Nuggets improve to 6-12 in games when opponent scores more than 60 points in the first half...

by Andrew Feinstein on Mar 27, 2008 8:56 PM MDT

First things first - WELCOME BACK NENE!!! Seeing him come back tonight from the cancer procedure earlier this year and have Kenyon Martin, his direct competition at power forward, be the first to bear hug him when he walked onto the floor was exhilarating. One can only hope that Nene has recovered well enough to give the Nuggets a few good minutes per night during this crucial 10-game stretch. But perhaps just having him back will be the boost this team needs to take each of these final 10 games as seriously as possible.

Secondly, to all the people who disagreed with me for giving Carmelo Anthony credit earlier this week - did you notice he almost had a triple double tonight (and two steals). Not bad, eh?!

Now for the obvious not-so-good news: the Nuggets are still giving up at least 60 - and, as seen in tonight's victory over the Dirk-less Mavericks, sometimes 70 - points at halftime. 70! The (sort of) good news, however, is that the Nuggets are (sort of) figuring out how to win at least some of these games. They've surprisingly gone 3-3 in the last six contests when an opponent lit them up for north of 60 points at the halfway mark of the game.

I don't want to be a doomsayer after a great night at Pepsi Center and must repeat that no one (well, except maybe George Karl) would be more thrilled and relieved than me to see the Nuggets get into the postseason. But let's face it, the Nuggets control first half opponents' scoring like the Bush Administration controls spending.

In doing a quick recounting of the Nuggets season thus far via Yahoo Sports, I came up with approximately 18 games in which the spirit of Paul Westhead inhabited the body of George Karl during the first half of a Nuggets game. This means the Nuggets' opponent posted 60+ points by halftime in a quarter of the Nuggets games in 2007-08. And even though the Nuggets were able to put six of these games in the win column, only four were against quality teams (Boston, Phoenix, Golden State and Dallas tonight), and all but one was at home.

Therefore, before we all rush out to buy our playoff tickets - which, of course, season ticket holders will have to buy anyway - let's be sure to keep pressure on the Nuggets at Pepsi Center and in the press to give a little, just a little, more defensive effort in the first half of these last 10 regular season games. After all, beating a Dirk-less Mavericks team after giving up 70 at halftime is one thing, but try doing that against Phoenix, Utah and Houston.

Go Nuggets!

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It's the rope-a-dope strategy. Let the opponent score so many points in the first half that they've got nothing left for the second half. Heh.

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Pretty bizarre. They give up 70 in the first half and only 35 in the second.

And how 'bout that J.R. 360 degree alley-oop? If J.R. can continue to play the way he's played the past month and a half, then Karl is a genius, not an idiot.

I thought the way Karl handled J.R. at the end of the regular season last year and in the playoffs was atrocious. Karl set the kid up for failure, he failed, and then Karl threw him under the bus. But if J.R. continues to play at this level, maybe Karl was right to do what he did after all.

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Saturday night is going to be a big game.

by Petey on Mar 27, 2008 10:26 PM MDT reply actions

"Secondly, to all the people who disagreed with me for giving Carmelo Anthony credit earlier this week - did you notice he almost had a triple double tonight (and two steals). Not bad, eh?!"

Well...

'Melo had a very nice all around game tonight. And the Nuggets are hard to beat when he's racking up both rebounds and assists. But his defense in the first half was atrocious. Stackhouse embarrassed him repeatedly.

'Melo's defense continues to be very hit and miss. He finds himself out of the correct position a fair amount of the time. He's actually less reliable on the defensive end than J.R. at this point, which is saying something.

by Petey on Mar 27, 2008 10:33 PM MDT reply actions

JR has turned into a decent defender...almost good. He's learned to use his athleticism on that end of the court....that was the missing link (besides making moronic plays with the ball) that would turn him into a good NBA player. I think the way JR was handled last season was not right, but how Karl has motivated him this season seems to be working. He's proven that if you listen to the coach, you'll get rewarded, and the nuggets need the superb JR if they're going to make the playoffs, and make some noise if they get there.

by blue on Mar 28, 2008 8:58 AM MDT reply actions

to give you an idea about the lack of defensive intensity in the first half...i was watching the game with the tv on mute, and there were multiple instances in the first half where I thought the play had to have been whistled dead because all 5 nuggets were just standing around on defense

by blue on Mar 28, 2008 8:59 AM MDT reply actions

I thought the way Karl handled J.R. at the end of the regular season last year and in the playoffs was atrocious. Karl set the kid up for failure, he failed, and then Karl threw him under the bus. But if J.R. continues to play at this level, maybe Karl was right to do what he did after all.

I agree completely. It was the one thing I couldn't stand about Karl especially when you saw how much JR wanted to win. Even when the kid wasn't playing he was cheering his ass off. But if that's what needed to happen to get JR where he is right now, then they're both better off for it.

Meanwhile if JR can keep on playing the way he is and Nene can get back to 75%, we've got one of the most potent benches in the NBA. Hell, you can throw Najera, Nene, Smith and Kleiza out there with Iverson and they can run against a lot of starters.

by Nadum on Mar 28, 2008 9:14 AM MDT reply actions

Not sure how this happened but we're #5 in Hollinger's Power Rankings.

And I always hated statistics...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerranking

by Nadum on Mar 28, 2008 9:16 AM MDT reply actions

Who would have thought, it only took cancer to get Nene skinny!

I know, I know, that was in really poor taste. I wish Nene well, cancer is something nobody should have to deal with.

But man, if he could come into a season in-shape and healthy, I think Hell might actually freeze over.

by Chris C. on Mar 28, 2008 5:23 PM MDT reply actions

Before we get too swept up in Nugget mania if they do in fact make the playoffs, should we not consider that losing 4 games to 1 in the first round would still make this a disappointing season?

by Lord Sam on Mar 28, 2008 7:14 PM MDT reply actions

I agree that they will make the playoffs, but the defensive lapses are inexcusably Knick-like for a team that is fighting its way into the playoffs.

by Anonymous on Mar 30, 2008 4:08 PM MDT reply actions

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STIFF LIST (as of 4/26 by Andrew Feinstein)

1. METTA WORLD PEACE

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2. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

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3. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
The team that was supposedly built to overcome the lockout-shortened season managed to lose 7 of its last 14 games, ceding the Western Conference's 1-seed to the Spurs in the process. Their reward might be a first round matchup with defending champion Dallas.

4. BILLY HUNTER AND DEREK FISHER

With report after report coming out about NBPA union head Hunter's shady, nepotistic dealings and questions arising about Fisher's own role in dealing with NBA owners behind Hunter's back during the lockout, this off-the-court scandal could prove to be more exciting than the playoffs themselves!

5. STEVE NASH AND THE PHOENIX SUNS
The Suns are on this list for squandering the last few great seasons from Nash. Nash is on this list for his stupidly stubborn loyalty to a franchise as awful as the Suns.