The Nuggets didn't have the good fortune bestowed upon their Western Conference rivals Dallas and Golden State today, with whom they are fighting for the chance to pull off a historical playoff upset when they go up against a one or two-seed in the playoffs. While the Mavericks had to go into Phoenix to face the 51-win Suns earlier today (and won) and the Warriors had to go into New Orleans to face the 54-win Hornets (and lost), the Nuggets faced a much more difficult task as they went head-to-head with the 17-win Seattle Supersonics, winners of two out of their last 22 games.
The Nuggets gave a valiant effort, holding the offensive juggernaut Supersonics to just 70 points in the first half, and a mere 56 points in the second half. Their defensive effort was so good, in fact, that their leader, head coach George Karl, could simply stay calmly seated with his arms folded and legs stretched out for most of the contest.
But alas, the Nuggets defensive effort went for naught as Kevin Durant made a game-tying three-pointer near the end of regulation, giving the Nuggets only a shot-clock's amount worth of time to draw up a play to win the game. Coach Karl concocted a masterful set play, making sure the ball was in Carmelo Anthony's hands so he could go one-on-three for the last shot - a strategy that's been met with remarkable success all season - but Anthony barely overshot the basket by a few feet, and the game went into overtime.
In the first overtime period, the Nuggets were again bested by Durant, who made yet another game-tying three-pointer, but from three feet behind the arc this time. Again, however, the mighty Supersonics left enough time - 2.3 seconds to be exact - for Coach Karl to draw up another ingenious play for the last shot to win the game. Even though the Nuggets only needed a two-pointer to secure a victory against this vastly superior opponent, Karl wasn't going to roll the dice and wisely elected to run a more conservative play for a three-pointer instead. Moreover, Karl made the astute decision to keep power forward Kenyon Martin on the floor just in case the inbounds pass didn't get to Anthony or Allen Iverson for the last shot. After all, Martin had made all of six three-pointers in his Nuggets career, and was certainly due to make his seventh tonight.
So when the defensively omnipotent Supersonics hounded Anthony, forcing Linas Kleiza to inbound the ball to Martin, the sweet-shooting Martin would get his chance at glory. Even though he had plenty of time to give the ball back to a suddenly open Anthony, Martin launched the three-pointer with a perfect trajectory and missed the shot by a nominal distance of six feet or so.
Most unfortunately for Coach Karl and his Nuggets, the second overtime proved that, like last night's loss to the worldbeating Sacramento Kings' Practice Squad, this just wasn't meant to be their night. For the tenacious Supersonics would put up 16 points in the final period, serving a crushing blow to the Nuggets opportunity to be the last team to qualify for the playoffs in the NBA this year.
Fortunately for the Nuggets and their quest for that all-glorious 8th playoff seed, only two games remain against NBDL-caliber opponents. The other three games - at Golden State, at Utah and home against Houston - will most assuredly be walkovers. What a relief for us fans.
As Coach Karl accurately stated after tonight's epic battle:
“There’s never this (large) of a gap between NBA teams. It just doesn’t exist,” he said. “The truth of the matter is all NBA teams are fairly bunched together. They (the Supersonics) are a capable NBA team.”
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Thankfully the Nuggets don't play every game against NBDL-caliber teams...
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43 comments:
I'm detecting a hint of sarcasm here...
Thank God Elton Brand is playing now, otherwise that practice squad in LA may have been too tough.
Losing games like this should really get you fired. Especially when you draw up masterful plays to give K-Mart the ball in the last seconds of a game to shoot a three to win. I vote Coach Karl for Coach of the year on that play. The Nuggets losing to D-League teams doesn't even bother me anymore I just expect it.
I've never been so disappointed with the Nuggets. It's too late, but what the Nuggets have needed all season long is some anger, someone needed to get angry and get on people, players like Diawara and even Reggie Evans (pre-trade) should have been rewarded for their defense, but no the Guggets and George NC(Nonchalant)Karl decided that defensive players were not important, forgetting how close defense allowed them to almost beat the Spurs last year in the playoffs.
