Game 16: Denver Nuggets 99 – Los Angeles Lakers 127

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

Box Score 

Tonight’s game against the Lakers was not a total loss.  Yes the end result was a whitewashing of our Nuggets by the Fancy Lakers, but the Nuggets finally came out with an intense, hard working attitude to start the game tonight.   

Too bad it lasted about as long as I would in Compton. 

Even as the Nuggets built up that 17 point first half lead it all seemed a little fluky.  They had a game’s worth of steals in the first 18 minutes.  Once the Lakers started taking care of the ball things dried up for the Nuggets quickly. 

I have come to the conclusion that the Lakers are a better team than the Nuggets at this point in the season.  It is that simple.  I do not like admitting it, but it is true.   

As of now, all the preseason hype is long gone.  The 55 to 60 win aspirations are now no longer worth mentioning.  There are nine playoff caliber teams in the Western Conference.  It is now time to hope the Nuggets do not end up number nine out of that group.   

However, the Nuggets did show some progress as they made a concerted effort to run the floor in the first half even after made baskets, which is a key indicator of whether or not a team has a desire to run the floor.  Anyone can run after a steal at the three point line.  The swing in the score in the Lakers favor was more a result of the Lakers waking up than the Nuggets getting a lead and then settling back into their old habits.  

I guess at this point, with this team about all we can hope for is progress.    

 And we can also be glad we are not Knicks fans.  Dang, now that was a woopin’. 

Other Observations From Game 16: 

 - We must talk about Carmelo Anthony’s night mustn’t we?  He was ejected for the first time this season in what would appear to be his first “losing his head” moment.  I looked back at the replay and I do not think that is the case.  He had his hand up to feel where Vujacic was and was looking away at the ball.  Vujacic started to cut and Melo’s hand just happened to be up around his neck.  Melo then did show some frustration by simply pushing back against Vujacic after he started to exert some force on Melo’s arm.  Melo did not look at Vujacic and in a fit of xenophobia decide that he was going to try to choke him.  He just had his hand up too high.  If his hand was on Vujacic’s chest it would not have been a big deal. 

By the way, with the level of pain Sasha exhibited was truly fitting of a European who grew up watching and playing soccer.  I can see him sitting at the locker after the game rubbing his scrawny little neck with that pouty look on his face while his teammates giggle hiding behind towels.  What a sissy.  Actually, I do not think the other Lakers would even bother hiding.  I am pretty sure it is safe to openly mock Sasha. 

I hope it is not too late to mention this, but look at the word mustn’t.  I do not think I have ever seen it written down before.  It just looks like there is something wrong with it.  It could be the team word for the Nuggets because there looks like there is something wrong with them. 

Getting back to Melo, by looking at the box score, it would seem like he had a pretty solid game, but I do not completely agree with the box score.  He did shoot a very high percentage, but he is just so content to settle for that midrange jumper.  I do not think he drove to the basket more than twice all game long.  After he has hit a couple of those midrange jumpers, which he almost always seems to do starting off games, he can get to the basket at will using a pump fake and his awesome first step. 

Why won’t he do that?   

On some occasions the other team brings a second defender to the ball side of the lane when Melo is on the wing, but unless Melo makes that defender commit to cover him by driving there is no real offensive advantage to be gained from it.  The true sign of his complete dependence on the jumper is the fact that he only took one free throw.  That free throw capped a three point play in one of the two or three instances Melo did drive to the hoop. 

If I could make one other observation on what Melo has been doing on offense, notice where he posts up.  He rarely actually posts up on the block.  He is always posting up twelve feet from the hoop or further.  This just makes it easier for him to continue to shoot that midrange jumper.  He is so quick and so strong he can spin off the block and get either a great shot or set up a teammate.  He used to use that drop step/spin move all the time on the block.  I have not seen it in a while. 

The other change in Melo’s game from the beginning of the season that should be noted is his newfound desire to be a good defender is long gone.  He is not even pretending to play solid defense anymore.   

The bottom line is Melo is not putting forth the necessary effort, especially mentally, on offense or defense. 

 - It will not be long before Andrew Bynum is mentioned among the other top centers in the league.  Since he entered the league he showed good athleticism, nice hands and good touch.  The rest is work ethic and it sounds like after some early concerns he is learning how to be a professional. 

 - Allen Iverson had another decent game, but it was a tale of two styles for AI tonight.  When the Nuggets went on their run to push the lead up to 17 points Iverson had four assists in that sequence.  He ended up with six assists for the game.  I still contend that the Nuggets are a better team when Iverson is playing the set up man, than the primary scorer.  In the second half he went into scorer mode, as he usually does when he senses things are turning against him, and the Nuggets suffered for it.   

Doug Collins commented that AI is better as a shooting guard, but I do not think that is true.  Has anyone noticed a difference in his style of Iverson’s play whether or not he is playing the one or the two?  I never have.  The only difference is how early in the possession he starts dribbling. 

 - Along the same lines, I am starting to think the Nuggets need to start playing Iverson at the point and J.R. Smith at shooting guard.  That gets their five most talented players on the court at the same time and can be a deadly offensive lineup, especially if they dedicate themselves to running.   

 - I thought J.R. played smarter against the Pacers and even more so against the Lakers.  He did a great job of driving instead of settling for the three.  He did take a very bad three at one point in the third quarter as he was off balance on the baseline and chucked up an airball, but overall he is trying to make better decisions.  He will take bad shots, but with his nice offensive package and definite increased effort on defense, I think it is time to see how well he can help this team. 

 - I know George Karl has come out and admitted that the first 20 games or so are like an extended training camp where he is still trying to figure out who to play, where to play them and how much to play them.  Well, he is still fiddling.   Diawara has gone from starting to the DNP – CD.  The small scrappy lineup of Klieza, Najera, Bobby Jones and Smith have gone from being a game changing force during the six game winning streak, doesn’t it seem like that was several weeks ago, to not even being on the floor together.  As I mentioned Diawara did not play a second tonight.  Jones only played in garbage time. 

How much longer is this shuffling going to continue?   

The only reason for it I can think of is if the fall off in three point accuracy by Jones, Kleiza and Diawara have made Karl gun shy to throw those guys out there together. 

For some thoughts from the Lakers’ perspective on tonight’s game check out Forum Blue and Gold.

Game 15: Denver Nuggets 110 – Indiana Pacers 112

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

Box Score

 

I just do not get it.  It is incomprehensible to me.  I am completely confounded. 

The streak lives on.  Four games, four inexplicable performances.  The Nuggets continue to flail away at the game of basketball and fail physically, mentally and emotionally. 

I grew tired of repeating the same old problems two games ago.  I am completely flabbergasted that this team, which claims to have high expectations, continues to play without purpose and without fire. 

The ease with which they throw games away in the same fashion makes me wonder if anyone even cares.  If you care don’t you try to do something different than the game before?  If you care don’t you make a clear effort to do things differently?  If you care don’t you start scraping and clawing for every loose ball, every rebound and every chance to make a play? 

The fourth quarter was a microcosm of what this team has been for the past three seasons.  Every time they made an effort to get to the basket good things happened.  It was obvious that something good happened almost every time they went to the basket, but they kept heaving silly long range jumpers. 

If George Karl benched J.R. Smith for insulting the game with the three pointer he took at the end of game three (or was it four?) last season against the Spurs then this was nothing less than a total assault on the soul of the game itself.

Sure the Nuggets made a wild comeback behind AI and two crazy J.R. bombs.  When the Pacers, like the horrible team they are, tried to give the game away at the end and J.R. had a chance to tie it with three free throws I had no confidence that this team could make the basic plays, such as making three free throws, to capture the game. 

They did not.

Over the years the Nuggets have changed coaches and they have changed players, but the results on the court have not changed.  Apart from the run to close out the 2004-2005 season this team has been inconsistent and maddening.  It would be different if it was a young team slowly finding their way, but this is a team full of veterans.

It is inexcusable.  The sad thing is they have yet to hit bottom.  How do I know?  Because they are not making an effort to change.

Other Observations From Game 15:

Who cares until they start playing with some passion and mental acuity?

 

Check out the Indy Cornrows for perspective on the game from the Pacers’ point of view.

 

Update:

I really should mention the play of Anthony Carter.  He was by far the best Nugget in the first half.  He played a very complete game, but in the fourth quarter fell under the spell of the long range jumper like the rest of the Nuggets. 

 

The down side of Carter’s time on the floor was it allowed the Pacers to really go at AI when they had the ball.  Whenever AI is playing shooting guard, he is a defensive liability.  Except liability is not a big enough term, he is a defensive handicap.  The Nuggets have “special needs” on D when AI is playing shooting guard.

We Kneed Fewer Injuries

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

The Nuggets finally caught a bit of a break today.  Who among us did not expect the worst after Kenyon Martin hurt his knee against Houston?  After looking over Martin’s MRI the doctors declared his knee injury a bone bruise and not an injury of a more serious nature.   

The ultimate idea of this post is how the Nuggets will deal with yet another injury, but there is another issue to address.  Is this a sign that a more significant knee injury for Kenyon is over the horizon, or perhaps even just around the corner, or might it be a sign that Kenyon’s knees are sturdy and they can handle some trauma without giving way to more significant damage?  I do not think we can draw a conclusion either way until Kenyon either makes it through the season or experiences a serious injury along the way.  It is one of those questions that we cannot really know the answer to, but can spend a lot of time arguing about anyway. 

The results of the MRI show that Martin will miss at least the next game against the Indiana Pacers tomorrow, but will probably also miss a game or two beyond that.   

Other good injury news is that Linas Kleiza is very close to returning and will be a game time decision tomorrow against the Flat and Boring State Pace Cars.  (I went to school in Indiana for two years, no not at IU thankfully, and things there are pretty dull.  In fact, the closest thing I ever received to hate email was regarding my treatment of Indiana in a scathing article I posted on an old website of mine.  OK, I admit that some people in Indiana have more than three teeth and not all of them have an incalculable Body Mass Index, but I still do not want to go back.) 

Whether Kleiza plays tomorrow against the AMC Pacers or not, the Nuggets will be significantly short handed without Nene and Martin.  After Steven Hunter went under the knife, I blogged that the Nuggets could not afford to lose anyone else to injury without it impacting their rotation.  Since then Kleiza and Martin have both been injured.   

It has appeared that the Nuggets have not really missed Kleiza, but that may not be entirely true.  He does run the floor as hard as any of the other players and he brings an energy and determination to the court when he is out there.  However, he did not hurt his ankle until the fourth quarter of the Clipper game and the Nuggets were not running or playing with energy, apart from Allen Iverson of course, while he was in there.  It is a stretch to believe he personally could have made much of a difference in the Timberwolf or Rocket games as pathetic as those performances were, but he would have provided a little of what the Nuggets have been missing.  However, now that Martin is out, they do need him back desperately. 

