Somehow, the Nuggets beat the Magic without the services of Winston Garland...

by Andrew Feinstein on Feb 11, 2009 1:49 PM MST

Nuggets/Magic Recap...

Memo to NBA coaches: do you still think Carmelo Anthony isn't an All-Star? What a joke.

As noted in the Nuggets/Magic Preview post below, the Nuggets hadn't won a game in Orlando since Winston Garland started at point guard. 16 years of futility in Orlando? It was nice knowing you.

A lot of people might call this an "ugly game" but I absolutely loved seeing the Nuggets win a game in which they only scored 82 points. It goes against everything Nuggets basketball has been over the years and was a microcosm of how seriously the Nuggets are committed to defense (most of the time) this season.

Prior to tonight's game, in the George Karl Era when scoring in the 80's or lower the Nuggets were 1-4 this season, 1-5 last season (including the playoffs), 0-11 in 2006-07 (including the playoffs), 0-16 in 2005-06 (including the playoffs) and 0-8 in 2004-05 (including the playoffs).

Finishing the first portion of their eight-game road trip a most respectable 4-1, the Nuggets have earned themselves a much needed All-Star break.

Nuggets/Magic Preview...

Does it seem to you like the Nuggets always lose in Orlando? If the answer is "yes" the good news is you're not crazy because the Nuggets do, in fact, always lose in Orlando. Well, at least they have for the past 17 years anyway.

The Nuggets haven't won in Orlando since this game, which took place on March 10, 1992. Reggie Williams was the Nuggets leading scorer that night with (Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame inductee) Mark Macon putting up a respectable 18 points. I'll have to do some digging later but I'm assuming that was the best game of Macon's pro career. Even Winston Garland broke into double digits scoring in that game with 10 points. How bad was that Magic team? They started Anthony Bowie, Terry Catledge, Scott Skiles, Stanley Roberts and Jeff Turner on their way to 21 total wins. The joke would be on the Nuggets at season's end, however, as the Magic's 21 wins helped them score the number one pick while the Nuggets' 24 wins dropped them to the fifth pick. So maybe if the Nuggets hadn't beaten Orlando 17 years ago, they'd have ended up with Shaquille O'Neal instead of (Denver Stiffs all time favorite Nugget) LaPhonso Ellis.

Although who am I kidding? The NBA would never allow the Nuggets to get the first pick in any draft ever. But it's still fun to speculate.

Back to the matter at hand. The Nuggets have lost 15 consecutive games at the Amway (Amway? really?) Arena. This is the most consecutive wins for the Magic at home against any opponent in the NBA. And the only reason it's not 16 consecutive losses for the Nuggets is because the two teams didn't meet in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 campaign.

If the Magic hadn't sha-lacked the Nuggets in Denver just a few weeks ago, I'd be very optimistic about this game tonight. But Jameer Nelson or no Jameer Nelson, the Nuggets will once again be pounded by Dwight Howard on the inside while the Nuggets' perimeter players tie themselves in knots trying to chase down the barrage of three's coming from Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus. Oh, and Orlando just crushed the same Nets team that crushed the Nuggets last Saturday.

So while I'd love for our Nuggets to squeak in one more victory before the All-Star break, I'm not counting on it.

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big game tonight...btw the magic crushed the nets without VC (and it was a back to back for the nets) i know i'm just tryna make excuses for the nuggets

by Bektur on Feb 11, 2009 3:17 PM MST reply actions

Jeez, I think it is so funny how awful the history of the Nuggets is. Up till Melo it seemed as though we could never catch a freakin break in the draft. Should be a good game tonight, too bad I have f*ing Public Speaking class. Oh, well I'll catch the rerun later, but it's always nice to see the game live.

by Goldennugget on Feb 11, 2009 3:58 PM MST reply actions

Honestly, Howard is rather overrated as an offensive player and he seemed thoroughly mediocre in that first game in Denver (although Birdman played a big role in that). I would rather force Howard to beat us by himself than constantly double and let their 3 point shooters go wild.

Thank god Jameer is injured too, it was so painful to watch him blow past AC and Chauncey in that first game. The pick and roll defense is going to have to be much better this time around.

by Brian on Feb 11, 2009 4:13 PM MST reply actions

Goldennugget, do you by chance go to Front Range?

