This might be a good loss...

by Andrew Feinstein on Oct 30, 2008 12:51 AM MDT

I knew the Nuggets would lose to the Jazz on opening night. What I didn't expect was a furious 14-point come back late in the second half. There's really no such thing as a "good loss," but the Nuggets can hold their heads high after this one.

The last time the Nuggets played in Salt Lake City, they rolled over and died before halftime. Tonight - in spite of some boneheaded plays and blatant favoritism from the homer refs - the Nuggets, and their coach, put forth a spirited effort that I can only hope is a sign of things to come.

I thought Kenyon Martin looked healthy and strong. J.R. Smith continues to amaze and earn his new contract (and rewarded me for drafting him on my fantasy team). And I really liked the "hustle lineup" of Renaldo Balkman, Chris Andersen, Linas Kleiza and Smith playing together. It was those guys who chopped that lead down so quickly. And had LK not had a toe on the three-point line, this game would have been tied up at 91 all with 40 seconds to go.

So suffice it to say, I'm encouraged.

Note to Kenyon Martin: the only time you get to shoot three-pointers is when there is literally NO time left on the clock. And note to Allen Iverson: with four seconds left in the game and you're down by three do not, under any circumstance, pass it to K-Mart!

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"So suffice it to say, I'm encouraged."

I'm not.

I got a very bad vibe from that game about the cohesiveness of the team on both ends of the floor. Maybe it's just the lack of 'Melo and the impersonator wearing the Iverson jersey, but maybe it's something more.

The wheels could fall off this thing very quickly. Just sayin'...

by Petey on Oct 30, 2008 1:55 AM MDT reply actions

The worst thing I saw in this game was the 2 turnovers AC had in the 4th quarter just from his bad handles. Bad sign if the point guard is giving up unforced turnovers late in the game.

Otherwise I was impressed, lets hope Balkman gets 15-20 minutes a game, Howard should only step on the floor in garbage time, to help keep Kmart and Nene healthy.

by James B.(seattle) on Oct 30, 2008 2:31 AM MDT reply actions

Get Anthony Carter off this damn team, he has done nothing except bring them down to mediocreness if that's a word which its not. Cant believe he is starting over an extremely talented Jr. Smith who would benefit so much from extra playing time. BUt with GKarls mind games with him, guess it will never happen unless he gets smart which hopefully might happen and i think it will cause that 4th quarter AC had was ludicrous.

by LB47 on Oct 30, 2008 3:59 AM MDT reply actions

I liked that game. I really saw some defensive pressure and hustle on the end of the floor. Iverson was not his self that night, but he said he'd sacrifice his game. If not for the stupid turnovers they made, this game might have been won.

by Merc on Oct 30, 2008 4:48 AM MDT reply actions

oh and i forgot.. they got to practice free throws.. 64.3 percent isn't exactly what wins you a game

by Merc on Oct 30, 2008 4:53 AM MDT reply actions

OK someone has to say it. As the depression of the loss wears off...did anyone notice Dahntey Jones seems to not know how to dribble a basketball???

Notice he didn't come back into the game after his first, exteeeended stint on the floor. Watching him dribble the ball off his knee for 15 minutes is not my idea of entertainment.

Other than that, considering the situation I thought we played well. Refs blew plenty of calls, but I hate to complain about that 1 game into the season. In the end I was left with that familiar feeling of disappointment, sitting in front of my TV with my head down, thinking of what could have been.

by ThaAnswer on Oct 30, 2008 6:58 AM MDT reply actions

Well first off I believe the Nuggets played well. Unfortunately, we can't complain about not having Carmelo when they didn't have Williams.
Secondly, I liked the balance scoring and I hope it continues when Carmelo comes back.
Thirdly, Boozer should not have been so dominant. We need to work on that. I mean he is a terrible defensive player, anybody who is guarding him should take him to the basket and let him work.
Fourthly, When Carmelo comes back, he has to help rebound, he must average between 8 or 9 rebounds this season in order for the Nuggets not getting murdered in second chance points.
Also, and perhaps more importantly, J.R. Smith and A.I need to be on the court the majority of the time. Even though A.I plays the SG, he manages to get more people involved than the PG, so why is he on the court? However, I do think JR still needs to improve on shot selection and drive to the basket a lot more. He has Kobe potential, but he'll only reach it by playing smart.
And lastly, we allowed UTAH, with a third rate starting PG to shoot over 50% for the majority of the game. Look watch the Lakers, if you want to compete in the western conference this year you better be prepared to play INTENSE defense. Every team has gotten better, well except maybe the Thunder. But we're not going to have the Luxury of having as many shoe-in games as last year. There will be a lot less blowouts. So we got to bring our A-game on the Defense this year.

