See what happens when you take the ball to the hole?...

by Andrew Feinstein on Dec 22, 2008 11:40 PM MST

Not having Carmelo Anthony tonight might have been a blessing in disguise for our Denver Nuggets. It's not that we don't need Melo for the long term - of course we do. But it's as if the Nuggets' offense had become stagnant ever since Melo's remarkable 33-point quarter last week. All too often during the Nuggets recent three game losing streak, Melo's teammates would just stand around and watch as Melo hoisted bad shots on a bad elbow.

Tonight was a different story, and the end result - a much needed win against division rival Portland - was proof of that. The Nuggets finally did something that Denver Stiffs has been begging for since last April's playoffs: take the ball to the @#$%& hole! The Nuggets out-attempted the Trailblazers 39 to 19 from the charity stripe, and made the Blazers pay by making 28 of those 39 attempts.

Compare tonight's 39 attempts to the amount of free throws the Nuggets shot during their three losses against Phoenix, Cleveland and Houston. In those losses the Nuggets attempted 23, 17 and 17 free throw attempts, respectively.

In case you're curious, the Nuggets currently rank second in the NBA with 29.6 free throw attempts per game, behind only Golden State which averages 29.8. Throwing the Warriors out of the equation (their free throw attempts are credited more to number of possessions than anything else), the other teams rounding out the top six in free throw attempts are Boston, the Lakers, Orlando and Utah. That's pretty elite company.

Diving further into the numbers, the Nuggets are 13-1 when they attempt 29 or more free throws in a game, and are 5-9 when they attempt less than 29 free throws. What a difference!

There are certainly a lot of factors that contribute to winning a basketball game. But when you're consistently driving the ball into the teeth of your opponents' defense, especially with bruising athletes like Melo, Nene, Kenyon Martin, Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith, it wears down your opposition creating even easier shots later.

In the upcoming games, I'll be watching closely to see if George Karl calls timeouts when the Nuggets resort to ill-timed jump shots early in the shot clock. Inspiring his players to drive the ball to the basket should be one of Karl's top priorities moving forward. I just hope he realizes it.

Oh, and did anyone notice that the Nuggets are 1-0 when J.R. starts this season?

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"Diving further into the numbers, the Nuggets are 13-2 when they attempt 29 or more free throws in a game, and are 4-9 when they attempt less than 29 free throws. What a difference!"

You gave the team 1 more loss than it has, and 1 less win.

by Adam on Dec 23, 2008 12:14 AM MST reply actions

Thanks, Adam - I double checked the numbers and fixed it! The Nuggets are 13-1 when they attempt at least 29 FTAs, and 5-9 when they don't.

by Andrew on Dec 23, 2008 12:20 AM MST reply actions

Amen Andrew!

Good win, hope they learn AND Melo comes back better.

by Julian from Australia on Dec 23, 2008 1:41 AM MST reply actions

Reason 634 of why this website should be called "Fire George Karl" still

by M.Balla on Dec 23, 2008 2:39 AM MST reply actions

Nice game by J.R Smith, really nice, without a lot of stupid shots, driving to the hole, and even passing the ball and giving some very good dishes. This is the J.R the Nuggets need, not the J.R who scores 30+ points but make the Nuggets lose.

Awesome Nene Hilario as well. Let's hope we can steal the victory from Portland tonight, which will be finishing this difficult part of the schedule 3-3.

by Lucas Navarrete on Dec 23, 2008 8:24 AM MST reply actions

The Nuggets are 18-10. The last time the Nuggets started off the season 18-10, everyone was calling for Doug Moe to be fired. Doug Moe was fired and 20 years later, we finally are back to an 18-10 start and once again, people want the head coach fired. Unbelievable.

by Brian on Dec 23, 2008 8:29 AM MST reply actions

good game against a "good" team.

jr is in control of himself - and his game.

what a difference.

by Anonymous on Dec 23, 2008 8:53 AM MST reply actions

Hey Brian, I hope history repeats itself.

by samiam on Dec 23, 2008 8:58 AM MST reply actions

Doug Moe didn't have this talent on the team... Karl has nothing to do with the record of this team.

I am rewatching last night game and I dont think Moe would have ever played Carter, Atkins AND Jones at the same time while Balkman played nil minutes. That ish makes me wanna tear my retinas out.

by M.Balla on Dec 23, 2008 10:03 AM MST reply actions

Samiam - I don't even understand your comment? Do you hate the Nuggets?

by Brian on Dec 23, 2008 11:26 AM MST reply actions

For pete's sake, why doesn't Karl play Balkman? Yes, we won the game. But not playing Balkman is the equivalent of saying; " We don't need Melo anymore since we won the game"! It's short-sighted & STUPID! The ofense was smoother because they HAD to be last night! The biggest issue I have with GKarl is his fricken' LAZINESS! He's too lazy to have a motion offense that utilizes Melo's abilities to the max. He sits on the bench as the game IMPLODES. And he de-values the benefits of a Balkman, by claiming "he needs to learn the plays"! Well, DUH!!! Is someone on the coaching staff making it a priority that Balkman "learns" the plays? Or do they figure he'll pick things up by sitting? Unbelievable!!! get off your FAT A$$, George!

by KaiserSoze on Dec 23, 2008 11:49 AM MST reply actions

Happy we won, but Balkman not playing at all is completely unacceptable. Also is there anyone in the NBA with an uglier shot then K-mart, i mean damn thats like nerdy fat chick in a cream yellow prom dress ugly

by Zachm219 on Dec 23, 2008 12:16 PM MST reply actions

Did anyone else see the rumors of the nuggets offering Kleiza to New York for David Lee and the knicks rejecting the deal. Just wondering if there was anymore information on it. David Lee would be a force off the bench.

by Anonymous on Dec 23, 2008 2:17 PM MST reply actions

I saw the Kleiza for Lee rumor. That would be a great trade for the Nuggets. They would get much needed inside help on offense and defense and it would cost them a player that is a luxery, not a necessity, at this point. Plus, they will likely lose Kleiza next summer anyway.

by P-Man on Dec 23, 2008 3:06 PM MST reply actions

sorry, "luxury"

by P-Man on Dec 23, 2008 3:07 PM MST reply actions

Brian.
I keep forgetting that this is not the FIRE GEORGE KARL site anylonger. To answer your question yes I'm a Nuggets fans with the realization to know that George Karl isn't what you think he is to this teams ability to get over the hump (out of the first round of the playoff's). I'm incline to agree with some others in the fact that George is Humpty Dumpty sitting on the wall. George's coaching ablilities are flawed. If you want to give him a free ride based on his regular season performance that's on you. I, however am looking at the larger picture.

by samiam on Dec 23, 2008 3:26 PM MST reply actions

that trade would be the paradise, but Donnie Walsh is not that stupid I think, so we would have to give something else, like Atkins or Hunter... but a 1on1 trade Kleiza for Lee is absolutely impossible

by Lucas Navarrete on Dec 23, 2008 3:34 PM MST reply actions

Great Post. I did actually see Karl call a timeout last night. He can actually do it! Before the game I was thinking they might do a two-fer and start JR and Balkman. I'll join the crowd confused about his playing time. And I take offense at the "Fat Chick" remark on two points: First, KMarts shot is much uglier than the girl, it's more like a troll that's been beaten with a stick. Second, she's not fat, she's "Festively Plump."

On a related note: Anthony Carter had another airball on an uncontest 3 pointer. Should we start counting these? At least one per contest.

by KarlSucks on Dec 23, 2008 5:37 PM MST 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.