Keeping a safe distance (Nuggets/Thunder recap)
by Nate Timmons on Dec 14, 2009 10:56 PM MST
in Denver Nuggets: Game Recaps
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After a slow shooting start to the game Denver found their rhythm, took the lead and kept the Thunder from ever really being a threat.
This was exactly the type of hope crushing win the Nuggets needed. While the final score (102-93) doesn't indicate a completely dominant performance by the Nuggets, the Thunder were never really in this game after the first quarter. And that's the kind of performance that good teams have against opponents coming from out of town for the second game of a back-to-back set.
Too often this season we've seen the Nuggets give hope to their opponents (especially ones that are not on the Nuggets level) and it's nice to see Denver put on sort of a snoozer, by their standards this season anyway. The Nuggets bench got a bit back on track tonight with some nice efforts from J.R. Smith, Chris Andersen and Ty Lawson.
Smith and Bird each scored in double figures and the Birdman recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds (3 offensive). It was great to see the Bird going strong to the hoop and his best finish came at the 3:45 mark of the second quarter when Billups took the ball towards the foul line and bounced a pretty pass between his own legs right to a streaking Andersen who kept the ball high and threw down a jam over Nenad Kristic. I think Bird went for the strong finish to insure he either made Sportscenter or so he got heavy consideration for the Chris Marlowe special ... the Kuni Lexus Drive of the Game.
It was also nice to see J.R. Smith back on track after a shaky performace against the Suns last Saturday night. As reader TheNoticer pointed out ... Smith wasn't happy after heading to the bench against the Suns, but he made up for it tonight by scoring 19 points. Most impressively, Smith got to the foul line 10 times and was able to convert on 8 of those attempts. I'll forever maintain that with Smith's shooting ability, it's a shame he can't shoot 85% or better from the freebie line.
The starters tonight also put forth a solid effort. Kenyon Martin was a workhorse on the glass, collecting 6 of his 11 rebounds on the offensive end. The Thunder are not the biggest team around, but they work on the glass and seeing Martin's effort just makes me greedy wanting him to come out with the same tenacity every night on the offensive end.
Keeping with good rebounding ... Nene posted 9 boards and got to work on offense as well posting a shooting night of 6-11 for 13 points. When Nene gets going on offense it continues to open up the floor for the rest of the Nuggets. The Brazilian is so tough to guard one-on-one that when he gets going teams almost have to double him and if you have to double Nene your team is in trouble because the big guy can pass the ball and his teammates like to cut to the rim. Nene also got a few dunks in tonight and it's always good to see the "big fella" (Bill Hanz!) get some easy ones.
Speaking of easy ones ... Melo was able to score at will tonight. Melo lost the one-on-one scoring battle against Kevin Durant 31 to 32 respectfully, but his team got the win. I thought the game really started to swing early when Melo made two passes on one possession that resulted in a Arron Afflalo three-pointer at the 5:19 mark of the first quarter. Scott Hastings could be heard on the broadcast saying to himself, "please go in," as Afflalo's three found its mark. That play gave Denver an early 12-11 lead, but seemed to get the team away from one-on-one jump shots and to focus more on moving the ball and eventually getting to the rim.
Billups had a poor night shooting the ball, but he was getting his teammates involved (7 assists) and was active in the passing lanes and overall on defense collecting 4 steals. The task of covering Russell Westbrook didn't prove to be a difficult one for Denver's floor general and that's a good thing because I was pretty concerned that Westbrook could be an X-factor tonight.
Turns out this game wasn't of the exciting brand and perhaps for the team and for us fans that's a good thing for a change. I had just about all I could handle against the Suns in my emotion department and a win like this tonight was again exactly what this team needed.
Random thoughts during the game:
- The Thunder have the worst away uniform name plates in the league. Seriously, "Oklahoma City" ... just horrific and don't get me started on their nickname. (Am I still bitter the Sonics are no longer around? Yes! We beat the Sonics in the 1994 playoffs ... not the Thunder!) Funny ... Sonic Boom sounds like Thunder.