George Karl sure taught J.R. Smith a lesson tonight, didn't he?
Smith blew that showboating dunk in the Sacramento game, so Karl taught him a real lesson by only playing him 16 minutes against Seattle, leaving him on the bench for most of the 4th quarter and all of both overtimes.
It doesn't matter that the Nuggets are better with Smith on the floor. It doesn't matter that the Nuggets could've used some fresh legs during the overtime.
All that matters is that Karl had to show his displeasure. Whether or not the Nuggets win games is secondary.
Anthony Carter has the worst +/- number this year of any Nuggets player with serious minutes, but Carter plays the way Karl likes, so he gets the minutes over Smith, even if the Nuggets are worse with him on the floor.
I'm beginning to come around to Andrew's way of thinking about Karl.
So the question I have is do you think the coach coaches not as hard when playing NBDL type teams or do the players play up and down to the level of team there playing? So why is the site about firing George Karl.... come on he didn't take one shot last night. The team played piss poor defense but watch how hard they play on Thursday and Saturday.... it's not the coach trust me!!
I have tickets for Nugget home games in the Club section and can see the plays that Karl draws up with my binoculars. So many times this season in a close fourth quarter the play never works out the way he designs it and the result is a off balance three from Melo/JR/AI. What I don't get (and saw again tonight) is why the Nuggets don't have a second or third option set up or in mind if the drawn up play goes down the tube. Unless, of course, Kenyon was the best they could think up...
kenyon wasn't even a play. i imagine karl said. get the ball to melo if you can... if you can't get it to melo. get it to AI. if you can't get it to AI. get it to anyone that has a clear passing lane. well done boys
great effort
This might be part of a big masterplan of GK the Great. He knew he could lose this one, because San Antonio lost two nights earlier. Dallas won, the Warriors lost and New Orleans solidified ther No.1 position earlier that evening. He wants to be sure of the No.8 seed in order to face an unexperienced New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs. When in 7th: get ready for a postseason date with either LA or SanAn. That's a first round exit for sure. No need to get 7th seed here, you really wanna get in 8th to improve your chances of getting to the second round.
So I was at a bar, so my recolection may not be too clear. But I think it was in the 1st overtime, we were up by 3 at the time, and all AI had to do was wait to be fouled and head to the line to seal the game. Instead he threw up some half hearted pass, that of course got stolen, and then they tied the game up. As a coach, don't you think you would mention, remember guys, if you get the rebound all you have to do is hold onto the ball and wait for the foul. Okay blogosphere, I know you guys know which play I am talking about, so if I have players or timing mixed up I am sure you can correct me.
Look, all you guys can say this and that, about who should have played or how JR Smith should have been in the game. The fact of the matter is that they let the Sonics score 70 points in the first half, the Sonics. There should be an outrage, I mean they let two rookies combine for almost 80 points against them. I can't even make any jokes cause this is the most disappointing loss I've see since the Detroit Pistons beat the Lakers in the 2004 Finals.
" It's not the coach,trust me ", as stated by anonymous comment to your latest blog about that pathetic game against Seattle.
I believe that our super coach, King George has finally responded to your post.
It may be safe to say that it is time to dump that awful Space Needle tie George was sporting last night because George doesn't know how to or cannot spark the lads fire that this is a game that cannot be squanderd because they did that the night before against Sacramento.
What is it with Iverson throwing bricks at the free throw line.
Kleza can have some great moments but he has as many poor ones. Recently he seems to be in another time zone and is not in sync with the other players.
I'm sure JR felt the pressure from that Globtrotter against Sac. but as another comment has already suggested, George made him pay for that by keeping him on the bench. Why is it that when jumps shots are launched not one Nugget is positioned for an offensive rebound ? How many times does Hastings have to say that during his commentary ?
