Nuggets at Thunder recap: Free throws, strategy doom Denver
by Nate Timmons on Apr 17, 2011 10:59 PM MDT
in Denver Nuggets: Game Recaps
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It looked like a day of upsets as the Grizzlies defeated the Spurs and the Hornets bested the Lakers in the early games. But the Celtics pulled out a nail-biter at home and the Thunder out-lasted the Nuggets in tonight's evening match-ups. The Nuggets continued to struggle at the foul line, missing 12 attempts on the night and some interesting play calling and lineups late helped the Thunder secure a win in Game 1 with a 107-103 victory.
The Nuggets couldn't have asked for a better start to tonight's game. Denver came out and hit their first seven shots and raced out to a 16-6 lead. The Nuggets were 3-3 from three point land and playing with an attacking style above the rim. The Nuggets would have blown the doors of the Oklahoma City Arena had the defense been up to snuff in the first quarter.
Denver fouled early and they fouled often as the Thunder went 12-13 from the charity stripe in the first quarter. The Nuggets were contesting every shot, but doing just enough to get fouls called on them. Denver finished the first quarter shooting 15-24 and things were shaping up nicely (Denver led 33-24 after one).
In the second quarter, almost in a reaction to how the game was being called, the Nuggets defense allowed too many open shots and OKC took advantage. The Thunder came roaring back and at the 6:30 mark the Nuggets lead was cut to 47-43. Denver did a nice job of weathering the storm and surging back ahead and held a 56-48 lead with just 3:25 left before the half. But like we've seen with the Nuggets, they will fall asleep for a minute or two and they allowed Russell Westbrook to get going and OKC cut the Denver lead to just one heading into the locker room (60-59).
Things were still looking good for the Nuggets to open up the third quarter, but Kevin Durant and Westbrook had other plans and Durant took over in the second half. OKC's dynamic duo finished the game with a combined 72 points (41 for Durant and 31 for Westbrook) and Durant was in the zone for much of the second half. It didn't seem to matter if Danilo Gallinari was covering him, Wilson Chandler, or Kenyon Martin - he just kept hitting shots ... deep ones. The Nuggets lost a lot of momentum towards the end of the third quarter and the pace of the game was favoring the home team. Out-scored 27-22 and facing a 86-82 lead the Nuggets had a tough road ahead in the final quarter.
Denver came out and went on a 4-0 run and showed a lot of mental toughness in the opening stages of the fourth, but the Thunder stayed hot. Raymond Felton was hit with a bogus technical foul at the 9:48 mark and Durant capitalized by hitting the freebie. After that Eric Maynor buried a three and OKC was rolling up 96-90 with just over seven minutes to play.
J.R. Smith and Nene both converted And-1 plays as the Nuggets had a final pushed left in them and Denver took the lead 99-98 on a Nene dunk that could have resulted in yet another And-1 chance. In the final three minutes and change, George Karl went to his bread-and-butter lineup that features Felton and Ty Lawson. That lineup proved a bit ineffective as the Nuggets lacked a true shooter on the floor besides Gallo. Smith and Chandler sat on the bench and the Nuggets couldn't find buckets late when they needed them.
With Denver down 102-101 the best shot Karl could draw up was a K-Mart jumper from just inside the three-point line ... ? The shot clanked off the front of the rim.
With Denver in need of a three down 104-101, Smith and Chandler stayed on the bench - the Nuggets got a rushed, desperation shot from Felton - it missed badly.
I thought it was a huge mistake to leave only Gallo on the floor as your best pure shooter as Lawson has to either drive to the rim or be left wide open from deep to get off his shot. Chandler can routinely hit shots with a hand in his face and he attacks the glass as well. Karl needs to pick either Felton or Lawson down the stretch going forward if his team is in need of creating and hitting shots. One point guard is able to manuveur and find open players and I hate to say it, but having Lawson out there when you desperately need a three or a rebound is probably not the best choice.
The Thunder did a nice job converting late, even a nice offensive basket interference call will do for them, and they put up the effort needed to win the first game in this series. That missed offensive basket interference call can't be over-stated. Suddenly, instead of Denver beng up one point, with the ball, and with under a minute remaining with a chance to ice the game, it was Denver down one needing a shot to re-take the lead. It still came down to execution late, but that was a big non-call.
The Nuggets had good numbers in a couple key categories as they combined for 23 team assists and just 11 turnovers. But Denver also turned in a couple stinkers by going just 4-16 or 25% from deep after starting the game 3-3 from downtown (just 1-13 after that hot start??) and just 21-33 from freebie-land (63%).
We talked a lot about the Nuggets perhaps killing their chances at winning games by clanking free shots and it happened tonight. In a game where you lose by just 4 points you cannot afford to leave a possible 12 points off the board.
The Nuggets will have a few days to re-group as Game 2 isn't until Wednesday, but there is no doubt the Thunder have to feel pretty good about this win. The momentum is now with OKC and the Nuggets must do a better job at the simple things in order to even this series up before it shifts to Colorado.
Views you can use:
- Out of 35 possible rebounds on the offensive glass, Denver was only able to muster 5 offensive rebounds. Andersen, Chandler, and K-Mart combined for a total of 0 of them - that has to change.
- To me Chandler had the most success against Durant (if anyone had any). Gallo and K-Mart tried to get physical with him away from the ball and Denver did a good job making him a jump shooter - he had a special night though. Durant finished 13-22 shooting (3-6 downtown and 12-15 free throws) and had a playoff career-high of 41 points.
- Ty Lawson finished just 4-7 shooting for 10 points. Lawson did have 3 steals, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds, but he has to have a bigger impact on the game and must make Westbrook work on the defensive end. Too often Lawson gave up the ball to a teammate and disappeared offensively. Karl has to stay on Lawson and get him to be aggressive.
- Nene played an excellent game in the post. Nene was 9-11 shooting (4-8 free throws) for a team high 22 points, had 8 rebounds (3 offensive), 2 steals, and 1 assist. He attacked the rim and punished it by throwing down dunk-after-dunk. One of the best games in the paint I've ever seen from Nene. He has to keep attacking in this series that same way ...
- J.R. Smith played just 17 minutes, was 3-8 shooting for 9 points (0-3 downtown, 3-4 free throws), 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal. That's not going to get it down for Denver's super-sub. Karl should give Al Harrington's minutes (11 total) to Smith and let him do some work. The Nuggets are a better team when he's involved in the passing game and gets his scoring going. Smith might of had a better shot to contribute tonight, but his minutes were too limited.
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by Nate Timmons on Apr 17, 2011 11:01 PM MDT up reply actions
I think John Hollinger's tweet summarizes this late game strech for us
Tough loss for Nuggies … bad call but worse offensive execution down stretch. Not sure why they went thru Felton and not Lawson.
5 minutes ago via web
Running the offense through Felton has worked quite well so far
he made poor decisions tonight though, or just missed some good chances. The Kmart shot was awful though.
It's Timofey MOZGOD time
Ujiri for MVE
Karl for COY
GALLO!!!
He had more assists than Lawson tonight
It's Timofey MOZGOD time
Ujiri for MVE
Karl for COY
GALLO!!!
OK but you mentioned kicking it out like Ty
and I pointed out he had more assists than Ty and average more on the year as well. He is a fine facilitator of the ball.
It's Timofey MOZGOD time
Ujiri for MVE
Karl for COY
GALLO!!!
Yeah, agree with Phil here
Felton has been our guy so far down the stretch. I saw nothing wrong with giving him the ball. Guys were just nervous out there. Normally we’d close that game, but tonight we were fumbling the ball around and acting like it was a hot potato. We’ll do better as the series progresses. Also, give credit to the Thunder defense as they really locked down near the end of the fourth.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 17, 2011 11:47 PM MDT up reply actions
Nobody stepped up
You look at how big Westbrook/Durant played, then look at Denver who just had a lot of duds. Nene was the only guy on our entire team who had a really good game. Everybody else was just kind of average or semi-bad. Like Chris Paul said today, this is the playoffs, and you have to step your game up. I don’t care who it is, but somebody has to if we want to win.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 18, 2011 12:06 AM MDT up reply actions
That is interesting,
we had 1 guy step up and still shouldve won!
