So much for that "winnable" game... (Nuggets/Knicks recap)
by Colin Neilson on Mar 23, 2010 9:50 PM MDT
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For the "winnable" game of a back to back that includes a date tomorrow in Boston, the Nuggets surely laid an egg in Madison Square Garden tonight. The Denver Nuggets road woes continue.
Riding home in one of the worst spring blizzards I can remember, I was initially going to hold off on listening to the game until I could get home to my trusty DVR and watch the game in its entirety. After the first hour in the blizzard, I caved in and switched on AM 1510 to listen to the live gamecast from Jason Kosmicki.
I almost wish I hadn't.
While I certainly enjoy Kosmicki's enthusiastic broadcasts - and Schemmel will always be missed - the way the game was going I could almost hear the frustration being wrung out of Koz as the Nuggets turned the ball over and over again. In fact, the happiest I heard Koz tonight was when I heard him mention how good the fries smelt from where he was broadcasting in the Garden.
Unable to shake off the malaise from the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nuggets have now lost two straight and have once again slipped below .500 on the road - to the 23-45 New York Knicks. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks have now tied Denver for the 2 seed and the Utah Jazz are now within 1 game (really 2, due to Denver's tiebreaker). Denver must now win against the Boston Celtics tomorrow night to keep from falling to the 3 seed and within a half game of the Jazz.
Through the latter part of the game, it definitely seemed as though there was some particularly egregious officiating, though it certainly didn't and shouldn't have determined the game. The charge initially called on David Lee for his sixth foul was changed to a block on JR, allowing the Knicks to make 1 of 2 at the line instead of an additional Denver possession.
It's hard to look at this game and take anything positive from it. Outside of Carmelo Anthony (14-26, 8-8 FT, 5 reb, 36 pts) and Chauncey Billups (5-13, 14-15 FT, 6 ast, 25 pts), the rest of the Denver Nuggets were listless at best and had no answers for Al Harrington and Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari can SHOOT, make no bones about it - he scored 28 points on just 19 shots, hitting 5 of 13 shots from beyond the arc. Nene was bullied all night against a small Knicks lineup and managed just 10 points and seven boards. He should've been able to post Lee all day.
Additionally, the Nuggets once again failed to amass 20 assists (15). The Nuggets could really use Ty Lawson to bring some life back to the Nuggets' passing game, because it is becoming painfully obvious that Chauncey is wearing down. Carter has been playing well, but like Chauncey, he's old, and it's been a long season.
While the Nuggets pulled within 3 late in the 4th quarter, costly turnovers and missed bunnies from Carmelo drove the last nail into the Nuggets' coffin. At one point, JR Smith was 0-9 from the field until he hit some ultimately meaningless 3s to end up 4 of 16 with 4 turnovers. After hitting seven three pointers against the Memphis Grizzlies, JR Smith has shot a horrific 3 of 20 from downtown. It's safe to say that Young Money still hasn't turned the corner this season.
Lastly, let me say that I have to question AD's decision to not play Johan Petro. The young Frenchman has been playing exceptionally well lately, and one has to think his size would have at the very least served as an intimidation factor to an Al Harrington who had his way in the paint all night long.
Lest we all despair, let us remember that the 2008-2009 incarnation of the Denver Nuggets went just 21-20 on the road. At 17-18, the Nuggets need to go 4-2 to match last season's record, though obviously we hope for better. With 11 games left, the Nuggets must go 7-4 to match last season's record of 54-28.
Denver Stiffs:
- J.R. Smith. 4 of 16 from the field (2 of 9 from 3), four turnovers, and just 2 assists. 3-20 from three in the last 4 games. Enough said.
- Adrian Dantley. No Lawson, no Petro? Surely you could have found some minutes for Denver's fledgling big. He'll be critical come playoff time playing alongside Nene and bird. Lawson could also have played a few minutes to start getting him back into gameday form.
- The Denver bench: 18 points on 6 of 22 shooting, 2 assists and 6 turnovers. One of the worst nights of the season from Denver's usually capable bench.
Non-Stiffs:
- Carmelo Anthony. Once again logging 42 minutes, Carmelo powered his way to 36 points on 26 shots and amassed 5 boards (8-8 from the line). I'm worried about how all the minutes he's logged over the last few games are going to affect him tomorrow night against the Boston Celtics.