And finally Den Mother Chris Marlow made the comment, "Stranger things have happened" with 1.9 seconds to go near the end of the 2nd overtime and the Nuggets down by 5, with JR having an opputunity to pop 3 free throws ( he made 2 ).
Marlow, if you were to be body-dunked thru the hoops, now that would be a candidate for " THE LEXUS DRIVE OF THE GAME ".
Is it wrong to root against the nugs making the playoffs, just to ensure that Karl gets fired? After all, next year is probably the last of the nugs' window (if there is a window), and it will be another lost season if Karl is still around.
是我不好，我的乌鸦嘴，6号那天晚上我说，指不定第2天就被CAO音速CAO了，果然。。。
都怪我。。。。。。
I m so sorry,blame it on me......
Pepsi Center-Where opponent career high happens....
Denver Fans,
You call yourselves fans? Whatever happened to “win or lose I just love this game”? You have one of the best coaches in the NBA, one of the most talented clubs and you are close AGAIN to making the playoffs and this is how you respond…by trash talking your coach? I was always told to “trust your coach – you may not always understand him, but you must trust him”. You sit in your cubicles, parent’s basements, bars, whatever and judge someone you will never have the opportunity to know and have the audacity to call yourselves fans of this game? I don’t get it!
As a lifelong Seattle Supersonics fan and past season ticket holder (12 years) I was at last nights game. It was an amazing game and I was quite prepared to lose in the end. But, even if we had lost I would have been given the experience of really good basketball, cheering, yelling, nervousness, anger at the refs….all that goes with attending a game! We are on the verge of losing our NBA team here in Seattle…not because we didn’t win this year, but because of NBA politics and our city/state officials not realizing what an NBA team means to a community. You don’t know how lucky you are!
My hope is that you remember WHY you watch this game. It’s a great game and you, at this moment, have a great team, arena, fans and a great coach in George Karl. We were riding high not so long ago in Seattle and Coach Karl was the reason. We weren’t smart enough to keep him. We have not been the same team ever since then. Be careful what you wish for, you may be the Seattle Supersonics of the future…..hoping to lose for the draft pick!
This game is the best. Respect it. Respect each other. Good things will happen! Have a great playoff run!
To the annonymous guy above me,
Saying trust your coach is like saying trust George Bush. The fact of the matter is the Nuggets are way better than where they are right now, this is a team that was capable of winning 60+ games. The team is terrible on defense and display no effort, last season when they lost to the Spurs in the playoffs they were playing great defense and many people believed that they could have beaten the spurs if the team had been together a little longer...this did not happen. You can almost say they regressed. Not only that you need to hear the comments Karl makes after each of these crushing losses then you will understand the frustration all of us have. How many of the elite teams in the west have lost to the sonics and the knicks this season? George Karl is a great coach, but his laid back attitude is reflected in the way this team plays basketball, and as intense as the western conference is going to be for the next couple of years, this is unacceptable!!!
It's really not even worth getting into a whole debate about the merits of George as a coach. The plain and simple truth is this: a team needing to win games to make the playoffs cannot lose at home to a 36-41 team and on the road to an 18-59 team. Someone needs to be held accountable and the easiest person to hold accountable is the coach.
If it was just one or two games then yes you blame the players, but when it has happened several times over a season the coach becomes accountable. Plus watching post game interviews, it appears like the coach isn't really into it sometimes, and only decides to run plays with 3 secs left in the game that never go right.
I don't understand George Karl at all, It's just ridiculous. Does he purposely want to lose so he can get an early vacation to the Bahamas? This is really disappointing..seeing a roster with so much talent and potential. I'm speechless. And let's face it everybody, George Karl IS the reason we're in this position. And you know what else is the problem? Giving Anthony freaking Carter 25-35 minutes a game. Are you kidding me?! You are not gonna win playoff series with a third-string D-Leaguer running your offense. He can't shoot, his defense is overrated by the coaching staff, he can't pass, he can't do jack, but he's still getting the starting roll as PG for a team that wants to make the finals. I'm sorry to break it to you George Karl, but Anthony Carter sucks, he flat out sucks. But George Karl is playing favorites, instead of giving Chucky Atkins..the veteran, a chance to run this team. But hey, if you think Anthony Carter is gonna do you any good, keep playing him 30 mins a game, I'm sure you'll get a good lottery pick.