- Thabo Sefolosha no longer rocks the corn-rows, didn't notice until tonight. Also sort of weird that he's from Switzerland isn't it? I'm not much of a world traveler and I'm probably an idiot for thinking that, but is basketball big in the land of Swiss cheese?
- Robert Sanchez of 5280 magazine shows us how Bird styles his hair. With the long hair in the back I propose we call Bird's look the "Mull-hawk" since it's basically turning into a mullet in the back.
- With 2 minutes left in the first quarter Scott Hastings said after a Nick Collison dunk that the former Kansas star had speed like a "1928 flatbed ford" ... I'm guessing he probably meant this 1939 version.
- After Lawson snuck behind the defense for a wide open layup I finally figured out that if he were a NBA Jam character he'd be those annoying little guys ... the John Stockton NBA Jam type. I loved that game and almost guarantee I'd beat anyone at the original Sega version. Dikembe Mutombo and LaPhonso Ellis can hit 3's on that game!
- The reason this game might seem a bit slow paced, a combined 71 free throw attempts. BLAH.
ntimmons73@yahoo.com
Twitter: Nate_Timmons
Photo courtesy of AP Photos: David Zalubowski
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Exactly Nate
This is the type of win we needed. For the first time all season I felt that the Nuggets played solid defense the entire game. The Thunder are the real deal in my opinion, so this wasn’t just one of those beat up on the little guy types of wins. Nice to see the Jazz drop one to the Wolves too.
Solid effort all around
Very businesslike win against a good team. 31 rebounds from Kenyon Bird and Nene that’s what I’m talking about
Nate said:
“Thabo Sefolosha no longer rocks the corn-rows, didn’t notice until tonight. Also sort of weird that he’s from Switzerland isn’t it? I’m not much of a world traveler and I’m probably an idiot for thinking that, but is basketball big in the land of Swiss cheese?”
Not at all man, tennis is the sport there!!! He is the only player from Switzerland that I know of.
Great W for Denver, let’s hope we can keep things going against the Rockets (who also play tonight, so they’ll be in the 2nd of a b2b).
I’m somewhat worried about Ty Lawson, he is not the same he was at the start of the season, I want him to drive to the rim a little more!!!
GO NUGGETS
"Do not rest in defense. You can spend 24 seconds in offense on resting. If you do good enough on defense, you will be able to rest on offense."
by Lucas Navarrete on Dec 15, 2009 2:20 AM MST reply actions
I think maybe those are his orders
Ty has been going strong to rim since his college days, I don’t think he’s changed his game in a matter of 3 games. GK may just be trying out all of the rook’s potential, by keeping him outside of the paint for a while. Besides if he plays the same way every game teams will start to figure him out.
by Joelsopinion on Dec 15, 2009 8:19 AM MST up reply actions
Seriously?
Why would the coach decide to tell a player not to take shots in the paint? Also, do you really believe that Karl evaluated a players style, made a coaching decision that it should change, told the player to change AND that the player actually did it?
I'm only saying that
I don’t think an athlete that has played a certain way his entire carreer would change in a matter of a few games unless he was following a gameplan, or slumping. I didn’t mention that earlier because I figured that that was what you meant by “rookie wall”.
A coach wouldn’t tell a player NOT to take shots while in the paint, but he maybe asking Lawson to lay off of the paint for a couple of games, so that opposing teams don’t hone in on his gameplay in pregame drills etc. It makes sense to me not to show your entire “hand” untill needed.
by Joelsopinion on Dec 15, 2009 9:29 AM MST up reply actions
Rookie Wall Clarification
Yeah i meant that he was probably a bit fatigued from the length of the season and might just be in a bit of a slump until he works out how to re-energize himself.
The wall is scary
because if he does hit a rookie wall, we know that A.C. will start playing again.
AC plays like he is in a constent rookie wall
so maybe not.
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
Nene
I love seeing Nene get it going offensively. As you pointed out, he can be strong enough that he sometimes commands a double team. If the opposing team is trying to double him, and it’s a given that the double team Melo, that leave so many scoring opportunities to the rest of the team. It’s a win-win situation, and reminds me a little of the Parrish-Bird days.
