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!

Today's Date in NBA History

(Boulder-CO) Today's date is December 26th, and on this day:

'76- Larry Kenon of San Antonio set an NBA record with 11 steals in the Spurs’ 110-105 victory over Kansas City. Kendall Gill of the New Jersey Nets tied Kenon’s mark more than 22 years later when he recorded 11 steals against Miami on April 3, 1999.

'95- The NBA Jam Session presented by Fleer, the league’s interactive basketball attraction, opens at the annual Barcelona Children’s Festival in Spain, the first time that Jam Session ventured onto European soil.

'97- San Antonio's David Robinson scored 24 points to pass the 15,000-point plateau for his career.

'00- Don Nelson of the Dallas Mavericks notched his 945th head coaching win when Dallas defeated Seattle 114-93, moving ahead of Bill Fitch (944) and into third place in all-time NBA coaching victories.

'01- Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown became the ninth coach in NBA history to reach 800 victories in the league after the Sixers' 100-86 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Enjoy your day!

Game 30: 76ers @ Nuggets

(Boulder-CO) Thank God Christmas is over! If you're anything like me you are trying to resume a normal existence as we all overload the trash and start cleaning out the fridge. And what better way for things to get back to protocol than the Nuggets winning tonight at the Pepsi Center against the 76ers?

When Philly comes to town tonight they are certainly going to see a very different Nuggets without Carmelo Anthony. 'Melo will miss his third of three "expected" games tonight with a sore elbow as the Nugges are 1-2 without their leading scorer in the line-up.

Things have not been clicking lately for Denver offensively. In their last five games, the Nuggets have only been able to average 94.8 points, which is down considerably since output was at its highest mark of over 110 points per game in their eight games prior. The main reason for the Nuggets offensive struggles have been the lack of Holiday spirit. Everyone seemed to forget that during this season it's always better to give than receive as we have seen the Nuggets hand out 20 or fewer assists in four out their last five games, all losses, including two stingy 15 dime nights against the Suns and Trailblazers. So, for Denver to regain it's winning ways they need to make sharing the ball priority number one.

However, the one Nugget that has really picked his play in Carmelo's absence has been Nene. In his last three games since only scoring one point and grabbing three rebounds against the Cavs, Big Brazil is averaging 19.3 points and 13 rebounds while shooting a combined 21-29 from the field and a respectable 14-17 from the free-throw line. In tonight's match-up with the 76ers slender Samuel Dalembert it will be important for the Nuggets to establish their control of the paint on the offensive end by getting Nene a lion's share of the early touches. This should get Nene off to a great start in the box score and with any luck also put Philly behind the eight ball with their starting center in foul trouble.

And here's one more thing to think about when watching this team sans Carmelo Anthony. Chauncey Billups has been trying to compensate for Anthony's absence offensively with more scoring, but since his shot attempts have skyrocketed his assists on a nightly basis have become inconsistent and the same kind of shoot-first mentality has been contagious with the other players. In wins, Billups is averaging 7.5 assists compared to just 5.5 in losses and much like his predecessor at the point, it's painfully obvious by Denver's undefeated 6-0 record when Chauncey reaches double figures in assists that the Nuggets' engine runs on Billups getting everyone else involved.

I'm hoping for one last Christmas present tonight in the form of a win over old friend Andre Miller and the 76ers. If you're under the boards and feel a little tug from behind it's probably just Reggie Evans...

Go Nuggets!

Today's Date in NBA History

(Boulder-CO) Today's date is December 24th, and on this day:

'60- Boston pulled down 109 rebounds in a game against Detroit to establish an NBA record as the Celtics beat the Pistons 150-106.

Enjoy your day!

Nuggets Shoot Themselves in Foot

(Boulder-CO) I said it before, and I'll say it again: Nothing about the Portland Trailblazers impresses me. The Denver Nuggets flat out beat themselves last night by abandoning everything that is holy to them offensively and even if you didn't have the chance to watch last night's agonizing loss the box score serves as the best evidence to support my claim. So, if you will, allow me to cry over all the spilt milk of last night's, 101-92, loss to the Blazers.

The main hurdle that stumbled the Nuggets last night was shot selection and it was fueled by the fool's gold shooting in the first quarter. Despite playing the Blazers even, 25-25, through twelve minutes, Kenyon Martin, Chauncey Billups, and J.R. Smith were all playing outside their available means. Kenyon especially needed to check his outside shot with his warm-ups as the 6'10" power forward kept catapulting long range jumpers after he was fortunate enough to make his first 20+ foot jump shots. Chauncey Billups was also shooting shots that were out of his normal repertoire on his way to 1-7 start in the first half and his reluctancy to get others involved became contagious as the Nuggets handed out a measly eight assists in the first half on a combined 14-35 shooting. And to compound the frigid shooting and lack of ball movement, the Nuggets added ten first half turnovers to the already disappointing box score as they found themselves trailing at the half, 47-42.

