Nuggetsadamus? Not quite...

by Andrew Feinstein on Feb 10, 2009 1:06 PM MST

Nuggets/Heat Recap...

I guess I can paste the text from my earlier preview after all. Of course, the Nuggets scored 26 less points than I predicted and won by only 17 points rather than the 30 I forecasted. So you can't call me Nuggetsadamus...yet!

I don't know about you, my fellow Stiffs, but when the Nuggets are on the road I like watching the opposing team's broadcast whenever possible. I can usually tell you everything Scott Hastings and Chris Marlowe will say before they say it, so it's nice to get an alternate perspective on our Nuggets when the opportunity presents itself. And since tonight's game was on NBATV, I was able to do that.

The Heat broadcasters pointed out a stat that I don't think Hastings or Marlowe have ever mentioned because even I didn't know this one. They mentioned that the Nuggets are 26-1 (now 27-1) when leading going into the fourth quarter. (I've since looked online to verify this, but can't seem to find it handy). If this is true, that's a remarkable number. 27-1 means that the Nuggets are damn good closers, even if they give away big leads early like they did again tonight.

This was a great win and exactly what we needed to recover from that debacle in New Jersey. I have no expectations going into the Magic game tomorrow, but nothing surprises me anymore from our Nuggets this season. Congrats to George Karl and the players on a solid road victory.

On a side note, J.R. Smith has just been announced as Rudy Gay's replacement in Saturday's dunk contest. After the Magic game tomorrow, Denver Stiffs will dive into the All-Star Game in greater detail.

Nuggets/Heat Preview...

Rather than preview tonight's matchup against the Miami Heat, I'm going to write what I hope will be my recap post after the game concludes...

The Denver Stiffs Nuggets/Heat Recap (filed at 9:07 MST)...

I really felt bad for the Heat tonight. After being pummeled by 44 points against the New Jersey Nets on Saturday, the Nuggets clearly stewed on that embarrassment for the past three days and took it all out on this Miami team. The Heat just didn't see it coming as they allowed the Nuggets to post 125 points on them while only mustering 95 for themselves.

Instead of partying late into the South Beach night (as they've allegedly done in the past on trips down there), the Nuggets players were clearly focused on crushing the Heat tonight and regaining some of their credibility as one of the NBA's elite teams. After all, the Heat had previously won their last four home games by an average of 16.5 points and yet the Nuggets turned them into a CBA team tonight.

Only time will tell, but it looks like that atrocious game in New Jersey might have been aberration in what has otherwise been a splendid Nuggets season. Given that the Nuggets were able to rest their starters for the entire fourth quarter in Miami, I'd love to be optimistic about the Magic game tomorrow night. But as we saw over the weekend, resting one night does not guarantee a great effort the following night.

Regardless of what happens in Orlando, it's nice to know that this Nuggets team has heart and guts and can respond with a phenomenal effort after such a devastating loss.

So what are the chances I can just copy and paste that after the Heat game tonight? Go Nuggets!!

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Comments

Let's hope you're right, but frankly ... I'll take a 1 point win. Go Nuggets!

by Anonymous on Feb 10, 2009 1:33 PM MST reply actions

Ummm, no. It's great your optimistic though.

by Goldennugget on Feb 10, 2009 3:44 PM MST reply actions

Lol 125-95 is a bit too exaggerating don't you think?

by Kohaku on Feb 10, 2009 4:19 PM MST reply actions

Nuggets by 9.

This game will not be an embarassment to the franchise like the New Jersey game was, but not a blowout victory like in Washington either.

by The Lark on Feb 10, 2009 4:28 PM MST reply actions

this is a little off, but where do youll think Amare is going? I had heard that the nuggets offered kmart but i dont believe it. 2ndly do you think the nuggets will use the 10 mill trade exception or even make any trades at all? The suns would take the trade exception and kleiza and a first round pick for Amare, i think the nuggets should do it

by 1NUGS1 on Feb 10, 2009 4:44 PM MST reply actions

1NUGS1, regardless of where Stoudamire goes (if anywhere), it will not be for a massive contract, unless it was expiring. David Aldridge wrote today about how some owners are losing so much money that certain players are being shipped to save money.
One such player is Tyson Chandler, who would be a great help to the Nuggets. But I doubt we could give them what they want and Kroenke won't want to pay him.

I'd be very tempted to use the trade exception to go after Rasheed Wallace. Might sound silly, but he is a big (which we need) who on his day can be good on offence (7/10 3s the other day!), and a very good post defender, which could be very helpful against the Lakers, Suns and Spurs in the playoffs. And if he doesn't work out, bye, bye 'Sheed to free agency.

by Julian from Australia on Feb 10, 2009 7:45 PM MST reply actions

Observe the way the NBA's officials make Dwayne Wade untouchable.

by Anonymous on Feb 10, 2009 7:47 PM MST reply actions

Well Andrew...you failed to forget that these nuggets focus a little more on defense....so instead of getting those ABA numbers, we just get a good 15+ win.

But I'm glad so many people showed faith in you.........

by danjustin on Feb 10, 2009 8:01 PM MST reply actions

Andrew you can look forwards to copy/pasting your recap lol. Just change the numbers to 99-82 and it will be accurate.

by Kohaku on Feb 10, 2009 8:05 PM MST reply actions

The nugs were on pace to hit your prediction dead on, but George Karl strikes again.