"Look, all you guys can say this and that, about who should have played or how JR Smith should have been in the game. The fact of the matter is that they let the Sonics score 70 points in the first half, the Sonics."
There is nothing wrong with letting the opposition score 70 in a half if you score 80.
The Nuggets play at the fastest pace in the league, so both teams' scores are inflated. If you look at pace adjusted stats, their defense is actually pretty good. The problem is the offense.
Every team in the league will load up on Iverson and 'Melo when they have the ball. At that point, the Nuggets have to swing the ball to the weak side and let someone take advantage.
Unfortunately, Karl plays the bulk of the minutes with Camby, Carter, and Martin on the court with AI and 'Melo. And none of those three players can take advantage of the double teams on AI and 'Melo with regularity.
Camby, Carter, and Martin should be on the court simultaneously almost never. Instead, Karl plays them simultaneously the bulk of the minutes. In doing so, he negates the advantages Iverson and Carmelo bring, and he destroys the Nuggets' offense and their ability to consistently win games.
Look at what Greg Popavich did in the 2002-03 season.
He had Stephen Jackson, a young and somewhat untrustworthy guard much like J.R. Smith. Popavich had his battles with Jackson. But Popavich realized that he needed Jackson on the court to make teams pay for loading up against Duncan.
And so Popavich played his young and somewhat untrustworthy guard 34 minutes per game because Popavich wanted to win ballgames more than he wanted to prove his authority over Jackson. And the Spurs won the title.
Karl wants to prove his authority over J.R. Smith more than he wants to win ballgames, so he played J.R. 16 minutes last night in a double overtime game where all the Nuggets on the court looked exhausted at the end of the game.
Getting real contributions from Smith is the only way the Nuggets are going to do anything this year, and that doesn't seem to be Karl's priority. Dude's got a 60% true shooting percentage this year, has been playing excellent defense over the past several months, and Karl still prefers Anthony Carter.
Seriously, to the folks who are trying to defend George Karl, you either do not follow the Nuggets or are, like Brent Adams, stalking a site that is speaking the truth.
Karl hasn't displayed any inclination of interest in the Nuggets this entire year, and when we can't play D, can't run set plays, and are losing to the bottom feeders of the NBA, you expect us to not blame the head of the team?!!?
I have my gripes with the players as well, but it's the COACH'S job to get everyone on the same page, playing as a TEAM.
FIRE GEORGE KARL NOW!
"Seriously, to the folks who are trying to defend George Karl, you either do not follow the Nuggets or are, like Brent Adams, stalking a site that is speaking the truth."
But in Karl's defense, if you'd told me in October that Nene and Atkins were going to miss the full season, I'd have told you the Nuggets were going to win around 48 games. And that's basically where they're going to end up.
The roster without Nene and Atkins is very problematic.
Karl isn't a bad coach. He just seems to have a very specific problem at figuring out that he doesn't have a choice about whether or not to rely on J.R. Smith. Karl would rather lose with the mediocrity of Anthony Carter who plays the George Karl/Larry Brown "right way" than ride the roller coaster with the talented and ambitious Smith who can help the team. That's the wrong decision, and it's a fatally wrong decision, but other than that non-minor issue, he's done an OK job this year.
i'm confused, in the april 5th column george karl is an idiot for not drawing a play up in the final seconds for melo, then in this column on april 6th george karl is an idiot for giving the ball to melo in the last second?
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!
A lot of you George Karl supporters don't see this or apparently just don't get it. If you allow the 2nd worse team in the nba to score 70 on you, you can't win a championship.