Even when Kleiza returns they will be undersized at power forward with Marcus Camby and Eduardo Najera the only players who can even pretend to be low post defenders.  The Nuggets are going to have to play at a very fast pace to make up for their lack of size and the Pacers, for one, will oblige as they want to play quickly as well.  It will also help that they will be light in the front court as well as Jermaine O’Neal will probably miss the game in Denver with knee problems of his own.  Denver has been successful at playing small ball in short spurts so far this season and it helps that the next three opponents (Pacers, Lakers and the juggernaut Clippers) lack any low post threat from the power forward spot.   

The bottom line is the Nuggets are going to have to play with tremendous effort and passion on both ends of the floor in order to be successful while Martin is out.  Obviously, they have failed to do that for three straight games as miserably as the Maginot Line failed to hold back the Germans.  If they cannot turn things around as they did at halftime of the first Pacer game, they will find themselves staring at a .500 record and a long road ahead of them to respectability.   

I have no idea what George Karl will do with mixing and matching of lineups over the next few games.  He probably does not even know what he will do until Kleiza is either ruled in or out for the Pacer game.  This will be a test of his coaching skill as he will have to find the right mix of players that can work together on the floor and more importantly, prevent the Nuggets from using injuries as an excuse over the next few games.   

If you ask the Nuggets players point blank if they blame injuries for their recent poor performance, I guarantee you to a man they will say, “No.”  But they will list off everyone who has been hurt and deep down in a part of their soul that only God and their agent knows exists I suspect that they may allow themselves some leeway mentally to play poorly because of the current lack of health around the locker room.   

I will make another guarantee.  At the end of the season, if they do not achieve their goals, injuries will be one of the primary excuses at the top of everyone’s list to explain why. 

It is a mindset that Karl cannot allow to be fostered and it is up to him as well as players like Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby and Carmelo Anthony to make sure that such a mindset is not tolerated. 

Game 14: Denver Nuggets 81 – Houston Rockets 109

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

Box Score (only for those with a strong constitution) 

Well, for those folks who thought that the game against Minnesota was a good win because you have to win ugly sometimes, this is what happens when games like that are tolerated.  You make the same mistakes and get blown out the next night by a much better team. 

I will be honest, we were putting up Christmas decorations during the game and quite frankly, I did not see any need to watch the replay.  My son did not want to so we are watching Encino Man. 

Anyway, I think I know what went down. Settling for jumpers, lack of passion on both ends of the floor, outscored in fast break points, out rebounded and absolutely hammered in the paint.   

Whatever triggered this team to excel at halftime of the Pacer game has expired like the Happily Ever After potion that Shrek chugged down that turned him into a dude.  Once again, how many poor efforts in a row is this team going to produce?  They were handled relatively easily in Los Angeles by a massively depleted Clipper team, they struggled with the perpetually overmatched Timberwolves, because they did not come out with passion and a sense of urgency and tonight they were run out off the floor in the first quarter in Houston who had lost six straight games.  That was a Biblically long sentence.  It belonged somewhere in Leviticus.

Once again, I do not know what else to say, (maybe someone else should be writing these) because it is the same old manure that has been plaguing the Nuggets for the past three seasons.   They are in danger of going 11-6 through what was arguably the easiest month of their schedule as they have home games against the Pacers and Clippers and a road game at the Lakers.    

Other Observations From Game 14: 

 - I looked at the play by play and noticed that Carmelo took two threes in the first minute of the game.  He also did not shoot any free throws.  What is it going to take for him to work harder on offense to get good shots?  Perhaps another matchup with the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs will do it. 

 - But that goes for the entire team.  They had eight assists in the entire game!  Once again, I have nothing else to say about that that has not already been said. 

 - I always hate it when one of my teams is going up against a team with a relatively long losing streak.  I know the gamblers say never bet against a streak, but there should be an addendum to that.  Never bet against a streak unless they are playing a Denver sports team. 

 - In the whole bad loss tracker we have tonight was not considered a bad loss.  In fact when I had requested the 14-3 start from the Nuggets I expected one of the three losses to come in Houston.  However, this was a pathetic performance and I wish I could count it as a bad loss, but guidelines are guidelines. 

 - My son turned off Encino Man, he thought it was too corny.  I do not think he understands the 90’s, or on second thought, maybe he does.

Check out The Dream Shake for some insight from the Houston side of things (caution some language may not be suitable for children under 13, or 40).

Game 13: Denver Nuggets 99 – Minnesota Timberwolves 93

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

Box Score 

How dedicated am I to you guys?  My wife and I celebrated our anniversary tonight, and now I am watching the replay of the game so that I can file my post for everyone to enjoy.  The only question is will I make it to my next anniversary? 

Afer watching the replay I am not happy.

I want to know how do they come out flat for this game?  How do they give this team any hope?  I may go back and edit my glowing post following the Bulls game where I lauded their killer instinct and desire to blow everyone out.   

Before the season I laid out the groundwork for what it would take for this team must do in order for me to take them seriously as a contender.  I had to have a 14-3 record at the end of November.  Even though that is what I needed to see from them I let myself get sucked in by a few easy wins.  

Tonight the Nuggets did turn it on with about five minutes left in the third quarter and played with some determination in the fourth quarter, but they could never pull away from the Timberwolves and that was frustrating.

After the jump shooting extravaganza in Los Angeles the other night, wouldn’t you think that the Nuggets might have decided that they were going to work to get better shots?  Maybe try some of those things we have been talking about like moving without the ball, quick passing and pushing the pace.   

I have no idea why, but this team has to keep learning the same lessons over and over again.  What is worse, they know it.  They say things like, “It starts with defense” and “We have to play hard for the full 48 minutes,” but they keep failing to do those things and it keeps them from being a top team. 

That is exactly why I labeled these guys the Punxsutawney Nuggets (I sure wish that groundhog lived in a town like Joes or Hot Lake, it would be much easier to spell).  We see the same problems over and over.  They never get resolved.  At some point the team has to show some legitimate growth.  I have seen growth as individuals here and there, but not as a team. 

I will equate it to the frat buddies who have all finally settled down and started families, but whenever they get together they start doing blow and poking hookers.  Things eventually fall apart, just watch the movie “Very Bad Things” and you will see what I am talking about. 

Plenty of people will say this was a good win, they fought through a tough game and did what they had to, but that is window dressing.  It is soothing a symptom and not the disease.  Teams who contend dominate weak teams.  Sure they lose some over the course of an 82 game season, but they do not struggle so frequently with poor teams at home.   

Other Observations From Game 13: 

 - I was again disappointed with J.R. Smith’s performance.  He took three bad threes in the first half and even pushed McCants down which was somehow completely missed by the refs.  That is the kind of mental mistake that will bite you in a big game.  He has stopped swinging the ball around and has been shooting it himself.  He throws fits after every call that goes against him, even the good ones.  The maturity he was showing has absolutely disappeared.   

Can it be as simple as the position he is playing?  He has played much more intelligently as a point guard.  He has the ability to play the position and it sounded like he enjoyed it.  I know with Kleiza out and Carter back they needed him more at the swing positions, but I think they should consider a long term switch for J.R. He is still giving god effort on defense though so that is a good sign. 

 - Kenyon Martin had a very good game.  He played solid defense on Jefferson when they were not in their silly zone and put up some points on the other end of the court.  He has been consistently deadly within twelve feet all season.  The most encouraging thing for me was to see Martin go 4-4 from the free throw line when the game was still in doubt.   

 - How do the Timberwolves not run their offense all game long through Al Jefferson?  He is their best offensive weapon.  They rely way too much on their perimeter players.  In the first half it seemed like the talent vacant Mark Madsen had more chances on the block than he did. 

 - I wrote after the Portland Trailblazers game that I was disappointed that they came out and played zone because it prevented them from potentially developing a tough man to man defensive identity?  Well, for a good chunk of the first half they played zone and it hurt them.  This is not a very good zone team.  It is too easy to lose focus and expect someone else to do your job or someone else to get the rebound. In the second half they did play man to man exclusively from what I noticed, but the same situation arose as was present in the Clipper game, the tone of the game had been set.   

 - Notice how Chris Marlow is now referring to the baseline jumper as Camby’s favorite shot?  What is going to happen when he starts missing that one all the time?  Will the dunk then become his favorite shot?  I guess in a roundabout way at least people are realizing that Camby has no business taking that shot form the top of the key anymore, except for him as he flung it up there at least three more times tonight and I do not think he made any of them.   

I wish I could get that kind of treatment at my work.  Here he is going for his favorite email, the I thought you took care of it email.  Don’t mention that I am not doing my job, but just accept that I should be doing it because I do it often.

 - Well, the Nuggets got Anthony Carter back.  What did everyone think?  I thought he did a good job.  I do not blame him for fumbling the ball around a couple of times.  He played good defense, but does not seem to always make the right decision on offense.  He forced a couple of passes and made other passes that did not really trigger anything.  I am more in favor of him getting minutes than Chucky Atkins, but time will tell which of them should be on the floor.  Atkins is certainly a better shooter than Carter, but can he bring more to the table than that? 

 - Melo made three long jumpers to start off the game and everyone started getting excited.  I was somewhat concerned.  As noted above, the Nuggets did not work to get good shots against the Clippers.  He can get the long jumper whenever he wants.  It is a criticism of other talented players as well, particularly Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter.  They can get in the paint whenever they want, but it is so easy to take a 20 footer, why not do it.  They all can make it so it seems like a good idea to them to take it when in fact they should be working for a better shot.   

One of the crucial plays in the game late in the fourth quarter saw Melo jack up a 22 foot jumper after holding the ball and making no attempt to get to the rim.  It ended up being a positive turning point for the Nuggets as Camby slammed the miss through, thus letting Melo off the hook.  I did not hear much mentioned about it, but Melo’s shot selection was not good in this game.   

 - Along the same lines from a coaching standpoint it is tempting to go with isolation sets because talented players like Melo and AI can beat almost anyone, but more easy shots come about through moving without the ball and quick passing than standing as the clock winds down.  

 - Post game show in a nut shell:  Did not do this right or this right or this right or that right or this either, but they got the W so life is great.  All these things they struggled with do matter.  They are warning signs on the way to the washed out bridge.  One of the things coaches say is it is tough to teach after a win.  Players know they won the game so they are not going to listen if you try to tell them what they did wrong.   

However, I too fall prey to this as my tracking of bad losses does not include bad wins.  Why?  Because they go in the win column, but we all know the things that haunted the Nuggets in this game will continue to haunt them all season long. 

 - Tomorrow night they get the struggling Houston Rockets who somehow gave up a 26 and 14 night to the artist formerly known as Shaq Diesel on their way to their sixth straight loss.  I guess things could be worse.   

Sorry for the lack of humor tonight, but I used all my wit on my wife during dinner.

 Check out the what Timberwolves fans are saying after this game at TWolvesBlog.

