Is the magic number two or three? (Nuggets/Thunder Preview 7pm MST)...

by Andrew Feinstein on Apr 8, 2009 5:22 PM MDT

I was going to title this post "When Passover gets in the way of watching the Nuggets" but didn't feel like getting struck down by lightning before the Nuggets best season in over 20 years concludes next week.

There has been a lot of chatter among Nuggets fans that the team's "magic number" - i.e. the combined number of games they need to win / their closest opponents need to lose - is two. In other words, all the Nuggets need to do is win two of their remaining four games and they've secured home court in the first round of the playoffs because the only teams fighting to contend for the fourth seed - New Orleans and Portland if they (most unlikely) run the tables - lose out to the Nuggets in a tiebreaker scenario.

While it's true that the magic number for home court advantage is two, the magic number the Nuggets should be focused on is three. Because if the Nuggets win three of their next four games, no matter what Houston or San Antonio do down the stretch, the two-seed will belong to Denver.

Taking these last four games seriously (and based on the way the Nuggets have played lately, we have no reason to believe they won't) begins tonight when the Oklahoma City Thunder (still getting used to saying that) arrive at the Pepsi Center having lost three straight and eight out of 10. But even though the Thunder possess the NBA's fourth worst record, they've given the Nuggets all they could handle in both matchups at OKC. In the first, Carmelo Anthony had to make a miracle three-pointer to win the game. And in the second contest, the Nuggets needed a bad late kicking call on the Thunder and another Anthony clutch shot to win. The good news for Nuggets fans is that these two teams met at Pepsi Center on a Wednesday night just one month ago, and in that outing the Nuggets handled the pesky Thunder with relative ease. I'm looking for a repeat performance tonight as the Nuggets march to a franchise-best 55 wins.

Go Nuggets!!

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Need Kmart for tomorrow. Bynum will be back

by sepioes on Apr 8, 2009 5:55 PM MDT reply actions

I'm glad you didn't go with the 1st thought for the title. Namely because I'd have to laugh at it, then I'd probably be struck for agreeing with a blaspheme, and I really don't need that right now.

The Nuggs will win 3 of the last 4. Which 3 though are in the air, and that's a scary thought.

GO NUGGETS!

by joelsopinion on Apr 8, 2009 6:30 PM MDT reply actions

Random comments:
1) Petro DNP- A little surprised he wasn't used at all against his former team, especially with Kmart out.

2)Thank you refs. Sorry to say, but FTs were the only way we were even competitive in the first half.

3) No JR in the fourth?- I assume it was because of his defense, cause he didn't have a shot in the second half. Yet he still had +22 to lead the team (a little misleading since he got benefits from Chauncey in the third, but still had about +19 at the half).

4) Seemed like a really lackadaisical effort all around, but they won, so I guess Huzzah!

by Cessair on Apr 8, 2009 9:39 PM MDT reply actions

One more thing. Anyone know what was up with Nene's hand? Doesn't look bad, but first I'd seen or heard of a problem.

by Cessair on Apr 8, 2009 9:42 PM MDT reply actions

Youll see that espn.com finally gave out boys some love....In every award category there is a nugget in the top 5. Except for ROY cuz we all know Karl would never let that happen

by 1NUGS1 on Apr 8, 2009 11:11 PM MDT reply actions

I only caught the second half of the game tonight. Nice to see Melo up there in the scoring. I disagree with a lot of people who say they would like his rebounds up more than they do his scoring. Other people can fight for rebounds, we need Melo to score, that's what he does best. But personally I like to see his assists up. When Melo gets over 5 assists he usually always has a great game. He is a great passer and if he can use it to his advantage he can really open up the floor for others as well as himself. I agree with what Legs said tonight on Fastbreak, he said something like "I see a focus in Melo I havn't seen in a long time and when he has that his team immediatly becomes much more dangerous and don't be suprised if the Nuggets win a playoff series this year." Or something like that...

by Goldennugget on Apr 8, 2009 11:51 PM MDT reply actions

I haven't seen any mention of it, but there is a great Nugget tribute video on Youtube. Normally, I wouldn't mention something like this, and I apologize if it's inappropriate. I really liked it though, and I think some of you would appreciate it. It's short, but is well done, and features a Nuggets' related background song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Eeen_QT2A

by Cessair on Apr 8, 2009 11:59 PM MDT reply actions

I am worried about Balkman. He seems to be occupying space. 3 rebounds? 1 offensive rebound??

by Anonymous on Apr 9, 2009 8:48 AM MDT reply actions

How about our Coach of the Year last night? That's the lazy bastard we know and love. Some of the worst rotations I have ever seen. Okay, Billups was in foul trouble so A.C. comes in early. But at one point we had A.C., Smith, Birdman, Balkman, and Kleiza. So one offensive threat that they are double teaming. Then they bring back Billups, but take out Smith, so an even worse offensive lineup. And it's a small unit, more rebounding problems. Predictably both of those units were outscored...

Anybody see how billups took over and scored 11 straight at one point.

And I agree on Smith - where was he in the fourth? He single handedly kept them in the game in the first half. Weird, weird rotations. Could it be he was saving people for the Laker game?

by KarlSucks on Apr 9, 2009 12:11 PM MDT reply actions

Karl Sucks & Cessair,
I don't get the fat ass rotation of leaving in AC and taking out JR for nothing in the world. Especially when we need offense.
Can't no one, I mean no one, not even AC's wife tell me that he'
s not sucking on GK.
As far as saving people for the Lakers, who is he saving? Billups, Melo and Nene, were in the game late in the 4th qtr.
With that said I just hope LK is back in his grove.

by samiamb on Apr 9, 2009 12:40 PM MDT reply actions

Hey, nice video! Thanks for the link.

And I'm no hip-hop mogul, but come on, even I could have come up with something that rhymes with "Fire George Karl," or, at the very least, "Denver Stiffs."

:-)

What kinds of things will get sent to our inbox if we sign up on the email list?

by Do We Have Any Plays? on Apr 9, 2009 12:56 PM MDT reply actions

There is an article on the sporting news that talks about the Lakers/Nugs game tonight and about how the Nugs could have a chance in a series against the Lakers. He finishes talking about how Karl will need aggressive offense from Anthony and Smith. Then he ends with the line of the week:

"You know what, I just typed "George Karl." I retract this all. But the game should still be fun."

by KarlSucks on Apr 9, 2009 3:25 PM MDT 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.