Nene pt. 2
He’s also been looking much improved on the defensive end as well.
Mull-hawk LOL
I didn’t want to call Bird out on that, but I did notice that his crest was in shambles lately. We may also consider calling it a Mow-lette that way we emphasize the good part of the hair-do. On the NBA Jam topic, I think Air Dog is a bit of a better fit for Lawson. You know you unlocked that character before.
Air Dog ... for sure!
Had a friend in elementary school who said he had codes for Shaq and Jordan … when we pressed him for the codes and they didn’t work he said, “Well they work for me.” Sure they did buddy … sure they did.
Denver Stiffs.com: Defending the sovereignty of Nuggets Nation.
by Nate Timmons on Dec 15, 2009 9:06 AM MST up reply actions
From downtown!!!
From Wikipedia: "In certain subcultures, the phrases “He’s heating up” and “He’s on fire” and “Boomshakalaka!” have entered into common usage."
Haha, ‘subcultures.’ I remember trying to work as many of those NBA Jam-isms into Marv Albert jokes when his career tanked over the sexual assault charges. In fact, I still do… File under: things I say that make my girlfriend roll her eyes
by Artimus Mangilord on Dec 15, 2009 1:54 PM MST up reply actions
hahah...
thats because your friend is a liar! haha…It was all about charlotte that game for me…Zo and grandma-ma!
by GottaLoveMelo on Dec 15, 2009 2:08 PM MST up reply actions
Big time liar.
I loved Charlotte as well. ’Zo and LJ dominate.
I need to track down a Sega and plug my game back in (yes, I still have it!)
Denver Stiffs.com: Defending the sovereignty of Nuggets Nation.
by Nate Timmons on Dec 15, 2009 3:08 PM MST up reply actions
Nice.
My brother took the sega and the original NBA Jam so at my house I have the super nintendo and NBA Jam: tournament edition. Cant break the glass in that game tho which is stupid.
by GottaLoveMelo on Dec 16, 2009 7:22 AM MST up reply actions
Which reminds me
The old nicknames were so fun. Grandma-ma, The Blade, (Luke) Skywalker, The Stilt, Round Mound of Rebound, The Admiral, The Big Eraser, and The Microwave.
The new ones are lame: The initial, sometimes followed by their jersey number or some other cheesy thing. Some examples are CP3, DH12, LBJ, and KG. The only one that I don’t hate is AK47, which I find kind of amusing.
"Left hand, right hand, it doesn't matter. I'm amphibious." - Charles Shackleford
"If the NBA were on channel 5 and a bunch of frogs making love were on channel 4, I'd watch the frogs, even if they were coming in fuzzy." - Bobby Knight
"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors." - Weldon Drew
Birdshot...
9 out of 10 from the foul line. JR shot 80%! Nuggs 85% FT over all!!!! Free throws win close games, and although we didn’t need them last night, I hope this is a growing trend.
by spokenwar on Dec 15, 2009 8:17 AM MST reply actions 2 recs
Great point! Bird has a pretty nice stroke from the foul line too.
Denver Stiffs.com: Defending the sovereignty of Nuggets Nation.
by Nate Timmons on Dec 15, 2009 9:07 AM MST up reply actions
It will be great if it continues
It’s been pretty clear that the book on Bird is to foul him rather than allow layups. If he is able to hit at a high percentage, they won’t be able to use the hack-a-bird on him.
Also, how great was it to see the effort on defense from Carmelo Anthony? He picked up some fouls, but he also drew some offensive fouls and played hard.
What was going on with the Thunder turnovers? For a while it seemed like every pass was made directly to Chauncey Billups with no Thunder player in sight.