- Chauncey Billups. What else can you say? He continues to post career-highs in points (25) and did a reasonably good job dishing the ball with 6 assists. 14-15 from the line isn't too shabby either.
- Tracy McGrady/Danilo Gallinari/Al Harrington/David Lee. Though it pains me to say it, Sleepy went 6-9 from the field to score a very efficient 15 points. Gallinari shot the Nuggets in the heart time and again, scoring 28 points. Al Harrington outscored the Denver bench by himself. David Lee posted a double-double scoring 12 points and scooping up 16 rebounds. All in all, a very efficient night from all of them.
Photo courtesy of AP
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Why is the Nugs bench so awful on the road?
They have serious confidence issues away from the Pepsi center. JR is nothing short of horrible.
''I'm really not a Facebook or Twitter guy. I'm a prime rib and baked potato guy.'' - Sweet Lou
No clue but that spells doom in the playoffs
Swats.
by Colin Neilson on Mar 23, 2010 10:30 PM MDT up reply actions
hey buddy why don't you just stick to
the in depth, insightful and outstanding post game analysis and leave the rest to us slugs, ok?
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
Nuggets bench lacks real fire power this year
I think the loss of Kleiza is having an effect on the bench. Last year LK was a threat both off the dribble and and on the perimeter. Now JR is being asked to be the off the dribble and spot up threat while being surrounded by guys who are no real threat at all. (aside from ty) Graham, tacos, ac, petro and balkman are certainly not known for their offense.
"I know the game of basketball is one-on-one (oriented), but the pain of beating a defense by the pass — it confuses and frustrates the defense more than just going by a guy one-on-one." George Karl
by NuggetsLife on Mar 23, 2010 11:22 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
You must have amnesia
Linas Kleiza was beyond awful last year. His defense was always terrible, but last year he did nothing but jack it up, and the second half of the season he shot something around 20% from deep (that may even be generous). He had one good stretch of shooting during game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, and absolutely murdered us the rest of the time.
by airforcefoo on Mar 24, 2010 12:45 PM MDT up reply actions
I never said he was effective
I said he was a threat.
"I know the game of basketball is one-on-one (oriented), but the pain of beating a defense by the pass — it confuses and frustrates the defense more than just going by a guy one-on-one." George Karl
I basically missed today's game
But it seems like the Nuggets shot theirselves in the foot. They had 2 1/2 days rest and FAILED to take down the Knicks. Sadly, I was right when I said I was worried about this game. Everybody’s been saying that the Nuggets need a wake up call, but I just don’t see that happening at this point. They’re just the same Ol’ Nuggets.
So if they're the same "ol" Nuggets does that mean we reach the WCF again?
BTW…..anyone who says that charging call reversal didn’t play a HUGE factor in why we lost was NOT watching this game. The Nuggets had all the momentum and that two point swing (plus two awful non calls on Melo’s shots) sealed their fates. It’s all well and good to say that it never should have come to that point…but when a player goes over and is seen saying “that’s my 6th foul” and it’s suddenly reversed….something is fishy
"Groovy" Ash from Evil Dead 2
"No one came from miles around / and said man your music is really hot" No One Came...Deep Purple
Exactly spot on with the "that's my 6th foul" from Lee
JR timed it perfectly. It was clearly a charge. However Lee then goes over to Bill Spooner and says “Thats my 6th foul”. Then spooner reversed the call. To your point also Andrew obviously didn’t watch the game. Other wise the review might have been “Stern and Apooner screw the nuggets….AGAIN.”
by The U.N. Fab Five on Mar 23, 2010 11:14 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
This was one of those few times
where I was seriously questioning officiating. I’m not one who’s up for the “conspiracy” theories…but Hastings pointed it out on TV. He is clearly saying “that’s my 6th foul” to Bill Spooner….and suddenly the call (that is TEXTBOOK charging) is reversed. Come on.
I challenge any one of you guys to come up with a logical reason why that single call didn’t go a long way to costing the Nuggets the game. Like I said…they had ALL the momentum. JR was making shots. Gets what he thinks is a pretty easy charging call… and then suddenly BOOM.
