No April fools here... (Nuggets/Blazers recap)
by Andrew Feinstein on Apr 2, 2010 12:46 AM MDT
in Denver Nuggets: Game Recaps
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And just like that, the Nuggets are back in the hunt for the Western Conference's number two seed. As Alfred E. Neuman might say: "What, me worry?"
For the second straight time playing the Trail Blazers in Denver, the Nuggets walked over our division rivals. But unlike the previous matchup when the Nuggets leapt out to a 13-point lead and never looked back, this time the double-digit advantage didn't come about until very late in the third quarter. Better late than never.
Even though the Blazers made a game of it for two and then some quarters, they never looked into it to me. It's as if they conceded this game before taking off their recycled material shooting shirts, knowing they wouldn't have the legs to beat a rested and very angry Nuggets team with something to prove. But I won't complain about witnessing another Pepsi Center blowout courtesy of the NBA schedule makers, because the Nuggets desperately had to win this game to stay in the hunt out West.
What I especially liked about tonight's Nuggets victory was the balance with which it was accomplished. I remember looking up at the scoreboard midway through the fourth quarter and seeing four of the five players on the floor having scored at least 15 points. When was the last time we could say that?
The only area of concern that I could take away from this game was that J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony seem to be rushing poor jump shots early in the shot clock for no apparent reason whatsoever. Melo finally let the game come to him and had a splendid fourth quarter, but J.R. - sans several incredibly acrobatic plays around the basket - took an assortment of atrociously timed shots en route to (gasp!) 2-10 shooting from three-point range.
Before jumping into the not-so-cheap-seats observations, allow me to thank the Magic for beating the Mavericks at Dallas tonight. As of this morning, I was concerned the Nuggets might slip even further away from the Mavs. But now the Mavericks are suddenly within reach yet again.
The View from the Not-So-Cheap-Seats...
...Broncos legend John Elway was in attendance (with the always annoying Rick Reilly) along with his gorgeous ex-Raiderette wife.
...Nene and former Nugget Marcus Camby yacked it up each time they lined up during a free throw.
...Nene played the toughest that we've seen him play in some time. This was not a teddy bear performance tonight.
...another former Nugget, Andre Miller, abused Johan Petro on several occasions. Seeing Miller out-muscle the much larger Petro for several rebounds leaves me with no hope that Petro can anchor the center position for more than a few starter's minutes only.
...Melo's fourth personal foul - called while on offense - was complete horseshit.
...when the Blazers made things interesting early in the third quarter, the fans started booing the Nuggets.
...Chauncey Billups should have made three three-pointers tonight, but Melo dunked the ball back in on a Billups' shot carom even though it was probably going in.
...Arron Afflalo's defense on Brandon Roy was awesome.
...Camby's jumper was red hot, and I'm convinced he made more outside shots tonight than he made in his entire Nuggets career.
Non-Stiff of the Night
-Nene: As mentioned above, Nene played tougher than normal and was key to the Nuggets victory with a solid all-around performance for four quarters: 22 points on 9-14 shooting, five rebounds, five assists, three blocks and no foul trouble!
Stiff of the Night
-Brandon Roy: Just as he did last time he walked onto the Pepsi Center floor, the Blazers star player disappeared and had no impact on the game. This was mostly due to great defense by the Nuggets Arron Afflalo, but Roy's body language was garbage from the start and he resorted to whining mode too early for a big game. Roy fans should be very disappointed.
Opposition's Take: Blazers Edge
Photo courtesy of AP: David Zalubowski
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I'm convinced that somewhere....deep deep down...Nene has an inner tough guy mentality
….because he has games like this. Where he’s tough, slashing to the basket…bullying opposing centers and power forwards. That’s what’s so frigging frustrating about him. Infuriating even.
Melo had an….interesting game. He hit some good shots….but he was clearly rattled by the foul calls, and quite frankly that’s ON him. Melo, as seems to be clear, is having a tougher time climbing out of this negative mindset this road trip instilled in the Nuggets. I hope the next game he looks more determined.
Chaunc-team? Great game. That’s the Chauncey we know and love.
I’m a bit worried about Bird….but let me say this. The Nuggets have been operating with half a Chris Andersen all year….is it time he shuts it down to get healthy. Put Graham in and let’s go to a small lineup with the second Unit….
Oh and Tacos? A complete waste of space. Why we have Malik Allen on our team is beyond me.