Game 12: Denver Nuggets 90 – Los Angeles Clippers 101

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

Box Score 

Another game, another blow out, but this was not the blow out Nuggets fans expected.  Make no mistake about it, this was a blowout.  From the middle of the second quarter on the Nuggets were cooked. 

“We really will not find out much more about them until they play at Houston on Saturday.  That is unless they lose on the road against the Clippers or at home against the Timberwolves.” 

I wrote that just last night after the Bulls game in reference to the fact that the Nuggets were playing much improved defense and doing all they could to run the other team out of the gym. 

Well, all those things they had been displaying over the previous five and a half games suddenly disappeared.   

No heart. 

No offensive movement. 

No focus. 

No chance. 

They lost a game to a team missing three of their four best players (OK, Cassell did come in for a bit in the third and fourth quarter, but the tone of the game was set long before that) because of injury.   

This is the second bad loss for the Nuggets already this season including the Knick game and excluding the Hornets game, which was a borderline bad loss.  Last year Phoenix won 61 games, which is something the Nuggets have stated that they believe they can accomplish.  Phoenix had five bad losses all last season. 

The Nuggets are on a pace for 13 bad losses.  You do not win 60 games, or 55, with that many bad losses.  The only player who made any attempt to get to the basket was Iverson.  He was by far the Nuggets best player tonight.  He single handedly kept them in the game in the second quarter.   

One example of the Nuggets’ mindset tonight was Martin had a shot blocked by Kaman which he thought was goaltending.  He stood back behind the play glaring at the ref while Kaman hustled down and got a wide open layup on the secondary break. 

The Nuggets also missed a myriad of layups in the first half.  In the second half, they did not get nearly as many chances close to the rim. 

To top it all off, they started running the offense they perfected from the first half of the Celtics game.  A devastating combination of a lack of movement and a lack of passing and it worked just as poorly tonight as it did then. 

This was a pathetic display of basketball.   

Other Observations From Game 12: 

 - The bloom is off the rose for Bobby Jones and Kleiza from the three point line.  Jones has missed six straight and Kleiza is two for his previous 15!  Iverson had a couple of chances to kick it over to Kleiza, but he had seen enough. 

 - Even early in the second half when the Clipper lead was hovering around six it seemed like it might as well have been a 20 point lead.  At no time did I believe the Nuggets were in position to make a run. 

 - At what point was George Karl going to realize that Kenyon Martin could not guard Chris Kaman one on one?  He abused Martin in the post over and over.  Maybe he would make an adjustment at halftime. 

 - J.R. Smith regressed in a big way tonight.  He was terrible in the first half.  He was out of control and was lucky that he did not get called for traveling on a couple of occasions because he could not decide when to pick up his dribble.  In the second half he started jacking up bad three pointers. 

 - Camby took four, FOUR, pull up jumpers in the first half.  He actually made two of them to double his total as a Nugget, but that does not change the fact that they were horrible shots.  Other than that, he was quietly effective grabbing another 18 boards. 

 - The Nuggets did not double Kaman in the post in the second half, but there was a possession where they doubled Mobley.  That resulted in a wide open jumper on the off side.  Ultimately I guess it did not matter what they did with the pathetic mental state they were in tonight, they were going to lose regardless. 

 - Someone needs to tell Melo that bodying up to his man 45 feet from the basket is not good defense.  He also has to move his feet.  There is no reason to play that tight on your man that far from the basket anyway.  That is an example of fake hustle and fake intensity.   

 - It is a testament to how talent poor the Clippers are that they were only up by seven at the half and only won by 11. 

 - Karl’s big second half adjustment was to start Mike Wilks in stead of Diawara.  I did not know why Wilks was playing in the first half when he did.  Why he started the second half over Kuba in a game where the Nuggets were lacking defensive intensity was ridiculous.  Let’s say I am mad at my car for getting poor gas mileage.  I do not take the air out of the tires because I am trying to prove a point.  I do whatever I can to get the gas mileage up as high as possible.  Starting Wilks instead of Kuba was letting the air out of the tires.   

 - If it were not for spell check, I would never have spelled the word mileage correctly.  Shouldn’t there be a ‘d’ in there somewhere? 

 - Another thing I wrote last night was that Melo had not lost his head yet this season.  Well, in the second quarter Cuttino Mobley bumped Melo with his posterior which apparently gave Melo a bit of a boo-boo.  He backed off about fifteen feet and let Mobley drain a wide open three.  The rest of the game he was pouting and decided the best way to get back at Mobley was to pick up fouls running through screens and taking poor shots.  He then resorted to firing up a bunch of threes.  Sure he made a couple, but realistically, they were all bad shots. 

 - During the game I received an email newsletter from the Nuggets announcing Iverson was player of the week last week.  Not much of a chance of repeating that accomplishment after this stink bomb even though Iverson ended up having a very good night.

 Have a great Thanksgiving everyone and I truly appreciate all of you who take the time to read this blog and even leave your thoughts in the comment section.

For a sample of what the Clippers fans thought about this game check out Clipper Blog or Clips Nation.

Statistical Anomaly

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

Take a look at this:

First of all, it is nice to see the Nuggets in their rightful place at the top of the Northwest Division standings.   

However, look at the bottom and check out the winning percentages for Minnesota and Seattle.  Notice who is in last place. 

At first I thought it was a typo as Seattle has a higher winning percentage, but is behind Minnesota in the standings.  But if you calculate the games back totals (the difference in wins plus the difference in losses divided by two) they are correct.  Because of that, the team with the second lowest winning percentage is actually in last place.   

I do not ever remember seeing that before so I figured I had to share and this is short enough that I do not think I wasted too much of anyone’s time.

Oh, and thanks to ESPN.com for the standings.

Game 11: Denver Nuggets 112 – Chicago Bulls 91

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

Box Score 

What else can we say about the Nuggets at this point?  Tonight was another example of smart offense, tough defense and near nonstop effort.  They got up early on the Bulls, which is easy as they start two offensively inept players and three other players who are in an extreme slump, and kept the pedal down all night. 

One big change I see in the Nuggets this year is a new hyper-competitiveness.  Right now they have a killer instinct that I have never seen from them before.  One example of that was Camby getting called for a travel late in the third quarter with a 25 point lead and getting really upset like I-just-caught-my-wife-in-bed-with-two-other-dudes upset.  These guys want to destroy everyone right now and I love it. 

Like I said, what else can we say about the Nuggets at this point in the season?  They are blowing out teams that they should be blowing out.  That may seem a bit uninteresting, as much of my material does, but do not discount that as there are many teams who struggle at winning the games that they should win easily in the NBA.  One team that struggled mightily with that was your 2006-2007 Denver Nuggets. 

We really will not find out much more about them until they play at Houston on Saturday.  That is unless they lose on the road against the Clippers or at home against the Timberwolves before that. 

Other Observations From Game 11: 

 - Nocioni is a scrapper and fighter on defense.  One of the things I was worried about was him getting away with the little physical hits and getting in the Nuggets’ (i.e. Melo’s) head(s).  Well, Melo made him look absolutely silly.  Nocioni was never close enough to Melo to get any cheap shots in on him.  Melo was able to use his superior quickness to get plenty of space on Nocioni whether it was in the paint on a sweet spin move or on the perimeter with the step back jumper.   

Nocioni is going to be praying that Argentina plays zone next year in the Olympics against Team USA because he wants no part of Melo after tonight. 

Along the same lines, Melo has not had any big blowups as he has had in the past where he loses his head or starts playing selfish to prove a point.  No throwing the headband or flipping out on refs.  It is almost as if he is growing up.   

 - Melo had a migraine in the morning, and it may have reflected a little bit in his shooting.  He was 0-3 on three pointers and missed a handful of 18 footers.  He did break out of his one game free throw slump in a big way.  He shot 10-13 which was not great, but was much better than the 0-4 he put up against New York.   

 - Martin was tremendous in the first quarter.  He has not only done a tremendous job on defense, but he is just as good on offense.  His shot selection has been as good as I have seen since he came to Denver.  He has eliminated the 20 foot jumper from his repertoire (he did take an 18 footer in the third quarter, but I can excuse that from time to time) and is taking the ball to the basket for his nice little push shot.    

 - There were three different stages of the game where the Nuggets relaxed and the Bulls were able to cut into their lead, at the beginning of the second quarter the Bulls went on a 7-0 run, when the starters came back in midway through the second quarter when they saw a 49-32 lead get knocked down to ten and a couple of minutes at the beginning of the second half when the had a 5-0 run. 

In the past the Nuggets would have let those sequences snowball into a prolonged run.  At this point in the season they are regaining their focus and throwing up a run of their own to not only regain their advantage, but increase it.   

In the past three games neither the Blazers, the Knicks nor the Bulls have been able to cut a big Nuggets second quarter down below ten.  You read that correctly, in the previous three games once the Nuggets have been up by at least ten in the second quarter they have maintained that lead throughout the game.   

 - Even when the Nuggets were temporarily losing focus on defense their offense was in high gear all night.  Melo has been a matchup nightmare for his individual defender for a couple of seasons, but now that he is more dedicated to hit the open man when he drives and that has made him other-worldly.  When he is passing the way he is it will require an entire team effort to keep the Nuggets from having a big offensive night. 

 - Has Nocioni shut up yet?  Dear Lord, the guy complains more than a prissy Valley Girl doing manual labor. 

 - Tyrus Thomas was a complete punk for a short stretch in the third quarter.  He glared at Melo for tipping the ball out of his hands after a whistle.  Then he tried to be a tough guy fighting through a screen the next time down the court and was called for a foul.  After that he threw a mini elbow at Kenyon after Martin was called for a pushing into him on a screen.  He had a really nice game against Detroit this season.  If he does not get his head on straight, that will end up being his career game.   

 - I think Hinrich just missed another jumper.  And he is planning on taking another on the next possession.  Gordon was much worse than Kirk so it may have been better using him, but in the third quarter after the Bulls made their last mini-run he missed jumpers on three or four possessions in a short sequence to kill any chance they had of getting any closer.

 - I really should say something about Marcus Camby seeing how he had another 20 rebound game.  He had a sequence of blocks in the second quarter that left Scott Skiles on the floor yelling at the refs because he could not believe that anyone could do such a thing.  Well, believe it Coach Skiles and enjoy the auto deduction from your next check for the fine you will get after picking up that technical.  As great as Camby has been, it is almost routine to see him grab rebound after rebound.  He is playing at a high level and deserves all the accolades that he is receiving from Nugget fans.

 - I agree completely with what Kenny Smith said about the Bulls on Inside the NBA last week.  They are a jump shooting team that can never get any open jumpers.  Question:  How many 20 footers do those guys take with a hand in their face?  Answer:  More than the average person shoots in their life. 

 - I kind of have a sore throat right now, but I think I will be alright. 

