Nuggets at Kings recap: Total annihilation by Denver in SacTown

Complete game. Seven Nuggs with double-figure scoring and everyone on the bench scored. Save the injured guys, of course.

I missed the game but sounds like we won! Bring on the Raptors!!!

Must have been while I was turned away. (Royalties Nate…Royalties)

Got to watch the recording of the game now, but am excited to see it!

http://www.denverstiffs.com/2012/1/25/2735879/have-you-ever-felt-better-about-our-nuggets

Hmmm?

“the association: denver nuggets” for those without nba TV:

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2012/01/25/20120125_the_association_full_show.nba/?cid=nba_12_twitter_L

This might help to explain his thinking

Whew!

I’m watching the 2nd airing of Altitude. Here is my LIVE recap! Haha.

Shout out to Beefy Swats and Combat Chuck whom I had the pleasure of watching the Nuggets whomp the Knicks with at Jake’s last weekend. What a game!

-6 min left 1st quarter, Gallinari looks good on a driving layup. He is learning to measure his steps better.

-9 min left 1st quarter, Nuggets are firing on all cylinders. I was just reminiscing on the Kings of Olde (Vlade, and in their prime Bibby, Webber, and paja vs. Shaq, Kobe, Horry & Phil lakers Era). Anyways, the Nuggets are reminding me of them beating up on the Junior Harrington era Nuggets.

- 10:26 2nd Quarter – Birdman with the block! I know a lot of people badmouth him, but I think Bird is a lot smarter player than he was even 3 or 4 years ago. He will age better than a lot of us think. I hope.

- 8:33 2nd Quarter – Yes, as many of you know, TNT and ESPN have chimed in on Lawson’s speed and have gotten on his bandwagon. Maybe Gallinari is next? If our record is good enough, they have to talk about them, right? Right?

- 7:04 2nd Quarter – Ty walks off clutching his ankle. This image feels like watching a slasher film happening to this team.

- 5:55 2nd Quarter – Al Harrington has clearly adopted the “layups are better than 3-pointers” philosophy and is attacking like a madman. Luckily he can make both 2s and 3s. Same with Corey Brewer. Come to think of it, nearly all our rotation players save Koufos, Mozgov, Miller, and Nene are legitimate 3pt. Threats. With Andre, if he misses his first 1 or 2 from 3 for a game,

-5.35 2nd Quarter – Bit with Karl and Gallinari commenting on Timo’s baby shows how close this team is. This is the most cohesive unit I’ve seen as far as a team… We’ve got talent and chemistry 12 deep.

3:45 2nd Quarter – Chris Marlo: “Il Gallo means ‘The Rooster’ in Italian.”

-3:04 2nd Quarter: The Nuggets Defense looks even better than their offense. Sacramento is taking far more desperation shots than I am sure

-1:34 2nd Quarter: Gallo nails a 3, for a total of 21 points in the 1st half. Now Kenneth Faried is entering the game. rubs eyes Did Gallinari just get another coaches vote for the All-Star game?

Ty Lawson (ankle) said following Wednesday’s game that he’d “probably be out like a couple of days.”
“I’m day to day,” said Lawson. “I did (worry) when I was on the court. It felt worse. But I feel better now.”

http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nba/1497/ty-lawson

Tonight’s game showcased a self-assured group of players (except for Stone and Hamilton, and they get a pass for obvious reasons). It would be easy to minimize this victory by saying, “Nothing like a game with the Kings to look like champions.” Yet Sacramento is something of an enigma, with wins against the Lakers, Pacers, and Spurs (that last one on the road). The Nuggets just plain embarrassed them with stifling defense and a relentless offense that attacked the paint at will. How the hell does anybody score 92 points in the paint?!

In addition to the obvious stars of the game, Al Harrington impressed the hell out of me. He has turned the clock back to when he could post up most anybody and get to the basket. He looks so strong and confident, and though it’s been said a gazillion times, the contrast with last year is just plain astounding. Congratulations to Al—and to the Nuggets.

Speaking of confidence, this looked to be Gallo’s coming-out party, a celebration of his new status as the Nuggets man at the 3 for years to come. Sure, he’s scored more points (and could have poured in 40 tonight), but his comfort level was off the charts tonight. Once he had established that he could score at will, he moved right on to showcase his nifty passing game. Also, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen his footwork look so smooth and effective. And we can drool over the fact that this 23 year old is still developing his NBA chops. This after plenty of observers had given up on him reaching the potential they once saw in him.

Two starters out? No Rudy Fernandez? Lawson down midway through the second quarter? This is one scary team. If they continue to believe and execute like they did tonight, look out NBA.

92 points in the paint
20 points from the stripe
6 points from beyond the arc

If my math is correct, then that leaves 4 points from mid-range to make the Nuggets’ 122 point total. How insane is that?

Also,

THE STAT: The Nuggets outscored the Kings in the paint 92-40 on the evening. To put that number in perspective, the Kings only scored 93 total points. The 92 points in the paint is the most since they started being tracked in 2000-01.

….or Reggie Evans? I think when this kid figures out the NBA game he can get 15 boards a night. He can chip in some points….can he be the lock-down defender Rodman was?

When you have shooters like Gallo and Harrington actively looking to either get to the paint or pass, when wide open at the arc, you have something big brewing.

I believe this road trip really signified the START of something big.

Here’s how I think of it:

Teams that create dynasties have had an image. Think the triangle of LA, or the big three down in San Antonio. I believe we are watching the beginning of something REAL in Denver, and after 8 years of Melo, we now have our image.

It’ll be scary what they can do if they can get Anthony Davis or Andre Drummond.

My favorite Nugget

From posting and toasting a member talking about what it would take to get Eric Gordon:

douglas, walker, and balkman for gordon.
I think that would be enough

If for some reason the Knicks or Lakers do not get into the playoffs I wonder which one of those teams Stern will have to give the first pick to.

I’d rather sit these guys and let then get healthy, then have then play and extend their injuries.
This could be a big chance for Stone, I don’t know if coaches will try Hamilton. Would not be surprised to see a guard signed to a 10 day soon.

I stopped watching after the first half

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/sam_amick/01/26/denver.nuggets/index.html?eref=twitter_feed

“Now the thing is, ‘[The Nuggets] are a regular-season team,’” said Karl, whose team lost in five games to Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoffs last April. "Hell, there’s only about 25 of them in the NBA, but we are labeled the regular-season team. The Lakers get the benefit of the doubt that they’ll be ready for the playoffs. Why can’t we be ready for the playoffs? Why can’t we grow and prosper and be ready for the playoffs?
“‘Ah, ’they’re a regular season team.’ It’s ludicrous the stuff that people write. It has nothing to do with trying to win and being a good team — a really good team that has a lot of good players. Wow. That doesn’t seem to be that strange to me, but it is [to others]. ’You’ve got to have superstars,’ [they say].”

Nate writes, “And George Karl played all three rookies!”. And I was thinking what a totally unusual and alien configuration of words that was. I’m pretty sure that is the First time in history anyone has said or written that sentence. George?…Three rookies? Weird.