Game 8 Preview & Thread: Nuggets at Bulls (6pm MDT)
by Nate Timmons on Nov 10, 2009 1:14 PM MST
in Game Previews & Threads
341 comments
Nuggets Nation has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of J.R. Smith (or Earl as he now wants to be called) for the 2009-10 season ... well, the wait is over. Smith will see his first action tonight in Chicago after serving his seven-game suspension to start the season. Smith's return couldn't come at a better time, as he'll provide Denver with some fresh legs off the bench.
Last season Denver went into Chicago, faced a depleted Bulls team (their major trade deadline deal kept their new additions out of uniform) with only eight active players, and lost 116-99. In fact, the Bulls starting five that night (Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, Ben Gordan and Derrick Rose) outscored the entire Nuggets team 103-99.
But that was last season and I don't really correlate past success being all of too relevant in professional sports with the ever changing landscape and all.
Also, who here is sick of me doing all the previews and recaps? Maybe someone should start a "We want Andrew back" FanPost! Ha ha joking, but seriously ... he'll be back as usual very soon - so you wont have to keep putting up with just my view!
Let's break this game down!
Records:
Denver: 5-2
Chicago: 4-2 (key wins: vs. San Antonio, at Cleveland)
Injuries:
Denver: Kenyon Martin - probable (left fibula contusion)
Chicago: Aaron Gray (left fibula fracture), Jerome James (right Achilles) and Tyrus Thomas (left radius fracture) are all out tonight.
Point Guard: Chauncey Billups vs. Derrick Rose
This is going to be a tough matchup for Billups as the one thing an aging point guard has issues with are the young quick guys coming into their own. The 21-year-old Rose is lightening quick and Billups will have a tough time staying in front of him. Rose's minutes are down quite a bit from his averages last season (roughly from 37 mpg to 30 mpg this season), but when he's on the floor he will cause Denver problems if he's driving the ball and getting out in transition. On the flip side ... Billups is a strong guard who will take advantage of every weakness in Rose's game. The way the two are playing right now ... advantage even.
Shooting Guard: Joey Graham/Arron Afflalo vs. John Salmons
Our first big question mark ... who will Karl start tonight and how much will they play? Salmons is a scorer and has great size for the shooting guard spot, but his game has been off this season as he's only shooting 34% from the field and averaging 13.8 points per game (down from 18.3 ppg last season). Graham and Afflalo both matchup well with Salmons if they stay committed on the defensive end and Afflalo has been stepping up his offensive game now that he's growing more comfortable in the Denver offense. Karl stated in the Denver Post that he wants to get Smith minutes "in the low 20s" tonight so I'll be interested to see how much burn Graham and Double-A get. Advantage: Even.
Small Forward: Carmelo Anthony vs. Luol Deng
The injury plagued Deng, who only appeared in 49 games last season, is having a nice bounce-back season averaging 16.7 points and 10 rebounds in roughly 37 minutes per game. Deng leads the low-scoring (88.5 ppg) Bulls in ... scoring, but he'll have his work cut out for him tonight with Melo. Anthony is capable of dominating this matchup on the offensive end if he plays the right way. In Denver's first three games Melo averaged 4.3 assists and since this roadtrip has begun he has averaged 2 assists in the last four games (pretty funny when you consider he scored more points in Denver's first three games than the last four). I know assists are not really the most accurate way to judge if a guy is playing unselfish basketball (since one guy decides what is an assist), but Melo needs to trust his teammates to make plays and let the offense come to him. I barely realized in the first two games that Melo was looking for his shot and he needs to get back to playing more team basketball. Advantage: Nuggets.
Power Forward: Kenyon Martin vs. Taj Gibson
The rookie out of USC (26th overall pick) will again be starting in place of injured Tyrus Thomas. Gibson scored a career-high 11 points on 5-12 shooting in Cleveland on November 5th, but this will be a tough matchup for him. I don't know much else about the kid, but playing against a fired up K-Mart is not going to be very much fun. Here is what Martin said in the Denver Post today.