"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
Melo Vs Webster
I was afraid we were gonna be affected by this 1-1 match up that was going on. Isomelo reared his head once in a while in this game within the game thing.
Why does it look like Melo has lost his handle in the bad stretch that we have had in the last 6 games? Seems to me that he is losing the ball in traffic much more these days.
+1 on Tacos
Much rather see Petro as I thought he was decently effective last night. I pray to god that Dantley continues to use Petro and tries not to use Tacos for the rest of the year.
Petro racked up some quick fouls and that's why Taco's came in.
I don’t necessarily agree with the decision. Against a team like the Blazers that really has no inside presence I really didn’t see why Ty didn’t playing more. Minutes on Chauncey are piling up and the youngest guy on the team is sitting on the bench. IMO AAA and Ty need more minutes to rest Chauncey.
"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 thought Dantley did a good job last night trying to make sure Tacos didn't play
But Petro got 4 fouls in the first half and forced his hand.
Petro needs his eyes checked or...
his arm recaliberated or something.. two feet from the hoop and he was hurling the ball at the backboard like it was 10 feet away.. It did get a chuckle or two from the TNT crew (Hubie was it?)
Doug Collins I think
and yeah those were some UGLY shots
by ParkHillNative on Apr 2, 2010 11:33 AM MDT up reply actions
Gotta say though
He had a great sky hook in garbage time.
by Artimus Mangilord on Apr 2, 2010 6:24 PM MDT up reply actions
I thought Allen did pretty well in the late-3rd early-4th
He was playing some pretty scrappy D. Of course the rest was still the garbage time we expect from Tacos.
Because Montana has no professional sports, I gotta support the land of my birth.
Socrates was once executed for 'trolling'.
^Needs explaining: don't call someone asking uncomfortable, slightly antagonistic questions trolls. In all odds they probably just want to learn. It's real easy to differentiate a 'Socratic' post from a trolling one (unless you're a resident of WCG).
^Needs further explaining: I have yet to post anything on WCG, don't worry, I'm not trying to rationalize anything I've done. I've just lurked over there and man, they are the model of post-peloponnesian war Athens.
great way to bounce back!
My favourite part of the game was early in the second when Dantley had that second unit in the game.. Lawson and Smith are are amazing backcourt combination! they pulled off some crazy and flashy plays and the energy from that second unit was big tonight! Birdman was playing great untill he went down on that ankle.. a bit of a worry..
One of the TNT crew made a good comment about Ty Lawson. (i think it was Reggie) that Lawson is like spud webb in the way that he pushes the ball so fast up the floor. He forces the other 4 players on the floor to sprint so they can get easy points. Godd to have Lawson playing good again
ohh Andrew
Were you sitting behind the Nuggets bench tonight? because i might have caught a glimpse of you on tv.
Speaking of Lawson
Why did he get so few minutes in the 2nd half?
by ParkHillNative on Apr 2, 2010 1:40 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions
my thoughts exactly.
I thought he played very well in the first but yet AC was first off the bench in the 2nd half. It was his fault martell webster got to dunk on bird.
by GottaLoveMelo on Apr 2, 2010 8:16 AM MDT up reply actions
Glimpses of the old style
When Lawson was in the game it looked like the team that could burst open a 10 point lead to a 20 point lead in no time. The TNT crew, especially Kenny, used to point that out quite often during the playoffs last year.
Gale force winds created with Nuggets Nation's collective sigh of relief
Now I hope this energy translates into a strong season close-out.
by neumdaddy on Apr 2, 2010 1:17 AM MDT reply actions 1 recs
most important stat
minutes played. nene had the most with just under 34 minutes. this is a great example of where more is less and less is more. the 3 point shooting continues to hold the team back. too many attempts and not making a higher percentage. there is nothing wrong with a 3 pointer when it comes within the context of the offense. there are times when the 24 second clock or a quarter is expiring that a desperation 3 pointer is taken. executing the half court offense will be critical in the playoffs. the bench players were the difference by extending the lead in the second quarter and forcing the blazers to use energy. coach dantley made a wise move going to a 2 point guard offense and speeding up the game. when the starters returned they allowed portland back in the game with bad shot selection and turnovers. this was a good game to build on for the remainder of the season.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
3 Point Shooting...
If you look at the good teams, and particularly the elite teams in the league (playoff teams and better offensive teams) they consciously take a lot of 3’s (particularly corner 3’s), and make them at a very good clip. A really good example of a team that recognizes this is the Orlando Magic. Their offense is basically throw it to Howard in the post, and then spread everyone else around the 3 point line (they’re good this year because they lead the league in eFG% given up on defense and they shoot and make a large percentage of 3’s).