I love to see Melo play great defense
But damn, it gets really old watching him throw elbows at the opposing players he’s guarding. It’s totally not necessary. I love the toughness, but you don’t have to be cheap to be tough. Just work hard.
by GoldenNugget on Dec 15, 2009 1:41 PM MST up reply actions
Chauncey between legs to Bird
Had a very similar pass last season to Bird for for a dunk, also at home vs the Thunder.
by birdmann on Dec 15, 2009 9:28 AM MST via mobile reply actions
winning ugly
at one point denver was 2 for 15 field goal % in the first quarter. nuggets finished 40% for the game. looking at the quarter by quarter scoring ok city had 23 in the 1st, 17 in the 2nd and 21 in the third. anything under 25 points is considered good defense. denver put up 19 points in the 3rd quarter along with allowing ok city 32 points in the 4th quarter continues denver’s pattern of allowing opponents back into the game. earl had a great first half. he did not attempt a single 3 point shot. smith made up for it in the second half going 1 for 5 from 3 point land. earl averages five 3 point shot attempts per game compared to melo’s 2.4. smith has 32 more attempts then melo while playing 7 fewer games. melo leads the nuggets and the nba in scoring while keeping his 3 point shots to a minimum. earl had a very good game but could have had a great game if he showed the same type of restraint in the second half as in the first. the huge plus for denver was the rebounding from the center power forward position for a total of 31. the other bright spot was free throws. denver had 40 attempts and made 85%. nuggets go to the finals this is the type of production they will need. rebounding from the guards was only 4. it seems after afflalo had 8 rebounds in a single game his production has fallen off. nuggets did what they were supposed to do by beating a weaker opponent. the way they went about it leaves a lot to be desired.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
by nohoops4u on Dec 15, 2009 10:58 AM MST reply actions 1 recs
Typical
angry and unappreciative of the old adage ‘winning is winning’ and want more from his sports team, man.
Yep I been waiting for 3 months to use that one on ya. Zing!…oh god I need a new hobby
by Joelsopinion on Dec 15, 2009 12:12 PM MST up reply actions
You guys crack me up
Just sayin’ LOL
by Artimus Mangilord on Dec 15, 2009 1:18 PM MST up reply actions
I don't know what game you were watching
You might want to just quit with all the stats, and just watch the game. That was probably the best game, next to the Phx game, that we’ve played all season.
by GoldenNugget on Dec 15, 2009 1:45 PM MST up reply actions
I wish I had seen more movement on the offensive end...
More movement. More passing. I would have been happier with – more.
On the defensive end
They started out terribly on offense. One of the announcers broke out the “they couldn’t throw it in the ocean if they were standing in the ocean” line. Aside from Melo, started 0-11.
Harsh
This was a good win dude, yes we were not hitting our shots but at least we did not start forcing the transition game and continued to run offense. I don’t know why you are complaining about guard rebounding when our 3 bigs had 31. You can’t get guard rebounding every game when neither team is taking long jumpshots and the refs call 71 fouls. There were only 27 3 pointers taken by both teams all game. JR can shoot threes when he gets to the line 10 times, and he certainly should take a lot more than Melo. In fact, I would rather he pull up for some treys instead of dribbling out of control into traffic or throwing an AC like turnover in transition.
The difference in this game was the combined defense on Russel Westbrook. The guy was overmatched he could not get anything going and it killed their offense. Yes this could have been a 30 point win if we quit making silly mistakes and run offense effectively in the second half. But I will win with horrible offense when the D never allows the other team to get a scoring run started. ABout the only negative I can take from this game? Chauncey is doing a bad job running the offense, about all he is doing is letting Melo create or turning it over. His scoring is all over the place but more concerning are the turnovers and his inability to get easy looks for our big men. Ty is doing a better job frankly. However I really don’t care as long as we win.
by runningdonut on Dec 15, 2009 3:26 PM MST up reply actions
sugar coat it all you want
being open minded and objective does not make my comments harsh- just factual and reality based. denver’s guards were out rebounded 12 to 4. on the offensive glass it was 7 to 1. that is not complaining only a statistical fact. denver did not get guard rebounding but ok city did. denver stopped scoring in the third quarter when smith started shooting 3 pointers. i could care less if denver wins by 30 points. the problem is when billups is forced to play 37 minutes and has to be in the game until the end. this type of play will not translate very well against teams like the celtics, magic and atlanta. until denver makes a deal for another player that can rebound and defend in the paint they will need rebounding from every player at every position. ok city had a total of 12 offensive rebounds with 7 coming from their guards. you think that is ok because our 3 bigs had 31.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
George Karl
uses CB in the backcourt with Lawson to the detriment of Afflalo’s minutes and JR/Chauncey playing out of position. CB only averages 2.9 rebounds career so how is that rotation condusive to guard rebounding when your backup PGs are both under 6ft and Afflalo/JR only average about 25 mins a piece?