"I'm going to play, man — no matter how I feel," said Martin, who sustained a left leg bruise on Friday in Miami. "We lost two games in a row. Bottom line, we've got to stop the bleeding. I think my presence on the court will go a long way."
Martin has an excellent way of making his presence known, ask any NBA rim or Dirk Nowitzki. Advantage: Nuggets.
Center: Nene vs. Joakim Noah
Both of these guys are capable of making incredible faces after they feel a bad call went against them or if they don't get a call they feel they deserved. Seriously though, both guys are undersized centers who rely on different aspects of their game to get by. Noah is a ferocious rebounder and ultimate hustle guy. Nene is a talented offensive player who thrives off playing above the rim. The emotions inside the game can get the better of each guy and whomever can control their game will win this battle. Advantage: Even.
Bench: Ty Lawson, Earl "J.R." Smith, Double-A/Graham, Renaldo Balkman, Chris Andersen and Anthony Carter vs. Kirk Hinrich, Brad Miller, Jannero Pargo and James Johnson.
Right off the bat ... Karl has not settled on a certain rotation as of yet and that's basically because Smith has been out and K-Mart suffered an early injury. Vinny Del Negro however, basically has been using a seven-man rotation with just Miller and Hinrich logging major minutes of the bench. Both Bulls bench guys are veterans who know their roles with the team. Hinrich could start for a lot of teams in the league and is a very nice asset off the bench. (To be honest ... I'd like to see some Lawson vs. Rose and Hinrich vs. Billups in this one.) The Nuggets though have a deeper unit and get a big shot in the arm with the return of #5 ... yes, Earl Smith. If Smith can shake off the rust early he will log big minutes and could prove to be the lift this team needs along with K-Mart's return. I like what Denver's bench brings tonight and think they can be the difference. Advantage: Nuggets.
Opposition's take: Blog a Bull (their preview is up)
ntimmons73@yahoo.com
Photo Courtesy: AP Photos David Zalubowski
(link in the story to the Denver Post article sourced: http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_13751049, http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_13754906)
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Why would he change his name to Earl?
It is like a bad joke to go from a pretty cool name in JR to Earl, LOL
Stoked!
man i cant wait for this game tonight…still need to pickup a Earl Smith jersey since he changed to #5 this season.
Forgot to add the Opposition's take ... just put it in: Blog a Bull up top.
They have a huge following over there and always have a good take on things. (Though I haven’t read the preview yet).
Denver Stiffs.com: Defending the sovereignty of Nuggets Nation.
Toe Jam n Earl
I think the game will be about defense, so getting K-Mart and Earl Smitty back should give us a push back towards some semblance of defense. Deng is a good defender to put on Melo and Noah is a super underrated player at center. It’s up to Chauncey and K-Mart to get this team fired up to play D like a half decent team again.
Earl?
Okay, it is his real name. I guess I can handle it as long as next year he doesn’t ask us to call him “Earl the Perl”. But then again, that would make him Earl the Perl, Jr. and we could just start calling him JR again.
Trivia
Earl isn’t a very common name.
But wasn’t there two other Earls who played on the Nuggets during the JR Smith era?
I will give you Earl Boykins. Who can name the third?
Finally, J.R. is back!
I guess I’ll respect his wishes now and call him Earl. Still weird though. Well…..Earl….is my favorite player and I can’t wait to see him back in action tonight. It’ll be really interesting to see how GK divides up the minutes also. Hopefully lots of bench time for AC. crosses fingers
J.R. is my homeboy
Afflalo is a welcome sight...
But… I have to say, I dig the way Aaron and Ty Lawson play together on the second unit.
Can’t wait for the Earl Smith season debut.
We could get him with the TE for Hunter or Atkins
Lakers are over the cap
trying to follow the game via boxscore
any explanation as to why Earl Smith III was yanked
"I've hacked into your brain. You're throwing a party and no one's showing up."
for the the love of. . .
can someone pull a Tonya Harding and whack AC in the kneecap so he can’t come off the bench and throw the ball away?