"Groovy" Ash from Evil Dead 2
"No one came from miles around / and said man your music is really hot" No One Came...Deep Purple
I hope this pisses off the team. They will need it going in to Boston
"Groovy" Ash from Evil Dead 2
"No one came from miles around / and said man your music is really hot" No One Came...Deep Purple
But we're better than a single call
Say what you will about a close game, but the fact is the Nuggets were a 47-23 team and the Knicks were 23-45. There was no reason for the game to be as close as it was.
Swats.
by Colin Neilson on Mar 24, 2010 12:05 AM MDT up reply actions
Even if it shouldn't have been this close,
the fact is that is became so. If this had happened against a better team, wouldn’t you be screaming bloody murder? It doesn’t matter how close the game is or which team we are playing. This was clearly an egegrious act by the referee. He must be held accountable.
Lee FOULED OUT. He should have NEVER been in the game. Because he was allowed to remain in the game, several other things happened directly as a result of him still being in the game, that swung the game in the Knicks favor in the last seconds of the game.
I hope the Nuggets played the remainder of the game under protest. Maybe they can demand a review and somehow replay the last couple of minutes.
Troy Tulowitzki - Best SS in the MLB - 2010 MVP
Brad Hawpe - Will prove the doubters wrong
"I don’t know one guy who can stop Melo on a consistent basis."-Chris Paul
PS Let's win the NL West in 2010, shall we?
The league will deny it
Because Davie Stern kisses the Knicks’ collective @$$es.
"Left hand, right hand, it doesn't matter. I'm amphibious." - Charles Shackleford
""He’s a stiff." - The Legendary Doug Moe
"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors." - Weldon Drew
"I really didn't want it, but now that I've won it, it's nice. It's an honor. It's nice to know people don't think you're a total idiot. ... It must have been a poor year for coaches." - Doug Moe...talking about winning 1987-88 Coach of the Year award.
"We're just tough, man" - Chauncey Billups
Protest?
The league doesn’t really have a system set up for protests. The NBA has had cases where they did try to rectify problems, but there’s just nothing set up for the concept of a protest that seems to pervade the world of sports. In fact the concept of a “protest” is sort of like an urban myth. In most organizations such as high school, college, rec leagues or whatever, there’s just nothing in the rules to accomodate the concept of a “protest” and the rules interpretations books and such will have a note somewhere to state something to the effect that there is no such thing as a protest. One of the weird ones is that some coaches have this strange notion that they have to notify the referees or scorers that they are playing the rest of the game under protest. When I was reffing HS games I had maybe one or two lower level coaches tell me that they were playing the rest of the game under protest and I just looked at them and said “There’s no such thing as a protest” and the stunned look on their faces was priceless. That never happened with more experienced varsity coaches because they knew better.
The Nuggets may complain to the league office and then the league will pretty much ignore it. That’s about the way the league works and it works that way for all the teams. Just think of how many times you’ve seen a case where the league said “OK we’re going to replay the last minute or so of a game that happened weeks ago.” I seem to have a vague recollection of something like that happening before in the dim and distant past but if there were a protest mechanism in place as so many conceptualize it, you’d be seeing it happen several times a season.
"Woohoo Denver, Yeah... All right Denver justify my love!" ...Homer Simpson
I think it was last year (or possibly the year before)
When they replayed the last two minutes of a game from months before because the scorer’s table had said that Shaq fouled out when he actually had only been called for 5 fouls. Shaq’s team still lost but I was amazed at the fact that they would make two teams replay a game (and if I’m not mistaken, both of the teams had already made significant roster changes by the time the make-up minutes were played).
by NuggBuckets on Mar 24, 2010 11:59 AM MDT up reply actions
There should be a term limit for commissioners
David Stern thinks he’s a demigod and needs to be knocked off his thrown.
This is a clear example that games are fixed and that Donaghy’s story shouldn’t be taken lightly.
To take it a step further maybe there should be an investigation of the NBA and the commissioner
Thrown?
You mean he should be thrown off his throne?
The owners view David Stern as a guy who saved the NBA from floding back in the late 70s earliy 80s. David Stern has made a lot of money for the owners that they would otherwise have not made. There’s no way the NBA will get rid of Stern no matter how much the fans hate him.