We should be fine, especially when they have to come play a mile high. They are gonna be TIRED
shouldlve had
wilson chandler out there, maybe for lawson, maybe for kenyon. obviously ibaka/perkins weren’t scoring (without ref help), we should have gone more offensive to close, with wilson chandler (he’d have made an open midrange jumper)
Tough loss
Great game.
Just win the next one and we got a series.
"Playing basketball is just as fun as watching it and blogging about it":http://www.denverstiffs.com/2011/4/13/2109250/stiffs-in-denver-pick-up-basketball
Nah
OKC is a good team. It is gonna be hard for Denver to win this series. They can. But trust me, they got to win one at home.
OKC is getting media hype because they won a tough division and have two very special players in Durant and Westbrook and a great supporting cast.
Denver fans should be grumpy about some poor officiating and execution in this game. But they should also be glad that Denver played a solid Thunder team close the whole game.
"Playing basketball is just as fun as watching it and blogging about it":http://www.denverstiffs.com/2011/4/13/2109250/stiffs-in-denver-pick-up-basketball
Seriously.
How can people say stuff like “the NBA loves the Thunder?” Really? Durant has earned everything he’s gotten, all the attention, etc. The Thunder are the least most attractive franchise out there, but because Westbrook and Durant are such great players, they force the media to cover them.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 17, 2011 11:49 PM MDT up reply actions
They need a way to link this loss to stern.
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
That's certainly what it sounds like.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 18, 2011 12:07 AM MDT up reply actions
Any fan or ref
that thinks this was a fairly called game, PLEASE STEP UP FOR A FAT SOCK IN THE NOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"All you fuckers who think we won't be good anymore, fuck you" - GK
by love4nuggets on Apr 18, 2011 3:06 AM MDT up reply actions
As an aside,
Let it be known that I am NOT kidding, I am 6’5" with massive ref-punching arms and CANNOT wait to stuff my huge fists far up your face. <3
"All you fuckers who think we won't be good anymore, fuck you" - GK
by love4nuggets on Apr 18, 2011 3:09 AM MDT up reply actions
I will step up
and agree with you.
NBA Champons for 2010-11 season=Denver Thuggets
NotWorriedAboutNuggets and Army of Nugs for Co-Head Coaches in 2013!
by Army of Nugs on Apr 18, 2011 8:47 AM MDT up reply actions
I hate ref excuses but
I’m with you guys
The disparity with foul shots was galling. Denver was not allowed to touch OKC players and the cherry on the pie was that nongoaltending call. Unbelievable! Why no review? 3 refs missed it. Seriously?
if all 3 refs
are not watching the ball after a shot what are they watching? the cheerleaders?
Why can I not post an opinion of a player on here...
Back when this was firegerogekarl.com, people would constantly hate on GK. no one would give any attitude
Go ahead and post
I post opinions all the time.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 17, 2011 11:50 PM MDT up reply actions
And at some points it’s a real long read.
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
You can
Just stating the same thing over and over again becomes spam though.
Maya: "What are your first impressions of Denver?"
Mozgov: "I must break you..."
THIS IS HORSECRAP
WHY THE HELL DO THE REFS NOT SEE THERE’S A BAD CALL / NO BASKET WHEN EVEN CHARLES CAN SEE IT?
by InboundingLobPass on Apr 17, 2011 11:06 PM MDT via mobile reply actions
everyone in the world saw it dude. Just another game where we get screwed.
Tebow! Tebow! Tebow!
Gallo! Gallo! Gallo!
And isn't Denver's story truly a better one than OKC's if you think about it?
Karl plus the “we can win without an asshole prima donna” thing going on here… should make for a magnificent story really. Better than the team that was stolen from another city. If Stern’s hand is at work here (which nobody seems to doubt he manipulates the game some way/shape/form by now) why isn’t it working in OUR favor??? Dammit!
The NBA: Where refs happen (and stupid play calls, or poor execution by our team in the worst of moments)
OKC
Stern wanted a team there and he wants a new arena as well. What better way to pave the road for a mulit-million dollar arena with luxury suites and so on then having two all-stars lead the way? I gaurantee you, within 5 years OKC will be building a brand new arena for the Thunder.
Refs blew the call last night, but the Nuggets just didn’t step up on defense, or execute on offense after that blown call..
Rockies baseball fever
True on the execution
But if that goaltending was called, there’d have been an entirely different strategy, playcall, and lineup set forth. Refs should not be allowed to miss calls like that. It’s all butterfly effect.
Hey Stiffy, yes and no
YES we agree the Nugs are the best story
NO the NBA doesnt agree because we dont have a “star” that can be marketed to less sophisticated fans
That means fewer viewers
Hey look, WE love watching great unselfish basketball but many potential viewers are interested in personalities and thats why the TV stations like to promo stuff like “Carmelo against the Celtics” and the like
Why no timeout
couldn’t they have replayed goaltending if karl called time out? Which plays can be reviewed? just out of bounds, three pointers, or goaltending too?
They have to change it
Not only was his hand in the net, which should have been a DEAD giveaway, but the ball was still clearly on the cylinder. Thing that sucked most about that call, is it in all likelyhood probably won the game for the Thunder. They were dead at that point and if we could have gone down and made a shot, which we were due, then it would have been the same score but us winning instead.
I don’t know. I just saw it as a blown call. Maybe I just don’t want to believe that my favorite sport is corrupt. Call me ignorant if that’s the case.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 17, 2011 11:53 PM MDT up reply actions
Every sport is corrupt nowadays.
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
Without a doubt!
NBA is the next closest thing to the WWE. Complete joke sometimes. This damn game ropes me in every year and then the playoffs come around and we get to see the BS magnified. Seriously some of the worst officiating in any sports. Old ass men can call balls and strikes in baseball better than NBA refs can notice things on the court.
There are superstar treatments, there are personal agendas against players, against coaches, against teams as a whole… there are agendas of the league, agendas of bookies in refs (and to be fair, possibly some players too) pockets and the fan can see all this crap happen but Stern acts like everything is fine. Hoops used to be my favorite sport by a mile. Now here are my own personal rankings of how invested I get into my teams:
1) NFL Football
2) College Football
3) MLB
4) NBA
The NBA is just lucky that they intentionally don't overlap
with any other sports schedules in a crucial way (i.e. playoffs vs. playoffs). If I had to choose between watching the Nuggets or my football teams (not the donkeys or Buffs, although I have a passing rooting for the Buffs) I’m watching football 100% of the time. If it were regular season NBA vs. regular season MLB, I’m watching MLB. NBA would only beat MLB if it were NBA playoffs vs. MLB regular season. And that makes me sad, but its rooted in the disgust I’ve grown to have with NBA officiating. Its far too imperfect a sport to get too emotionally invested in. I am not asking for 100% perfection, but 80% or so would be nice. I think they’re at about 50% right now though, and that’s just weak sauce IMO.
The thing that gets me is the lack of parity in basketball. Everyone knows (it’s not a little secret) that the league would rather have the Lakers, Celtics, or Knicks in the Finals then say the Pacers, Nuggets, or Trail Blazers. And like you, every year I start out the season saying, “no chance the Nuggets make any noise beyond the playoffs.” But here I am, again, watching the NBA playoffs and getting my hopes up for this Nuggets team when in reality the chances of us making it beyond the first round (superstars in OKC vs the boring team from the rocky mountains) is rather small.
Boohoo, so I’m a sucker for watching the Nuggets and getting my hopes up each spring. I do know this, however. Once the Nuggets do get knocked (I hope they find a way to advance pass OKC) out of the playoffs I’m done watching the NBA till next fall. Of course, I’ll follow them during the draft and free agency, but beyond that I could careless about what anyone else in the league does.
Rockies baseball fever
that's so exactly how I feel
I could’ve just about written that myself, word for word.
"There's no way I would've ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team' ... I was trying to beat those guys." -Michael Jordan
by ParkHillNative on Apr 18, 2011 2:33 PM MDT up reply actions
It's how we ALL feel pretty much
For the league to dance around the notion that their refereeing is atrocious is a slap in the face to intelligence in general.