 - I have not really given Iverson, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, much attention in the past couple of write ups, but he had 20 points in the first half and was playing superlative offensive basketball.  He is taking (mostly) good shots and getting teammates involved.  He let Hinrich get loose a couple of times in the first half on defense, but was a tremendous pest apart from that.   

The very first possession of the game the Iverson and Diawara were playing such great denial defense that Ben Wallace could not pass the ball off to anyone and had to take an awkward driving shot.  How often do you see that in the NBA? 

Believe it or not, you see it now from the Denver Nuggets.

You can find a perspective from the Bulls point of view at Blog-a-Bull.

Reassessing the Sticky Fingers Study – Is Passing Really Helpful?

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

When I wrote my sticky fingers post charting how many passes the Nuggets and Celtics made before shooting everyone thought, “that is nice, you certainly have a lot of free time on your hands, but we have no idea how many passes are made in an average NBA possession so this is all pretty meaningless.” 

You are right.  We need something to compare those numbers to.  Well, I have found it. 

82games.com has a study where they chart the ratio of possessions, shooting percentage and points per 100 possessions by the number of “touches” made on that possession.  (Yea, I am not the only one with free time on my hands am I?)  They did not start counting touches until the team had the ball in a “reasonable attacking position” so they did not include the cross court passes in the backcourt when bringing the ball up against pressure that would have counted as touches, but not touches.  Apparently they did include fast break possessions which might skew the numbers towards fewer touches slightly. 

They found that the number of touches per possession does not necessarily increase points per possession nor does it increase field goal percentage.  In fact, there may be a negative impact on passing the ball too frequently.   

They determined that the average number of touches per possession was two.  23% of all possessions consisted of one touch, 30% had two touches another 23% consisted of three touches, four touches were made on 13% of possessions and the last 11% of possessions saw five or more touches made before the shot. 

Field goal percentage was highest with two touches at 49.5%.  One touch was second with a rate of 49.1% made field goals.  With three touches shooting dropped down to 47.8% and after four touches it bottomed out at 44.8%.  There was a slight rebound on possessions with five or more touches as teams shot 45.7% in those situations. 

The study then questions how important touches are for getting good shots.  It looks like teams are going to get their best chance at scoring on their second touch, or after one pass.  That flies in the face of what we believe to be true, that teams should pass the ball around and move on offense in order to get good shots.   

This is bad news, right?  Has one on one play truly taken over the game of basketball to the point where passing has a negative impact on offense?   

If this were a television show I would put “To be continued…” at the bottom of the screen while the characters all have dismayed looks on their faces.  We all know what happens on the continued portion of the show.  No matter how bad things are in the first installment, things always end up OK by the end of the second show. 

Anyway, that was my way of saying here comes the good news.   

They then go on to chart touches per second and this is where we see a dynamic difference that displays the importance of moving the ball around on offense. 

When touches per second were higher than 0.25 (which means there is a pass every four seconds or less) the offense shot over 50%.  On the flip side when touches per second were below 0.25 the offense shot 44%.   

That is quite a disparity, but one pass every four seconds is not really an example of quick ball movement is it?  To go further, on possessions where a team had their touches per second above 0.45 their shooting percentage increased to 58.5%!  If a team can pass the ball every two seconds, the numbers dictate that they will see a massive increase in their shooting percentage.  However, 57% of possessions that they charted had a touches per second rate of below 0.25.   

Now in our television analogy this is where we would go to a commercial, because wait, there is more! 

They go on to look at the impact of dribbling on shooting percentage.  On shots where a player catches and shoots, or takes zero dribbles, the field goal percentage comes out to 48.4%, which is pretty solid.   

When a player dribbles once, they shoot 47.5%, which is still good, but not as good.  Think about the times you see a player dribble once and shoot.  It is either a rhythm dribble for an open shot or a longer pull up jumper.  Most times a player cannot drive all the way to the basket on just one dribble, but it does happen. 

When a player takes two dribbles and shoots they shoot 50%.  Two dribbles is usually enough to get any of these athletes to the rim or get to some open space or else they are shooting a mid to close range pull up jumper. 

Those numbers are all pretty acceptable, but when a player takes three or more dribbles things go downhill quickly with a charted a field goal percentage of 45.7.   

When you add everything together in order to have the most efficient offense possible you want an offense where no one takes more than two dribbles and the ball should to be passed every two seconds.   

Does that sound like the Nuggets? 

No? 

Well for the final kicker, guess which coach they site in the article as a coach who stresses doing something right away with the ball?  You guessed it, none other than our own George Karl. 

Keep those things in mind as you watch the Nuggets play.  How quickly are they passing?  How often does someone either hold the ball or dribble it over and over, even if they are moving around?  Does it look like George Karl is getting on the players in an attempt to get them to do something quickly with the ball? 

I hope all of this helps put the sticky fingers study into a little better perspective.  If I was any good at this I would have presented this information first and then looked at what the Nuggets were doing on offense, but hey, I am doing my best here so thanks for cutting me a little slack.

To see the full study click here.

And the Winner Is…

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

I have yet to name the winners of the quote contest from the end of the How Not to Run a Pick and Roll post.  The quote, “What the American public doesn’t know is what makes them the American public” is from the movie Tommy Boy. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the massive reader response. 

The overall winner was Alan Baca from Greeley, CO as he was the first reader to correctly email the quote and the source.  Congratulations to Alan. 

The other co-winners were Dante Hendrix and Jon-Michael De Shazer.  Jon-Michael provided us with the tremendous Fan Correspondent report for the Portland game. 

Frequent commenter Nuggets4 was disqualified for answering in a comment instead of an email.  Of course, if that makes him upset I will have to change my ruling because I cannot afford to alienate 20% of my readership. 

Thanks for all the replies and look forward to more thrilling and mind bending contests in the future.

Game 10: Denver Nuggets 115 – New York Knicks 83

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

Box Score 

I was absolutely thrilled with the Nuggets tonight.  They had an inferior team coming into their building who had just played a double overtime game the night before and they absolutely blew them out.   

No contest. 

No mercy. 

The Nuggets outscored the Knicks by eight in the first quarter, ten in each of the second and third quarters and even tacked on another four point advantage during garbage time in the fourth.  This was dominance on the scale of Godzilla vs. Bambi, Germany vs. France in WWII, red wine vs. white suede or sanity vs. Angelina Jolie. 

In the first half the Nuggets were cutting through the lane as well as I have ever seen them in recent years.  The passing was equally as good as there was an avalanche of layups, dunks and assorted open shots to start the game.   

I will proclaim this on November 18, 2007 for everyone to see and reflect on:  Teams can no longer play zone on the Nuggets.  Not only are they much improved from the three point line, but they have excellent passers at every position.  If they do not shoot their way out of it, they will slice and dice the zone to death. 

It was obvious that Marcus Camby remembered what happened in New York a couple of weeks ago when the Knicks absolutely dominated the boards on the way to a comeback win.  I was not in favor of Camby winning the Defensive Player of the Year award (even though I was glad he did), but tonight he played like a legit Defensive Player of the Year.  He was erasing shots from all over the floor.  Curry and Randolph played the role of comic relief and Camby played the super hero as he continuously swept in and left the bad guys wondering what on earth just hit them.  The Nuggets also outrebounded the Knicks 51-46 and Camby led the way with 20. 

Melo was absolutely amazing as he was hitting jumpers and making sweet dishes left and right.  He is continuing to round out his game as he has added the three point shot, he has committed to pass out of most double teams and on top of all that he is playing defense.  The only thing missing is big time night in and night out defensive rebounding.  I cannot imagine him getting better than he is right now, but the kid is still only 23 and he will continue to improve his game.     

Even better than Melo’s continued improvement may be the emergence of the Nuggets’ second five.  They can D up on anyone, they fight and scrap all over the court forcing turnovers and frustration for the opposition and they score.  When can anyone remember a time where you could look forward to the second team entering the game?  I remember back a few years ago when the Nuggets’ first five should have been their second five.  Paging Vincent Yarbrough, Vincent Yarbrough please report to Memory Lane…Donnell Harvey, please step up to the white loading zone, you are up next.   

As the game wore on the question in the second half was when would Isaiah order the “Code Red” and little Nancy Boy Balkman tried to make his scumbag coach proud by throwing an elbow at Kleiza’s mug early in the fourth.   

I loved how Kleiza kept dropping threes and throwing down dunks in the fourth quarter after the pathetic attempt at thugery by Balkman.  I just wish he would have added in a few glares in the direction of the Knick bench. 

I hope Isaiah was happy that Karl pulled his starters with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.  His weak team sure as heck could not keep it under 40 had he not done so.  Does anyone respect Isaiah as a person anymore?  If you and your spouse were about to have a baby and someone told you your child will grow up to be like Isaiah Thomas or like an axe murderer wouldn’t you kind of be hoping that they turn out to be an axe murderer?  By the way, why do axe murderers get such a bad wrap?  Really, if used correctly, an axe can be a much more efficient tool to kill someone than a gun or a club.  Maybe, I should stop typing… 

Other Observations from Game 10: 

 - Camby must have realized that he did not take a jumper in the last game against Portland because the very first possession of the game he chucked up the dreaded pull up jumper. If you have read this blog before, you probably know what the result of that shot was. 

He missed. 

 - J.R. Smith continues to improve with each passing game.  His effort and intelligence seems to build quarter by quarter.  I could not be more impressed with him.  He continues to attack the basket, make smart passes and is playing inspired hard nosed defense.  Both New Orleans and Chicago must be watching him play and kicking themselves, especially Chicago.  The Bulls did not even consider hanging onto him and sent him to Denver for a pittance of financial relief and two second round picks.   

 - I had not mentioned this before and I was hoping I would not have to as it seemed like things were getting better, but after tonight I cannot hold my tongue anymore.  Whoever the director is for Altitude during Nugget games frequently shows elongated replays that cut into the game action.  I cannot tell you how nuts it makes me to be watching some mundane replay only to hear the ball dribbling in the background and knowing that I am missing live action.  I can see screwing up once or maybe twice, but how can this keep happening?  Helen Keller would do a better job of running things.  At least she would notice the sound of the ball bouncing and stop the replay to get to the live action. 

 - Curry and Lee looked completely winded in the first half. 

 - I have never seen worse jump balls than I did tonight.  The one in the first half between Melo and I think it was Curry was absolutely horrible.  I do not recall seeing a ref call for a rejump because the toss was so atrocious.  Is it that difficult to throw a ball straight up in the air?  Add in the fact that Randolph could not figure out that the ref brought the ball up over his shoulder and then tossed it up when he was going against Martin in the third quarter and they were just disasters.  Maybe they should start using the zeppelin shaped balloons that they fly around at halftime to just drop the ball from above the players.   

 - When Kenyon left the game I rewound the feed and could tell that he hurt his back from watching the replay.  To start Randolph grabbed him and kind of twisted him in an attempt to get position and then after the play was over Randolph gave him a little shot in the back.  If he misses time, that will be very bad. 