"Woohoo Denver, Yeah... All right Denver justify my love!" ...Homer Simpson
Floding?
You mean folding. lol
Change happens all the time. Look at your credit card limit and interest rate.
Who’s going to give a shit about the NBA when they think the games are fixed?
That league with AND One will get more attention.
Yeah, floding is a transpositional typo, I usually don’t go for those because I tend to do it myself. The homonyms create some wierd stuff.
I’ve been thinking the NBA was fixed for a long time. Portland, Seattle, Golden State, the DC franchise and Milwaukee have all won NBA championships, but that ain’t gonna happen again any time soon.
"Woohoo Denver, Yeah... All right Denver justify my love!" ...Homer Simpson
You do not make that call unless you are fixing the game, period
I know everyone scoffs and laughs this shit off as stupid conspiracy theories, but there is no way the outside official on the play can consult the player, then overrule the ref who was in position and made the obviously correct call after a key player just fouled out and during possibly the most critical play of the game unless you are fixing the game. And, yes, I know that sentence was a run-on , but it was such a ridiculous series of events that it needed one. We also got screwed on several other call/no-calls down the stretch. Sure, we didn’t play our best, but that doesn’t mean we deserve to be screwed out of a chance to win by crooked refs. How can the NBA stand by such garbage? It’s infuriating and it’s the worst part about being a fan of the game.
by airforcefoo on Mar 24, 2010 1:06 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
Beyond wake up calls at this point
If I remember correctly there was a loss to the Clippers in december that had us all saying that was the wake up call the nuggets needed. It’s been the same story all season long. There is no such wake up call with this team. The nuggets are clearly asleep at the wheel.
"I know the game of basketball is one-on-one (oriented), but the pain of beating a defense by the pass — it confuses and frustrates the defense more than just going by a guy one-on-one." George Karl
by NuggetsLife on Mar 23, 2010 11:14 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
Kronke is the one that needs a wake-up call
We are sadly witnessing the price of mediocrity on the part of silent stan. We all love our Nuggs but if any of us thinks that this team can win a championship this year, they are deluding themselves. Stan allowed a sizeable trade exception to expire and did NOTHING before the trade deadline. This team has tremendous potential but is NOT complete. While Stan has continued to try and expand his interest in foreign teams he has failed to do anything as of late to improve THIS team. I hear the optimists on this site talking about " not panicking, its just one game", but it’s not just one game when the statement is repeated again and again. I don’t want to be a glummy gus but other teams, especially in our conference, have taken steps to improve; we did not ( or more appropriatley, stan did not). We reap what we sow.
Meh
Cuban spent a boatload of money, but that doesn’t equal instantaneous success as we have seen. I don’t fault Kroenke; I don’t expect the guy to hemorrhage cash in this kind of economy and with the luxury tax the league imposes.
We win against Boston tonight and everyone will be happy again, forgetting the last two losses. Not to say I’m not disappointed but the sky isn’t falling. Our record speaks for itself, we’re still an exceptional team.
by Artimus Mangilord on Mar 24, 2010 11:59 AM MDT up reply actions
What kind of business man doesn't want to make his product better?
You don’t blame Stan for not spending money to make his team better. He has avenues available in which he doesn’t have to spend a boatload of money to make his team better.
The money that Cuban has spent is paying dividends, who’s in hunt for the second seed?
What happens if the Nuggets don’t win tonight? The sky isn’t falling but the seeding is?
I’m quite sure those who are paying good money for seats are looking for a better product. One of the Larry O’Brien kind
It remains to be seen if Cuban's moves pay "dividends"
If they don’t go any further in the playoffs, he’s not making any money.
by Artimus Mangilord on Mar 24, 2010 3:43 PM MDT up reply actions
I agree that other teams made big moves to improve, but
they haven’t really payed off at all. Who’s big moves have made them that much better than last year? I like that we made good improvements without shelling out big money or changing our core group of players. Overall, I think it’s foolish to complain about how we’re positioned for this year or the future. I think some people may be underrating what the Nuggets are missing right now. With Kenyon, Lawson, and the head coach missing, I think it’s silly to panic right now. If you’ll recall, last year we had much better health (not to mention a healthy coach), and we’re still ahead of our pace from last season. If we get into the playoffs healthy and clicking, we’re still definitely a title contender.