Rick Carlisle responding to Nate McMillan’s complaints about the Mavs/Trailblazers game that the NBA has the best officials in all of sports is laughable. Frankly, they’re the worst, by a mile. I already thought very little of Carlisle’s pedigree, this didn’t help.
Rick Carlisle
Of course he’s going to defend the ref’s. His team won. Now I am sure if they had lost that game and his team had 2 free throw’s to the Blazer’s 19 he’d be crying just like McMillian.
In the end, the NBA refs are a joke.
Rockies baseball fever
Why do you care about what others in the league do?
… oh, you mean “COULD’NT care less”.
I could care less because I have a small amount of interest in the league outside of the Nuggets, but otherwise completely agree with you :)
Shouldn’t Stern be retiring soon anyway?
Maybe the next commissioner will have a more fair view on how the league should be run…. but I doubt it.
I wish Karl would end his grudge against JR
I know JR is inconsistent and you either love him or hate him but I really think that JR should be our closer, real thuggets fans know that he can be a superb closer when he is in rhythm. He didn’t play enough minutes to get a chance to get hot in the game. If JR heats up we win, every time. I think the gamble is worth it cause JR is a player who can truly take a game over.
Our atrocious free throw shooting needs to be improved also, its unacceptable, this is professional basketball, not some amateur d league bullshit. And if not JR then someone like Ty should have the ball in close game situations, to either shoot or set someone up, he is a supremely talented young point guard, we dont need K Mart taking 20 foot jumpers in close games.
karI knows this but he doesnt want to win, he wants to win with his styIe.
he cant stand JR can get away with a Iot of things because of his taIent, when he was a borderIine nba pIayer when he was in the Ieague.
Agreed with the first sentence
Karl does want to win with a certain sort of respectability, and it’s obvious.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 17, 2011 11:57 PM MDT up reply actions
Ever watch J.R. play defense... it has to be a team
all on the same page, to have any chance against a team like OKC
Thing I love about JR, especially in games like tonight
Is that he doesn’t think. It’s definitely the gift and the curse, but the gift nearly always overpowers the curse in his case. Everyone out there was over-thinking themselves until JR got in the game and just played ball. That’s what he does best. He’s like a hunting dog, stubborn as hell, but extremely good at what he does. You tell him to fetch (aka: score) and he’ll do it without even thinking twice. He ignited the 9-0 run in the fourth and should have been in there the rest of the game.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 17, 2011 11:56 PM MDT up reply actions
Give Earl credit, he’s passed the ball where the old JR would’ve chucked it.
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
Yep
Again, it comes back to his patterns. No matter what’s going on, Karl’s gonna have Felton and Ty out there at the same time to close the game, and that’s just the way it is. Don’t matter if Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan are covering those two, he’ll do it because that’s his favorite little go-to lineup.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 18, 2011 12:09 AM MDT up reply actions
aside from that, we have two great ball handlers and facilitators in the court, who can make open shots.
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
Yup
I think at the end of games when it is Offense…Timeout… Defense…. We should go
Ty/Felt/JR/Chandlah/Galo for Offense. Campout at the three and let Ty/Felt penetrate and kick… When the ball drops call a timeout and go back to Lawson/Chandler/Galo/KMART/Nene
lol, seems like Felton and Lawson are turrible @ the Pick and Roll. E
Every time it seems like the nugs just jam it all up and have 3 defenders guarding the top of the key.
JR is the best P and R player on our team. Lawson and Felton are dam quick, even westbrook was fouling Lawson when lawson just went around him without a screen.
JR/Nene P&R should be our money play
It either leaves a good shooter open, allows either player to charge to hoop for at least a foul, and easy two or an and-1.
I understand how good our PG’s are, but this has to be our easiest and most efficient play, surely!
Now where are the stat guys when you need ’em?
it was another stupid George Karl lineup
he put felton, lawson, and JR in near then end of the game. Obviously Durant just shot over them, so he had to sub out for danillo, (personally he should ahve subbed Kenyon out, i love kenyon but OKC’s post playere weren’t scoring we needed to go offensive)
Couple of points...
1. If Durant / Westbrook need to play like this every game, OKC is in trouble. Nuggets need to keep pushing the pace every quarter, every game. Wear’em down.
2. Yup FTs are killing the Nuggets. They did pick it up in the second half. But need to make. Nothing you can say. Gallo / Ray.. come on.. you guys can’t miss.
3. Nene was a beast tonight. Hope he can shake off that knee knock.
4. I want JR to play too, but he has to stop Maynor. That guy hits another 3 on JR just drives me crazy. But he did play better tonight.
5. The offense down the stretch had two bad possessions. Bit every game is different.
Hang in there.. I think this one is going to be a long series.
Yup to all points
Good post.
"Playing basketball is just as fun as watching it and blogging about it":http://www.denverstiffs.com/2011/4/13/2109250/stiffs-in-denver-pick-up-basketball
Agree about JR
His minutes were not being limited because of his offense, it was because he was terrible on the defensive end of the floor. He ended with a -11 tonight. We were worse with him on the floor tonight.
thats more than a coupIe but...
KD and westbrook pIayed weII, but that doesnt mean we stiII shouIdnt have won easiIy.
they did pick it up in the 2nd haIf, gaIIo and feIton though shouId make theirs yeah.
nene pIayed great, too bad they bIew it.
why does JR have to guard their PG.
more than 2, nene didnt get the baII at aII.
okc in 5.
Lawson and Felton together vs OKC NOT Woe
by jd80229 on Apr 17, 2011 11:12 PM MDT via mobile reply actions
NOT WORKING
Sorry, slipped up on mobile
3 games in a row vs Thunder, 3 losses and poor offensive execution at crucial moments. Ty and Ray can’t play effectively together against OKC
by jd80229 on Apr 17, 2011 11:14 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
Thing that has always bugged me the most about Karl
He won’t change even if his problem is looking him dead in the face. I loved the Felton/Ty combo in the regular season, but we were also playing a different team each night. This specific team we happen to be playing — that doesn’t work now. But of course, Karl will keep going to it because it’s his security blanket. I’d love to see what would happen if you paired Lawson with JR and Felton with Chandler for two separate lineupes.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 18, 2011 12:00 AM MDT up reply actions
You get speed on the first, you get strength on the latter.
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
chandIer shouId not pIay sg.
karI is goin to re make the nba with his 2pg Iineup, aII the other coaches Iike PJ, pop, are goin to get roIIed and out coached by his 2 pg Iineup, where theres 2 pIay makers on the court who can dribbIe and pass, works sIightIy more effectiveIy than the 2 qb system.
TEH WILDCAT!!!
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
I thought Tyray Felson was ok
Not to end the game, but it kept us alive most of the game.
I wish AAA were back so that we would probably close the game with Ty and AAA.
I have a feeling this is my last time seeing JR in a Nuggets jersey the way Karl keeps disrespecting him.
I want to enjoy JR for as many series as we can get.
I know people hate JR, but I really thought he would have been better with Lawson or Felton at the end than no JR.
This is why I hope AAA gets better. Just so we don’t have to see Ty and Ray together in the closing minutes of a game.
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
Ahhh just another tough game.
A couple of free throws here and there and a few calls and this could’ve gone the nugs way. It’s still only game one and if we can take away #2 in OKC, the whole road trip’s a success…
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AC's Number 1 Fan
The Knicks should change their name to the Matadors
At least the Lakers and Spurs lost
Stern being just a little unhappy tonight makes me a bit happier. I imagine SA and LA get 20 more Fts from now on
It's Timofey MOZGOD time
Ujiri for MVE
Karl for COY
GALLO!!!
F the refs
Anyway, I hope AAA comes back in game 2. This will be a different series if AAA is back.
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
by JR15 on Apr 17, 2011 11:15 PM MDT via mobile reply actions
We left 12 freebies on the court tonight
For as hot as Durant and Westbrook were tonight, and for how dumb we played at times, we lost by 4.
We make a few more free throw, get a few more calls, play a little smarter, we will beat them. You just saw the best game Westbrook will have. Not going to say the same about Durant because that dude is bananas. Westbrook cools down and we play smart, this series is ours to take.
