It's nice to see Linas Kleiza playing basketball again...

by Andrew Feinstein on Mar 28, 2009 11:01 PM MDT

Nuggets/Warriors Recap...

In hindsight, I can't believe I was worried for a second about this game with the Warriors tonight. I sat right across from the Warriors bench and couldn't tell you who the three players (that's right, three) were sitting next to Don Nelson and his coaching staff if my life depended on it. And I'm obsessed with the NBA! But that's what happens when Andris Biedrins, Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette don't even both traveling with the team. I mean, seriously, who are these guys?

In what has otherwise been a terrific slew of basketball games since the Nuggets went slump busting against the New Jersey Nets in Denver a few weeks ago, the one frustration among Nuggets fans (and the coaching staff) has been the poor play of Linas Kleiza. On the one hand, we've lived with it knowing that Kleiza might get the boot in favor of the much beloved Renaldo Balkman in the playoff rotation (and may still). But on the other hand, you never want to see any of your favorite team's players struggle, especially someone who's been a Nuggets' stalwart for the past four seasons like Kleiza.

If ever there was a team to break out of a slump against, I suppose it would be the underhanded Warriors. And break out of a slump Kleiza did, posting 22 points off the bench and actually making a three-point shot (although it took him four attempts) for the first time in 10 games, excluding his miracle three-point hook shot in Phoenix on Monday night. (It should be noted that Kleiza's +/- was -12...eek...but don't tell him that, we need his spirits up.)

Like most Nuggets fans, I'd rather see Balkman on the floor than Kleiza when George Karl shortens his "rotation" for the playoffs in April. But we could be a freak Carmelo Anthony or J.R. Smith injury away from really needing Kleiza in the postseason, so it's best to keep his confidence up and perhaps a game like this will help. Moreover, don't forget that it was only J.R. and Kleiza who stepped up against the Lakers in the playoffs last year. A fearless, confident Kleiza is an undeniably important asset.

Congrats to the Nuggets on a relatively easy win at home. It's rare when watching Rocky is more entertaining than the game itself, but I'll happily deal with it!

Nuggets/Warriors Preview...

It's hard to believe, but around this time last season the Nuggets were neck-and-neck with the Warriors for the eighth and final playoff seed (and the right to get slaughtered by the Lakers). The Warriors would finish the 2007-08 with a very respectable 48 wins, their best record in 13 years. And yet they missed the playoffs for the 13th time in 14 seasons after the Nuggets beat them in Oakland and finished the season with 50 wins. This season will make it 14 missed postseasons in 15 seasons for Golden State, as the Warriors have reverted to their disastrous ways due to an assortment of injuries, questionable personnel moves and organization in-fighting.

This doesn't mean the Warriors aren't a dangerous team, however, as they're playing with nothing to lose and many of their young players are trying to prove their worth in the NBA. In the month of March, the Warriors almost beat the Jazz in Salt Lake City, the Lakers in Los Angeles and the Spurs in San Antonio. Their inexperience and poor shot selection always does them in, but they can make their opponent's fans sweat for about 46 of any game's 48 minutes.

The good news for Nuggets fans is that we get a fresh Nene back tonight and the Warriors' best player, Stephen Jackson, is likely out with a toe injury. This game falls into the category of "no excuses not to win" for our Nuggets, but it's by no means an assured victory.

Go Nuggets!!

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A little bit off topic...I clicked on ESPN's daily dime because every day they have the best and worst performers listed and I was sure that it would be Melo from last night's win over the Mavericks. I wanted to see what they thought about Melo's 43 points and 11 boards. Come to find out that when a Nugget is a top performer, ESPN didn't do that segment of the dime. More fuel for the conspiracy theory, that's all I'm saying. Maybe the Nuggets can use the constant disrespect that they receive and turn it into motivation.