Why can't JR make those running floaters???
He seems to miss several every game. Surely he should know how to get them in or forget about them by now.
Also, Carter seems to want to get an assist every time he has the ball. THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH PASSING THE BALL AROUND TO GET A GOOD SHOT, rather than just going for a one-pass (often bad) shot. He’d fit in great under Coach D’A or at Phoenix.
Julian from Australia
He keeps shooting them 'cause he's JR
Carter does pad his stats so that AD might play him more.
"Left hand, right hand, it doesn't matter. I'm amphibious." - Charles Shackleford
""He’s a stiff." - The Legendary Doug Moe
"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors." - Weldon Drew
"I really didn't want it, but now that I've won it, it's nice. It's an honor. It's nice to know people don't think you're a total idiot. ... It must have been a poor year for coaches." - Doug Moe...talking about winning 1987-88 Coach of the Year award.
"We're just tough, man" - Chauncey Billups
AC had his moments in glory however he's reverting back to his former play
illustrated by that pass behind his back in the lane leading to a turnover
yeah, long night.
The game thread said it all. 600+ comments.
To me Nene has his moments but he needs to man up in the paint. One thing he is very constant at when it comes to Nene. Continuous crying & a staredown to the dipshit pinstripe when he gets tickled from an opponent (or God forbid a foul called on him ) then the play moves on w/o him cause he is trotting down the court still shaking his head. DUDE!!! get over yourself ! It hurts the team and does nobody any good. If things are that bad, get a helmet and shoulder pads!
To the rest of the players watching yet another Melo jumper from the cheap seats, Jake Jabs is always touting his latest furniture sales on Altitude. Go buy some armchairs, a smoking jacket, kick out the recliner, light up the Hooka Pipe and watch the game like this stiff ( actually no smoking jacket or pipe but a recliner and some cheap Sutter Home Pino Grigio ).
The leadership is called out to question and hopefully AD looks over this site cause he just got knocked around for the first time pretty bad. The dude needs to display leadership. Obviously he is more comfortale as a wing man but this season has had plenty of great moments to now let the remainder of the season unravel around him.
Finally keep GK in your thoughts, he must be going thru Hell.
8 games in 13 days
Sometime during last season someone posted a stat about Nene’s performance in relation to how much time the team had off between games. Basically with 3+ days of rest Nene was a beast and on back to backs he sucked. I’m sure the whole team is starting to feel worn down from this schedule.
"I know the game of basketball is one-on-one (oriented), but the pain of beating a defense by the pass — it confuses and frustrates the defense more than just going by a guy one-on-one." George Karl
by NuggetsLife on Mar 23, 2010 11:36 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
5 games in 7 days
Nuggets might be behind the Jazz after this
"Left hand, right hand, it doesn't matter. I'm amphibious." - Charles Shackleford
""He’s a stiff." - The Legendary Doug Moe
"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors." - Weldon Drew
"I really didn't want it, but now that I've won it, it's nice. It's an honor. It's nice to know people don't think you're a total idiot. ... It must have been a poor year for coaches." - Doug Moe...talking about winning 1987-88 Coach of the Year award.
"We're just tough, man" - Chauncey Billups
How come Nene never is on the Stiff Lists for not playing up to par
But when Jr is having his problems he’s number one on the Stiff’s List
Same with Melo.