The Earl of Swish...I like the sounds of that..
Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!
Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!
What was THAT Birdman ?
Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!
Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!
Can anyone make a FT?
Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!
Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!
Thank goodness Kmart is back again and can rebound..
Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!
Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!
Why would we start AA
Just so he can be benched until garbage time again. GK’s playing mind game with him. AC hasn’t done anything to deserve so much time
by runningdonut on Nov 10, 2009 7:07 PM MST up reply actions
That's fucking with AA mind.
AC has not business in the game at all. I wish the MF get herpes or something
every minute AC plays
is at the expense of a much better guard.
by Rainbow skyline on Nov 10, 2009 7:09 PM MST reply actions
Serious post
Is Birdman just not good anymore? It’s been a while now and he sucks, we can’t sugar coat it anymore. WTF happened
wat was up with his knee problem?
he seems lazy. never was a good 1 on 1 defender, so we can fault him for that. but his lack of blocking out and just standing around pisses me off. as does his flopping under the basket.
maybe he's taking lessons from the Eurotrash players?
Sasha Flopacic? Gasol? Manu?
Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!
Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!
All of them are notorious floppers
Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!
Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!
I was just responding to 808's comment
about his flopping.. Nothing else…
Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!
Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!
crap
need to build up a lead before AC gets in
by Rainbow skyline on Nov 10, 2009 7:29 PM MST reply actions
To much one on one
Why don’t we pass the ball around the horn?
Why don’t we have the spacing that teams have?
Why don’t we have real good plays
Afflalo 3pt! woot
Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!
Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!
fk our O
has no spacing, no movement, no cutters.
just let melo and cb dribble and everyone else stand around. and then melo forces it looking for a foul
3 seconds?
I dunno what else it could be
by runningdonut on Nov 10, 2009 7:35 PM MST up reply actions
Yeah were finally getting energy on both sides of the ball
by runningdonut on Nov 10, 2009 7:41 PM MST up reply actions
Rest of the team isn;t playing amazing either
Earl has helped quite a lot
by runningdonut on Nov 10, 2009 7:51 PM MST up reply actions
I don't understand why we shoot after every offensive board
Those are like little treasures we need to savor considering how often we get them
there was not 1 pass on that last possession.
ridiculous
by 808inDenver on Nov 10, 2009 8:07 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
Something is seriously off with bird...
And it makes me nervous to think about it
by herewereyouwish on Nov 10, 2009 8:08 PM MST reply actions
chicago announcers said bulls best D is let melo get the ball 15 ft from basket
by Rainbow skyline on Nov 10, 2009 8:11 PM MST reply actions
2 gifts in a row from the refs
and melo goes 0-3 on the posession
by Rainbow skyline on Nov 10, 2009 8:15 PM MST reply actions
Amen
Put in Ty, AA and JR together if he’s gonna do this
by runningdonut on Nov 10, 2009 8:16 PM MST up reply actions
Jesus Christ
Lets see some movement when Melo gets the ball! It’s like a Cavalier offense, give the ball to lebron/melo and everyone get out of the way and stand still. Don’t blame Melo, blame GK.
"Definition of insanity" on offense!
Doing the same things, & expecting different results!
by Verbal Kint on Nov 10, 2009 8:18 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
as bad as he's been
I wanted melo to have that shot. he is clutch.
by Rainbow skyline on Nov 10, 2009 8:20 PM MST reply actions
That was clutch Melo
Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!
Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!
Shit
I hope Melo isn’t happy with what’s goin on now. If he thinks that he’s doin aight, we’re in trouble.
I think
we need to give JR a chance to get back in the groove of things. Let the shot clock run down, and if he misses, we go to OT. If not, he’s a hero.
I agree we tried to get fouled and no whistle
Give it to a good shooter like you said we got OT if need be
by runningdonut on Nov 10, 2009 8:25 PM MST up reply actions
how the f*** does that work
doesn’t the guy with the ball have to call TO???
by Rainbow skyline on Nov 10, 2009 8:29 PM MST reply actions
That's ridiculous.