by j2y2k3 on Oct 30, 2008 7:18 AM MDT reply actions

I was encouraged. It's the first game in a very tough place to play and we have a lot of new blood here to figure out, and doing so sans Melo only complicated lineups and strategy etc... I liked Birdman's hustle, but I am doubtful he can make it an entire 82 game season unscathed at this pace.

For some reason, it just seemed to be a lot less manic, and maddening without Camby on the floor, as if they knew they all had to do better without him on, which is good.

And I didn't see the whole game, but I actually felt like AC played pretty decently, regardless of if he's pulling away from JR's minutes.

All in all, it felt like this team was gelling more without Camby and guys like Birdman and Balk are bringing a desire to show themselves to a team that desperately needed that after last year. I see a lot more toughness now than before... You can kind of see that the front line is now K-Mart's and he's a tough SOB, so everyone else is kinda playing that way too, even down to the guards I thought.

by Eric K on Oct 30, 2008 8:27 AM MDT reply actions

I blame AC for this loss. And funny enough he was having a decent game up untill about a three minute span in the fourth where he absolutely killed us. And this is the problem with a D-League pg starting for our team. The free-throws were horrible I love balkman but if the man cant make a freethow its going to be hard to put him on the floor. Finally JR needs to start he should be on the floor 35-40 per and on top of that some one needs to tell him to take the fucking rock to the hole! Cant really complain about Melo as Williams was out as well. LK looked like crap up untill the end. I just cant justify paying this guy the type of money he is going to want. IMHO we should ship him while we can because if we sign him the byc clause will make him untradeable.

by nickademus on Oct 30, 2008 9:36 AM MDT reply actions

Anthony Carter is my favorite guy on the team and I always cringe to read the comments on here. I thought after his effort last night, he would get some kudos but he's still getting bashed. My only guess as to his lack of popularity on here is that the comments are coming from JR Smith fans and/or AI fans who feel that AC is taking away from their minutes. Is AC supposed to take himself out of the game? The bashing doesn't seem fair to AC, but, hey I'll keep cheering for him and the Nuggets. I thought AC played very well last night as did the whole team.

by Brian on Oct 30, 2008 9:39 AM MDT reply actions

Let's start a contest for best slogan for the 2008-2009 Denver Nuggets:

The Denver Nuggets - Only frustrating if you have hope

The Denver Nuggets - Someone has to finish 9th in the West

by Lord Sam on Oct 30, 2008 10:21 AM MDT reply actions

Remember the days when you felt like throwing the remote at the T.V everytime our old P.G Earl Boykins would have unforced turnovers and throw up erratic floaters with 20 seconds left on the shot clock?

Welcome Anthony Carter.... a taller version of Mr. Boykins.

by deke (fort collins) on Oct 30, 2008 10:35 AM MDT reply actions

I missed most of the game... how did Nene look? Is he in shape?

by john on Oct 30, 2008 11:28 AM MDT reply actions

if that is Ai scairifincg his game, that is too much

he wasn't agressive and only took 13 shots

how about everyone sacrificng a little to become a cohesive unit

JR still and will find a way to get points so I don't see why Ai and Melo can't continue to shoot 19 spg

futher Caretr was the pg, yet only had 2 asst to Ai's 8

by Anonymous on Oct 30, 2008 11:37 AM MDT reply actions

I didn't see the end of the game, which apparently has people up in arms about Carter, but he was taking it to the hoop from what I saw and playing his role for the most part. But I don't know how he can be anyones favorite player unless you met him or something.

Anyway, I think it's a good game to build on. When I saw they were playing AT Utah w/o Melo, the first thought was "Blowout!", but they hung tuff like the New Kids! LOL.

