knicks scored the first eight points in the fourth to take a four-point lead with under nine minutes remaining before consecutive three's by Linas Kleiza and Carmelo Anthony tied the game at, 99-99, with 6:56 remaining in regulation. LK's three was the first Denver field goal in the quarter, but the well-rested Carmelo Anthony had enough left in the tank down the stretch to score another eight of the Nuggets' final 18 points as Denver was able to hold on and win, 117-110.

Six Nuggets scored in double figures including all five starters and J.R. Smith. 'Melo's 32 led the charge followed by J.R.'s 16 off the bench. The Knicks were led by Nate Robinson's 20 points off the bench, but as a team shot 35 three-point attempts and only connected on twelve.

Up next for the Nuggets are the dirty birds in the dirty south tomorrow night. Denver is 3-4 on the second night of back-to-back games so far this season.

Go Nuggets!

Today's Date in NBA History

(Boulder-CO) Today's date is December 28th, and on this day:

'50- Dolph Schayes of Syracuse pulled down 35 rebounds, at the time an NBA record in the new statistical category, in a game at Philadelphia against the Warriors.

'95- Dick Motta of Dallas became the third NBA coach to win 900 games when the Mavericks beat the Grizzlies, 103-101 in double-overtime. He joined Red Auerbach (938) and Lenny Wilkens (then with 1,014).

Enjoy your day!

Game 31: Nuggets @ Knicks

(Boulder-CO) With the return of Carmelo Anthony expected today for the Denver star's homecoming his timing couldn't be better. The Nuggets start a four-game road trip today that starts in New York before stops at Atlanta, Toronto, and Oklahoma City and despite the Nuggets 2-1 record without their leading scorer, Denver has missed him sorely.

If history is any indication of what we might expect from Carmelo his return should be a good one. Of all the 29 teams Carmelo has faced in his career, it's the Knicks that he loves to play the most. Anthony is averaging 27.4 points in 10 contests against the Knicks, including when "Feelings Hardened at the Garden". And that's a good thing because this year's New York Knicks have not had a problem putting the ball in the basket. Currently, New York and Denver are averaging 104.5 (NY) and 102.2 (DEN) points per game.

If you haven't been paying much attention to the Knicks (except for maybe in the sports tabloids) there is a good possibility their new compliment of players may come as a surprise. For starters, here are the starters:

G- Chris Duhon- 11.7 points, 8.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds- career-highs in both points and assists.

G- Quentin Richardson (returning from ankle sprain)- 12.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists

SF- Wilson Chandler- 13.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists

PF- Al Harrington- 22.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists

C- David Lee- 14.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists- career-highs in both points and rebounds.

For the Nuggets, their starting five should return to normal with Dahntay Jones and Chauncey Billups in the backcourt, and Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, and Nene filling out the bigs.

Both teams do one thing extremely well. The Knicks are currently the NBA's leading three-point shooting team by volume. New York hoists 29.6 three's per game and connect on more per game (10.6) than any other team. Similarly, the Nuggets are currently the NBA's leading free-throw shooting team by volume. Denver gets to free-throw line an average of 29.8 times per game and connect on a league-high 22.8 of those attempts.

However, the Knicks have not played much defense as of late and as a result have lost their last five games while allowing 115.2 points on average. Additionally, New York's opposition have been enjoying the Knicks rather porous defense as they have shot a combined 41.1% from long distance and over 50% from the field; a deadly combination against Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets.

So, keep Nate Robinson away from J.R. Smith and feed Carmelo the rock! 'Melo loves to give the New York fans a reason to cheer and with D'Antoni's reluctancy to play defense today's Sunday matinee should be a entertaining one to say the least.

Go Nuggets!

Today's Date in NBA History

(Boulder-CO) Today's date is December 27th, and on this day:

'56- Bill Sharman’s consecutive free throw streak ended at 55, an NBA record that lasted for 19 years. Houston’s Calvin Murphy broke the record with 58 consecutive free throws during the 1975-76 season. The current record is 97 by Micheal Williams of the Minnesota Timberwolves, set in 1993 over two seasons.

'64- Oscar Robertson of Cincinnati had 16 free throw attempts in one quarter of the Royals’ game at Baltimore, the most free throw attempts in one quarter in NBA history. The mark has been matched by five players in 36 years, including Michael Jordan in 1992, but it has never been surpassed.

'67- The New York Knicks named Red Holzman head coach, replacing Dick McGuire. Holzman went on to lead the Knicks to NBA titles in 1970 and 1973, utilizing several players recommended by McGuire, who became the team’s chief scout.