For those of you who still don't get why people feel George Karl should be dismissed, pay attention to his basketball philosophy for this team.
1.The Nuggets are 12-4 which is .750 when they hold opponents to 100 or under points. They are 34 -27 otherwise which is .557.
2. The Nuggets style of play is based on the opponent making mistakes (turnovers off steals)and taking bad/ hurried shots in order to ignite a fast break off the rebound. The problem with this is that if you're a patient team (which comes from good coaching) you can see this, that is why the sonics were able to avenge the 50-point trashing they received a couple weeks ago. That is why the Nuggets lead the league in opponents assists.
I have a lot more to say but the numbers speak for themselves, sadly to be honest, to beat the nuggets all you have to do is have good coaching and a patient and intelligent offense to beat them, fortunately for us not every team in the league is that lucky.
The Nuggets have a bunch of players who have a low basketball IQ. The coach may not know what else to do to get them to play better.
On the other hand, if the coach was a better coach, he would get his players to play better defense because while you might have nights where your shot ain't falling, tough hard-nosed defense will keep the other team from scoring.
I love this site, and the article was laugh out loud funny!
"On the other hand, if the coach was a better coach, he would get his players to play better defense"
Seriously, this is the easiest way you can figure out someone is an idiot.
Seeing someone rely on points per game to evaluate defense without correcting for pace lets you know that someone doesn't know what they're talking about.
Don't believe me? Check out Hollinger. Correcting for pace, the Nuggets have the 10th best defense in the league. They also have the 11th best offense. And not surprisingly, they have the 11th most wins.
Is this really so difficult to understand?
Lots of folks see the 70pt halves and say the problem with the Nuggets is defense. Some of them even get paid to discuss basketball on TV and in print. But they're idiots.
Hi All,
First off, GREAT comments today. I really appreciate the passion here.
I want to respond to the commenter alleging that I called Coach Karl an idiot for running a play for Carmelo to win the game last night, and called him an idiot in an April 5th post for not doing so and that the two points are therefore contradictory.
So allow me to explain...
First, I NEVER called Karl an idiot and try really hard not to do so on this blog. I don't need to name call to prove my points.
Secondly, I DO think Karl should run last-second plays for Carmelo and AI exclusively (and maybe J.R. in a pinch only). My issue in regards to Carmelo specifically is that Karl never puts Carmelo in a "good spot" to win the game - Carmelo is always left to go one-on-two or one-on-one against the other team's best defender in the corner or near the top of the key to the side. This is why Carmelo forces a lot of bad game-tying or game-winning shots, rather than getting a good look.
Case in point was last night's contest in Seattle, when Carmelo was left to go one-on-three to attempt to win the game because no play was drawn to pick off one of those defenders, or have someone else take the ball first, drive and dish it to Carmelo for an open look.
Hopefully that clarifies the commenter's confusion.
Thank you all for keeping up with the blog!
All best,
Andrew
I was listening to Hastings on " The Fan " today. He matter of factly said that it is not the fault of the coach ( and anyone who thinks it is is an idiot )for the eventual performance of the players during the games and he tells Alfred Williams that we will never understand what really happens as fans because that information will never make it thru the Media. He tells Alfred that he has at least 3 stories he'll share with him during the break.
C'mon Scott,how about just one for us know-nothings.
"I was listening to Hastings on " The Fan " today. He matter of factly said that it is not the fault of the coach ( and anyone who thinks it is is an idiot )for the eventual performance of the players during the games and he tells Alfred Williams that we will never understand what really happens as fans because that information will never make it thru the Media. He tells Alfred that he has at least 3 stories he'll share with him during the break."
The lousy execution at the end of the 4th quarter and out of timeouts in the overtimes indeed isn't a result of bad play calls.
But it is a result of bad substitution patterns.