JR is going to have to play better defense if he wants the chances on offense. There was a reason GK had him out late. That -11 next to his name doesn’t look great.
his defense was ok, its not Iike have feIton guard kd is much of an improvement, jrs guy was harden, maynor was the one making those 3s.
and yeah we shouId have won des pite aII those things, if the offense ran any pIays in Iast stretch of the game.
Too many big men standing out by the 3 point line when we needed a 3 to tie. I understand Nene being out there for a screen, but Kenyon and his defender were clogging the area at the top of the three point line. Blah. I still the Nuggets will be fine late in games since they run their offense rather than doing the “stand around watching your best player take a contested jumper” routine.
Yeah, couldn't believe it either
Karl had Felton, Ty, Nene, Gallo and K-Mart out there. Where was JR, Chandler or even Al? Even if Ty or Felton got the ball they had a much larger defender on them anyways.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 18, 2011 12:02 AM MDT up reply actions
Does chantech think the series is over?
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
by JR15 on Apr 17, 2011 11:25 PM MDT via mobile reply actions
To the people who was concerning about frontcourt matchup
Nuggets lose this game on backcourt, Lawson/Felton/JR played bad
Wasn't the shot clock pretty low on Kenyon's shot?
I agree it was a terrible choice but I think Kenyon knew it too? Correct me if I am wrong but I think he got stuck with it and had to chuck it. After the play he was like wtf that ain’t the plan.
J.R. Smith... WE JUST SAW MAN FLY! RIDE EM COWBOY!
Yes, the shot clock was running down,
but the point is that he shouldn’t have been put in that position to begin with.
That's poor execution.
Not poor coaching.
"Playing basketball is just as fun as watching it and blogging about it":http://www.denverstiffs.com/2011/4/13/2109250/stiffs-in-denver-pick-up-basketball
How can you say that when JR and Chandler weren't even on the court?
Plus Felton and Ty hadn’t been hitting from behind the arc all game and had bigger guys guarding them? In that situation you put JR, Chandler, Gallo, Al and Nene out there and hope one of those guys gets a shot. I agree, the execution was poor, but the lineup should have been better in the first place.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
by GoldenNugget on Apr 18, 2011 12:04 AM MDT up reply actions
Never said is was poor coaching. Sorry if I gave that impression
It most definitely was awful execution
Nuggetsfan
Thanks for that
I like GK but his subbing Ray for Ty at end of game is a fireable decision
Ray can play, no doubt, but, if he cant stand to come off bench and even play alongside Ty, we should pack his butt out after playoffs b ecause no way is ray better than TY
Ty is one of the few Nugs who could terrify the opposition along with JR. Ray cant
This is three we have dropped to the Thunder. Two at their house and again at the Pepsi Center. I have faith in the guys though. They need to be more aggressive on the offensive boards. It’s elementary basketball, follow your shot.
I could care less about the last 2 reg season games
The playoff game is the real indicator of where we stand vis a vis the Thunder
WE just barely lost and we got screwed
OK, let’s go from there.
Upset with that terrible no call on that Goaltending
Changes the entire complexion of the game. There is a big difference in being up by 1 or down by 1 with around minute to play and having the ball.
Die hard Giants fan since wide Right! I was 5...
its not Iike the offense was goin to score though, and westbrook did make a shot.
Iets see if KarI is goin to make some moves for the next game, or bIame the refs and others Iike hes doin in the post game.
i agree would've changed complextion
we wouldnt ahve been so disconbobulated on the next play, and you cant say OKC wouldve drawn up the same play. especailly if we’d scored again,
Yep Nsink
an important play changes the whole mindset of both teams as the next few plays are executed
Hey, they call the goaltend, we come down w/ q minute left leading by 1 instead of trailing by 1. Also, even if Westbrook hit a shot, we would have been down a point instead of 3 and Ray does not have to go for a 3 w/ 22 seconds left
Yeah, we was screwed big time
Just remember
WE. ARE. DUE.
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
I thought the Grizzlies beat the Spurs?
Wow, so much to cover in this game I could probably write a novel, which I often do here anyways. To me, a few things absolutely killed us tonight.
1) Free throw shooting. It can’t be that bad, it simply can’t. If we want to win this series, the free throw shooting just can’t be that sub-par. In what will undoubtedly be an entire series full of close games, those are free points that, with just the most minute about of concentration, you are awarded. We can’t shoot that poorly from the line and our guys know it too.
2) Westbrook & Durant. Un-fucking-believable. I don’t give a crap who you are or what team you root for, your hat has got to go off to these two young kids who had the best performances of ANY two players thus far in the playoffs. These guys absolutely destroyed us tonight. I know we won’t be able to fully contain either, but we should choose one and commit to shutting him down, even if it means double-teaming them. Because here’s the thing: The Thunder won’t beat you if one of those guys is held in check. Much like Cleveland with Lebron, they have a bunch of players who fit perfectly around Durant and Westbrook, but aren’t that great on their own. James Harden is about the only guy who can create his own shot and I’ll take him burning us any night over Durant or Westbrook. I think double-teaming is something to think about, because when we doubled Durant for about three minutes there in the fourth is the exact time we went on that 9-0 run.
As far as the officiating goes, yeah it was less than ideal, but really what did you expect people? Overall, both teams had about the same number of fouls. The tech against Felton was really, REALLY questionable and of course the missed goal-tending call was complete shit too, but none of those rendered us totally incapable of bouncing back. Basically, this wasn’t the Kings vs. Lakers we’re talking about here. We should just expect bad officiating and, hell I don’t know, maybe concentrate on our free throws more to make up for it?!?!?!?!
Overall, great game. I expect more soon. I’ve watched a lot of Durant in the past and this was by far one of his better performances of his career, if not the best. Same could be said for Westbrook. Those guys won’t be that hot continuously so it’s our job to try and figure out how to hold one of them in check, which I’m confident we’ll do. Series has just begun so strap on your seat-belts, and get ready for one hell of a ride!
Few thoughts on Karl: I think he did a pretty good job for the most part. My only gripes would be him tightening on the rotations a little too much, playing small ball and not giving JR enough minutes. Other than small ball, those are all things that we’re key to our success in the regular season, so it makes no sense to change things now. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke!!! JR has been a huge part of our success and you can’t just automatically assume he’s going to fail in the post-season. What kind of coaching is that? JR can win us games, and he nearly did tonight with that 9-0 run that was sparked by his play. You simply can’t take away his minutes as he’s too crucial to our success. Also, you can’t play small ball when the opposing team’s back-court is made up of a 6-foot-4 guy and a 6-foot-7 guy. That just won’t work. I even saw an extended period where Felton was guarding Durant. Again, it makes no sense. Things that make no sense don’t belong on the floor! Finally, don’t go away from things that worked in the regular season. Our strength is our depth. As much as I love Felton, Nene, Chandler, etc., those guys aren’t winning a series against the Thunder alone. It’s the combination of our depth, with talent that wins us games. If Karl threw Moz and even Koufos in there for some time it would allow us to keep the pressure on while our other bigs get rest. Gotta keep that rotation ever-expanding.
Hyperboles kill.
http://twitter.com/#!/24kGoldenChild
Easy
Height is might, Memphis is taller.
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
Because height makes free throws and closes out of three-point shots.
You probably just shouldn’t talk.
BULLSHIT
It should be Tuesday we gotta run them into the ground. But at least we get more time to rest Afflalo.
Or FT shooting drills
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
No I need time to recover
and the Nugs could use extra day to strategize and hopefully have Moz and AAA heal a bit
The FT shooting is obviously psychological
It’s the whole team screwing it up. Not one or two big guys like it normally is. It’s in their heads now. It cost us a game we should have won. This one fucking stings like all the losses in that Lakers series two years ago.
But hey, LA and SA lost today too and they were at home. I still fully expect those two to win their respective series. This is just the way the West is. It’s nuts. Remember when we took Game 1 at home as a 4 last year against Utah? And then they took Game 2 and you knew it was all over.