 - Malik Rose is still in the league?  I figured the Knicks bought him out just after they used the Alan Houston rule to waive Alan Houston. 

 - Is it wrong of me to hope that Chucky Atkins and Anthony Carter never get healthy?  Does that make me a bad person?  I know I have said it before, but honestly, the injuries to those two and Mike Wilks have been a real blessing as J.R. has played great at the back up point guard spot.  I read a quote from J.R. in the Denver Post where he said he loved playing point because he was always guarded by a smaller player.   

 - Remember how poorly the Nuggets ran the fast break in Washington when they tried running for pretty much the first time this season?  Well the rust is gone and it has been replaced by some shinny chrome.  They are pushing the pace and passing very efficiently.   

 - The Nuggets had 12 steals and only 11 turnovers.  They also had 13 steals against 17 turnovers against the Blazers and seven steals compared to 13 turnovers against Cleveland.  Those are impressive numbers.   

 - They also got back on track from long distance hitting 11 of 26 including 2-2 from Melo, 2-3 from Diawara and 3-6 from J.R.  Kleiza took 7 to make 2 and Bobby Jones was 0-2.  As you know I am not an NBA coach, but I think Jones has too much motion in the process of getting the ball in his shooting pocket.  

 - Utah is starting to come back to earth after a hot start.  They tend to be the opposite of the Nuggets where they get out of the gate quickly and then peter out a little.  As a result of Utah’s slacking the Nuggets are back in first with a 7-3 record. 

 - We still do not know how good this team is.  They are starting to blow out the teams that have no business hanging with them, but they still have not played a contender who they can really measure themselves against.

Try to Keep From Injuring Yourself While Reading This Post

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

If you play for the Nuggets, and if you are reading this I am guessing you do not, you might want to be very careful.  Hold onto the railing going up and down stairs, do not ride any horses, stay away from stray dogs, do not play with knives and do not walk under any pianos being hoisted up outside a building that are hanging over the sidewalk.  

The injury bug is at work.  You cannot exterminate this type of bug and you can never be sure how and when it will get you. 

The latest news is Steven Hunter is going under the knife due to “right knee inflammation.”   

That makes four Nuggets (Anthony Carter, one of my all time favorite receivers by the way, Chucky Atkins the aforementioned Nene and now Hunter) that will not be available for the next game Saturday against the Knicks.  Throw in Wilks’ gimpy hammy, Najera’s consistent assortment of ailments and Camby’s constant potential for missing a couple of games here and there and that list is in danger of growing.   

To this point, I have not been concerned about the guys that have missed games and honestly, I still am not very concerned with the news on Hunter.   

In fact I actually believe the Nuggets are a better team without guys like Atkins and Carter than they are with them.  First of all, their injuries have allowed J.R. Smith to grow as a player and secondly, for one of them to play a better player will have to come out of the game. 

Another silver lining is Nene’s injury has forced the Nuggets to find out what Kenyon Martin is capable of.  At this point, he has been up to the task.  If Nene was playing right now the Nuggets would still be limiting Martin’s minutes.   

However, despite all that optimistic spin one more significant injury and I will go from unconcerned to slightly panicky.   The only other player that could get injured and not cause issues on the court is Von Wafer.  Nothing against Wafer, I think he is a nice player, but the Nuggets could go on without him if they had to.   

At this point the injuries are merely an inconvenience that may impact the Nuggets’ ability to have competitive practices.  As I have pointed out, this is a very easy portion of the schedule for the Nuggets.  They are better off with these injuries popping up now than in March.   

Let’s all keep our fingers crossed and hope that is the end of it and the injury bug gets squashed by a janitor or some heavy machinery. 

On second thought, Nuggets players should refrain from crossing their fingers.  I do not want anyone to tear a tendon or ligament.

Fan Correspondent Report: Game 9 – Portland at Denver

Welcome to the first installment of the Born A Nuggets Fan Fan Correspondent Report.  For more information on this controversial and groundbreaking program click here.   

Frequent commenter JM was one of the winners of the Tommy Boy quote contest at the end of the “How Not to Run the Pick and Roll” post (other winners will be announced soon so hang in there guys).  To kick off the Fan Correspondent Program here is his insightful and entertaining report from the inside and around the Pepsi Center. 

I work downtown, so my wife got a babysitter for the little one and took the light rail and met me down there for the game.  I walked to the Pepsi Center and got there about 4:45.  So I wandered around the arena in the frigid air.  Fan 950 was setting up the tent and hardly a soul was there.  I made the rounds around Pepsi Center and went into the back of the arena.  The first time I walked by the Trailblazers bus had just pulled in.  I walked further and I walked past Julie Browman.  It was funny, she didn’t even make any eye contact with me.  I wouldn’t either, if I was a svelte female walking alone and some 6′ 5″ stranger tries to say hi.  I didn’t say a word, but it was amusing.  The lady who holds up the “we love (Player’s Name)” signs was on the street waiting for the team to arrive.  I talked with her for a minute.  She was nice but I’m sure she was thinking, “who the heck is this guy?”  Round two around Pepsi Center.  A $300k + Mercedes Benz pulls up into the team’s parking lot.  Based on from what I hear about Marcus Camby’s nice ride, I assume it’s him pulling in.  The windows are tinted and I wasn’t going to gawk as he got out of his car.  I will just assume it was either him, AI, or Carmelo pulling up.

Fast forward to the game after a burger at the Blue Sky Grill.  I won seats from 950 the Fan.  I called my buddy who used to work IT at Pepsi Center to find out where they were.  He said they were great seats, and they were.  Twenty rows from the court opposite of the benches and scorers’ table. As the game starts, I notice there is virtually no one in the upper deck of the arena.  I know we are playing Portland tonight, but holy crap, this arena would sell out every time AI came to town as a Sixer!  People don’t realize how good we have it in Denver.  Anyway, two drunk early-twenty somethings sitting in front of me in the first half.  They were completely obnoxious.  Every other word an F-word, they smelled funny, and were downright stupid.  Then there was the guy in row 17 yelling “Blake sucks!” every time he touched the ball.  I would understand completely if that was Nick Van Exel.  But picking on Steve Blake is like trying to publicly humiliate your Grandpa.  You look stupid trying to do it.  Alcohol has an interesting affect on people.

During the kiss cam, Rocky tried kissing the police officer who looked a lot like Elvis.  Rocky in turn gets him to shake his booty and do a pretty good Elvis impression.  Some national champion jump rope team from Boulder performed the half-time festivities.  Rocky tried his half-court shot during two time outs in the 4th quarter, and failed miserably.  During the second attempt, JR Smith came out onto the court, took the ball from Rocky’s hand and nearly nailed it from that distance.

As far as the scuffle with Camby, I saw him getting into it more with Joel Przybilla than with Aldridge.  In fact, it looked like he was the one who started it.  They were jawing a little at each other during Aldridge’s free throws.  Anyway, it didn’t escalate, and I forgot about it until I read the paper this morning. 

Game 9: Denver Nuggets 110 – Portland Trailblazers 93

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

Box Score

Did anyone else watch the first half and just feel kind of unsettled about the game tonight?  Not about the outcome, but about the intensity and the flow.  I would equate it to watching a decent foreign movie.  I was interested in what was going on, but felt a little smarmy and uncomfortable because of it. 

At the end of the first half the Nuggets had a 14 point lead, but did you get the feeling you were watching good basketball?  Towards the end of the second quarter the Nuggets started to get it together to build the lead up to 14, but I felt that was due more to Portland’s lack of performance (a young team coming off of a big win at home against Detroit the night before) than the Nuggets dominating them. 

At half time you could have looked at this game in one of two ways.  Either the Nuggets are good enough that they can play poorly and still handle a mediocre team or they did not have good focus and had they played a better team, they might have been in trouble.   

Actually I think the truth, like a creamy filling, is somewhere in the middle. 

Fortunately the second half was completely different.  The Nuggets came out in the third quarter and played with focus and purpose.  I felt like I was watching a good old American action flick again with lots of explosions and other macho stuff. 

After a cold shooting first half, Iverson was red hot to start off the second.  He knew Steve Blake could not guard him and proved it.   

The Blazers switched to a zone in an attempt to slow down Iverson and the Nuggets took advantage of it to increase their lead.  After the standing around isolation offense the Nuggets foisted on us in the first half the ball movement and unselfish passing was tremendous to watch.  On several occasions Portland chose to double Melo on the wing and he almost always made a smart pass that resulted in a good shot.  Melo, Camby, and J.R. Smith all made tremendous passes that resulted in dunks or easy layups.  

The Nuggets were very active on defense and on the glass.  They stripped the Blazers post players continuously in the third quarter and ended up with a total of 13 steals. 

Following Iverson’s lead Melo was red hot in the fourth quarter and they were able to turn the last five minutes of the game into garbage time.   Heading into a timeout in the third quarter Melo saw that he was coming out of the game and showed some displeasure.  He knew that he could be dominant on offense against this team and wanted to stay in the game.  When he came back in the game he was dominant.  I thought that was good to see.  Melo has the hunger to be an MVP caliber player.  He is also starting to show the all around game and smarts to get him there. 

If there was an area I was disappointed in tonight it was that I believe the Nuggets had a chance to really start to develop a defensive identity.  They had played six quarters of tremendous defense in a row.  Tonight they actually implemented a completely different defensive system than they had in any of the previous games this season.  Instead of fighting through picks and playing straight up, they switched almost every pick.  They also played a good deal of zone defense.    

I almost wonder if George Karl was experimenting during this game as the Trailblazers were a good team for the Nuggets to implement this type of switching defense against.  They did not have a cat quick scoring point guard or a big man who could overpower anyone inside.  Steve Blake was not going to kill the Nuggets and the only Nugget that could not reasonably guard LeMarcus Aldridge on a switch until help arrived is Iverson.   

Even with the defensive game plan differing from what I was hoping for, the bottom line is the Nuggets took care of business at home and easily dispatched of a young team.   

Other Observations From Game 9: 

 - I continue to be impressed with J.R. Smith.  In the past if his shot was not falling, he would be a liability for the Nuggets.  This year he is working hard on defense and creating quality shots for his teammates.  He even passed on a wide open three at one point in order to swing the ball around the perimeter.  On several occasions J.R. found himself matched up with players like Aldridge and Przybilla under the basket either on a switch or when the Nuggets were playing zone.  He never stopped fighting and did as well as anyone could expect of him under those circumstances.  In the past he would have probably run out of there faster than my readers are passing out from boredom. 

 - Kleiza again brought a great deal of energy and hustle to the game.  He dove on the floor for a loose ball in the fourth quarter with a big lead.   

