Never a dull night at Pepsi Center...

by Andrew Feinstein on Jan 15, 2009 5:31 PM MST

Nuggets/Suns recap...

They take ill-advised three-pointers with way too much time left on the shot clock. Their rotations aren't consistent whatsoever. They continually piss away healthy third quarter leads. They turn the ball over inexplicably. 40 games into the season, I don't think they've run a single set play. Not one. And as far as I'm concerned, if Kenyon Martin never takes another long-range jump shot, it will be too soon (and no, I don't care about his record three-point shooting this season).

And yet - and go ahead, call me a sucker - I love watching this team, play. Absolutely love them.

At the conclusion of the Nuggets next game we'll have reached the halfway mark of the 2008-09 NBA Season, and I think I'm finally starting to realize who these Nuggets are: erratic, mind-numbing, exhilarating, escape artists and, dare I say, winners. These guys know how to win games, and that might be their most important attribute going into the second half of what's sure to be a grueling fight for home court in the postseason. And believe me, this Nuggets team desperately needs the home court advantage if they're going to win a playoff series (for once).

On a side note, the Suns resting Shaquille O'Neal tonight made no sense whatsoever. I (sort of) understand why the Suns are giving Shaq a break on the first or second of their back-to-backs all season. But wouldn't they rather play Shaq against a very good Nuggets team they might need a tiebreaker against than an awful Timberwolves team they face off against in Phoenix the next day?

Nuggets/Suns preview (posted earlier)...

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to recap the Nuggets/Mavericks game but I want to thank all the readers for picking up the slack and leaving such detailed comments afterward. For those of you who might be curious, my ACL surgery went as well as it could. Right now I'm laying comfortably on my couch with an ice machine pumping cool air on my knee and am very much looking forward to tonight's TNT doubleheader.

For the second game of the doubleheader, the Nuggets face off against an opponent similar to the Mavericks: the Phoenix Suns. Like the Mavericks, it seems like yesterday that the Suns were one of the most feared, deep, versatile teams in the Western Conference and yet today they're old, have no bench, no future and yet remain talented enough to cause trouble in the postseason for any opponent.

The Nuggets haven't lost to the Suns in Denver for two years and seem to play fairly confidently against them at Pepsi Center. Shaquille O'Neal in particular seems to get tired early at 5,280 feet. Remember how awful he played against the Nuggets last season while still a member of the Heat?

Earlier this season, the Nuggets played the Suns pretty well until the final moments of their December 20th matchup which the Nuggets eventually lost 108-101. If you remember, Carmelo Anthony shot a dreadful 3-13 that night and it was apparent that he was having elbow problems. So if you consider that the Nuggets almost beat the Suns in Phoenix with Melo shooting 3-13, we have every reason to be optimistic that they'll beat the Suns in Denver tonight, even without Melo.

Go Nuggets!!

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Meanwhile, ex-Nugget bench warmer Von Wafer is filling in very nicely for T-Mac.

by Julian from Australia on Jan 15, 2009 7:44 PM MST reply actions

Is it just me or is Denver the only team that gets TERRIBLE officiating at home? With the exception of the Dallas game, just about every home game this year has involved terrible officiating. At HOME....are you kidding me?

by Adam on Jan 15, 2009 10:03 PM MST reply actions

The Nuggets need to pull their heads out in the 2nd half... Nene needs to own the offensive paint this game. He seems so reluctant at times to dominate.

by john on Jan 15, 2009 10:16 PM MST reply actions

damn, giving up leads must be orgasmic for these guys

by Anonymous on Jan 15, 2009 11:19 PM MST reply actions

Anonymous, WTF? I am just sitting here laughing at K-Mart, he reminds me exactly of this redneck kid I used to play soccer with back in high school who had virtually no skill at all but continuously drained shots from around mid field, which is nearly impossible, then he would always just turn and stare at the bench with a blank face like he meant to do it, haha.

by Goldennugget on Jan 15, 2009 11:48 PM MST reply actions

I asked Shaq if Kobe ever told him how it tastes,he quickly nodded yes. I then asked him if it tasted like chicken,and he quickly nodded no. Posting pics on facebook and...

Mordecai

by Anonymous on Jan 16, 2009 12:35 AM MST reply actions

Well, when Kenyon is wide open and and takes a set-shot I don't really mind it. When he's been making a high percentage all year long you cant really complain

ON THE OTHER HAND, he had one play in the second half where he got the ball, took two or three dribbles and shot a pull up jumper which had absolutely no fucking chance of going in the basket.