Get AAA back and give him a lot of Ray’s minutes until he goes down again, give all of Harrington’s minutes to either Moz or Kouf, and go take Game 2. I’ll be at game 3. Go Nugs.
by the real stranger on Apr 18, 2011 12:11 AM MDT via mobile reply actions
Actually, we just need to get healthy.
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
BUT
It is 4/20 so JR will probably show up High as a KITE
I miss Balkman.
QPU # 3 (population: 1)
UNugg Member #15
"I heard Hank Bauer tell the pitcher not to walk this guy.Then on the first pitch he threw me, I hit a home run over centerfield over the fense"
"That was the easy part, the hard part was running around the bases"
This is NOT a rivalry. Just like fire doesn't have a rivalry with kindling. Lawnmowers doesn't have a rivalry with grass. America doesn't have a rivalry witn Costa Rica.
i hate harrington
everytime he comes into the game, the nugs look sloppy and bad on defense (even tho he made a 3 and layup last night) the nugs looked bad when he was out there
Good news from this game
Is Nene was able to play and didn’t back down to Perkins. I thought we would be in trouble with that matchup, but Nene handled Perkins well enough to make me think we are ok for this series.
Of course, I can’t control the refs making idiotic calls (or no calls) that blatantly favor the Thunder. But this team has faced worse adversity.
Remember the Thunder used to thump us a few weeks ago, now they have to get by on ridiculously horrible shots (contested 30 ft 3 pointers) and blatant ref bailouts to win.
I hope we get a better main chief than Javie (only in the NBA do you know ref’s names because they can be that bad). If not, then we WILL NOT win, but at least we tried.
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
Horrible end of game execution
A – why force a three when down 3 with 20 seconds left?
B – if you’re going to force a three, why let Nene even touch the ball?
C – as Nate points out, why not have Chandler and/or JR out there if you’re going to force a three?
A good game, yes, but suspect end of game execution and shoddy FT shooting did us in. Of course, the refs missing Perk’s offensive goaltend is unacceptable, too.
Andrew Feinstein | DenverStiffs.com | denverstiffs@gmail.com
by Andrew Feinstein on Apr 18, 2011 12:26 AM MDT reply actions
Ibaka's goaltend
I mean it wasn’t that obvious. Who cares if he grabbed the net in front of 2 refs while the ball was still in the cylinder.
I hate seeing bad calls like that. The Felton tech and that non call was horrible and were momentum shifters.
I feel our execution would have been 10X better if we had the lead with 50 seconds to go.
Why do I watch the NBA when the fix is so obvious??? This is why a lot of people are turned off to the NBA and I am beginning to see why.
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
Maybe not fix
But horrible officiating. I admit there are refs that favor the Nuggets. I guess you just have to be lucky and hope there are refs that don’t call brush fouls in the PLAYOFFS!!
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
NM it was a Perkins goaltend
I am so irate I can’t think straight.
For those who think it was questionable: http://www.nba.com/playoffs/2011/westseries4/?v=/video/channels/playoffs/2011/04/18/0041000171_den_okc_play20.nba.
Painful to watch. I am forgetting about this game already, hopefully the Nuggets have a great game 2 and we forget about game 1.
I still believe!!!
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
Ray is a good player
but he mistakenly believes he is Deron Williams
If we had a good look at 3, OK, but we should have just gone for 2s and forced Thunder to hit Fts.
I guess the thing that really pissed me off about this game
Was that when we actually guarded Durant well and made him miss, Chandler was in his grill.
The problem was the refs kept calling Chandler for random touch fouls that frankly Kobe Bryant doesn’t get and then Wilson had to back away from Durant. When Chandler backed away, Durant had uncontested 30 footers, but it was mostly because the refs wouldn’t let Chandler actually defend Durant.
Isn’t this the playoffs? When did touch fouls become a staple of the playoffs?
I wish KMart just gave Durant an actual hard foul, so Durant realizes what a real foul is like.
I wonder why Karl isn’t doing a Phil Jackson and complaining about how Durant gets all the calls (maybe because Karl isn’t as smart or doesn’t have the rings, but it doesn’t hurt).
The goaltending was absurd, but if the refs actually let Chandler play D on the NBA’s beloved KD, we wouldn’t even have to worry about the FT problem.
I like how all KD does is shoot, and rarely drives. When he does drive he get bailed out. This is the motherfucking playoffs, I don’t understand how even Kobe (who has 5 more rings than Durant) gets less respect.
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
Durant would just dribble up and shoot 3s
6-9/10 with a 6-11/7 wing span vs 6-5 MAYBE 6-7 wingspan… Durants shot has become so good that he feasts on small guys.
I think the way to go about it is
to stick afflalo on Westbrook, let Durant get 40 and hold westbrook to 20 hard points.
yeah haha, when they switched screens and Felt/Law ended up on Durant
I am like wtf, that is more of a mismatch than Gasol on Paul
Yeah, the handcheck needs to come back. Watch videos of Jordan and he has guys with a hand and a forarm on him
now chandler looks at durant funny and the ref blows a whistle….
then felton demonstrates that he got fouled and it is a tech by a ref who was behind him and couldn’t even see what he did!
Blatant homerism, all those fat looser blueberries must be real happy. I dk what would be fun about playing for OK Shity.
yeah if KD didnt have the refs, he wouId be around dengs IvI, baIancing it out with some offense for defense.
the caIIs reaIIy heIps his efficiency and gets his shot goin.
Not to mention Durant
Probably heading for a big market once he does the same thing that Bosh, LBJ, and Melo did before him.
I feel bad for the Thunder, I mean this is their only semblance of glory. Luckily they have marketable stars, but even that won’t get them past the Lakers if Stern has anything to say about it.
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
As usual I will see the replay online today - but I comment the boxscore nonetheless
If our team defense shuts down everyone but Durant and Westbrook, we have a real good chance.
For example, they could both have great games – say 37 and 28 respectively – and in a game like yesterday’s we cruise.
Plus, the areas of injuries, foul shots and refs should all improve, so
GO NUGGETS!
Getting tired of coincidental bad calls
I hate conspiracy theories. I hate reading into coincidence. But…
1st quarter: 10 fouls on Denver to 1 for OKC. 13 foul shots to 1. A should have been charge for Nene on Westbrook called a block. OKC is allowed to stay close.
2nd quarter: Two of the strangest procedural calls I’ve seen back to back. The Off. 3 secs on Nene, and the Def. 3 secs on K-mart. With K-mart’s being a completely legal hedge on the cutter.
I was a little paranoid after the first half with all the 50/50 calls going for OKC and the inconsistency on contact being called for both teams – with a topping of strange calls against the Nuggets.
To the end of the game.
Before the horrific non-call on the goal tend, was the equally horrific respect for the game penalty on Felton. I watched every game this weekend, and there were numerous demonstrative displays by players that weren’t called – because it’s the playoffs. But Felton gets whistled for a borderline at best respect for the game penalty (after complaining about a borderline at best charge call – see the opposite of what happened to Nene above), AND it is called near the end of a close contest.
And then there was the horrific non-call for offensive interference.
I hate it.
I hate having to believe that all these terrible calls are purely coincidental. It’s starting to defy my objective thinking.
But I’m struggling to find any objective evidence to support that this wasn’t some sort of screw job by the refs. For what reason? I don’t know. Gambling…Stern with edict that this starless team can’t advance… I don’t know. All I know is, I’m losing faith that there is a level playing field.
by theflusher on Apr 18, 2011 1:45 AM MDT reply actions 2 recs
I don't go for the conspiracy thing
Refs have nerves too, and between a raucous home crowd and KD’s star power they were probably influenced toward OKC.
But I watched the replay of the non-call on Perkins, and I must say I don’t see how the hell they missed it. Each coach should be able to demand one replay per game at the cost of a timeout. If the refs had been forced to review it, they would have called goaltending for certain. They might even have been relieved if a game-changing mistake was corrected.
I remember every one of those calls
and shook my head at each one. NBA refs are very questionable. It wasnt just the Nuggets game. Memphis, New Orleans, Portland all got bad calls. Memphis just outplayed the Spurs and deserved to win by 15. CP3 absolutely went off, and exploited slow point guards. Portland? Dallas got bailed out every time they needed it. Durant? What a joke. He gets so many calls its ridiculous. The first quarter was a joke. Every time he touched the ball the refs bailed him out. We should have been up by 20 after the first. That being said, KD is a very special shooter. Its fun to watch against anyone but the Nuggets.