 - Things got a little chippy in the third quarter when Camby took a wild swing at a shot by Aldridge and clipped his head in the process.  Aldridge took exception to the fact that he was hit in the head and the two started jawing at each other.  Fortunately they were separated because if either one threw a punch and landed it their scrawny arms would have probably shattered. 

Later on in the broadcast I picked up on a clue as to why Camby tried so hard to prevent the easy shot by Aldridge.  I forget which Blazer received the pass, but he had an open layup.  Camby violently pushed J.R. Smith into him to prevent the shot from going in.  I heard someone yell, “No layups!” when Camby pushed J.R. into the Blazer.  On the replay Camby’s mouth was moving which leads me to believe he was the shouter. 

That leads me to believe the Nuggets were trying to play physical with the Blazers and had implemented a “no layup rule” at least for the night.   On the play that angered Aldridge Camby fouled him hard enough to make sure he did not get a layup. 

This strategy hurt the Nuggets in garbage time though as they gave up more three point plays than should be legal in most states.

 - The three point watch is on life support.  After three straight hot shooting games the Nuggets had a gooseegg until Mike Wilks hit one late in the game.  They ended up 1-13.  Everyone missed at least one three except for Martin, Camby, Von Wafer and our hero Mike Wilks.  Fortunately Martin and Camby did not take a three and unfortunately Wafer did not either. 

 - The Blazers ran a promo during the Pistons game the night before the Nuggets game where Steve Blake claimed they had a plan for Melo.  They better go back to the drawing board because it was not effective.   

At all. 

 - I do not think Camby took one jumper tonight.  I can not tell you how happy that makes me.  He almost fired off the dreaded pull up jumper, but dropped off a beautiful bounce pass to Martin for a big slam instead.  That was the best decision that has been made since someone put cheese and bacon on a hamburger.  Perhaps he is reading Born A Nuggets Fan!

Once again a very good win against an underrated team.  When my only complaint was that I wish they had played a different defense during a game where they held the opposition to 39% shooting and held their best player (Brandon Roy) to 10.6 points under his average it was a good night.

This reminded me a little of how the Nuggets played during their hot streak to close out the 2004-2005 season, but as always I remain cautious.  A team that is supposed to win 55-60 games should have a large number of these games during the season.

How Not to Run the Pick and Roll

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

It is time for me to share my thoughts on the failings of the Nuggets’ pick and roll game.  The idea for this came to me during a certain blow out loss during the Eastern Conference road swing the Nuggets completed last weekend.   

When the pick and roll is run correctly, it can be the premise for a team’s entire offense.  It creates an instant advantage for the offense and forces the defense to either surrender an open shot or to scramble to cover their disadvantage, which creates an advantage for the offensive team somewhere. 

On the other hand, when a pick and roll is executed poorly it not only is frustrating, it makes the team look very inept.  Unfortunately for the Nuggets they have looked inept running the pick and roll for much of the season.  We are talking Britney-Spears-as-a-mother inept or Billy-King-as-a-GM inept. 

Most of the breakdowns on the pick and roll have come from one or more of the following four problems. 

1.  Spacing – The Nuggets seem to have two predominant sets for the pick and roll.  One set involves the power forward setting a screen for Melo or AI and the other has Melo setting a screen for AI with the majority of the Nuggets screen and roll action involve the first instance with the power forward screening for AI.   

Watch what happens after the run the pick and roll in this situation.  Usually the rolling player will not get nearly enough space from the location the pick was made and where AI is driving off of the pick.   

The other issue is there have been times where they have run a side pick and roll with a third player posting (or standing doing absolutely nothing) on the same side as the pick and roll.  There is absolutely no room for anyone to maneuver in that set.  They seem to have gotten better at this.  

Nene is horrible at rolling.  If you do not believe me, I guess you will have to trust me for the next five weeks until you can notice for yourself.  When he sets a screen for AI he basically rolls right next to him creating a traffic jam.  In one instance against Boston Nene rolled right along side AI and they both basically ran into a third Nugget player who was standing on the block.  How many defenders do you think it took to guard that?  I bet the Celtics could have stopped that play with zero defenders allowing their five players to cover the other two Nuggets like Jackie Christie covers Doug. 

The best “roller” on the team, also known as the anti-Nene, is Kenyon Martin.  Martin does a great job of setting stone wall picks, gets wide and moves away from the path of the player driving off the pick and then cuts strong to the basket.  He not only ensures the ball handler separation from his defender, but he also provides a very nice passing lane.  If he receives the pass, he takes it strong at the rim.  If you are a young player who would like to see how to properly run the pick and roll, watch Kenyon Martin.   

I think that is the first time I have ever encouraged anyone, especially youngsters, to emulate K-Mart. 

2.  Shot Selection – Even in a poorly run pick and roll the ball handler usually has at least a slight opening with which to operate.  I have already lamented the Nuggets propensity to take shots after one pass or less in the half court.  This is a big reason why.  Whether it is AI, Melo or even J.R. Smith from time to time, they all see that gap to get off a shot and they just attack.  I like their aggressive attitude, but many times they take a difficult shot because they think to themselves, “I have an advantage, I have to exploit it.”   

The problem is not that they are entirely ineffective.  In fact, AI can usually either get off a decent shot or get fouled, but when the pass the ball around and make the defense work they almost always get a great shot opportunity.  This goes back to the defensive conundrum that a good pick and roll creates.  As they collapse on the player with the ball, they open up new weaknesses in their defense.  Frequently another couple of passes can create a wide open layup or dunk instead of a contested one. 

A new advantage for the Nuggets is now that they (apparently or as Jim Rome would say, allegedly) have a stable of three point shooters they can kick a pass to the opposite baseline and defenses will have to charge the shooter.  That will allow them to swing the ball around and get a wide open seam on the side of the floor where the pick and roll originated.  Watch any team play and notice how many times they get an open jumper or layup when the ball is swung form side to side one or more times.  The Nuggets themselves did a great job of this in the second quarter in Washington. 

3.  Dribbling Away From the Screen – One of the tactics that has been successful in the pick and roll game is to set your man up as if you are going to run him through the screen, then dribbling away form the screen.  This is great tactic when the defender is set up correctly and they are either already fighting through the screen or are at least leaning into it.   

Watch how many times Iverson dribbles away from the screen without setting the defender up first.  This can be a very effective tactic, but only if the offensive player sets his man up.  If you do not set up your man it is like me wasting all my free time writing posts for this blog.  Useless.  

4.  Not Taking Advantage of the Rules – My primary assumption heading into this study was that the Nuggets were not taking advantage of how the league officiates screens.  How many illegal screens do you see set in the NBA?  Now think about how many illegal screens you see called in the NBA?  The bottom line is the NBA allows offensive players to set moving screens and surprise ninja secret attack screens. The Nuggets have not adapted their techniques to take advantage of the leeway that offensive players are granted. 

The best weapon a pick and roll offense has in the NBA is the surprise ninja sneak attack high screen.  We see this all the time now where the ball handler is in the middle of the floor above the three point line and a teammate runs up to set a pick almost directly behind the defender.  They slightly shift to one buttock of the defender and as the defender begins to lean that way they quickly jump to the other buttock.  (I am not trying to be gross, just describe how the screener is almost directly behind the defender and shifts every so slightly at the last second.  If you have watched NBA basketball at all the last couple of years, you have seen this numerous times every game.)  This is technically a completely illegal tactic, but the referees continue to allow it.   

Eduardo Najera is the only Nugget who does a decent job of this type of pick.  Martin never does it, but he does such a great job of setting legal picks I think we can let him off the hook.  

Other Screening Observations That Are Neither Here Nor There: 

 - There is one more issue that stands out to me with the problem of the pick and roll.  It is not an issue with the Denver offense as much as it is the defense.  

I think the Nuggets appear to run the pick and roll so poorly on offense because they guard it relatively poorly on defense.  When you see the other team constantly getting open looks and the Nuggets taking contested shots it seems like the other team is doing a better job on offense.  The reality is most teams’ big men do a much better job of jumping the screen and obstructing the dribbler than the Nuggets do.  Marcus Camby does an especially egregious job of failing to stop the ball handler on pick and rolls.   

 - The Celtics did a great job of running a player off of consecutive picks either along the wing or across the top of the circle.  I have noticed the Nuggets implementing this a little since that game. 

 - Nene’s rookie season he was able to pilfer several steals from point guards by jumping the high pick and roll, surprising the point guard with his size and quickness and then poking the ball away for a steal.  Sadly, this is no longer part of his game.  His draft weight was listed at 253.  ESPN lists Nene at 268 and the Nuggets roster page on NBA.com says 250!  I am guessing he is on the high side of 280.  That may have something to do with his lack of quickness.

 - If you have read this far you deserve some kind of prize.  I only wish I had one to give out.  In fact, send me an email (BornANuggetsFan @ gmail.com without spaces of course) with the phrase “What the American Public doesn’t know is what makes them the American public” and you will be recognized as Born A Nuggets Fan Reader of the Month.  Just be sure to include your name or nickname and hometown in the email. 

If you can name the movie that quote is from, you can even write your own post if you want.

Game 8: Denver Nuggets 122 – Cleveland Cavaliers 100

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

Tonight you will hear no griping from me.  The Nuggets finally did what they have been talking about all season.  They played tough defense when the game started.  They played tough defense as the first quarter went on.  They played tough defense when the second five came in.  They played tough defense to close out the first half.  In the second half, the Nuggets played even more tough defense.  I think you get the point. 

Cleveland was able to reduce a 27 point lead to 16 at one point in the fourth quarter, but it was not the fault of the Nuggets’ defense.  The offense became stagnant and the Nuggets settled for several poor shots.  However, J.R. Smith scuttled any hopes of a Cleveland comeback with back to back threes. 

The only big picture issue that mattered for the Nuggets tonight was that they played 48 minutes of aggressive defense for the first time that I can remember.  The Cavs were ripe for a letdown game as they were closing out a six game road trip and had a nice comeback win last night in LA against the Clippers.  Then Larry Hughes was ejected for apparently complaining to the refs that he is a horrible shooter with a habit for having poor shot selection.  This was a team that the Nuggets should beat easily and they did. 

On the flipside, the Nuggets also had the foundation for a mental letdown as well.  They came out strong and got up on Cleveland early.  It would have been easy to let up a bit on the defensive intensity, but they did not allow that to happen.  Having watched these guys for years, that was an important step. 

Other Observations From Game 8: 

 - Early on in the game I thought Iverson was looking for his shot at the expense of being the distributor the Nuggets need him to be.  When he took a rest near the end of the first quarter he was 3-7 with no assists.  He then made 11 of his next 12 shots and ended up with 37 points and eight assists. 

 - Melo can get caught up in the mano a mano battle with Lebron at times when the Nuggets play the Cavaliers.  He did a great job of staying out of that mindset.  He did a great job on the glass in the first half and really only took a couple of bad shots.  He continued to challenge himself on defense as well.   

