Arron Afflalo - The Question
by runningdonut on Dec 21, 2009 2:25 AM MST
12 comments
In the wake of our disappointing loss to Memphis, George Karl's attitude and coaching have taken most of the blame here for this humiliation. I have heard those of you who say Karl is not on the floor and now I am listening. Karl or no Karl, this team's effort and energy in the face of adversity is pathetic. Its time to start questioning who wants to win and call out those who are reluctant to step up in our time of need.
It's unbelievable how quiet we have been about the slump Arron Afflalo has gotten into. HE HAS NOT SCORED IN DOUBLE FIGURES FOR NINE STRAIGHT GAMES. During the whole month of December, 11 games in total - he has been to the free throw line all of three times, and only made two. His three point shooting has dipped from 46% to 40% currently.
That's only the tip of the iceberg when you take a look at advanced stats. According to 82games, Denver is only getting out-produced at the SG and PF position. At the Power Forward position, you can chalk it up to Kenyon's injuries and our lack of depth when it comes to big men. However, the production we lack at PF is less than half of that we are giving up at SG, and that is with JR Smith and Chauncey Billups backing up AA. It's totally unacceptable. Afflalo is no longer the third or fourth-string guy in Detroit. He is the starter for the Denver Nuggets. There's nothing in any statistic anywhere that suggests this guy is a starting caliber shooting guard in the NBA. I wish I could paint you a prettier picture, but this the ugly truth and it's fucking sickening.
I was stoked as shit when we got this guy, I thought he would give us everything Dahntay did and more. Afflalo is struggling mightily to find a role even as a starter. He does not foul when he should and when he does it is a bad foul. The defense is lacking, the offense is nonexistent and when key playmakers are out Afflalo is even more of a non-factor. With Chauncey Billups' offense missing, I had high hopes for Arron Afflalo's production. What I got was pretty much my worst nightmare.
I still believe in Arron, I know he can bounce back. Whatever success we can have this year depends greatly on him. I just don't know how much longer we can afford starting him playing like this. As bad as JR Smith can be, JR'S WORST GAMES HAVE BEEN ABOUT WHAT AFFLALO AVERAGES. And that is with similar minutes. Afflalo is not as bad as he has been playing lately, not by a longshot. My question to you is - how long do we keep JR on the bench in spite of it? You guys already know what I think about JR starting, I have been stating it ad nauseum since last season. In my mind there is no valid excuse anymore - it's time to start JR or trade him.
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I think that..
We should start JR for a couple of games as an experiment and see how it goes because it seems like AA plays pretty well with Ty and Melo in the second quarter. If it works, which I am pretty sure it would, we should stick with it and try and get Foster who we can start or come off the bench as we need. Dallas is a game ahead of us in the standings, and Phoenix is only a game behind. Now is the time to step up the pressure and blow by these teams we know we are better than.
Stop getting worked up over the outcome of something you can't control.
~Anonymous
Sorry, I meant Phoenix is only half a game behind us in the standings.
Stop getting worked up over the outcome of something you can't control.
~Anonymous
ya i actually thought that losing sum bad games, would make karl either
A. start JR
or
B. find balkman some minutes
What the hell happened
Afflalo was looking great early on this season. Did the rest of the league just start figuring him out or something?
by ParkHillNative on Dec 21, 2009 11:13 AM MST reply actions
afflalo vs. jones
last season jones stats- 18 minutes, 5.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1 assist. afflalo stats- 24 minutes, 7.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists. afflalo plays in the 3 guard offense. that accounts for his increased minutes and scoring. jones is the better rebounder by one board in 6 less minutes. last season denver would play a 2 point guard offense more then the 3 guard O. aa is being asked to do more. denver will need to TEAM rebound from every position with the roster they have now.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
earl smith
starting earl will accomplish the following. make teams pay for double teaming melo. get nene the ball in position to score. help billups with doing the grunt work at point guard. place additional athleticism in the starting line up. smith coming off the bench will give denver scoring from the subs. keeps earl out of early foul trouble. rope a dope factor- earl staying off the court to start the game will give him more energy then the starters at the end of games. this can be a huge factor in a close game. the houston game- earl went 2 for 5 from 3 point land for 40%. he went 1 for 3 from the free throw line for 33%. if smith ever figures out how to do the easy stuff as well as he can do the hard stuff the next question will be if melo starts or comes off the bench.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
best of both worlds
denver should start afflalo for the FIRST quarter and start smith for the THIRD quarter. denver starts the game using a 9 player rotation and dedicates to playing a half court offense. it is the same idea in a football game. keep the opponents defense on the field for as long as possible. nuggets need to be disciplined, manage the 24 second clock and make extra passes. after the hornets game every team will use the melo double team tactic. melo will be forced to pass first anyway. andersen subs for nene. graham subs for kmart and melo at the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second. the idea is to have joey get physical, rough people up and use his six fouls. put the opponents weak foul shooters on the line in a hack a shaq strategy. the third quarter start smith instead of afflalo and use the 8 player rotation. the idea is to speed up the game in an attempt to run away with it. this would be the time to use the 3 guard offense. the way denver has started out games with poor shooting percentages they would be better off running out the 24 second clock and taking a lousy shot then doing it early in the offense. melo needs to decide if he wants to play in the nba a finals or being an all star, winning a scoring title and being the mvp. last season dwayne wade won the scoring title. heat were eliminated in the first round. labron was the mvp and lost in the eastern conference title. melo did not go to the all star game and played in the western conference finals. denver played portland earlier in the season. melo had 2 points in the 3rd quarter. he came back and scored 19 in the fourth. the double teams will be coming at melo by every team form the start. the first half he needs to become a passer and rebounder first. denver will need to adjust. start affllalo to begin the game for a slow down half court game. start smith for the beginning of the third quarter to speed up the game.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
Billups Out...
What about JR and Afflalo starting together?
earl has point guard skills
he has been going to a denver assistant coach’s point guard camp in las vegas for a few years. does smith have the discipline and self control to distribute the ball and facilitate the offense?
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
Nice Post.
I have been noticing the nonproduction coming from Afflalo but I didnt really say anything about it…..but man, dude is not getting it done the last several games!
I think its because we didnt really expect the start he initially started with…but thats kinda what I expect from him now. Get it together AA.
"Sickening" might be a bit of an exaggeration
AA is definitely slumping right now, but you can’t expect every player to be 100% every game of the year. It just so happens that his slump comes at a pretty bad time to be having one. He’ll bounce back, no way he stays this bad for more than a couple more games.
Also, I agree with the “start JR as an experiment” people. No reason not to.
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