Melo misses his chance to be a hero...

by Andrew Feinstein on Apr 25, 2009 11:32 AM MDT

Nuggets/Hornets Game 3 Recap...

First off, pardon my tardy blogging and this brief recap. I've been out of town all weekend and was able to watch yesterday's thriller in its entirety, but haven't had time to recap it until now. I agree with Denver Stiffs reader "My3Cents" that the missed free throws may have done the Nuggets in at the end (I mean, even Chauncey Billups missed two!).

But I also believe that Carmelo Anthony missed a golden opportunity to be a Nuggets playoff hero for the first time in his career. With just seconds left in the game, Melo (as he should) drove aggressively towards the basket. But rather than pull up for a short jumper or take the ball all the way to the rack, and thus putting the onus on the refs to make a tough call if necessary, he shovel passed the ball to Kenyon Martin and it was deflected by the Hornets' (and the NBA's only "kiwi") Sean Marks. Luckily the ball came back to Melo and he almost had the game-winning basket on a quick turnaround jumper. But with seconds left in a big playoff game, Melo needs to shoot the ball, not shovel pass it to anyone...especially K-Mart who can't be counted on at the free throw line in what most assuredly would have been a foul situation.

That being said, while this loss was tough to take, I liked the Nuggets effort in crawling back into this game and still believe they're winning this series in five games. The Nuggets are clearly superior to the Hornets and seem to know it, too. We just need the Nuggets to sink a few more free throws in Game 4 and if the game is close, Melo needs to embrace the moment and make the big shot. He's done it countless times in the regular season, now it's time to see it in the postseason.

Nuggets/Hornets Game 3 Preview...

I don't have hard data handy, but it seems to me that when a team loses a seven-game series in five games - as I believe the Hornets will - they often win Game 3 on their home floor. Nuggets fans are familiar with this, as we saw the Nuggets win Game 3 against the Timberwolves and the Clippers at the Pepsi Center in 2004 and 2006, respectively. We even saw this last night when the Jazz beat the Lakers in Game 3 at Utah.

Why does this happen? It's pretty obvious. The home team, being down 2-0, has two games worth of "what not to do" film to improve off of, they get energized by their home crowd and the team up 2-0 doesn't make major adjustments, figuring what they've been doing has worked so far.

My hunch is that the same thing will happen to the Nuggets in New Orleans on Saturday, but it doesn't have to be this way. If the Nuggets can somehow maintain their defensive intensity and physical play, combined with getting Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith to the free throw line (trust me, those long jumpers won't fall with the same regularity in the opposing team's gym) as often as possible, a sweep could be ours.

There is, of course, the New Orleans X-factor. As in, will the Nuggets treat this as a "business trip" (as LeBron James is calling the Cavaliers visit to Detroit this weekend) or will they pull a Josh Howard circa 2008 and be out partying in the Big Easy before or between games? In theory, the Nuggets players have the entire summer to party and should just treat their visit to New Orleans as if they're in Oklahoma City...especially with Saturday's tipoff being a matinee.

Go Nuggets!!

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LETS GO NUGGETS.....LETS GO NUGGETS.....LETS GO NUGGETS

by melonugg on Apr 25, 2009 12:23 AM MDT reply actions

I think it is clear that the Nuggets are the better team in this series, so at this point in time we just need to finish this thing of asap so we can rest our serior citizens for the next matchup. I better get some rest, being that it is 3:30 am. Hey, and if anybody reads this, you should come here and use the chatbox on the main page. Last game we had a few people but it would be great to have the full Nuggets Army all at home base for the mathup. GO NUGS!!!

by Goldennugget on Apr 25, 2009 3:35 AM MDT reply actions

GN, I couldn't agree more. Nene, as mentioned before, hasn't played these sort of minutes in many many years. He seems to be wearing down and a couple extra days of rest is exactly what he needs. We don't win another round without him playing well.

Here's hoping for some garbage time and Karl looking down his bench and saying, "Hey were gonna need a long, offensive rebounding energy guy at some point in the playoffs, I should probably give that guy with the funny looking hair some time."

Or, he could just sit there.

by NugzD on Apr 25, 2009 9:14 AM MDT reply actions

we should give the bench guys some serious run in this game IMO. Let them see what they can do. Let JR run with the 2nd unit. I'll bet he would love to go show Byron Scott in New Awlens what time it is in a playoff game.

