(Boulder-CO) In last night's game recap I stated that the Nuggets, Trailblazers, and Jazz were all in a three-way tie for first place in the Northwest Division. And at the time, that was true. But, unfortunately the Jazz were able to win late last night (mind boggling, I know) and by doing so took control of the division. I just thought I would make that blatantly obvious to everyone and add some urgency to a situation that could have the Nuggets as low as third on the totem pole by the end of this week.
Time to vent, Nuggets Nation. Come together in the comments section.
1 comment:
This Nuggets would a great team watch if they weren't your team. But being a fan, it's beyond frustrating to watch this team with the talent on the roster, have a lack of commitment to defense and running the ball.
The half-court offensive sets are just plain ugly. Going to the games at Pepsi Center you really see just how much the guys stand around on offense and are slow to rotate on defense.
I think the key is for Melo to start really pushing the D. He's a great scorer, but needs to become a defensive leader. Yeah, he's made strides this year, but it would take me days to count how many times I've seen Melo jumping out late to contest an outside jump shot.
I look at the Jazz and they play hard and tough, much like Jerry Sloan did. The Nuggets don't have that.
I've got issues with George Karl and how he lets the opponents go on runs for too long. If you watch Popovich, he doesn't let more than 5-6 point runs go unchecked by a time out and refocus on defense. Karl seems to the let the Nuggets' opponents go on 8-10-12 point runs that are just ugly. Then calls a time out and stands in the middle of the court with the other coaches and doesn't even "coach" the team during the time out.
The other issue is no true point guard, or outside 3-ball threat. Yeah, we've got streaky three point shooters (JR, LK), but there's no one out there that really demands attention outside the arc. This is problem they had going into the season. I can see how they thought Atkins would be the answer, but you can't survive in the NBA with just one guy that consistently hit the three. Because what happens if that person gets hurt? Oh, well we know the answer to that.
We need a point guard that is committed to running. I read the post about J-Kidd, that would be nasty rest assured, but how many all-stars can you throw on one team. Look what Steve Blake was able to do down the stretch last year for the Nuggets. We're talking Steve Blake here. There's got to be a good young guard out there that could do this, thinking someone like Darrent Williams, Brandon Roy, Chris Paul.
Look at all the teams in the West starting to emerge: NO, Portland, GS, LAL. Plus the powers in the west: SA, PHX, DAL. They all have great point guards.
AI, I love him, love the way he plays, think he's still a premiere top player, but personally I would have put Chris Paul as a starter before AI.
Also, the Nuggets have totally abandoned bringing players in through the draft. I can't even remember who our last draft pick was.
Okay, I am all over the place, but it's really a reflection on I feel the Nuggets are from management, coaching and players.
Here's hoping that they put together a deal to shake this team up. Keep AI, Melo and Camby and see if they can get good role players that want to play a team game.
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