Go look at the Detroit game where we outrebounded their guards 12-2 and lost in humiliating fashion. You can pontificate all you want about Westbrook’s 6 rebounds the fact is he was a complete non factor in the game. It’s more important Kenyon, Nene and Andersen raise their low rebounding averages (which they are) and the Nuggets score more points than the other team. I guess if you close your eyes and think positive thoughts real hard our guards will become dominant rebounders and you can turn some water into wine while you’re at it.
by runningdonut on Dec 15, 2009 5:23 PM MST up reply actions
never let the facts get in the way of a good story
afflalo’s season average is 24 minutes per game and he played 21. lawson’s season average is 20 minutes and he played 14. lawson played 6 minutes less then he normally does sooooo how does the fact george karl playing billups and lawson together effect afflalo’s minutes? smith averages 26 minutes per game and played 32. billups averages 32 minutes and played 37. 2 guard positions and a 48 minute game makes 96 minutes. total all of the minutes denver’s guards played and it comes to 106 minutes. ok city’s 4 guards played a total of 96 minutes. denver’s 4 guards played 10 additional minutes and were out rebounded. addition, subtraction, division and multiplication does not equal pontification. denver’s guards were outplayed on the boards. it is a statistical fact and that is all i was pointing out. i never said anything about the guards being dominant rebounders. those were your words not mine. until denver gets an additional rebounder everyone needs to help on the boards.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
never let the facts get in the way of a good story part 2
the detroit game ben gordon, will bynum and richard hamilton did not play. that is the reason denver’s guard’s out rebounded detroits.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
JR plays SF in the 3 guard lineup
So, if you are going to say our “guards” played 10 extra minutes then you need to study OKC’s rotations and throw some of Durant and Green’s rebounds in for comparison. Your argument is amusing, it doesn’t prove much more than the obvious and in the context of strategy for putting size in the lineup it means nothing. It’s fun to look at the numbers and letters in the box score and add them up tho
by runningdonut on Dec 15, 2009 6:35 PM MST up reply actions
never let the facts get in the way of a good story part 3
green and durant are starters while smith comes off the bench. serge ibaka and dj white played forward off the bench for ok city. ibaka played 14 minutes and had 2 rebounds. white played 8 minutes had none. that is a legitimate comparison. i think it is pretty funny too that every time you cherry pick an example it does not support you point of view. i really liked the lame detroit example. looking forward to your big excuse for that one.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
*golf clap*
Now you’re definition guard rebounding is subjective huh? Glad you admitted it cause that was my point all along. Coaching philosophy and lineups are different for every team. Denver point guards run out in transition on makes and misses depending on who’s in the game. Three guard lineups, injuries in Detroit, style of play all factor into that equation. Go ahead and continue subjectively pointing out who’s better at what and you can prove anything. Tip-outs and team rebounds don’t factor into individual stats either. The stat you pointed out was obvious and it’s significance if any is a matter of opinion.
by runningdonut on Dec 15, 2009 11:51 PM MST up reply actions
just the facts ma'm
golf clap, turning water into wine and now you accuse me of being subjective. your first argument was karl’s coaching was causing afflalo’s rebounding numbers to drop. afflalo is a SHOOTING guard. now you want to argue denver’s POINT guards run out on transition. the statistical fact i pointed out was denver’s guards were outrebounded by ok city’s guards for one game. the only point you had all along is your story keeps changing because reality does not support your point of view.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
When you run a three guard lineup
Your guards statistaclly speaking should have more boards than the opponent because you’re running with more guards. And for the ratio to be so lopsided I can see why nohoops is peaved with the effort. And with the talent we have Cb shouldn’t have to play 37 minutes a night. We should have solid leads protected by the reserves.
by Joelsopinion on Dec 15, 2009 4:15 PM MST up reply actions
Which means
I personally won’t mind seeing AC 5-10 minutes a game as long as he doesn’t suck.