Anyway I agree, we can't overplay Howard tonight or else I can just see Rashard/Turkoglu with a long range clinic. Can't be scared of putting Howard on the free throw line against single coverage.

Always optimistic, Nuggets by 7.

by The Lark on Feb 11, 2009 4:52 PM MST reply actions

The refs from last night just called another foul on Nene. Apparently he used his balls to strike D. Wade's foot. Since Wade never commits a foul, it had to be on Nene.

I fully expect Nene's balls to foul Howard tonight.

A good win last night, but that run in the third was scary. Birdman goes out and we're playing a 3 guard lineup again. Why no Balkman? We need another big that Karl will play.

by KarlSucks on Feb 11, 2009 4:54 PM MST reply actions

This is a make or break game for Nene, who has looked terrible recently.

Birdman would just embarrass himself against Howard anyway, but given Chauncey nearly led the Nuggets to a win in Cleveland against a much better team with a much better centerpiece.. I like their chances if they can ignore the history books for one night.

Hack-a-Howard and see if Anthony Johnson can pull another miracle out of his ass.. who knows how that goof still puts in games.

by Anonymous on Feb 11, 2009 5:01 PM MST reply actions

wow denver held orlando to 29 points at the half...impressive

by Bektur on Feb 11, 2009 6:18 PM MST reply actions

karl is an asshole we need jr in the game the nuggets can't score and he's keeping jr out

by Anonymous on Feb 11, 2009 7:11 PM MST reply actions

Maybe JR should be in; but you have to look at both sides of the ball. If the Magic have been held to 61 points with 5 minutes left, perhaps Karl is doing something right keeping JR out? The game isn't all about offense and ultimately results are what matters.

by Jigme on Feb 11, 2009 7:26 PM MST reply actions

3-1 to start this 8 game road trip. No more Nuggets for a week. Boooo.

by Anonymous on Feb 11, 2009 7:59 PM MST reply actions

GREAT WIN

by Loving the NUGS on Feb 11, 2009 8:00 PM MST reply actions

Welp, good win (ugly nonetheless) except while we're on the topic of JR and Balkman, yeah why the hell didn't they play? It's not always about offense, true, but Nuggets only scored 30-something in the entire 2nd half? Smith came out, made one 3, got a technical, then was in Karl's doghouse for the rest of the night. Bad idea again.

by The Lark on Feb 11, 2009 8:01 PM MST reply actions

Go Nuggets! Helluva tough fought win tonight. Gotta love the Nuggets winning in a slow paced game like this. Melo was a beast tonight. Really good way to go into the all star break.

by Nugs on Feb 11, 2009 8:02 PM MST reply actions

Was nice to see we could win a key game with Petro on the floor. Plus, watching Bird get shoved into the 3rd row by Howard would not have been pretty.

by JTR on Feb 11, 2009 9:33 PM MST reply actions

Watch out for Denver they keep winning and people will have to find something else besides George Karl to complain about

by Anonymous on Feb 11, 2009 10:37 PM MST reply actions

As a lifelong Nuggets fan, i will say there have been 2 historic wins this seasons.

When the Nuggets were getting drilled by the Celtics early in the game, and Karl didn't call a timeout (shocking) and Billups casually and confidently brought the ball up and ran the offense, time after time, and spearheaded the defense, time after time, was the best Nuggets regular season win of my lifetime.

Tonight, versus the Magic, in Orlando, we relied on our defense, and i honestly cannot belive we won. This, and the Boston win, are honestly the first franchise changing wins since '95 Seattle.

If you don't think we are 2nd round material after this, then you are a jagoff, and i hate you.

GO NUGGETS!