'78- Seattle’s Paul Silas played in his 1,123rd regular season game, at that time trailing only John Havlicek’s 1,270. Robert Parish now holds the record for the most games played in an NBA career, with 1,560.

'80- Calvin Murphy of the Houston Rockets began a streak of 78 consecutive free throws made in a game against Washington. It was the first of 16 games Murphy would need for his then NBA record FT streak.

'91- Tim Hardaway of Golden State set an NBA record for most field goals attempted with none made in a game when he shot 0-for-17 in the Warriors’ 106-102 OT win at Minnesota.

Enjoy your day!

How the Nuggets Saved Christmas

(Boulder-CO) The video highlights of how the Nuggets saved Christmas!

Go Nuggets!

Bombs Away!

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

(Boulder-CO) The Denver Nuggets never cease to amaze me. On some nights they just won't share the ball; on others sharing is all that matters. And then there is last night's 15-three "feel good" performance in a grinch of a win over the 76ers, 105-101.

In the first half it was basically a one-man show. J.R. Smith, coming off a dismal six point performance against the Blazers, scored 15 first half points in 16 minutes of burn. He only turned the ball over once, handed out an assist, recorded a steal, and grabbed a rebound as he was the pulse of the Nuggets through two quarters. Also on the EKG were Chauncey Billups and Dahntay Jones, each with nine points, but it was Smith's three-point shooting that was keeping the Nuggets in the game and it would be the Denver three-point shooting that would eventually spoil Philadelphia's trip to the Mile High City.

After trailing by only three at the half, the Nuggets completely came out and stunk up the Pepsi Center through the first eight minutes of the third quarter. Denver fell behind, 74-57, after the 76ers blew the game wide open with a 22-8 run to start the second half before seven straight Chauncey Billups points brought the game back within a manageable margin, 79-68, entering the fourth quarter.

Tired, disinterested, and all but ready to concede are the adjectives I would use to describe the overall feeling being non-verbally communicated by the Denver Nuggets entering the fourth quarter. Chauncey had cut Philly's lead to under ten points close to the end of the third, but after Marreese Speights' dunk with 26 seconds remaining before the fourth was flushed through the net it seemed like the Nuggets were right about to have their Christmas spoiled.

But wait... Denver found that last gift hiding under the tree!

One, two, three-three's a plenty! Four, five, six-three's a party! The Denver Nuggets connected on six three-pointers broken up by two Nene free-throws to open up the fourth quarter and trimmed the 76er lead to just four points, 92-88, with five minutes remaining! Then, while the Pepsi Center held its collective breath, J.R. Smith connected on his seventh three of the game to put the Nuggets in the lead, 96-95, with only 2:38 on the game clock. Seven lead changes later, Kenyon Martin received a Chauncey Billups pass at the top of the key and blasted off for the go-ahead dunk on Samuel Dalembert that had the Nuggets Nation rejoicing in glee. Andre Miller, perhaps a touch bah humbug, was hit with a technical foul for a Denver free-throw which Chauncey Billups redeemed like a gift card, and after Chucky Atkins cashed in on two free-throws Christmas was saved in the final moments in Denver akin to the way the Grinch saved it for all those who live in Whoville!

J.R. Smith's performance was truly a gift. The Prodigy scored a game-high 27 points, including seven three-pointers, on 10-20 from the field. Without his special touch from long distance there is no way the Nuggets start to believe that they could have won this game, let alone following in his footsteps to actually do so. With his example to follow, Chauncey Billups added 26 points, including a perfect 14-14 from the charity stripe, and ten assists to keep the Nuggets an unblemished 7-0 when he reaches double figure assists and Nene's 13 points, including 7-8 from the stripe, and twelve rebounds were instrumental in the Denver victory.

Chucky Atkins and Linas Kleiza also got into the three-point festivities with two trey's apiece.

The Nuggets were also an unheard of 24-25 from the free-throw line while making a season-high 15 three-point field goals.

The four game outlook for the 19-11 Nuggets starts with a Sunday morning game in the Mecca of basketball, New York City, when Denver takes on the Knicks. Carmelo is supposed to play (never one to miss the big stage of Madison Square Garden) before the Nuggets play three more road games at Atlanta, Toronto, and Oklahoma City. The Nuggets now hold a one-game lead over the Portland Trailblazers for the top spot in the Northwest Division with the Utah Jazz still lurking just a half game back.

Go Nuggets!