Why should teams take more 3’s? The first reason is because the 2 point field goal is the most inefficient shot that can be taken on the court because it is often contested due to poor floor spacing, players trying to be Jordan and create their own shots when defended, and the inability of most forwards to hit open mid range jumpers. Second, it may be stating the obvious, but a 3 point shot is worth 3 points. BronBron shoots ~32% from mid range. If you factor in shots that are almost almost 3’s but aren’t, he shoots 2’s (not including in the paint and layups) at a clip of ~41%. He shoots 3’s at ~35% but you get 1 more point per 3 made so his eFG% is actually ~51%. So, why wouldn’t he just stop shooting long 2’s and instead shoot 3’s? There would be more variance, but his team would be 10% more efficient everytime he takes that shot. Over the course of a season and a game, your offense is more efficient and you’ll tend to win more games. The last reason, and this one is most important, is that Dean Oliver proved that the most important factors to a team winning and losing is eFG% on both offense and on defense. In other words, how efficiently are you making shots and how efficiently are you defending the other team from making shots? Teams with high eFG%‘s shoot and make a lot of 3’s. Likewise, if you were to build a team, you’d want to defend the paint and the perimeter well and pretty much give up anything inside the 3 point line and outside the paint. The Magic are built exactly like this…they filter everything in the paint to Howard, and they play tough perimeter defense and deny 3’s.
My buddy mentioned it, and I’ll just paste what he sent me in his email: "Someone needs to tell Arron Afflalo that he is awesome and shooting and that if he gets an open three, he should shoot it without even thinking. What he should never do is pump fake and drive into the lane. He should just act as a floor-spacer, nothing else. Something like 75% of his shots should be threes. "
AAA and Nene both have very high eFG%‘s…they’re efficient with their shots and take them within the offense. The Nuggets and Suns lead the league in eFG% and offensive efficiency this year…one of those reasons why we’re so good!
The good news for our Nuggets...
Is our offense has been at the top of the league with JR shooting way worse than he normally does from 3. He’s a career 40% 3 point shooter and he’s shooting 33% this year (we were also horribly misusing him at the start of the year when it was AC and JR and we were letting him go 1 on 3 over and over again). This means, at some point, he’s going to regress back to his career average and our offense should be even better than it has been!
The bad news is he’s taking more retarded mid-range jumpers this year. Someone needs to tell him to kick those inefficient 2 point mid-range jumpers out to Ty, Chauncey or Afflalo for 3’s :)
number of shots Carmelo has made while on the Nuggets
4487
by InboundingLobPass on Apr 2, 2010 2:04 AM MDT reply actions
Your point?
"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.
"Keep your head up and don't let anything get to you." - Dante Bichette Jr.
by LACK on Apr 2, 2010 5:18 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions
Balance is key
Four players take at least 10 shots and the Nugs shoot a terrible 20% from three but damn near 50% for the game. Nuggets are so good offensively they tend to make things harder than need be. Foul trouble and Dantley’s willingness to change it up is the basketball Gods telling him to spread out the bench minutes more, bring them in earlier and reduce the load on the starters. I know we should have won considering their back to back but you had to at least be weary of how these teams were moving in opposite directions coming in. This was huge and big positive for how Chauncey and Nene should approach games going into the playoffs. Sharing is caring. There is a fatigue and injury factor but fundamental concepts are the biggest thing holding us back. The Nugs even without Kenyon are a lot to handle when they play a balanced offensive game.
twitter.com/skitalicious
This is a very, very good offensive team...
From a game theoretical perspective, it’s good to balance your shots and sometimes it’s better for your offense when someone who shouldn’t be taking a shot does.
However, with the exception of JR (which is usually the case), our bench didn’t take that many shots. The big difference? We made a conscious effort to get the ball into Nene who is very efficient with his shots….when you go 9-16 consistently, your offense is going to seem way better. It also spaces out the floor so that Chauncey and Melo have more room to get off shots.
Anytime Chauncey, AAA, Lawson, or Nene shoot, that’s a good result. When Melo and JR have the ball it’s usually a good result. Anytime anyone else on our team shoots I tend to cringe.