Still, we hit our free throws we win. Coaches, this has been a problem for a month now. Practice them. Get the confidence back.
I still think we can win this series if Karl doesnt screw it up. Just cant let the foot off the gas against these guys. Run at them in waves, with lots of subs, use our depth and build big leads so the refs cant play a factor. And hit your free throws…please.
The reffing was
one sided, I’m convinced
I dont see conspiracy though. What I see is refs being influenced by fans, opposing coaches, media and conscious and unconscious feelings about certain NBA players
Lets hope we get some home reffing and try to knock off thunder once on the road
BTW, Frankly, as a former Knick fan, I knew that Ks got calls at home but I thought the best home edge went to Celts, Phoenix, Utah and Denver – yes Denver.
Have you watched the Chicago Indiana series?
Every time Rose charges into the lane the whistle blows. Things are not called both ways in this league. Denver is clearly not a benefeciary of this. Ginobilis drawn charge was in Denver. What calls did we get against the Lakers in the WCF? I understand the referees are human and they are entitled to make mistakes, but if you think Kevin Durant and Wilson Chandler get the same calls you are crazy. Nene has been battling bizarre callls for years and may finally be starting to get the respect he deserves.
I see your point about home cooking, but to put Denver ahead of Chicago, San Antonio and the Lakers is a stretch. Denver led the league in freethrow att. this year because of their attacking style and their quickness. Chauncey and Melo were very good at drawing fouls as well, so that also influences.
My point is that, conspiracy or not, the officiating has not been good so far in the playoffs and I just want things to even out. You said it yourself, the reffing was one sided, youre convinced.
The NBA has a large shadow hanging over it as far as officiating goes and its time to clean it up. The fines for criticism are excessive. this stupid demonstrative gesture technical foul bullshit, and stars getting whistles for very minimal contact all need to end.
All this being said, I was pleasantly suprised to see the NBA own up to the missed Perkins tip in. Doesnt help us any, but at least they publicly admitted a mistake which is very rare in this league.
Anyway, the Nuggets need to just move on and win game 2. I think they can. And I hope they do.
Hey gonugs
I agree with you. No way is Will going to get KD calls.
Yep, Rose has perfected the offensive ploy of, upon slight movement by defender, throwing your body at him to draw a foul. It’s BS and the NBA has condoned it to get more scoring in the game.
The officiating IS AWFUL. But I also think that reffing NBA games is incredibly tough. Still refs are influenced by everything under the sun including their own biases.
But I gotta tell you, as a former Knick fan, the calls that favored the Nugs galled me to no end. A big reason is that I was, and am, convinced that Melo got favorable treatment. Melo did and does constantly offensive foul. He has to because he’s not quick or strong enough to beat lots of defenders. He’s not that athletic.
Some are called against him (He did O foul Ginobili, be serious about that call – Ginobili reeled in Melo like a dopey fish) but the ones that he got made me blind with rage because I thought they were so obvious.
KD gets calls all the time but frankly they are not so obvious.
But WE WERE SCREWED BIG TIME. That non goaltend call was huge. Dont believe the dopes who say “Oh there was still an eternity to play.” BS! WE would have had the ball with a lead, we could have ran off time till there was only 40 seconds left – an “eternity” would have melted into 40 seconds and at worst we would be up 1. We were screwed.
And yet, we blew our own opportunities to win. Missed foul shots, and Ray taking over in ways he should not, proved to be our doom.
And Frankly though I like GK, not running offense through TY late in game was a coaching error.
I hate to goat anyone but, if there were two sets of horns, they would have fit very nicely on Karls and Ray’s heads.
As far as the offensive interference
missed call, yes there was a minute left, but you have to understand how such an egregious momentum-changing call like that could throw the Nuggs off for a minute. It certainly threw me off and I was in my living room. Fucking pathetic.
"All you fuckers who think we won't be good anymore, fuck you" - GK
by love4nuggets on Apr 19, 2011 9:23 AM MDT up reply actions
Thats fine.
Seems like we basically agree.
Just a question, why are you no longer a Knick fan?
I am one of the few Nugget fans that actually will be rooting for the Knicks, just curious why you dont root for the Knicks anymore. If you are now a Nugget fan, welcome aboard.
Long story short
I hate Carmelo Anthony’s game Never once have I ever rooted for Nugs in the playoffs because I found team boring and believed CA to be the most overrated athlete I have ever seen. Good but overrated.
In Nugs loss to Knicks in NY, I was impressed by Nene, AAA, TY and JR and not the least bit impressed by Melo.
I think he’s got terrific SKILLS but, sorry if I irk anyone, he has a low basketball IQ. Just my opinion.
I loved the Knicks that were traded for Anthony (I know they arent great but they have very good promise)
Rooting for the Nugs and not the Ks is not a strategy on my part. I just honestly love these Nugs.
The last time I rooted as hard for the Knicks was – brace yourself – ‘69 championship team.
This Nug team is thrilling. Hope all fans in Denver appreciate what they are seeing.
The Knicks may still have enough talent to do damage but are as exciting as dish detergent
And that’s the short story!
I Was At Game
And, watching on TV, you don’t get an appreciation of how loud it gets at the Ford Center. I believe it really affects how the refs call the game. On the basket interference, the noise was off the charts and I think the refs swallowed their whistles because of it. There were obvious make-up calls that went the Thunder’s way. That being said, offensive execution down the stretch doomed the Nuggs. Two bad Ray Felton drives, poorly timed 3’s by Kmart and Ray, a bad behind the back pass by Nene, a turnover by Gallo, and a turnover by JR, all down the stretch doomed the Nuggs. I think the noise had a lot to do with the poor execution. Also, agree that Karl should have gone with Chandler or JR and aPG down the stretch, for offense and defensive purposes. AAA would have been a big help down the stretch on both ends.
The Nuggs played great, in a really hostile environment—- much to be proud of. Hopefully, they build on this and take Game 2.
by ACEIII on Apr 18, 2011 5:25 AM MDT via mobile reply actions
If Durant has a normal game , Nuggs Win
Durant was unbelievable. He scores points so effortlessly, and he was really on from the outside. This is such an asset for OKC — the ability to get easy buckets from Durant. My feeling is if the Nuggs keep him under 30, they will win.
by ACEIII on Apr 18, 2011 5:37 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions
That has a lot to do with the refs
Sending Durant to the line for warm up free throws.
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
by JR15 on Apr 18, 2011 7:48 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions
thats what he does though
i’m not sure why people are shocked durant and westbrook get to the foul line a lot.
I think
alot of it has to do w/ the way Durant is built. Long & lanky, couple times he tried to drive last night and when his skinny ass gets fouled he goes down all awkward. He’s all knee and elbows flying everwhere
Kmart the protector
no different than a lot of players including Gallo
durant can finish though. they are both great players who are tough to stop. the refs didn’t let us get physical with him. they took advantage of that in the first half by being aggressive and getting to the line.
for whatever reason in the 2nd half they became exclusively a jump shooting team. Normally that is good for us, but they were on fire. There was a stretch where they started missing and we made a little run, but due to too many turnovers we couldn’t finish them off.
Finally
What a great game. To me, the NBA Playoffs are the greatest sporting event on earth. To watch NBA teams play hard for 48 minutes is great to watch. The Nuggs represented Nuggets nation well last night.
by ACEIII on Apr 18, 2011 6:28 AM MDT via mobile reply actions
Whoa!
A lot of comments to absorb. It was a great game though. Fun to watch despite the frustration at the call and the lack of execution at the end. Let’s hope they leanr from it.
One thing to point out that hasn’t been mentioned. Nugs had a foul to give prior to the Westbrook shot. I would have liked to have seen Felton get right in Westbrook’s grill and play him very hard before he drove for his easy elbow jumper. That shot came way too easy for him and was a killer…especially with a foul to give. To me, this gift along with the no call and Felton’s poor shot (or the poorly drawn up play) at the end did them in.