I was only able to watch the second half, but I thought the Nuggets did a pretty good job of rotating out on shooters (although it hurt their defensive rebounding at times). It seemed like their pick and roll defense was outstanding as well. I remember suns games over the past few years where they would run the same god damn Nash/Stoudemaire pick and roll play every time down the court and it would work. It was nice to see the nugs have some methods of countering that 2-man game.

by Brian on Jan 16, 2009 12:47 AM MST reply actions

is jr getting it? is he matured? i thought he played very well tonight. i know he wants to shoot it, but now he starts to make plays for his teammates. i absolutly love to see that.
most probably we have to give chauncey credit for that, too

by MZG on Jan 16, 2009 12:54 AM MST reply actions

Nene is such a sick passer.
And the game was good.
Jr played well

+18 when jr is on the floor
-13 when Ac is on the floor
enough said.

by Riso on Jan 16, 2009 2:22 AM MST reply actions

Nene should have owned the middle. In the 4th quarter Amare had 5 fouls, and he is the only Sun who could even bother Nene, yet the Nuggets consistently couldn't get him the ball. In Karl's defense, he ran 6-7 plays in a row to get him the ball and they never once did. At about the 3 minute mark, Karl switched to a new cross screen play that actually worked twice in a row getting the ball to Nene for points.

It's tough for me to say, but the guards and Nene have to be blamed for not getting him the ball earlier in the 4th, and Karl needs to be comended for making an adjustment.

by john on Jan 16, 2009 7:18 AM MST reply actions

We have an actual real life "Karl made an adjustment" sighting? Oh my god! I didn't see the game so I can't quite believe it. Sorry. Didn't happen in my book. LOL

by Eric K on Jan 16, 2009 8:13 AM MST reply actions

The Nuggets have to be driving fans of Utah and Portland nuts right now. They've got to be thinking this is their chance to get the division lead. Melo out, all these close finishes, and they keep winning. Is this what it's like to be a spurs fan?

Karl got his timeout bonus again. With :17 left, they still had three. Never took timeout when giving up an 8 point lead in the fourth. Then they needed 3 tries to get the ball inbounds against phoenix? Not a team known for defense.

I think all the early in the clock, bad threes were due to Nash. He kept making his, so J.R. and Billups kept trying to respond. If they simply run the (psuedo)offense, they game wouldn't have gone to overtime.

Andrew - since you have now officially blown out your knee, does that mean in two years you will be playing like Nene? Or you could blow out the other and play like Martin.

by KarlSucks on Jan 16, 2009 8:29 AM MST reply actions

Nash shooting a 3 looks like Billups shooting a free throw: effortless and nothing but net.

When Billups free throw stopped on top of the rim, did that count as a miss?

by KarlSucks on Jan 16, 2009 8:31 AM MST reply actions

Karlsucks,
Yeah, a miss.
I was at the game last night and the place was packed and full of energy.
Thinking the Nuggets would lose by 6 - 10 points since that is what the first half was revealing, I was astonished that the Nuggets played so well in the third and got themselves back into the game. When was the last time the Nugs played back to win or keep their lead thru the third ?
A great win on a supercharged night a the Pepsi Center.

by markp on Jan 16, 2009 8:45 AM MST reply actions

I was sitting right there when he "missed" that free throw. John is completely right about the whole Amare 5 foul thing. The gaurds werent moving the ball into the front court fast enough and because of that Amare got position on NENE. That would be AC, JR, and CB all three

by 1nugs1 on Jan 16, 2009 8:51 AM MST reply actions

Wow I sure was glad last night we had Petro on the bench to face-up against Shaq. Oh, uh Shaq didn't play, so no Petro.

Not sure how much longer this team lasts on an 8-man rotation, but you have got to admire the way this team is holding together against playoff caliber teams with Melo out of action.

by JTR on Jan 16, 2009 9:12 AM MST reply actions

like i said... more escapes than houdini. do these guys wake up now and say, "we'll get 'em in the last two minutes..."

tell you what... i'd enjoy a dull night at the pepsi center. when this explodes and we start to lose these games from poor shot selection and standing around on the floor, the whining will be heard around the world.

by Anonymous on Jan 16, 2009 9:22 AM MST reply actions

Andrew et. al.,
Please stop exaggerating that the Nuggets never run set plays. This was true last year but definitely not now. I lurk here because of my hatred for Karl's coaching but I still watch the games with objectivity, and they run set plays all the time. Now they don't always work, mainly because the players seem to be merely going through the motions instead of making crisp cuts and well-positioned screens, but that doesn't mean they're not running them. Hopefully they can clean this up. If I had to guess, I'd say fatigue is to blame, which of course is due to Karl's 8-man rotation. Sure would be nice to see Balkman out there making steals, offensive rebounds and clean cuts and picks.

by Anonymous on Jan 16, 2009 9:26 AM MST reply actions

You know, you're right. I did spot two plays in the past two games. Unfortunately they couldn't score on a nice back door play last night, and the other night couldn't score on a simple pick and roll.