Plays our only two point guards together for most of the game and the entire second half. No JR for the entire third. 16 point lead cut in half. Benches Melo for the first 8 minutes of the fourth. Lead cut to 4. Billups bails us out in the fourth with some help from JR in a game that should never have been close. Andersen goes down and we cant find 3 minutes for Balkman and/or Petro to give the bigs a rest?
Why am I angry after a comfortable road win? Karls bonehead lineups.

Nothing against Anthony Carter, he has done a great job. But we cant play our only two point guards together all season. Period. JR was fantastic tonight and should have played more.

Coach of the Year = Chauncey Billups
NOT George Karl. Never. Chauncey has saved his job.

by go nugs on Feb 10, 2009 8:21 PM MST reply actions

Well, copy and paste, or just leave it. The game tonight really showed how much Birdman means to this team as when he went out it seemed as thought the Nuggets lost all their energy and motivation. I hope he gets well soon. The other thing I learned from tonight is that this is CHAUNCY'S team, NOT Melo's. I don't care if Melo has been here longer, he hasn't stepped up. Ever since Chauncy arrived he has taken over the culture of the team and turned us into the best Nuggets team most of us have ever seen. Melo has had his opportunities and other than his rookie year I haven't seen him step up like he should. On a different note, I doubt that we see another trade go down this year. Our owners have made it clear they aren't looking so spend any money at all and as good as we already are I just don't see them going after anyone, especially Chandler, who in my opinion is a flat out BUMB! Chris Paul is so good that he has the ability to make others around him who are bad look really good. Chandler falls into that category. I just heard JR will compete in the Dunk Contest, sweet! He's definitely got some competition.

by Goldennugget on Feb 10, 2009 8:35 PM MST reply actions

I've got NBA tv but couldn't watch it during the game, would only let me watch the altitude broadcast. Why? I've got comcast

by BNGC on Feb 10, 2009 8:55 PM MST reply actions

long chauncey post-game interview on nbatv: http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2009/02/10/nba_20090210_game_time_post.nba/index.html

by Anonymous on Feb 10, 2009 9:29 PM MST reply actions

Here's where you can find ahead-and-behind stats like the Heat broadcasters mentioned:

http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Ahd_Cnf.html

by Ben Q. Rock on Feb 10, 2009 10:21 PM MST reply actions

Nuggets are starting to be Karl's Sonics scary...

I remember back in 1995-97, my fave team was the Lakers... Sonics were the team I hated... it seemed we couldn't win against them...

Now our Nuggets are starting to put that scare into opponents' fans' heart.

P.S. Is there a stat of Nuggets record when Balkman plays and when he doesn't? Just curious.

- Snake -

by Anonymous on Feb 10, 2009 11:22 PM MST reply actions

Keep it up Andrew and the History Chanel will have to make a documentary on your predictions. With all the creepy music and whacked out professors. And the guy from the All-State commercials doing the monologue.

JR in the Dunk contest is great. ESPN annouced it during an interview with GK after the win. (actually a good interview)It was pretty much the 1st time in recent memory that ESPN said anything about the Nuggs other than a box score. Then again it was probably because they played D-Wade's team.

An anonymous poster said...Observe the way the NBA's officials make Dwayne Wade untouchable.

Yeah very true. The NBA has 3 golden boys, Kobe, LBJ, and D-Wade. They are untouchable because they shit profits. If one of them endorses anything the stock shoots through the roof. The NBA is a business 1st and a sports league second, which is a damn shame.

by joelsopinion on Feb 11, 2009 8:53 AM MST reply actions

That was hardly a blowout, and when DON'T the Nuggets kill the Heat? Seems like they have the last few times.

Let's see your peashooter marbles pick a win against the Magic.

by Anonymous on Feb 11, 2009 9:23 AM MST reply actions

Like BNGC said the NBAtv broadcast was blacked out in Denver on Comcast so we were stuck w/Marlow and Hastings. Ugh. Like Andrew I'd rather listen to the other announcers once in a while to get a different view on what's going on. Plus the picture on NBAtv (and ESPN when they show Nugs games) seems to be better than the one on Altitude for some reason.

Good, not great win. CB took control at the end. I like the leadership he's bringing to the team this year, not letting us give wins away like we have been prone to do in recent years. Plus he's he seems to have the ear of both Melo and JR so when he speaks, they listen.

Bummed about Birdman going down. Maybe this will spark the front office to bring in a more effictive big man besides Petro to man the paint while Bird is out. If Nene gets into foul trouble, who do we bring in if Bird is out? All the posters go on about Balkman, and while I like his hustle game he seems too raw, or maybe just unfinished to really be good for long minutes.

Going into the All Star break I'm pretty happy with the way this season has gone so far. If the Nugs can have a strong second half to the season like last year we'll be in good shape going forward.

by AlexRidesBikes on Feb 11, 2009 10:17 AM MST reply actions

To anonymous:
Melo owns the the series against D-Wade and the Heat throughout their careers thus far 8-2. It seems like Melo has D-Wade's number.

On a side note check out what Edjuardo Najara said about his old Nuggs- "They're one of the hottest teams in the NBA," said Najera, who watches the Nuggets regularly on television and keeps in touch with coach George Karl and players Nene and Linas Kleiza. "I truly believe they've got a great opportunity to go all the way."

That's from the Ball Don't Lie blog. Even after catching the ax Eddie is a stand up guy.

by joelsopinion on Feb 11, 2009 10:31 AM MST reply actions

Wouldn't be surprised if Eddie is trying to hex them. He's been pretty bitter in every other interview. Sitting on his ass until the Nuggets came to town. He's a waste of a roster spot on what could be a decent team in the East.

by Anonymous on Feb 11, 2009 4:59 PM 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.