bad start tonight or allow the other team back into the game after having the lead like last night. nugs play 48 minutes of all out hustle at both ends they will be a scary team. being a junkyard dog is an equal opportunity proposition. patients and self discipline to open the game will go a long way from digging themselves a hole. denver is their own worst enemy. they need to play smarter AND harder. everything else will take care of itself after that.

I have to believe that it is matchup based. I couldn’t pick out what gave him a clear vision of the court tonight, but he seems to have gained such a mental edge that I can’t believe he falls back into the mode of “I’m gonna get my points”. He forced his shot so much earlier in his career, and he’s had so much success and so many compliments paid to him when he does distribute the ball that I have to believe he is capable of creating assists SOLELY because of the gameplan.

This isn’t to say he can’t do this all the time— I’m just suggesting that he might not being put in a position to contribute this way in a considerable amount of games.

Smith got a little carried away launching 3’s and dunking, but it was certainly fun to watch, especially after his awful game in Los Angeles.

I don’t know how it showed on TV, but you could tell in the third and fourth when Earl was wanting the ball, and more importantly, the second he released his shots, when it was going in. I’ve never seen a player that you could almost see a visible aura around him when he was in the moment.

Don’t really care if we play complete games at this point. All I care about is that we play part of a game the way we can. That seems to be all we need at this point to pull out W’s.

The Nuggets still aren’t playing very good defense this year nor are they consistent. I still believe they will win a lot of games at home simply because those momentum runs can cover up bad stretches of play. It’s good to see the Nuggets blocking some shot sand outrebounding an opponent but I’m not convinced they can do this on the road. The one constant this year is Lawson who continues to lead the Nugs on huge scoring runs when he comes in. A +24 tonight, I don;t have the stats handy but I’m pretty sure he has to be leading the team in +/-

Nugs are now 5-0 at home, 4-4 on the road.

Er, maybe they can get a 60-win season (and thereby compete for the #1 seed) by winning 40 home games & 20 road games?

Luol, shaved!

wheres the melo hater now??

For the first game in several games, CB1 and Bird appeared to be playing much like they did last year. Both are dealing with tendinitis in their knees, and this upcoming streach at home may give them a chance to get back to full health. I get the feeling the China trip wore CB1, Bird and AC down a bit, as all 3 30 something players have been dealing with nagging injuries. The Nuggs are at their best when Chaucey is hitting 3’s, Bird is blocking shots and Smitty is going off….

BTW – - Nene is slowly becoming unstoppable in the paint. When he make his move quickly to the rim, there are few players that can guard him. Once teams strart doubling him, it will open up a lot of open 3’s. Good step forward this game.

Our top 3 (in order) are: Birdman, Lawson, Afflalo.

ALso K-Mart 7 blocks in 2 games!