An interesting side note in the second quarter was Carmelo Anthony taking a seat with the broadcast crew with about eight minutes to play before the break. Now, I'm not against star players stopping by the game table for a few comments now and then to add some insight to their team, but it seemed like the entire game stopped for the Nuggets when Carmelo got on the headset. From the time he put on the cans until the time he retreated back to the bench over five scoreless minutes went by where the Nuggets played like a junior varsity. The Trailblazers took full advantage of this miserable stretch and pasted Denver with a 15-0 run and I had to look away because the play was absolutely hideous. No resemblance to an NBA offense was run, Denver turned the ball over three times, Chucky Atkins played far too many minutes (where was Renaldo Balkman?), and the shot selection continued to be horrendous. Denver should have felt lucky to only be down by five heading into intermission after that debacle that I have no problem calling it their worst five-minute stretch of the season.

Once the second half got underway there seemed to be a revival of quality Nuggets basketball as the Nuggets regained their role assignments and started taking the ball to the basket and hitting the boards. In fact, the Nuggets scored eight of their first 15 points in the second half on free-throws en route to tying the game, 58-58, with 4:20 still remaining in the third period. Furthermore, the Nuggets actually took the lead twice, momentarily, 64-63, after Kleiza hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Anthony Carter connected on a long jumper, 66-65, before Anthony Carter fouled Rudy Fernandez with the shot clock winding down to grant Fernandez two free-throws and the Traiblazers regained the lead entering the fourth, 67-66.

Brandon Roy took over in the fourth scoring 12 of his 19 points as the Denver defense allowed Portland 34 points in the final quarter. The complete breakdown defensively was weathered well by the Nuggets until the Trailblazers made it into the penalty at the five minute mark as the final 19 points scored by Portland came by way of 12 Blazer free-throws.

So here's the real truth about how the Nuggets lost this game: Denver stopped passing the ball. The Nuggets only recorded 15 assists in this contests because everyone wanted to shoot the jumper. Kenyon Martin is not an outside shooter and all I want for Christmas is for him to stop shooting from anywhere outside 15 feet. Martin was 5-15 from the field, Chauncey was 4-12 from the field, and J.R. Smith was 0-5 from downtown and 2-8 overall with a team-high four turnovers. And here's something we probably will not see in the remaining 53 games of the season: Chucky Atkins led the team with four assists! Sometimes the Nuggets can be so selfish offensively that it really makes it hard for me to fathom what is going on internally with this team when it's so obvious that when they don't share the ball they will almost surely lose against most teams in this league. Is it too many egos and not enough we-gos? Is it a sense of role misidentification? Is it a sense by the players that if they don't individually produce that their playing time might get trimmed in the same manner as Renaldo Balkman's has? Take your pick, but it's certainly making this team hard to watch on night's like this when the problem seems to be pretty obvious.

Moving on, the one thing I have noticed about J.R. Smith is the only person who can stop him is J.R. Smith. When he penetrates it's a coin flip as to whether we are going to be treated to a breathtaking dunk or finger roll, or an out of control turnover. Rarely ever does the defender stop him; it's always a turnover by bad pass or lost dribble. Last night, Smith looked out of synch while tryign to force the offensive issue instead of just letting the game come to him.

The only Nuggets who I felt played THEIR game were Linas Kleiza and Nene. LK scored 20 points on an efficient 6-10 from the field, including a red-hot 5-7 from beyond the three-point line. He also didn't turn the ball over and snagged four rebounds while not taking any "hero shots" and playing solid defense. Nene played 39 minutes of controlled cerebral basketball on both ends of the floor finishing with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and four steals as he once again completely dominated Greg Oden. Big Brazil managed to stick four out of Oden's five fouls on him in just eight minutes of burn as Portland's next Sam Bowie was held to just two rebounds.

The loss brings the Trailblazers back into a tie with the Nuggets for first place in the Northwest Division with an indentical 18-11 overall record. The Nuggets did not fare well in this brutal stretch of six games in nine nights with a W-L record of 2-4 and will not have Carmelo Anthony back for their game on Friday against the 76ers at the Pepsi Center.

Until then, Happy Holidays, Nuggets Nation!

Go Nuggets!

Game 29: Nuggets @ Trailblazers

(Boulder-CO) My prescription for another win against the Trailblazers is the same as before, only this time the task of containing Brandon Roy is going to be much tougher. In last night's game, Roy was held to just eight points partially due to foul trouble, but he still played over 30 minutes so that's not to take anything away from the great job defensively by the Nuggets.

The bad news is Roy has been even tougher to contain on his home floor. Roy is averaging 27.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists while shooting 49.7 percent at the Rose Garden in comparison to 20.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists on 44.4 percent shooting on the road.

And to compound the degree of difficulty of tonight's match-up...

The Trailblazers are a stout 9-2 in Portland where their only two losses have come at the hands of the Orland Magic and grossly under achieving Los Angeles Clippers.

Now, here's where I weigh in...

I wasn't impressed with anything the Portland Trailblazers did last night. They are a jump shooting team that lives and dies by the perimeter percentage they shoot because of the lack of an inside scoring option and the absence of a fast break. In addition, Steve Blake is only as good per as wide open as you leave him and I'll be very surprised if he connects on four treys again. Furthermore, and as long as the Nuggets dominate the rebounding facet of the game again, Denver should enjoy a large margin of points scored by way of the fast break. So, as long as Denver gets another great effort by everyone involved, runs the break, and doesn't allow Brandon Roy to explode offensively expect another win by Mile High crew tonight.

Go Nuggets!