The Nuggets have probably thhe NBA's most talented offensive team
It’s nice to see that we used it.
"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.
"Keep your head up and don't let anything get to you." - Dante Bichette Jr.
by LACK on Apr 2, 2010 5:20 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions
Clips game
Birdman needs to sit out and get right, and it will be a great time to get Ty going again. Tacos is who he is but I’m just hoping Bird’s absence will grant us a Balkman appearance if he is able to play just a little. I just want to reminded the dude is still a Nugget.
twitter.com/skitalicious
The Blazers' Edge guy said that Birdman
looks like a carnie with the new facial hair. It is hard to know what the Bird is going for with his new look.
im feeling the carnie look.
on a related note, i LOVE the gumby that jennings has been rocking.
by calvin brodus on Apr 2, 2010 7:42 AM MDT up reply actions
"...Melo's fourth personal foul - called while on offense - was complete horseshit."
its great when you guys cuss. i have special place in my heart for the foul-mouthed
"..when the Blazers made things interesting early in the third quarter, the fans started booing the Nuggets."
No I was there too. I’m certain the fans were booing the refs as thats what I was doing.
Bird
That was his 4th sprained left ankle in the past couple of months. When he went down, you could tell that ankle was already heavily taped up. It’s obvious that it’s not 100%. Maybe they should rest him for the rest of the season.
Chicken Wings = Murder!
Decent game.
Nene was a monster early on. As bad a game as Melo was having, he took over and did work in the 4th like a superstar should to close the game.
Now take care of the Clips on Saturday and please handle the Thunder and shut up the Kevin Durant talk this wednesday.
it completely annoys the shit out of me
that Carmelo isn’t getting the same calls that he was getting at the beginning of the year. What’s more, now those calls are going against him.
by NugNugz on Apr 2, 2010 9:07 AM MDT reply actions 1 recs
Rec'd
How does the 3rd leading scorer in the NBA not reach the foul line until the 4th quarter? Tht portland defence must have been stellar in person, because on TV it looked pretty bad.
it is their style of play
to play the first quarter was a total of 28 minutes. the second quarter took 40 minutes to play. blazers have the best record for the 2nd game of a back to back because their bench is deep and they play a slow down methodical half court offense.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
One ring to cure them all !!
Wish Bird did bite that ring and get all cured up, then pass the ring to KMart who will put Gasol on his back next week, then pass the ring to Karl who will come back and lead this team to its first ring !!!
Last night was the first of the Nuggets' 23 game winstreak
by margabelle on Apr 2, 2010 10:03 AM MDT reply actions 2 recs
thank g-d we go this win...
but in the begining of the game the refs were really pissing me off…. they clearly frustrated melo (not por’s defense)… JR and Chauncey both had nice finishes around the rim, melo had a really nice 4th quarter, nene was so aggressive and i loved it (this why its so frustrating, he has the talent, he has the ability its just part of the problem is the team doesnt spoon feed him enough and he isnt assertive enough), jeez i hope bird is okay its the last thing we need right now to have tacos and petro playing 30 minutes…Ty really pushed the pace, i actually thought AD had a good coaching game (he called the right timeouts and minus the AC-Ty lineup, he played a good rotation), Afflalo had great D on Roy, joey was active
also camby had a good game for the trailblazers, and i really hope we sign him in the off season (if not him, then brad miller, but i really prefer camby)
also, i want to point, what great chemistry camby has with our team...
like i feel like he spoke to our players and smiled more, than with por’s players
as travis heath said last week, his heart is still in DEN
if only we hadn't made that retarded balkman deal...
getting Camby back wouldn’t be such a pain…
Because Montana has no professional sports, I gotta support the land of my birth.
Socrates was once executed for 'trolling'.
^Needs explaining: don't call someone asking uncomfortable, slightly antagonistic questions trolls. In all odds they probably just want to learn. It's real easy to differentiate a 'Socratic' post from a trolling one (unless you're a resident of WCG).
^Needs further explaining: I have yet to post anything on WCG, don't worry, I'm not trying to rationalize anything I've done. I've just lurked over there and man, they are the model of post-peloponnesian war Athens.