by Mike on Mar 28, 2009 11:44 AM MDT reply actions

I don't want to add fuel to the conspiracy fire ... but I noted that every time we win a big game, the nba.com recap always mentions that the opposing team played badly, rather than us playing well. Last night's huge win in Dallas was titled "Nuggets beat Kidd-less Mavs". Wtf? I guarantee you that if it was Kobe or LBJ that scored 43 points in such a big game (actually it was melo's second huge game in a row, in probably the two most important games of the season) it would've read something like "kobe slaughters Mavs" or something to that effect ... and I'm sure the chants of MVP would've been cried by the media for weeks.
Anyway ... I'm not gonna let it upset me. I'm just gonna enjoy the rest of the season ... and hopefully the nugz can keep up their good play of late and turn all this hating against them into a 2 seed. Go nuggets!

by Anonymous on Mar 28, 2009 1:10 PM MDT reply actions

This is the type of game and team that scares the crap out of me. The Nugs pull out a couple of huge road wins against playoff teams without Nene, and get a little cocky and let a high scoring Warriors team to hang around until they think they can win.

I've seen it so many times over the past few years. Hopefully tonight will be different, and they'll play to their potential, not down to their opponent's level.

Give me a 20+ point win where they knock out the other team when they're up 10-15 points instead of letting them back in the game.

Go Nugs!

by Anonymous on Mar 28, 2009 6:56 PM MDT reply actions

Everyone hates the Nuggets, I've come to realize that. Nothing we can do about it except watch the Nuggs beat up a sorry Warriors team by 32 points through 3 meaningful quarters. Here's hoping that the Nuggets play with a chip on their shoulder throughout the end of the regular season and then through the playoffs. I think they can beat all the other playoff teams except LA if they play disciplined. Admittedly, against LA the Nuggs need the ball to bounce their way a lot, but if you have talent like this team does, then anything can happen. Go Nuggs!

by Josh on Mar 28, 2009 9:51 PM MDT reply actions

Well on the brightside... it looks like George Karl is starting to get the hang of this thing that coaches are supposed to master... TEAM ROTATION. 9 almost 10 players got at least 20 minutes this game, and most of them contributed with 7 in double figures and 2 more players scoring 8 points. If this play continues, and if George Karl can keep his head out of his ass, I think we can make a pretty good run.

Oh and 37 assists in a night isn't too bad either. Kudos goes to AC for understanding his role and dishing out 13 assists and only attempting 4 shots that night. Albeit he missed 3 of the 4... one of those misses turned into one of the most AWESOME DUNKS nuggets fans have seen in a while, the Birdman K-mart duo slam hahaha.

by Aiden - FoCo on Mar 29, 2009 10:27 AM MDT reply actions

I'm not sure I'd say LK is out of his slump. I'll certainly agree though, that Balkman is the preferred player, especially on defense, where LK's game has only been average at best. Still though, the threat of LK shooting a trey from the wings is a great distraction for the opposing defense, at least when he has his stroke in order.

Hopefully, something will click for him before the playoffs, because we are going to need all hands on deck, especially if we finally make it out of the first round.

by JTR on Mar 29, 2009 10:41 AM MDT reply actions

Kleiza musta been feeling better about his game... I saw him out at Suite 200 with Dahntay Jones last night. It's soo funny watching the pandering that goes on amongst the gold-diggin hoochie mammas when a pro athlete is in their vicinity. Dahntay started hollerin at this chick that I had been eyeing before the game even ended... oh well. I was out classed and probably didn't have a shot in the first place. But damn you Dahntay! I will get my hoe revenge one day!

by Eric K on Mar 29, 2009 11:03 AM MDT reply actions

First of all, I would like to say that I agree 156.9% (don't worry, I did the math... it's complicated) with the #1 Stiff selection. BIRDMAN GOT SCREWED something fierce. I don't even play fantasy ball and this has me heated.