On the second night of a road bad-to-back, Iverson and Camby, both who've looked tired in general the last couple of weeks, played 56 and 48 minutes. Kenyon Martin played 46 minutes.
Tired guys make mistakes. And when you're playing against the kids in Seattle with young legs, it becomes a problem.
Karl's at fault because he didn't want to play J.R. Smith at all down the stretch to teach him a lesson from last game. It's too late in the season for that kind of bullshit.
About the Hollinger stat that says the Nuggets have the 10th best defense in the league...
In all the years I've watched NBA Basketball, I've noticed that there are certain stats that are important and others that are not. Hollinger's
stats are one of those, according to Hollinger Kobe Bryant would be 7th in MVP voting, and LeBron would be MVP over him and Chris Paul.
For the Nuggets these are the numbers that are important.
PPG - 110.1 OPPG- 106.4
AST - 24.7 OAST - 25.4
FG - .468 OFG - .457
Finally and the most important - 46-31 (8th in the West)
"according to Hollinger Kobe Bryant would be 7th in MVP voting, and LeBron would be MVP over him and Chris Paul."
Well, no matter how you look at the stats this year, LeBron definitely has the most impressive stats.
But MVP is an award based partly on team success, which is why the Cavs' lousy record eliminates LBJ this year.
-----
And in terms of the Nuggets' defense, you don't have to rely on Hollinger. But you do have to adjust for pace one way or another.
Unadjusted PPG for or against tells you nothing about offense or defense.
There are teams with lousy defenses that have a seemingly good PPG against number (like Washington) just because they play at a slow pace.
"There are teams with lousy defenses that have a seemingly good PPG against number (like Washington) just because they play at a slow pace."
And there are teams with above-average defenses that have a seemingly bad PPG against number (like Phoenix, Denver, and the Lakers) just because they play at a fast pace.
Similarly, the fact that the Nuggets score the most PPG in the league doesn't mean they have the best offense in the league.
You've simply got to adjust for pace, or the numbers won't tell you anything.
Petey,
I agree with most of what you're saying but if you watch the games like I do you can see that the Nuggets allow some of the easiest baskets in the league. Layups, open shots, it gets really bad. I see Anthony Carter make so many fouls trying to go for a steal. I believe that slowing down the pace might do them a little good, because they really have no identity as a team and that bothers me a lot.
Oh no I just realized something. It's an NBA showdown against those pesky Clippers tomorrow night.
I wonder if George will be sporting a likeness of Billy Crystal on his tie.
Petey:
You are a genius. I have been waiting for someone to realize that the Nuggets play better than average defense despite the raw numbers. However, only a month ago, the Nuggets were FIFTH in Defensive Efficiency. The lack of defense has become a self-fulfilling prophesy.
So the question becomes: why does it "look" like the Nuggets play horrible defense (BTW, I have probably watched every minute this year)? I think the answer is three fold: (1) they lead the league in opponents turnovers (which leads to a zero point possession, but doesn't erase the memory of easy buckets), (2) They are atrocious defensive rebounders, (3) they lose concentration and allow easy buckets in bunches (allowing people to forget about the various times the Nuggets have held opponents to 40 point halves).
This team loses games because of a lack of offensive scheme. AC is probably the worst starter among putative playoff teams (non-Ben Wallace Division). It doesn't help to have to play four-on-five on offense for 30 minutes a night. Also, a three point shooter in the starting lineup wouldn't hurt; it would prevent people from loading up on our two stars. Maybe switch AC for JR in the starting lineup and teach them an offensive set or five. Then we may have something. However, Karl's AC-fetish appears to have ruined any chance of that or a playoff berth.
I guess I can look forward to the .00001% chance that we get Derrick Rose.
Hey uh, petey, you don't know me well enough to call me an idiot. Everyone here is entitled to their opinion.
It's easy to be a tough guy and call names when you're typing on the internet.
Watch your mouth.
"It's easy to be a tough guy and call names when you're typing on the internet. Watch your mouth."