PS, slogan entry (maybe more of a segue for Scott Hastings comming out of a commercial break):

The 2008 Denver Nuggets, sponsored by the American Assoc. of Tatoo Artists.

by Eric k on Oct 30, 2008 11:53 AM MDT reply actions

ANTHONY CARTER is the WEAKEST LINK on this team. Those were CRUCIAL turn overs. That stretch of the game was the determining factor.It was a good game up until those THREE in a row turn overs by Carter. Other than a rookie PG who would have done something so STUPID? JR would have been yanked after the first turnover. You're right ANTHONY CARTER isn't going to take himself out of the game therefore that Fat Ass Coach should also bare some of the blame. With Carter being so small and a underacheiver where is fat ass Karl brain? It must be a love fest going on between Karl and
Carter.

by samiam on Oct 30, 2008 5:36 PM MDT reply actions

"ANTHONY CARTER is the WEAKEST LINK on this team"

This team has far weaker links than Carter at the moment.

Jesus Christ, folks. I'm as big a proponent of giving more minutes to J.R. as anyone, but the AC-hatred is a bit out of control.

He obviously had a problematic late fourth quarter in the Utah game, but he was on the floor because there was no better option on the bench.

This team is held together with scotch tape at the moment, and the result of that is having to give minutes to players with a lower skill level than we'd like.

Seriously. Would we have been better off with Juwan Howard on the floor instead of Carter?

Blame the roster, not the player. A.C. had a pretty amazing season last year for the Nuggets for a guy with as little natural talent as he's got. If you aren't a little bit of an AC fan after last year, you really don't get hoops.

by Petey on Oct 30, 2008 6:27 PM MDT reply actions

Hi All,

I have to agree with Petey that the AC hatred is a bit unfair. Remember we discussed this back in April, and I defended Carter (not as a starter, but as a player):

http://www.denverstiffs.com/2008/04/in-defense-of-anthony-carter-well-sort.html

Thanks for jumping back onto the blog now that the season has started!

All best,

Andrew

by Denver Stiffs on Oct 30, 2008 6:33 PM MDT reply actions

you are all right the AC hate is all unfair its not his fault that we cant find a better PG to replace him. Its not his fault that he is the worst starting PG in the entire league. And its not his fault the coach wants to blow him, but that doesnt mean we have to like it.

by nickademus on Oct 30, 2008 10:33 PM MDT reply actions

"Its not his fault that he is the worst starting PG in the entire league."

Carter isn't even close to being the worst starting PG in the league.

He put up quite solid numbers last year that made him an only mildly below average starting PG.

Good TS%. Good AST/TO ratio. Good defense.

I'd expect him to regress a bit this year, especially if Iverson doesn't recover quickly and AC has to play longer minutes and a larger role.

But Carter isn't the fundamental problem with this team. The roster is very thin in a number of places, mainly up front.

Replace Carter with Steve Blake, (a very average PG), and this team would only be a win or two better over the course of a season.

by Petey on Oct 30, 2008 11:10 PM MDT reply actions

there was no better option on the bench

There's no better option on the bench because they got rid of smush parker! We aren't gonna be a supreme team until we get a real pg. Carter should never be allowed to play 36 mins ever again!

by David Medford on Oct 30, 2008 11:56 PM MDT reply actions

I think Jr. Smith can be the next super star of the nba. He is developing like young kobe.

by Riso on Oct 31, 2008 1:14 PM MDT reply actions

I do get hoops however I know a dud, (the old atage if it walks like a dud and have mental lapse like a dud then it is a dud) when I see it. Do you know that Donthay Jones can't play? He's taller than your boy. He wouldn't get posted up. He's not a rookie. Give him a chance. After last year it was clearly apparent that ANTHONY CARTER should not have been back with the Nuggets. Whats wrong with wanting the Nuggets to have a chance and they don't stand a chance with ANTHONY CARTER starting.

by samiam on Oct 31, 2008 7:31 PM MDT reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

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

1. METTA WORLD PEACE

Metta resorted back to Ron Ron last Sunday by clubbing James Hardenwith an "inadvertent celebratory elbow", landing him a 7-game suspension. Apparently, changing his name didn't prevent NBA commissioner David Stern from overlooking Metta's past behavior problems.

2. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

The 'Cats are on the verge of securing the worst winning percentage in NBA history. Given that the guy who runs the team - Michael Jordan - had previously drafted Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison, should this really be a shock?

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.