Anyway, while I would have like to see the Nuggets finish stronger, it was a good showing overall. Anthony Carter even showed his value to the 2nd unit (he still should not be on a starting line-up and has failed to prove otherwise). It was good to see the Nuggets recognize that the Warriors are clearly an abysmal team and just pounce and not let up. Melo was toying with those boys and I thought (maybe Andrew could confirm) I heard Melo yelling from he bench for the team feed Nene the ball in the paint and let him get off. Not that Nene really went crazy and posted 20 and 20, but it was good to hear Melo trying to be more of a leader throughout the game and recognizing mismatches for teammates. As Birdman noted, the Warriors had to throw their layups "up to the moon" so he wouldn't swat their shots. The 4th quarter was really a joke and got sloppy for the Nuggets, but anytime an opponent scores 42 in the fourth quarter and your team still wins by double digits, then collectively the team did what it needed to do. Frankly, I could see why the Denver stepped off from defending the 3 so tightly. All the Warriors had to do was fall after each 3pt attempt and they would either get 3 shots or a chance at a 4pt play.

But what I've noticed most recently has been what I have been seeing from Melo's offensive game. He seems to be back on auto-pilot, and I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean auto-pilot like the '06-'07 Melo that averaged 28.9 effortlessly. His swag seems off the chart these days ("I can score in my sleep"), and it really couldn't have come at a better time. Melo is averaging "only" 22.8 ppg after last night. I just don't want people to overlook the fact that Melo was averaging about 18 ppg up to the All-Star break. Raising one's average by 5 points after shaking off elbow injuries plus a broken hand is something I will ensure gets the credit it deserves, particularly on this forum.

I'm not going to get too excited because this is the type of play I have come to expect (read: demand) from this team because I know what they are capable of. Giving credit where it's due, I will say that George Karl is a good regular season coach. There, I said it. Unfortunately, there is this thing called the postseason that I would like to see this team progress in. I'm not expecting a championship, but I do expect progress. My stomach is kind of twisted just thinking about how I would feel if the Nuggets do make it out of the first round. As I've said before, I think the Nuggets will have to make some serious noise (7 games) in the 2nd round for Karl to keep his job. But as a big fan of Melo, I really just want to see him gain some real playoff experience. I'll just sit back and (try my best to) enjoy.

by E on Mar 29, 2009 11:22 AM MDT reply actions

LK has been my favorite Nugget for three seasons now. It's been a very rough season for me and my Kleiza Jersey, I actually wore my Melo jersey at the last game I was at because Kleiz'as just did'n feel right. So it is awesome, AWESOME!, to see him get some points. I'm still not sold on Balkan either, he is streaky like Kliza, one game he'll put up a real nice stat line, and then the next he'll get something like 2 boards and 4 TO's. Still, he's playing better then Kleiza and I too would rather see him out then, UNLESS, Kleiza has another 2 or 3 games to finish out the season where he shoots at least 33% from 3 and scores 20 points or more, then I would use him and balkman in the playoffs along with AC and Bird of the bench and let Dahntay jones ride pine. Both Kleiza and Balkman can play the two, Balkman is athletic enough to defend the perimeter and can do so well. Also My updated predictions have the Nugz at 54-28 and the outright three seed.

by Zachm219 on Mar 29, 2009 12:44 PM MDT reply actions

Kleiza playing the two? please tell me your joking, did you not see Dahntay fluster the hell out of cp3 the other night? There is no way in hell kleiza can play the 2, he would get burned constantly.

by Chris on Mar 29, 2009 3:40 PM MDT reply actions

I'm a fan of Linas also. To me he has lost his confidence due to the fact that he didn't get a contract. He went through the same thing last year when AI and Melo were trying to get him traded for Artest. I gonna say he feels that he's not wanted. True this is a business, however when you feel that you're part of the team you have a better sense of yourself. He hasn't had motivation for the last two years, so, he has an oh well dispostion. We all know that he is capable. He and JR play well together, they look for each other, just like Balkman and Birdman play well together. is

by samiam on Mar 30, 2009 5:57 PM MDT reply actions

I don't get how you give Kudo's to AC. He gets assists because he's affraid to take the shot. If he could shoot he wouldn't have that many assists. You guys don't think Hart could do better? No sense in bringing that question into the fold we will never know, because GK won't play him. The minutes AC got in the 4th qtr should have gone to Hart. The game was won, those should have been minutes for Hart to get familar with the unit. But nnoooo... GK has to get his whore minutes to pad his stats. AC ain't about dookey as a basketball player.

by samiam on Mar 30, 2009 6:11 PM MDT 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.