by John on Feb 12, 2009 1:09 AM MST reply actions

The Lark - No, why? Oh, because I said I have Public Speaking. No I go to Metro where that bs is required, they must require it at Front Range too then huh? It really sucks, I hate speaking in front of people and trying to sound all good and professional. Anyways, I managed to catch a few moments of the re-run and I did notice a couple of things. First, Melo is getting on my nerves more and more. I don't mean for this to come off in a bad way but I can't stand his selfishness whenever he gets the ball. I have pretty much decided JR is smarter than Melo and that doesn't leave Melo with much brain power. I really hope this doesn't happen but I kind of see Melo and Chauncy butting heads in the future possibly just because Chauncy will probably try and help Melo but he will think he is such hot shit that he will just brush him off. I don't know, it is just something I was thinking of. The other thing I came to realize during the game was that Chauncy and Boy George seem to have quite the relationship. I am not complaining (look where we are now) and I think it is a good thing for George that he has someone who will listen to what he has to say instead of a bunch of knuckleheads that just don't pay attention. Along with what I just mentioned, I had a revelation when watching Chauncy and George interact on the sidelines. I realised that George is happy. Last year you could just tell he wasn't happy, not so much with AI the person, but the way AI performed on the court. And as we all have seen what is happening in Detroit, I think it is safe to say AI is probably not the most coachable player in the league. Moving on to the All Star game, I am super excited. I can't wait to see JR in the dunk contest and even though the game gets a lot of hate, I still love watching the leagues best show off. Lets hope JR doesn't take more than 8 tries on his first dunk too! Hopefully that way he can restore some pride to the Nuggets org in the Dunk Contest.

by Goldennugget on Feb 12, 2009 3:11 AM MST reply actions

Matt Legler has JR pegged to win the Dunk contest. I have noticed too that Chauncy and GK have a noticibly better rapport as of late. Let's just hope it continues.

I'm gonna take a chance on GK here, and make a promise. I will not blast him anymore, until I have good reason to. If makes a boneheaded call or no-call. Or a suspect line change/substitution. I will keep quite. As long as the Nuggs are winning, in any shape, way, or score I will not berate GK. He may be doing something right that we just can't see.

Watching the team last night at a slow pace was a bit hard to watch, but when looking at the score it looked like a Spurs game. The Magic totally played into the Nuggets slow paced game and Howard just couldn't get into it. Did anyone else notice that Nene kept counting Howard's time in the key? He would just sit in the paint waiting for the pass, and Nene would just hold up three fingers for the refs to see.

I think the All-Star snub may put some fire under Melo to start preforming to his true level of talent. If he had the same passion for the game as T-Mac, KG, Kobe, or LBJ he would be mentioned with them as an elite player on every B-Ball blog out there. I wanna see Melo get mad while he has the ball, not after a whistle. I want to see Melo own a game from start to finish. But time will tell.

Anyway enjoy the break, because afterwards we have some tough teams to face on the road.

If anyone wants to see vinyage JR Smith, go to Youtube and search for JR Smith New York. It's kinda raw.

by joelsopinion on Feb 12, 2009 9:03 AM MST reply actions

Goldennugget I love what u write but I think your wrong about melo. Melo did not settle for jump shots and got to the line 16 times. He might seem as he is playing selfish but he is just being aggressive.

I hate when melo shoots jumpers all the time and I love when he proves to us he is the most complete scorer in nba. I mean his post game, Jab step and pull up jumpers are nothing but great.

When melo plays like this It will be very hard to beat the nuggets.

by Riso on Feb 12, 2009 11:38 AM MST reply actions

Riso - I didn't see all of the game last night so I really can't say much, but what I did see is exactly what you said and I agree and disagree with you. I think it is good to see Melo get to the hoop, in fact I think driving the lane is one of the smartest ways to get some kind of points mounted in your favor. But Melo is just so wreckless. Watching him drive the lane is like watching a person with Parkenson's try and draw a piece of art, it's just not pretty. But the bottom line is he gets to the line and he gets us points. I just wish he would try and do some of the old stuff that used to make his game enjoyable to watch. The jab step for example. When was the last time you saw Melo use the jab step to full effect like he used to? And his jump shot in my opinion is the best in the NBA. That's right the best. I just think it's like he has all the right tools he just doesn't know how to use them. His frame is basically a PF's, just that he is a little bit shorter. I would definatly like to see him encorperate a much larger amount of post moves into his game. I think often times he wants to be SG but he doesn't realize how big and stong he is. I do agree with you though on the fact that he is just being agressive but, I don't know it just seems like he could go about helping the team out in different ways than just putting his head down and driving the lane. He's not like Lebron. He isn't gauranteed to get points some way or another every time he drives the lane. I think it would be interesting to see the stats on how often he scores when he drives the lane. I am willing to bet it's about 50%, as opposed to Lebron which is about 90%. Again, not trying to rag on him here, I am just stating he frustrates me sometimes, that's all.

by Goldennugget on Feb 12, 2009 6:01 PM MST reply actions

There´s no doubt this has been the best first half of the season the Nugs have ever had. Its been great to watch them win.