Au contraire.
It's precisely because I'm "typing on the internet" that I don't have to watch my mouth.
In the blogosphere, truth is often found through a series of insults.
And you may be a perfectly clever fellow in certain areas. You like P-Funk, which is a good sign about your musical taste. But if you think you can look at team PPG against and make conclusions about defensive effectiveness without taking pace into account, you certainly are nescient about hoops.
"However, only a month ago, the Nuggets were FIFTH in Defensive Efficiency."
Yup. Camby has looked tired for a month now. He's probably been playing too many minutes, as has been Iverson. And K-Mart, who can't move well laterally to help on defense, should be a 20mpg player, but that one has to do with the Nene situation, not Karl's bad judgment.
Counterintuitively, I actually think giving Smith more minutes would improve the defense over what Carter brings. While Carter is a dogged defender, he's a bit short, and crucially, a bit slow. The Nuggets defense is very junky and help oriented, and that means folks have to cover lots of ground to recover. Smith does that better than Carter.
"Maybe switch AC for JR in the starting lineup"
I've got no problem with them starting Carter as long as J.R. finishes the game and plays more minutes. If I were Karl, I'd be modeling J.R's role after Ginobili's.
In the big Dallas and Golden State wins, J.R. played the entire fourth quarter, which is how things should be. Like Ginobili, J.R. can do some real damage off the bench against tired legs.
Karl's Anthony Carter fetish goes to the man's psychological weaknesses. He goes with the guy who he sympathizes with, rather than the guy who can best help the team win games.
A coach concerned with winning would have J.R. play 35mpg and Carter play 20mpg, not the other way around.
The +/- stats don't lie. Carter and K-Mart are the Nuggets' worst options. Until Nene gets back into the flow, K-Mart pretty much has to play big minutes. But Karl has available options to play Carter fewer minutes - he just isn't psychologically strong enough to take advantage of those options.
Hi All,
I've just put up a new post regarding the Anthony Carter situation, since its gotten a lot of commentary here.
Please check it out!
-Andrew
On NBA TV over the summer Fred Carter suggested that in order for the Nuggets to be a contender was to slow down the pace in which they play and develop a much more potent half court game. At first I laughed but look at it from this perspective...
1. The Nuggets have 4 guys on their team who have scored 40 points this year meaning that points can always come from somewhere.
2. The top teams in both the eastern and western conferences are grind it out in the half court game.
3. The Nuggets actually are good at getting opponents to shoot low percentages (not always but especially in the beginning of the season) meaning that when they settle down they play much better defense.
4. If you observe a lot of games, the fact of the matter is the Nuggets allow their opponents to attempt more shots than they do even though they lead the league in forced turnovers (Doesn't make sense). Meaning that if the nuggets and their opponents shoot the same percentage they are more likely to lose.
5.If you watched the Dallas game, when the Nuggets were playing at their reckless pace in the first half they allowed the Mavs (w/o Dirk) to score 70 points, when the game slowed down in the second half they only scored 35.
I think the Nuggets are better than what we see but I believe either George Karl is probably overwhelmed with the talent he has, and even if you disagree with the defense you have to agree we have one of the worst half court offenses in the league. I think we should concentrate more on our defense than our offense. We average 110 points again, I promise you if we gave up 7 of those points and use take that out of our opponents ppg, we would be a much better team.
Here at the halftime one of the few things going for our Nuggets is that the Clippers don't really care about being a spoiler.
Please pass the word that Camby never be allowed to take a jump shot again.
How can the host of this website actually include Camby as a jump shot shooter with Anthony and AI. Every time Camby gets a look and actually takes a shot, I just roll into a ball and start to cry. Yes, he makes a few and if I can remember he shot a closer against the Celtics here after the All Star break at home but shit either drive to the hoop for a slam dunk or pass it on.
What's with JR's airball 3 point attempt. That will not get him extra minutes. He has cooled down.
Hope for the win.
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