I wish people would learn the difference between goal tending and basket interference.
Of course most announcers don’t know the difference either.
What OKC got away with was basket interference; not goal tending.
Even if the Nuggets made half of the free throws they missed, that would have made a difference in the final score to gt the win.
"Woohoo Denver, Yeah... All right Denver justify my love!"...
"Ohhh; the Denver Broncos?!?!?!" ...Homer Simpson
"Denver isn't considered a frontier maam, not these days"... Josh Randall (Steve McQueen) in an episode of Wanted Dead or Alive set in 1871, filmed in 1958.
"Denver, Colorado: one of the foremost sports centers in the country..." Narrator on the Bat Masterson TV show
Right U R Thursty
Actually I do know the difference and misspoke anyway. But that sure as F##K was basket interference.
Causes for Game 2 optimism:
- AAA should return
- FT % should improve
- Durant and Westbrook will play great, but combine for 60, not 72
- Dickhead game changing calls in 2 consecutive games are unlikely
If all else is more or less like Game 1, we win.
won't change
AAA returning is great but GK is hell bent on having felton get 30 + min…. we are just going to see less of JR? great…. i honestly hope JR doesn’t sign with the nuggets next year… at this point karl is just hampering is growth…. comes in we go on 9-0 run then yanks him? did anyone see we had felton gaurding durant? come on man 6 ft vs 6-10??? took him inside turn around outside was like open jumper… if karl insists on playing his stupid two pointgaurd lineup when we have quality 2s? can you imagine if we had CB and boykins here? would be fellton, boykins, ty, CB then nene
I'm starting to feel JR
Deserves better than Karl and should go somewhere where he is appreciated.
The kid is loyal, but even I think Karl is hampering JR immensely.
If JR is on the Bulls, he gets a championship and appears as a key cog. He deserves that respect because he is that talented.
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
by JR15 on Apr 18, 2011 7:46 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions
There should be no excuse for the refs being that bad
I don’t care how loud the arena is, your job is to ref the game and not react to the crowd.
Horrible…just horrible.
The Nuggets then flopped after the horrendous call, but as I said it was a momentum changer that the Nuggets couldn’t recover from mentally.
Gotta love the haterz. Keep that hate a comin'
by JR15 on Apr 18, 2011 7:50 AM MDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
type of game that leaves a sour taste.
Ultimately we should have won but the execution down the stretch combined with ref #55’s calls and no-calls doomed us. Couple of points:
1. Durant is legit but he’s not going to be that hot regularly in this series. If we have to foul him the few times he does come n the paint, give him a hard snot-loosening foul that dazes him. I can’t stand and1 opportunities bc of a soft swipe at the ball. Lay his ass out!!
2. Westbrook is not very impressive 2 me. He got his numbers up but this was mostly due 2 his 1st and 2nd quarter scoring. He’s not even really a pg. He’s more of a sg that doesn’t realize that he’s not the best player on the team. He tried to be the hero and almost shot his team out of the game. Ray contested every shot down the stretch and he turned into a brick mason. He needs to be laid out as well for all of his posturing and screaming after every damn made basket. His handles are suspect. he’s a volume shooter that doesn’t concern me.
3. Our pgs have to be more decisive and aggressive. I wouldn’t say tyray felson had a bad game but individually, ty wasn’t adamant about going to the hoop strong and ray wasn’t very intent on breaking his man down like I know he can. The floater by ray imo was not a bad shot. he hits it all the time. I think he might have held the ball too long on a posession late in the game before initiating the o but to put the loss on his head is not looking at the game as a whole. Yes he did take a desperate 3 but the spacing was awful. He really had nowhere else to go and everyone was clumped together.
4. Spacing has to be better 4 us to operate the o effectively. especially late game.
5.Nene was a beast. Keep it up. Perkins has nothing 4 him whatsoever.
6. Gallo can drive to the hole but he must try 2 make the shot instead of selling the foul and ending up with nothing.
7. jr needs more minutes 2 get into a flow.
8. ref number 55 (the little guy with the curly kit) seemed like a stubborn guy you can’t even talk to or try 2 reason with. making bad calls @ not giving a fck
by flight21 on Apr 18, 2011 8:02 AM MDT via mobile reply actions
'Bout Gallo
He has a short and long game but no medium game
He can drive and either convert or draw foul or, too often, nada. He can shoot from long range.
If, and I think, when, he develops a midrange game, he will be a monster
If
Felton could’ve just made one or two of those layups towards the end. He had good penetration, just couldn’t get it to fall. This Nuggs team has scoreless streaks that hurt, this one just happened in the last 3 minutes and it cost them the game. GO NUGGS come back strong in game 2.
Kmart the protector
i agree man.
ray’s flotation miss combined with the bogus tech combined with the non-call goaltending really swayed the games outcome. Kmart also missed a point blank bunny that was right in but rimmed out. I really wanted this win but it’s game 1 and i’m confident we’ll win this series. I know it.
by flight21 on Apr 18, 2011 8:25 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions
After
Nene’s dunk (which should’ve been and 1) they had a couple chances to make layups and just couldn’t seal the deal. Tough loss, hope they game back game 2 w/ the same fire.
Kmart the protector
Being longwinded
Another point that has to be made is that no one wins the series in 1 game. That team knows the Nuggs are the truth. They know they are in for a fight and I predict that we will win the next game and ultimately win the series in 6.
We have 2 very good pgs and that lineup has been effective for us this 1/2 of a season. If they are n there 2gether they need 2 be pushing the ball at a breakneck pace. Coach was saying it in the timeout and he’s 100pct.
by flight21 on Apr 18, 2011 8:12 AM MDT via mobile reply actions
Beginning of the fourth quarter is when we are gonna have our chance,
OKC clearly looked tired and were shooting some lazy shots. Durant with 43 min and Westbrook with 37 highest minutes in the game, Nene and Lawson next with 34. This is our advantage and Durant and Westbrook should be very tired by the end of the game. Our offense should have something where those two guys have to chase their man through several screens.
Collison, Nazr, Ibaka and Perkins were a combined 5-17. OKC’s weakness is offensive post play. Let Ibaka shoot jumpers all day long. We’ve got to be able to exploit that somehow.
Let Bird play this series. He’s perfect to play against Collison, Nazr and Ibaka. Also makes life a bit more difficult for Westbrook.
Karl needs to experiment with this Lineup
Ty
JR
Chandler
Bird
Nene
This is perhaps one of our most athletic groups we have. Ty and JR could run them out of their house. JR is quick and strong enough to keep up with Westbrook. Bird and Nene give some length (that can move quickly). Chandler was way more effective than Gallo guarding Durant
MOZGOD Member #35
After rewatching the game the reffing bias and George Karl's stupidity are even more clear than the first time I watched it...
The first quarter was absolutely ridiculous. The Nuggs could have buried the Thunder in that first quarter if the refs didn’t keep them in it. There was a stretch of 5-6 consecutive possessions where the Nuggs would score and then a foul was immediately called on the other end to give the Thunder a chance to get back in it. There were some ridiculous ticky tack calls on the Nuggs, but the Thunder are allowed to get away with the same amount of contact on the perimeter or in the paint.
Nene should have had ‘and 1’ calls on literally all but 2 of his dunks (If Nene were Durant or Dwight Howard, he definitely would have gotten those calls).
The lack of a basket interference call is unacceptable, and the refs responsible for blowing such a blatant call should not be allowed to officiate playoff games. Period.
George Karl has an amazing ability to steal his own team’s momentum with his substitutions, he still has no true inbound plays to speak of, he still has no offensive plays when we need an uncontested shot at the end of games (in fact he has no offensive plays besides pick and rolls), and I am now convinced that Karl just loves to put the same obscure lineups out on the floor for the sake of being called a guru IF it works but at the cost of losing games WHEN it doesn’t. This team is incredibly talented and the amount of different dangerous lineups we could potentially put on the floor is mind bottling but they go unexplored due to this man’s ignorance. How is this man an NBA coach? The idea is to maximize the talent that is given to you, yet time and time again he seems to deliberately limit their potential.
rant over…
The good thing is in spite of all this, I think this team is STILL talented enough to go deep into the playoffs. Can’t wait till Wednesday…
GO NUGGS!!