I thought you knew that algebra was all razzamatazz. A Globetrotter always saves the good algebra for the final minutes.
by SlamDunkTheFunk on Nov 10, 2009 8:30 PM MST reply actions
OH NO!
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
I still dont fucking get how they got the ball back
by Rainbow skyline on Nov 10, 2009 8:32 PM MST reply actions
For real.
Gaining possession of the ball and calling a timeout in .3 seconds is unbelievable.
I thought you knew that algebra was all razzamatazz. A Globetrotter always saves the good algebra for the final minutes.
by SlamDunkTheFunk on Nov 10, 2009 8:32 PM MST up reply actions
there going to give this to to chi
game stolen
by Rainbow skyline on Nov 10, 2009 8:32 PM MST reply actions
I hate the stupid home town calls on NBATV
they cannot see that it in his finger tips
by ColoradoAggie11 on Nov 10, 2009 8:33 PM MST reply actions
All is right in the world.
I thought you knew that algebra was all razzamatazz. A Globetrotter always saves the good algebra for the final minutes.
by SlamDunkTheFunk on Nov 10, 2009 8:34 PM MST reply actions
sure we did
we were up the whole 4th qtr. then the melo-iso non-offense almost lost it
by Rainbow skyline on Nov 10, 2009 8:36 PM MST up reply actions
Lmao
Coming into this game I thought there was no way we should lose, but near the end I almost hoped they counted it to teach the Nugs (and Melo) a lesson…hopefully they still learned something from this.
Freak that! A W is a W!
If we’re still waiting for Melo to learn his “lessons”, then we’re in deep trouble! It is what it is!
I thought
that if 0.3 or less remained, you could only tip the ball…
As soon as the ball left his hands
I yelled out “no good”. Wow. How much crazier does it get?
by the real stranger on Nov 10, 2009 8:38 PM MST reply actions
Wow that was a crazy game..
good that we won, but um, HOW IN THE HELL, was Miller wide open ???
Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!
Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!
Mark this game people...
This might be the wake up call the Nuggets needed… Hopefully they unleash the fury on the hapless Bucks tomorrow
CB1 needs to get with Melo
and say PASS the damn ball
I'm not
blamin Melo for this one, it’s on either GK or the rest of the players. The analysts on the DD on ESPN were making good points, every time Melo got the ball, the rest of the players stopped cutting and just moved out of the way. That’s either stagnant moving on the court by the players, or a designed iso by GK.
Its on Karl!
If he didn’t like the offense, he’d have called something else. From the 5 minute mark, it was all Melo Iso. throughout the game, he alternates between Iso for melo, then CB, then Nene! There is no fricken offense!
We have no spacing
no one cutting to the basket. Melo is double teamed so he should pass out of it. We lack some offense plays
Dude
Melo was 8-22 that is pretty much shit no matter you slice it. Deng owned him all night and he dribbled straight into quadruple teams. He should stop shooting the way they were playing him, we have other scorers
by runningdonut on Nov 10, 2009 9:07 PM MST up reply actions
Glass half full????
Melo & JR played like sh*T, but we still won! Beat the Bucks tomorrow, & this road trip is a MAJOR success!
Now that the end is over with, how about Earl "JR" Smith?
He didn’t get a lot of shots to go in…
But… His shot selection was real good, he took it to the hole and played solid defense. The fact that he was in the game at the tight finish speaks volumes about what coach Karl thought of his play.
Welcome back, Smith.
bad shooting night
probably rusty, but great overall game. playing solid D and dishing the ball. miscommunication on that miller shot, but at least we didnt give up an alley to rose.
drum machine reference?
im from hawaii, 808 is our area code.
earl was supposed to switch off to miller on that play. but he followed d rose to the basket.
Oh.
Then I hope he got a good chewing out. That damn near, like a fraction of a fraction near, cost us the game.
Still glad to have him back.
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