Nene needs to manup and come to play everyday. Sixty million $ gives him no passes or excuses
We are with ya GK
bummed after the game and the news on George’s health. Think big picture though cause we are still tied with the Mavs. Personally watching this game I did take some positives because they fought hard, did not sulk as we started collapsing and most guys gave genuine effort. We were sabotaged by poor coaching and egregious officiating. The D Lee charge reverse and Melo’s steal halted Denver’s momentum at it’s peak. Say what you will about the Knicks or Denver’s laziness, that was indefensible horseshit twice in a row.Nuggets are missing toughness with Kenyon and GK out and working themselves out of an inconsistent funk going back to the Wizards game. It’s not an excuse. They are also missing ridiculous easy bunnies in late-game clutch situations. Shit happens and it is happening a lot right now
JR’s last 2 threes weren’t garbage, they were huge. I won’t try to defend his overall bad game but it wasn’t too long ago JR was leaving the building after such a rough start. They hit every clutch shot and got every break needed to win it. Afflalo was a non stiff. 4-6 shooting and a team leading +14. He was a man. What the fuck Adrian Dantley was thinking this game is a mystery. Is he even in charge? Lawson’s speed and Petro’s size will be game changers in the playoffs. If we don’t plan on using them might as well gear up for a first round loss now. Somebody take the damn reigns on this coaching staff and show some leadership. Chauncey, Melo and Nene play damn near 40 mins in a loss with a game in Boston the next day. Ridiculous.
AD has done a good job but failed like shit tonight. If Lawson and Petro don;t play on this road trip I’m pretty much gonna go ape shit. Hopefully GK heals up quick because our four-headed interim coach Jamadrian Dantwelch was an embarrassment tonight
by runningdonut on Mar 24, 2010 12:45 AM MDT reply actions 2 recs
there were positives
maybe the biggest positive is that we lost! its nice to give great effort, but it cant just be given in the 4th quarter. the effort needs to be there the entire game. we’ve gotten away w/ playing 2.5 quarters during a lot of games and we’re still tied for the #2 seed in the west.
i know we’ve been saying it the entire season, but maybe, just maybe they finally learned last night that they need to play an entire game to beat teams. i know its very late in the season, but its better if we lose these types of games bc winning them only encourages our bad habits.
ill feel much better when they show effort for an entire game, regardless of opponents, for a stretch of 4-5 games.
it is time to get sharp - hone those skills...
the nuggs ain’t getting sharp, or honing those skills.
If kenyon ain’t back by playoff time… o well…
I'm holding out...
that the pieces will into place in time for the post season. Everyone will be healthy and the roster back to full strength, with GK back at the helm and recovering as the post season progresses.
by Artimus Mangilord on Mar 24, 2010 12:02 PM MDT up reply actions
The Nuggets defensive switching scheme is mindboggling
For most teams it simply does not work, and it was not working last night. Why voluntarily create mismatches in the other teams favor? I mean, they keep making Al Harrington look like a stud. WTF!?!
We have no shot in the playoffs if Chauncey is guarding Pau Gasol. Smart teams can exploit the switch. The Knicks did, and they aren’t one of the brightest, most disciplined teams. Figure the shit out guys.
Also, if JR is off, our second quarter subs without Lawson provide NO offense. I don’t care how many assists AC is getting, he is not a scoring threat. We can’t go stretches without scoring, especially when our defense is sucking. Get Ty in there!!!
I'm glad this frustrates someone else
The insane amount of switching we’ve been doing lately is killing us. Actually, when we’ve played the Lakers this season, we’ve switched far less than normal, so it’s no wonder we’ve played well against them. I was at the Bucks game, and the whole time I was yelling “Don’t switch that!” We were even switching off ball screens that could easily have been worked through. Then Salmons would shake Nene and knock down a clean look or Melo would have to help off Delfino because Ilyasova was posting one of our guys and we’d give up an open 3. I’d like to see us try hedging hard on pick-and-rolls and the bigs rotating over and fighting over off-ball screens. We need to be more active on the defensive end, and switching all screens is the most passive defensive strategy you can use.
Mr. Feinstein may not be a fan of blowouts
But I for one was hoping for at least a 20 point win to kick off this road trip.
DAMN.
nuggets started the game leading 12 to 0
then they went back to their bad habits. no need to blame the coaches, owner, front office and the refs. denver was spotted 12 points by the new york knicks and lost the game. end of story. petro cannot defend on the perimeter and was right where he belonged. he could not stay with david west of nawlins. he had 30 points for the game. west scored 14 points in the 3rd quarted and 6 points in row. nene, melo and andersen cannot stay with lee and harrington petro is in way over his head. ty needs to be playing but that is not the reason the team lost. kmart is one of the best big men ever to play the game at defending the pick and roll. last season cleveland was eliminated in the eastern conference finals because they could not defend the pick and roll. cavs will be not be in the finals this year because they cannot defend the pick and roll. nuggets had a 12-0 lead to start the game and lost. the players that played lost the game.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
were JRs 2 3's
meaningless bc we lost? i guess every point that each players scored was meaningless tonight. those 2 3s gave us a chance to win the game at the end. i believe he has turned the corner this season. a JR that starts the game 0-9 would not have taken a “charge” late into the 4th quarter. we were down 1 point and JR had 11 points as part of the comeback and a dime to Nene, he was wide open for a 3. i wish he took that 3! instead he passed it up and gave it to chauncey to start the halfcourt offense.