PS, sux I'm going to miss this one while sitting on an airplane to Detroilet. Hopefully I'll be landing and seeing a Nugs W on the ticker, but if you've ever flown into Detroit NOT using Northwest, you know you're landing in the worlds biggest dump of an airport. It's like a greyhound bus station and I prolly wont be doing anything but getting the hell out of there ASAP.

Go Nuggs!

by Eric K on Apr 25, 2009 10:53 AM MDT reply actions

Seems like Andrews preview was right on the money.

I think Melo should have taken that drive and I'm sure he rerets trying to pass in that situation. It wasn't pretty game by any stretch of the imagination and I think it was good for Denver to stay in a game that they could have conceded mid-way through the 4th.

And I don't care what the stats say. Dahntay Jones needs to be on Paul, period.

by E on Apr 25, 2009 2:11 PM MDT reply actions

Melo was OFF all game on his jumper. Marks just made a good defensive play on that last drive. Hard to feel too bad about this one- we played like DIRT but fought back to make it a game. Game 4 is obviously a CRUCIAL game, thgough I won't call it "must-win". We're sooooo much better than the Hornets- we shouldn't be strugglingto put them away. Game 4 will tell the tale.

by KaiserSoze on Apr 25, 2009 2:21 PM MDT reply actions

We had it figured out in the first 8 minutes, and then Karl made his "adjustments."

This game showed that we're still a big post player away, and that we still have no system. The announcers once again pointed to the post player weakness, and with a system we could get Melo and Nene the easy shots they should be getting, rather than having them have to create for themselves. What's the point of having an elite PG if there's no system for him to run?

Too many jumpers, not enough passing, no rebounding, and the team reverted back into selfish play.

Good effort by the Nuggets, better effort by the Hornets. Here's hoping they can make the adjustments for Game 4, and that the shots start falling again.

by Do We Have Any Plays? on Apr 25, 2009 4:14 PM MDT reply actions

Both Teams Made 30 FG's

NO 28-35 Free Throws
DEN 24-35 Free Throws

Nuggets Lost by 2 points

High School, College, NBA:
GAMES ARE WON & LOST AT THE LINE

by My3Cents on Apr 25, 2009 6:24 PM MDT reply actions

team was not focused. in their defense, after all the love you get at pepsi, the first away game has to be a bitch in the playoffs.

i think monday will be better especially with a close loss like this.

by SpokenWar on Apr 26, 2009 8:27 AM MDT reply actions

Oh, and Melo only went to the line 8 times. We lose a high percentage of games when that happens.

by My3Cents on Apr 26, 2009 9:29 AM MDT reply actions

What conerns me was the lack of aggression towards the end of the game. Seemed they were indecisive and lacked the killer instinct at the end. Melo shoulda looked to score right after the inbounds steal, they were tentative and wasted that last timeout. Then Melo tries to dump it off instead of going for the aggresive score???? Had em on the ropes, hope this doesn't comeback to hurt us

by Melonugg on Apr 26, 2009 4:22 PM MDT reply actions

Do we have any plays: Spot on comments. I would like to add that if the Weakest Link AC had made any of those shots he took then maybe. Sure when you shoot you're not going to make them all but this dude goes game after game after game and makes not a point. When you're behind why is this piece of shit in the game? Defense my ass.

by SamIam on Apr 26, 2009 6:58 PM MDT reply actions

That was the most frustrating game I have watched this year as a Nugs fan. It almost seemed as if N.O. was trying to give us the game and we wouldn't accept it. Like when someone offers you a present that is too good to accept and you always find yourself playing that role where you know you really want it but you just deny it to be courteous. Anyways, after I got the hole in my TV fixed I had time to reflect on the game a bit. Everything was a disaster it seemed like, nobody played really good. What I can say is we have got to get more production out of Nene. The guy has some horrible counterparts that he could school all day with his post moves, yet he doesn't. The last 2 minutes of the game were just heartbreaking. Every time we came back something ridiculous happened to put us behind again. On the last play of the game Hastings pointed out if Melo makes that a bounce pass, we win the game. But I thought Melo had plenty of room even before that just to pull up for a j. He has one of the best pull up js in the game, I just don't understand why he wouldn't take that shot. Oh well, it's over. Looking forward to the next one.

by Goldennugget on Apr 27, 2009 3:29 AM 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.