Every time the Nuggets have the ball on offense I'm not sure what's going to happen. I think we cheer simply because we're so delighted they somehow made *something* go in the hoop.

Maybe "plays" is the wrong term to use here. Maybe fundamentals would be more appropriate.

But, like Andrew says, this makes them more fun to watch. But will it fly during the playoffs? I guess we'll have to wait and see...

On another note, for a such smart player Chauncey can sure take some boneheaded shots. It drives me crazy.

by Do We Have Any Plays? on Jan 16, 2009 10:10 AM MST reply actions

Is "www.PlayRenaldoBalkman.com" still available?

Also, I was at the game last night. I thought it wasn't a bad game, although as other people have mentioned, both JR and Billups jacked too many threes. I don't mind if they can spot up, or even from time to time as a sort of gamble. But too often we didn't even swing the ball around or try to get it inside, just got to the line and jacked it. I don't know if this is Karl's work or not but I didn't see a whole lot of ball movement the whole game. The Suns, on the other hand, were able to get a lot of easy shots for guys close in, Hill and Barnes especially.

by Denverson on Jan 16, 2009 10:50 AM MST reply actions

First off, I really don't know how we pulled off that win. In my opinion Phoenix is going to be a huge threat come playoff time. They have a really solid front line and with Shaq being an all star, and playing like one too, I think they can do some damage. We got really lucky Stoude got in foul trouble because he was ballin whenever he was in the game. And I must say that benching Shaq against us instead of against the T-Wolves made absolutely so sense at all and if he were to play I think it would have been a different outcome. As for our team, JR played excellent and although he is best when he takes on the AI mentality of "me first", he is also a huge help when dishing out assists and playing good defense. If he continues to play like he has been, which is smart, mature basketball, I think Karl may give him a shot in the starting line up. And I figured something out last night that may have been the key to the season. I realized that now that we know how to play defense and have committed to it, we should go ahead and run when we get the chance. Think about it, at the atitude we are at we can run our opponent out of the arena and as long as we are still commited to defense I don't know how anybody could beat us. And I do have to agree with Andrew about us being winners. The fact that we battle the whole entire game and seem to be pulling out wins no matter what the situation may be is very telling. Here is to a great first half of the season, and hopefully to an even better second half!

by Goldennugget on Jan 16, 2009 11:42 AM MST reply actions

You know, this is really a good blog...well written and thought out.
I agree GK isn't always what we'd like, but really, this place deserves a better title, doesn't it?
This has evolved into a great place to read and comment about the Nuggets, and somehow "Fire George Karl" seems demeaning, both to the blog and to George this year.

by Marty on Jan 16, 2009 12:13 PM MST reply actions

Good to see JR have a better night shooting, and good to see the Nugs take it to the hole, Kleiza especially. Could K-mart produce uglier jump shots? Still he hit the clincher in OT so i'll give him some cred with the 60 something percent 3 point shooting of his. No Petro again, it really makes no sense

by Zachm219 on Jan 16, 2009 12:17 PM MST reply actions

Marty, since you suggested it, this blog is now called Denverstiffs.com. You've got a lot of pull with Andrew apperently.

by John on Jan 16, 2009 1:07 PM MST reply actions

I watched the replay of that foul from the Mavs game, and it was a foul, just not one they normally make in the waning seconds of a close game...such as they didn't do with Dahntay Jones' trip of Grant Hill last night, which was also a foul. So this is what it's like to be a Jazz fan. I always wondered...

I almost threw a remote at the TV last night. I can't stand TNT's broadcasts. Yes, we know you have like a hundred HD cameras all over the building. No, I don't want you to cut to as many of them as you can while the ball is in play. And what ever happened to announcers discussing the happenings on the court? Yes, thank you for reminding me about Nene's single nut, KMart's two microfracture surgeries, and Grant Hill's missed 7 years. Think you could maybe tell me about how they're playing RIGHT NOW?! Please?

So I know I'm supposed to think Mark Cuban is a douch nozzle and all, but does anyone else wish he'd buy the Rockies? Could you ever imagine him trading Matt Holliday for a lump of coal and two shit sandwiches? I'm just sayin' is all...

I honestly thought the Mavs/Suns/Magic stretch sans Melo would be three losses. I guess two of three ain't bad. And yes, that does indicate my prediction for the Orlando game...

I want Jim Armstrong's job.

by Anonymous on Jan 16, 2009 2:26 PM MST reply actions

show k-mart some love there drew! he only makes threes with the shot clock running down lol.

no idea why they rested shaq either. they lost to the wolves with him anyway. maybe they thought with melo out, this team would give in. not so i guess.

by andrew fisher on Jan 17, 2009 3:47 AM 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.