No
Even if we wanted him back, he has a chip on his shoulder about the way he was dealt.
by Artimus Mangilord on Apr 2, 2010 6:33 PM MDT up reply actions
Good game
Ended up going to the game last night with some buddies. Great to see a win, albeit not a pretty one. I really wish AD would get Ty Lawson some more minutes…i think he had like 8 last night.
And I understand Johan got some early (and terrible) fouls….but TACOS? TACOS??? Even my girlfriend, who I think only likes the nuggets because I force us to watch most games, was pissed Tacos was in. TACOS! gahhhh…..
BTW......watching Orlando play Dallas last night
how on earth we lost to the Mavs. We barely lost to Orlando (with the aid of some questionable officiating) and both teams were rested. Last night was the second of a back to back for Dallas, but Orlando toyed with them…in Dallas…it it really wasn’t close after the third.
How did we lose to the Mavs again? I’m thinking Dallas may drop a game to OKC next.
"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
Orlando Big Men
Howard (6-11) then Gortat (6-11), Anderson (6-10) and then Bass (6-8, 250).. quite the luxury to have such big guys to put some body on Dirk. Bass seemed to do a decent job of defending Dirk.
Can’t really see the French Tickler as a credible big man. Really wish we had gone after some big men before the trade deadline..
Shooting 14-24 from 3 will win you a lot of games...
That’s like a team shooting .875 for the game from 2. Think about how ridiculous that is.
I agree
Their 3 point shooting is just ridiculous. It looked like our 168 game against the Sonics couple of years ago. It felt like anyone who tried a 3 got it. I am hoping for a game like that when we play OKC again next Wednesday.
My gripe was not to say their big men won the game for them.. but having such big men come off the bench.
I was hoping we would sign one of them in the offseason
I was really hoping for Gortat with Bass as a strong 2nd option. Then, they signed both, I figured they would trade one and they didn’t.
Then I figured they’d definitely trade Bass at the trade deadline and we could get him…but that didn’t happen either :(
"Camby's jumper was red hot"
can you call it a jumper when his feet don’t leave the floor?
Because Montana has no professional sports, I gotta support the land of my birth.
Socrates was once executed for 'trolling'.
^Needs explaining: don't call someone asking uncomfortable, slightly antagonistic questions trolls. In all odds they probably just want to learn. It's real easy to differentiate a 'Socratic' post from a trolling one (unless you're a resident of WCG).
^Needs further explaining: I have yet to post anything on WCG, don't worry, I'm not trying to rationalize anything I've done. I've just lurked over there and man, they are the model of post-peloponnesian war Athens.
Why We Are Struggling
The Portland game provided vivid reminders of some of the core weaknesses with or without GK, God bless him.
First responsibility goes to owner/management. Juwan Howard and Marcus Camby were two reminders of big who would have been affordable acquisitions and fourth Birdman
ankle injury (plus KMart injury) underlined shortsightedness in not getting a credible big.
Second goes to coaching staff and team for inability/unwillingness to stay focused on sharing the ball, defending and other basics in critical games, though managing and motivating some of this team’s players could be unrealistic.
Third, Mr. Bad-Good J.R. Smith must go in the off season to have any hope of cr.eating consistent team chemistry and reliable perimeter shooting—-I would give Affalo many of Smith’s current minutes in the playoffs to minimize Smith’s disruption of teamwork.
and defensive disinterest. Forgiveable to delay this move—-but no longer.
Today we learn that Dallas is bringing in Dwayne Jones, the rebounding machine playing for the Austin Toros. Just one more reminder of how pinching pennies while the owner focuses elsewhere in his sports empire has pretty much eliminated our chance to win in the playoff.
I disagree strongly with two of your points.
Marcus Camby was traded for a bag of peanuts….he will never be a Nugget again.
JR Smith disrupts teamwork? Please cite examples. He gets cold etc etc but disrupts teamwork…I don’t buy it.
JR Smith doesn’t play defense? JR plays good tight defense and often forces turnovers.
Troy Tulowitzki - Best SS in the MLB - 2010 MVP
Brad Hawpe - Will prove the doubters wrong
Todd Helton - Thanks +17
"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?
sigh...I give up......for now
Troy Tulowitzki - Best SS in the MLB - 2010 MVP
Brad Hawpe - Will prove the doubters wrong
Todd Helton - Time for his ring to come true
PLAY BALL!!!
To quote Grosse Point Blank
POPCORN!!!
by Artimus Mangilord on Apr 6, 2010 11:17 AM MDT up reply actions
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