 - Camby, Martin and Najera completely took Zydrunas Ilgauskas (i kan spel that nam withowt luking, im so smahrt, thats y i hav a blogg and u doughnt) out of the game.  They were physical with him and made sure to tip rebounds away from him when they could not grab the ball.  Poor Big Z only played 20 minutes and shot 1-6 and those three get the credit for that.

 - It looks like Champ Bailey’s son won Joakim Noah’s hair in a raffle.  I doubt they sold a great deal of tickets if that was the grand prize. 

 - J.R. Smith finally broke out with a great game, complete with seven threes, four assists, four rebounds and zero turnovers.  He has really been trying to change the way he plays to make Karl happy.  When he plays the point as he has lately with the injuries to Atkins, Carter and Wilks, he has a completely different mentality.  He attacks the basket relentlessly and does not just settle for threes.    

He was responsible for a hoard of turnovers in the Indiana game, but bounced back strong tonight and not only took care of the ball, but he shot tremendously well too.  He has the ability to be a great all around player.  Just like everyone has pointed out with the Nuggets’ defensive effort, he must play this way consistently in order to be successful. 

 - The referees called a bunch of ticky tack fouls in the fourth quarter, mostly against Denver.  Maybe they were scheduled to ref in Detroit or New Jersey tomorrow night and really did not want to leave Denver. 

 - The Nuggets again made a distinct effort to run the floor and again, they looked rusty.  They were plagued by a gaggle of first quarter turnovers due to bad outlet passes and forced drives.  In the second half they were able to settle into a grove and ended up with 21 fast break points.  If they can cut down on those turnovers and make smart plays, that number will start to approach 30. 

 - It was another good night from the land of Steve Kerr for the Nuggets.  AI was 2-4, Diawara, Kleiza and Jones were all 1-2 and J.R. Smith went 7-8.  On the down side Melo and Von Wafer was 0-2.   

 - Diawara, Jones and even Melo played great defense on LeBron James.  James still shot a good percentage and had 27 points, but nothing came easy for him. 

 - A great deal was made about LeBron keeping his body balanced while shooting jumpers.  He did not look nearly as consistent tonight as he did in Las Vegas over the summer.  He was definitely leaning back as he has done in the past. 

The Nuggets are at a crossroads.  They still have a favorable schedule for the remainder of the month.  If they dedicate themselves to playing on the defensive end like they did tonight every game, they can absolutely challenge the elite teams of the West during both the regular and post seasons. 

Unfortunately, this team has yet to put forth that effort on a nightly basis in years past.  They know that they are built to win now.  Let’s see if they can play like it. 

Next Game:  Wednesday against Portland in Denver.  Another must win game for the Nuggets to reach their goals.  Hopefully they can run their stretch of playing good defense up by another 48 minutes. 

Game 7: Denver Nuggets 113 – Indiana Pacers 106

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

How many of us wrote the Nuggets off at half time of this game?  It looked so much like the Boston game, or the game that we dare not speak of (that I cannot seem to stop mentioning).  Hot shooting team scoring at will combined with a lackadaisical effort on defense.  There were definite flashbacks. 

In this game, I have to give credit to George Karl.  He was certainly not sitting on his hands this game.   

Karl tried a lot of different things on defense hoping to stumble across something that would slow down the Pacers.  To start the game Diawara guarded Tinsley and Martin was on O’Neal.  That did not work because AI could not handle Dunleavy and Camby could not deal with the perimeter game of Murphy. He then brought in Kleiza for Diawara and Klieza was not able to handle the red hot Dunleavy either.  Next, he went to some three quarter court pressure and trapping which was defeated with even more hot shooting.  Finally Karl tried a zone, which was picked apart with nice interior passes and of course, more hot shooting.   

None of these defenses were effective and at the end of the first half the Nuggets were down big yet again. 

In the second half Karl made one last adjustment.  They decided that the issue on defense was not the scheme, it was the lack of focus.  They played straight up the rest of the night.  They did not double O’Neal the few times he received the ball in the post.  They did not try to out think themselves by mixing up the defensive matchups.  They just buckled down and played tough defense.  

That increased effort and determination working hand in hand with the law of averages, which dictated there was no way the Pacers could shoot anywhere nearly as well as they did in the first half, resulted in an impressive comeback by the Nuggets. 

Indiana set a franchise record for points in a quarter with 46, yes, you read that correctly, 46 first quarter points.  They followed that up with 28 points in the second quarter.  After all of that the Nuggets held them to only 32 points in the entire second half. 

Linas Kleiza was great tonight.  He had at least four or five defensive rebounds in the first half.  He hit a couple of timely threes.  His defense was shaky, especially in the first quarter, but he more than made up for it on offense.  The most important thing was that he played hard the entire time he was on the court.   

The offense was still somewhat stagnant, during the comeback.  It was a 180 degree difference than the night before in Washington, but the lack of movement and passing was overcome by some clutch shot making and the increased effort on defense.  

One interesting development was the comeback was actually triggered by Yakhouba Diawara.  He scored eight unanswered points, including two threes, in a minute and a half early in the third quarter.   I have mentioned Kleiza, Najera and Bobby Jones providing a boost from Downtown, but the Nugget leading the team in three point shooting right now is Diawara.  After hitting 3-4 against Indiana, he has made 10-21 on the season with comes out to 47.6%.   

This is the most surprising turn of events for the Nuggets so far this season.  Diawara shot less than 29% from Steve Kerr land last season.  I really cannot fathom how it was even that high.  He was absolutely horrible.  If my kids life depended on it I would rather have had a blind quadriplegic shoot a three pointer than Diawara last season.  Well, maybe the quadriplegic would have to be able to see, but I definitely would not have trusted Diawara. 

If Kuba can somehow keep this up the Nuggets seem to have finally thrown together a quality three point shooting team.  Melo, Kleiza, AI, Kuba, Najera, J.R. Smith and Von Wafer are all solid to good three point shooters.  Atkins has a good career percentage as well.  This is a very good development.   

Other observations from game 7: 

• The Nuggets have done a great job, especially against Washington, in getting defensive deflections resulting in a high number of steals. 
• Steven Hunter who?  So much for Hunter getting some run with Nene out.  Karl has gone with Najera and Martin playing center and Martin, Najera and Kleiza playing power forward.  I cannot complain.  Hunter is a good player, but with the teams they have played, size has not been an issue.  The only player of any girth that the Nuggets have seen was Brendan Haywood and he only played 20 minutes.  Cleveland is up next and Camby will be able to handle Ilgauskas while he is on the floor.
• One thing to take into account is neither Washington nor Indiana double teamed Carmelo until it was too late.  The Nuggets have struggled offensively to score when Melo is strenuously doubled.  Apparently they do not have game tape of the past few Nuggets games in DC and Indy.
• It was also encouraging that the Nuggets were able to put this kind of effort into a second half after playing the night before and on the last day of a road trip. 

I have been hard on the Nuggets, and this little two game winning streak is good, but they still have a long way to go to prove that they are approaching each game with a sense of urgency.

 Update:  Correction, Diawara is not leading the Nuggets in three point percentage.  It is actually Bobby Jones who has shot 5-8 good for 67.5%.  Sorry for the misinformation.  I will do my best to be more careful in the future.

Game 6: Denver Nuggets 118 – Washington Wizards 92

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

This is a day late and the Nuggets have already had a much better win, even though it may have lacked the style points that this one did, under their belt.  Still, I want to share a couple of thoughts with you all regarding the win against the Wizards. 

The ball movement was phenomenal in the second period during which they took control of the game outscoring the Wizards 32-25 resulting in a nine point half time lead.  The set that was so stagnant in Boston where everyone stood around until someone set a pick for AI, who then would either jack a shot or pass it to someone else to jack up a shot, was only used a handful of times.  They were in motion from the time the ball crossed half court.   

There are two statistical indicators of what they were doing on offense.  First of all they had 32 assists on 45 buckets a very good percentage.  When the Nuggets are winning they are sharing the ball and getting a bundle of assists.  Secondly, AI only had 15 points on only 13 shots.  The ball was not constantly in his hands and that ended up being a good thing. 

Things bogged down a bit in the third quarter, but for good reason.  Melo absolutely caught fire.  He was simply amazing.  It looked like it was a game where dad was playing with the kids and letting them win until they started talking trash.  Suddenly dad got fed up and decided to prove a point.  (You guys with boys over 10 years-old know what I am talking about.) The Nuggets absolutely destroyed the Wiz in the third quarter outscoring them 33-11.  Melo outscored them on his own 18 (I think he had 18 in the quarter, please do not make me go back through the play by play to double check it) to the aforementioned 11. 

Two other quick points and it is on to the Indy game. 

One, the Nuggets actually tried running once again and they looked a little rusty.  They constantly forced passes that were not available and that resulted in a lot of ugly basketball.  You know what, I do not care.  I am just glad that they tried to get out on the break. 

Two, the Nuggets’ three point shooting was excellent.  Melo was 2-3 which put him at 8-21 or 38% on the season, Camby was 1-1, Diawara was 2-4, AI 1-3, J.R. Smith was 2-4, Kleiza was 2-3 and Bobby Jones was 2-4.  As a team the Nuggets shot 12-25 good for 48%.

All in all the Nuggets did what they should have against a team that is not playing very good ball right now.

Game 6 Recap Coming Soon

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

I am currently at my church’s mens retreat.  I Tivoed the Nuggets/Wizards game and will watch it tomorrow when I get back home in order to provide you with an insightful and entertaining commentary on the game.

Thanks for your patience.

Can We Draw Conclusions From Five Games?

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

The debate has begun.  Can we draw any conclusions from the Nuggets’ first five games?   

Some Nuggets fans are making excuses for this team.  There are still 77 games left.  If this stretch happened in the middle of the season no one would think twice about it.  The Mavericks started out 0-4 last year and ended up with the best record in the NBA.  They do not have Chucky Atkins, Anthony Carter or Mike Wilks.  Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? 

These all make sense if we are simply looking at what has happened the first two weeks of this season   

I am sorry, but I have seen this act before.  This team has said all the right things, but they still have not bought into the fact that games in November mean as much as games in April.  As R.Q. posted on the Denver Post game discussion from the blowout in Boston, and as I have written here, there is a pattern here. 

Before 2004-2005 the Nuggets talked about winning over 50 games and winning their division.  Their record after five games was 1-4 and at the end of November they were 8-6.  They did not win their division nor did they win over 50 games. 

Before 2005-2006 the Nuggets talked about winning over 50 games and winning their division.  Their record after five games was 2-3 and at the end of November they were 8-8.  They did win their division (albeit with only 44 wins), but they did not win 50 games. 

Before 2006-2007 the Nuggets talked of winning over 50 games and winning their division.  Their record after five games was 2-3 and at the end of November they were 8-5.  They did not win over 50 games nor did they win their division. 