Half-man, half-bear, and half-pig. I like giving my two cents, but no one ever takes me cereal.
by manbearpig5000000 on Apr 18, 2011 9:03 AM MDT reply actions
only thing i have against this
is the dwight howard part. he rarely gets calls. Hasnt had on flagrent called against someone fouling him all year, and he gets hacked hard constantly.
but besides that im right there with you calling foul on the officiating last night, (doesnt excuse our missed fts or poor execution down the stretch though)
Great review
to have as many problems as they had in this game and still have a chance at the end means they have a shot in this series.
You hit on the free throws and most of the end game management. Take away the goal tend and Feltons technical, and the nuggets have a legitimate shot.
To me, the worst coaching error was putting Felton on Durant. It was a stupid lineup, and the nuggets went on a run as soon as they pulled the three guard lineup.
Anyone who thinks that the nuggets have a coaching advantage in this series is delusional. End of the game, nuggets had multiple timeouts to call plays from and ended up getting terrible shots. Thunder meanwhile got good shot after good shot. If the nuggets lose this series, free throws will be the #1 reason, and Karl’s “coaching” #2.
If they can pull of the win in game 2, nuggets have a good chance. If not, see you next year.
Formerly KS and CS
by ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown on Apr 18, 2011 9:07 AM MDT reply actions
Despite all the ugly feelings I have about last night, my big takeaway is a positive
And that’s Nene. Not only did he bounce back from a scary looking injury, he played what imo was his best game EVER. He abused big bad Perk down low & was looking to finish with dunks every time. For one game at least, he was the Nene I’ve always known he could be: the most offensively dominant 5 this side of Dwight Howard.
If Nene brings that every night, we are going to be extremely difficult to beat.
"You cocky cock! You'll pay for your crimes against humanity!"
"He's like a man with a fork in a world of soup."
Great point Crafty
I was worried that Thunder bigs would neutralize Nene but Nene beat the heck out of the Thunder front line. The best signs were the facial dunks even after Nene had 1 blocked.
That there is a man.
He was very agressive!
Now if he can get back his free throw shooting. 50% last night. It has to be mental, as he normally shoots at a much higher rate.
Formerly KS and CS
by ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown on Apr 18, 2011 9:27 AM MDT reply actions
We need to win game 2
You have to take one on the road to make it a series. We win this next one we are riding high. Okc thinks they have us on the ropes. So now we show our true fighting character and come back and punch them in the mouth.
Look for Felton and Lawson to step up in game 2. Both those guys will show their worth.
by Nuggburg on Apr 18, 2011 9:29 AM MDT via mobile reply actions
I'm confused as to why GK thinks Ray is such a great closer...
I can think of one good pass that he has made at the end of the game that helped the Nuggets win. Otherwise, we have repeatedly seen him run the clock down so far that the Nuggets can’t get a good shot to extend a lead.
If GK really wanted a 3-pointer at the end of the game, why did he have Nene and Kmart standing beyond the 3-point line? Did he think that they would set brush screens so that Ray (who is NOT a good 3-pt shooter) could attempt to force one over a guy who is 8" taller than he is rather than one who is 3" taller?
Chandler did a good job defending Durant (at least as far as the refs would allow him to) but his offense was horrendous. He seriously has to stop taking that pull-up jumper outside of the offense. Why take a pull-up 12 footer on a fast break rather than attempt a layup and probably get free throws? Ugh.
Felton does tend to stagnate the offense late in games, as he did at the end of the half too. I’d rather see them go through Ty and try to get penetration.
The missed, completely obvious, offensive goaltend was a joke and hurt us badly. However, what really drove me nuts was the huge discrepency on charging/blocking calls. What was a charge on the Nugget offensive end, with an identical play, was a block on the Nugget defensive end. It was horrible. The officials last night were an absolute joke. Nothing new in the NBA, I know. The NBA, where the fix happens.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
I agree, I wanted to punch the OKC players in the face...
until I realized that it’s not their fault that the refs are pathetic.
Nuggets still could have won this game if they make their free throws. The Nuggets can’t control what the refs do and don’t call, but they can control whether they make free throws or not. They can control how they run the offense and how they defend. The refs make it harder, but we’ve the Nuggets win despite the refs (and almost did last night).
This game reminded me a lot of Game 1 of the 2009 WCF
Even though we ended up winning Game 2 of that series, you could never shake the feeling that the Nuggets lost a golden opportunity to “steal one” on the Lakers’ home court; that this would end up costing them if they eventually drop a game in Denver (as they did in Game 3).
Even if the Nuggets win on Wednesday, they will be going back home tied (with tremendous pressure to sweep both home games), when they should instead be up 2-0 (with a chance to take a commanding 3-0 lead). But leaving OKC trailing 0-2 would be even worse: I can’t remember the exact stat, but for whatever reason, 2-0 series leads are seemingly insurmountable in the NBA.
Is Game 2 a must win?
NOPE
As the old saw says, series doesnt begin until the home team loses.
I hate to believe that this isnt a must win but frankly if we lose we still should tie it up in Denver. If we win, well all we got is the home court advantadge in best of 5. So where’s the MUST win?
If there’s a must here, the Thunder really need to win because Nugs could be a beast at home.
Ty Lawson is our PG, dammit, and more minutes for JR!
The officiating sucked a bit, but we lost due to poor execution and some poor coaching.
Free throws! What the hell?! The Nuggets are somehow psyched out at the line. They should simply get loose and have fun out there.
Nene was the monstrous beast he should be. Let’s hope he continues to believe he can dominate offensively. Because he CAN!
Chandler has to be the primary defender on Durant.
Play Lawson at the fucking point! Use Felton to spell him! Two excellent PGs? What a great problem to have, but Ty is the GUY! And he needs to be on the floor to get comfortable. Tell him to take it to the fucking rack! Felton at the 2?! We have others to play the shooting guard position, even with Afflalo out. Holy fucking shit, Karl’s line-ups are so goddamn bizarre sometimes!
Which brings us to JR. He’s working so hard out there! Put him in the game and tell to him to score! Run plays to get him catch-and-shoots in rhythm! And give him the ball to run the pick-and-roll and drive-and-dish! The guy is an offensive MONSTER! Other teams don’t have answers for him if he’s on fire! Utilize him, and give him enough time on the floor to get—and stay—comfortable, fer chrissakes!
George has become more and more stubborn and confounding. Let’s hope he’s not so dug in that we toss this great chance to advance.
At the same time, the Thunder are one tough bunch to defeat. Two go-to guys make it rough on the defense, but we can get it done. Here’s hoping Karl and crew come with some creative defense Wednesday night. He’s capable of mixing things up, and we have the horses to execute some great defensive schemes to slow those two. We’ll never stop them, but we make life more miserable for them.
GO NUGGETS!
No. More. Stickyball.
Right on with everything
you wrote KFH!
Let’s set our cards on the table. Ty’s our man. Go Ty!!!
I have respect for Ray but Ty brings stuff that ray cant match. Like supersonic speed. Speed kills in football and in basketball when your PG has it.
And for all of JR’s lapses, his athleticism often equalizes his errors and then, when he’s on, there’s nobody more dangerous this side of Kobe.
You Know What Was More Damaging Than The FTs?
In The Last 2 Minutes of Each Quarter We Were Outscored 24-10. Possibly The 8 Most Important Minutes of A Road Playoff Game And We Managed Just 10 Lousy Points.
NuggetsNation.net
by nuggetsnation.net on Apr 19, 2011 2:22 AM MDT reply actions
Also
Shouldn’t Karl Just Take The Leash Off JR? He Can Be The Most Damaging Force To OKC’s Defense. I’d Like To See How OKC Responds To On of His Assaults In Pepsi Center In Front of A Playoff Crowd. We Have The Guys To Cover For His Mistakes Defensively (as long as bird can block some shots). Isn’t That Better Than Letting Him Waste Away And Maybe End Up Pouting?
NuggetsNation.net
by nuggetsnation.net on Apr 19, 2011 2:26 AM MDT reply actions
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