I dont think George Karl is a good tactical coach. He´s emotional. So when things are good, he rides the wave. But when things get tough, he cant react. But Id rather the Nugs win and be wrong than lose and be right. The fact is, when the playoffs come around, we WILL be outcoached and will need great performances from CB, Melo and the rest. But until then, I am going to enjoy this team that has magically come together. Chemistry matters and CB has brought it.

By the way, Im looking forward to Melo having a great second half. He is without a doubt an all star and the best SF in the game not named Lebron.

If the team stays healthy, anythings possible. The question is, when the tough times come, how will we react? Stay tuned. Go nugs.

by go nugs on Feb 12, 2009 6:26 PM MST reply actions

I know I am going to say what has been said before. So this will be done for my own sanity, and not to change the hearts and minds out there.

I realize this started as Fire George K blog. For many of us that is how we came to find the awesomeness that this site has to offer. (thank you Andrew!!) I for one think that for much of GK's time here he was deserving of the hate...but that time has passed.

In the past Karl had a team that would not listen to him. He also had a team that did not trust each other or his coaching. I believe that it was his fault to not get those teams to perform. If he would have been fired last year I would have been ok with it because he was not managing the team he was handed.

So...if I am going to rip him for that I strongly believe that I have to give him credit for this season. Georgie has been dealt a different hand this season and he has done a pretty dang good job with it. Do I have issues with his rotations and timeout use? Yes. That being said our record is at it's franchise best! He has to get some credit for that. He can't get all the blame in a lost season, and none of the credit in an amazing year. That makes no sense to me.

Of course CB is the engine that is getting us up the mountain. But maybe...just maybe CB and GK are a great team? CB is doing somethings on the court he has not done in years, and that must be due to some of the ways in which Karl uses him. Their inbound plays have never been better!!!

So maybe the Karl hate can fade and we enjoy this year. They are not winning despite Karl. (and that is hard for me to type as a Karl bagger for a couple years) They are winning in part to Karl's ability to work with this team.

I will concede that if we don't make it out of the first round then Karl should be sent on the Shannahan express to retirement. Until then it is time to cut some slack to the Nuggets coach is at the helm of one of our most beautiful seasons ever.

I reserve the right to be wrong on all of this. Go Nuggs!!!!

by John Big John on Feb 12, 2009 6:57 PM MST reply actions

I'm a big Karl hater over the last couple years, but I will give some credit to him for what the Nuggets have been able to do so far this season. I used to think that his defensive schemes (mainly the reliance on frequent switching) were overly simple, and an easy way out from utilizing strong man defense. I now think that the system is actually too complex (I guess he just can't win with me). This year, when all of the Nuggets are on the same page, Karl's defense has worked wonders. The problem is when it doesn't work perfectly, it frequently turns into a complete mess, creating ridiculous matchups and putting his players in impossible situations.

He has drawn up some very effective plays this year on offense as well, yet it seems to me that the overall offense is still too improvised. Each player doesn't seem to really know what his teammates are going to do on any given play, or even what he himself should do in any given situation. This leads to a lot of standing around, and also makes the players expend a lot of energy getting to spots, but unable to receive the ball since the handler doesn't know where they are going without seeing them.

Beyond his play calls and schemes, I think the biggest problem a lot of fans have with Karl, is he does some things that make absolutely no sense on the surface (rotations being the biggest thing for me). Maybe there are hidden reasons for doing some of the inexplicable things he does, but without knowing the reasoning behind them, people should bitch about it.

I think the Nuggets have an incredible amount of talent overall (I don't think there is a better five man lineup in the league with the starters plus Smith), and I like all of the Nuggets, including the much maligned Carter and Jones. However, I don't think Karl utilizes all of the tools he has available as effectively as he should. Since the Nuggets have been so terrible for so long, fan complacency sets the bar too low for this team. Being happy with a nice regular season, and possibly getting a first round win, isn't good enough. I don't think the team can win the championship this year, but I'm very hopeful for the next two. However, I think it will be an uphill climb with Karl at the helm, if he is retained beyond his current contract.

by Cessair on Feb 13, 2009 1:11 AM MST reply actions

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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.