"Left hand, right hand, it doesn't matter. I'm amphibious." - Charles Shackleford
"If the NBA were on channel 5 and a bunch of frogs making love were on channel 4, I'd watch the frogs, even if they were coming in fuzzy." - Bobby Knight
"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors." - Weldon Drew
(No, Ty, we want to hug you)????
From Barkley’s Mouth and I have no reason why Lawson’s photo is there…
http://www.barkleysmouth.com/images/stories/barkleysmouth/lawson_rookieshoot_03_350.jpg
Nate
Excellent reference to the Sega classic NBA Jam. Good times. Just once I’d love to hear Hastings shout out “BOOMSHAKALAKA” when Kenyon throws one down. The win over the Thunder was a good one. Thunder are a better team than most people realize.
Coach Adelman is all butt-hurt because the Rockets have to play 4 back-to-backs in the next 11 days. Didn’t the Nuggets have 3 in 8 days last month?
If you’re name isn’t the Lakers, you’re schedule going to suck.
How about PHX
Only 8 home games so far I think. Them boys live on the road. LA will get theirs at the end of the season. They have a few wicked road stretches after allstar weekend. We’ll wait till April to see if it pans out.
by Joelsopinion on Dec 15, 2009 4:09 PM MST up reply actions
Nuggets schedule hasn't been that hard
Actually, it’s been really easy lately when compared to some other stretches of the season. Hopefully, the Nuggets will be consistent enough to win
"Left hand, right hand, it doesn't matter. I'm amphibious." - Charles Shackleford
"If the NBA were on channel 5 and a bunch of frogs making love were on channel 4, I'd watch the frogs, even if they were coming in fuzzy." - Bobby Knight
"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors." - Weldon Drew
Bird's The Word
I went to the game last night and sat in the 12th row, right across from the OKC bench. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to sit so close to the action, and it really is a great experience.
The one thing that I noticed immediately (aside from how “shooter’s touch” is an understatement when it comes to Melo) was how hard Birdman plays. I’ve been pretty critical of him this season, but I must say that he works his tail off (no pun intended… ok, it was). Of course he played most of the game and had a good night, which probably increases his effort. I think he can be a bit dramatic at times, but hey, the guy knows how to entertain.
And although Bird is getting up there in basketball years, I hope that he takes this upcoming offseason to bulk up. He gets tossed around too easily under the boards, for sure.
Not the most exciting game last night, but I had a good time. I was thinking that maybe some game we could all split a Denver Stiffs suite. We’d be the loudest group there, for sure.
Just say when
Getting a suite is an excellent idea. I’m all for it.
by Artimus Mangilord on Dec 15, 2009 11:33 PM MST up reply actions
+1
I’m ready any time. That would be awesome.
by GoldenNugget on Dec 16, 2009 3:39 AM MST up reply actions
I miss the suite
My old company in Denver had suites for all the denver teams. They used them for entertaining customers, but several times a year no one would be using it and I’d get to go. Free beer, and the desert cart would come around in the second half. Baseball and basketball were the easiest to get, and only about once a year hockey. Never on the Bronocos – the president always went to those. The suite was much better than my seats way up high, but I think I’d still rather be in the lower bowl. We got tickets on craigslist once right behind the visitors bench. I could see how a real coach, Jerry Sloan, works during a game. My wife had to sit on her foot the whole game or she couldn’t see.
I don’t know if you can rent a suite for an individual game or if they are all purchased for the whole season.
They've been advertising suite rentals during home games ...
Denver Stiffs.com: Defending the sovereignty of Nuggets Nation.
by Nate Timmons on Dec 17, 2009 3:01 PM MST up reply actions
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