According to Andrew every single one of JRs points are meaningless
except when he doesn’t score any, and then it’s JR’s fault that the Nuggs lost.
It’s plain and simple, the Nuggets defense switches too often and their offense has NO movement. It has zero passing and doesn’t even force the defense to attempt to switch. I realize that we have some big-name talents but we should still try to create better mismatches and better shots.
by NuggBuckets on Mar 24, 2010 12:03 PM MDT up reply actions
54
It’s unfortunate that the Nuggets lost 2 straight games to beatable teams. My opinion is that we’re now headed for 53 wins, going 6-5 in the last 11. Unless some teams can upset the Jazz and Mavs, the Nuggs will be a 4th seeded playoff team, and match up with the Lakers in the second round (aargh!). The only way we don’t is that we beat Dallas in Big D, and sneak a game on the road (besides a W at Toronto).
Get well soon, Coach and KMart! They need your bark and bite to be back!
by timoptic on Mar 24, 2010 9:34 AM MDT via mobile reply actions
Normally, I'd hope for a bounce back game
But after the game last night, I’m not expecting anything. I lost almost all hope for the Nuggets to win their first title. There’s no K-Mart, no Karl. We’re going to lose the 2nd seed to Dallas and end up with the 4th or 5th.
Better luck next year, when everybody is healthy.
4th seed
might be a better position for us anyway. technically, we’d be chasing all the big dogs. we wouldnt be able to disrespect opponents bc we’re the #2 seed and have home court. we currently lack any sense of urgency and maybe the thought of not having homecourt advantage will get us focused.
im probably wrong tho and homecourt is exactly what we need.
Can someone make that David Lee incident a youtube clip?
I don’t have a setup that does it.
Great write-up!
Nicely done, Beefy! I like your style. Our game last night – ehh, not so much.
by AGAINST_DA_LAW-SON on Mar 24, 2010 1:00 PM MDT reply actions
I just finished watching the game
I’m disgusted. Kind of mad at the Nuggets for blowing it, but mostly at the refs for doing the worst fourth quarter officiating this season. Agreed with everyone above. The JR foul was definitely a charge on Lee, and with the Knick’s best player out with several minutes to go, the Nuggets would have had a huge opportunity to win. Then there was the Melo foul, in which I was once again blown away by its stupidity. It was a completely clean steal. Sure Harrington missed the FT’s…it doesn’t matter, if the refs don’t screw up that call, Melo might have closed the lead to one with plenty of time remaining. I would be typing in all caps but fear it would be annoying to read.
Also – Where was AD? I mean besides the Petro thing. When David Lee fouled out (or at least should have), Mike D’antoni immediately got up and started screaming at the officials, and helped them to overturn the foul call. On the other hand, when JR was called for “blocking” and Melo for “reaching,” Dantley barely even stood up. I know GK isn’t loud and aggressive, but he’s a veteran coach, and he probably would’ve stood up to the horrible, ridiculous officiating last night.
Bill Spooner…well, you suck.
Here's what I hate
And it’s an irrational hate.
I hate it when other people rip this team. Sure, there are a lot of faults…but I feel like, hey, this is our team to rip. This is our team to call out, to criticize, to swear at after they miss layups and turn the ball over. ESPN GO GET YOUR OWN TEAM
by Uh on Mar 24, 2010 5:26 PM MDT up reply actions
and Cleveland
"I know the game of basketball is one-on-one (oriented), but the pain of beating a defense by the pass — it confuses and frustrates the defense more than just going by a guy one-on-one." George Karl
Love your quote
Sums up the Nugs season to this point.
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