Before 2007-2008 the Nuggets talked of winning 55-60 games, winning their division and having home court advantage in the playoffs.  Their record after five games is 2-3.  If they end up 9-8 or 10-7 at the end of November during arguably the easiest month of their schedule where they only play one game against the top five teams in the West, they are going to have a very tough hill to climb to keep from being first round playoff fodder again. 

I wrote that they would have to prove to me that this year would be different for me to believe that they would reach their goals.  So far the only thing that has been proven is that it is likely that this team will underachieve and fall short of its goals yet again. 

The few who are still clinging to belief that this team will win the division, enjoy home court advantage in the first round and pass through to at least the second round are claiming that those of us who are down on the Nuggets are jumping off the bandwagon and that they will remember when we try to jump back on. 

For the record, I am not jumping off of anything, especially something that is moving (even if it is a slow moving wagon).  I will be on my couch ignoring my wife and children for every game the rest of the season.  I even wore my Nuggets hat to Wal-Mart tonight.  Would someone jumping off the bandwagon wear Nuggets paraphernalia in public?  

Can the Nuggets still reach their stated goals for the season?  Sure they can.  I just believe that the chances of that happening are only slightly higher than the chances that Will Ferrell will stop parading around on screen half naked.  If you are expecting another winning streak to wrap up the season keep in mind that during the month of March they play the top five teams from the West seven times and they have a five game east coast road trip thrown in to boot. 

In order for the Nuggets to achieve their goals they must dedicate themselves to playing four quarters of defense, moving the ball on offense, running on every possible possession and staying out of trouble.  That dedication must start tonight in Washington. 

There are indeed 77 gams left to play.  I cannot wait to see what the Nuggets to with them.

Reconsidering the Celtics Game

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

I have spent way too much time on this game.  The Nuggets could have played great and still lost as well as the Celtics played on offense.  Boston is going to make quite a few teams look silly this season.  When I saw Boston play during the preseason from Italy I was surprised at how well they all played together and they are even better now.  It is amazing how quickly a team that is nearly completely reconstituted from last season has developed such a sense of where and when to pass to one another. 

Anyway, here are some final thoughts I have regarding this game and I promise it will be the last article discussing this contest. 

 - Carmelo really did show a higher level of dedication on defense.  (I can hear you all saying, “Well he couldn’t show any less dedication to it could he?”)  He has said that he wants to cover the other team’s best player and he really made a go of it against Paul Pierce.  Melo was chasing Pierce all over the floor, doing his best to fight around screens and being physical with him when he was trying to cut.  The bad news is that Melo still does not have a good sense of where to position himself and he was burned a couple of times because he did not know where the ball was.  It is clear that many of these guys were not taught the finer intricacies of man to man defense in high school or college. 

All in all I was impressed with Anthony’s effort and desire on defense.  Pierce scored a bunch of points, but several of his shots were a result of him just being a top notch offensive player. The next step for Melo is to put forth that effort on defense and still score 30+ on offense.  And yes, that is as difficult to do as it sounds. 

 - Following up on my Sticky Fingers article I compiled the passing numbers in the first quarter of the game to complete my analysis of the first half.  The Nuggets had an even higher percentage of possessions where either no passes or one pass was made before the possession ended in the first quarter than they did in the second.   

There were 27 possessions in the first quarter where the Nuggets were required to run some kind of half court offense.  17 of those 27 possessions they threw either no passes or one pass.  They had six possessions where they threw two passes and two possessions each where they threw three or four passes. Out of the 54 first half possessions where the Nuggets were in their half court offense, they only had three possessions where they passed the ball more than three times.   

Conversely, the Celtics had 43 first half possessions where they were running a half court offense and of those 43 possessions they had nine possessions where they threw four or more passes.  The Celtics scored 17 points on those nine possessions.   

As commenter Disco has pointed out, this is a very small sample size and we probably cannot draw many conclusions from them.  Also, the Celtics played as well as possible on offense.  They scored no matter how few or how many passes they made.   

The bottom line is I do think this is a trend to keep an eye on during the season.  The Nuggets have always played their best when they share the ball and move without the ball.   

 - Kleiza was absolutely abused on defense.  He could not guard Allen or Pierce when he was matched up against them.  When the Nuggets traded for Kleiza the issue was what position was he going to guard?  He is a much improved offensive player from the time he entered the league, but I am still not sure who he can guard.   

 - The Nuggets did not try to run at all.  That is not a good sign. 

 - J.R. Smith made a concerted effort to play smart and under control.  He played the point for a while and tried his darndest to be unselfish.  In the preseason game against Phoenix where Atkins reinjured his groin J.R. played the point and did a great job of being unselfish.  He is trying.  Now if we can just keep him out of night clubs… 

 - I am close to unleashing my analysis of the Nuggets pick and roll game.  I need to watch at least one more game to verify my findings.  How is that for a teaser?  Not something you are going to hear on the nightly news is it?  I promise it will be almost as exciting as folding laundry. 

 - How has Brian Scalabrine gone from being a symbol of all that is wrong with the Celtics to a fan favorite in just three years?   

 - I think it is time for Bobby Jones to see the floor early and often.  Karl talks about how the first 20 games or so are extended training camp and how he is still trying to figure out who to play together (which I find preposterous, but he is the professional) so why has Jones not gotten a chance yet?  He seems to be a very good hybrid of Diawara’s defense and Kleiza’s shooting.  I want to see him start and play 30 minutes for at least a week. 

 - This blog is going to kill me.  It is going to be after two again tonight.  My wife is spending my life insurance payment in her head right now. 

Thanks for reading everyone.

Kenyon Must Play

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

Nene is out and K-Mart is in. Well, I guess Martin was already in, but now the Nuggets have no choice.  Martin has worked hard to get back form his second microfracture surgery and has looked good in limited minutes. Now that Nene has hurt his thumb (no truth to the rumor it was hurt after being stuck up his bum for the majority of his time on the court during the Celtics game) Martin has to play in both ends of the back to back this weekend.

Martin believes he is ready for it.  The team now has no choice to believe him.   

The good news is an injured thumb will not prevent Nene from working to return to the level of conditioning he was at by the end of the season last year. 

Good luck Kenyon.  May your knees match your inner strength and determination and hold up as your minutes are increased.

Update:  Nene is out for six weeks with a torn ulner collateral ligament, who of us have not have had problems with our ulner collateral ligament? 

Nene has only averaged 19.4 minutes in the first five games, but it is a bigger loss than the minutes would reflect.  The Nuggets were hoping to slowly build those minutes up throughout November.  The primary characteristic of Nene’s game the Nuggets will miss most is his post offense.  Now Melo is the Nuggets’ sole source of post offense. 

The Nuggets will have to count on Steven Hunter to back up Camby at center and they can absorb Nene’s minutes at power forward by using Martin and Najera.  Melo and Kleiza are also capable of playing a few minutes at power forward here and there too if it becomes necessary.  The Nuggets should be able to push the pace with any of those players on the floor.  Nene used to run the floor as well as any big man in all of basketball, but with the extra weight he has been carrying around, he is no longer a force on the break.

I do believe there is a silver lining to this injury though.  As mentioned above, Nene will have plenty of time to get into shape.  He can run sprints all day long with a bandaged thumb.

Paging Mr. Hunter.  Please prepare to report to the scorer’s table Mr. Hunter. 

The Sticky Fingers Study

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

I was primed to watch the first quarter and contrast the way the Celtics pass the ball and the way the Nuggets pass the ball, but my plans were thwarted by an act of God.   The power went out for about an hour.  This caused me to miss the first quarter of the replay.  I was able to watch the second quarter and it proved my point just fine. 

Here is what I found out. 

Brace yourself now…

The Nuggets have no offense.   

For the purposes of this study I did not count the inbounds pass or outlet pass as they are typically passes that must be made.  During the second quarter the Nuggets had 27 possessions that would not be characterized as fast break possessions and thus would lend themselves to some form of half court execution. 

Of those 27 possessions there were eight where there were zero passes.  There were five possessions where there was one pass.  There were eight more possessions that featured two passes.  There were another five possessions with three passes.  Then there was one possession where the Nuggets actually passed the ball four times, but there was a reason for that. 

Look at those numbers. 

Nearly half, 13 out of 27, of their half court possessions consisted of either no passes or one pass!   They had one possession where there were more than three passes!  On that possession the Celtics extended some pressure and the first two guys to handle the ball were Diawara and Najera.  They had to pass it resulting in two of the four passes. 

Several of the possessions where they had two or three passes it took ten to 15 seconds before the second or third pass was made.  Overall for the quarter the Nuggets averaged 1.48 passes per possession.   

Think about that. 

How difficult is it to defend knowing that the offense is only going to make one or two passes? 

I had a fancy little table all ready to paste in here, but apparently I can only insert images if they have a URL.  I could do the HTML thing and program in a table, but it is far to late for that.  Just picture a little talbe here that shows the Nuggets do not pass and that is bad. 

  I really wanted to observe the first quarter for Boston.  They shared the ball beautifully and did a great job of reversing the ball and moving without the ball.  I had to settle for watching the second quarter because of the massive Rocky Mountain power failure that robbed me of an hour of productivity.  I do have the Tivo set to record the re-replay tomorrow. 

Anyway, the Celtics were only a little better than the Nuggets in the second quarter, but part of the reason was that they were red hot.  They had 18 half court possessions which were not interrupted prematurely by a foul.  They had four possessions where there were at least four passes.  Guess what?  They scored on all four of those possessions including a seven pass possession to open the quarter. 

Ppenetration is a very effective weapon in basketball, but the pass is even better and the Celtics are proving that.  When a player drives, one or perhaps two defenders have to adjust, but when the ball is passed, every defensive player has to adjust their positioning.  When an offense mixes passing with motion a great deal of pressure is placed on the defense.  

Hopefully, at some point the Nuggets will figure that out. 

As far as the actual game, this was as embarrassing a loss as I can remember for the Nuggets.  The road trip is off to a horrible start as is their season.  For a team that is expected to be a contender in the West and almost a sure thing to reach the finals in the hypothetical world that placed them in the East the first five games of the season have been a disaster. 

However, all is not lost.  The Nuggets have a very good chance to win the last two games of the trip.  They play at Indianapolis Pacers, who were easily handled at home by the Clippers tonight, and the Washington Wizards who are struggling to start the season.  Gilbert Arenas is still dealing with his knee that underwent surgery at the end of last season and has yet to figure out how to turn on the Hibachi. 

Unfortunately, it matters very little who they play if they are going to constantly hang onto the ball and pound it into the hardwood when they are on offense.  This sticky fingers disease can be deadly. 

Here is hoping the Nuggets can find a cure.

Game 5: Denver Nuggets 93 – Boston Celtics 119

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

The Celtics were amazing on both offense and defense.  I am going to watch the replay tonight and analyze the major difference on offense between the two teams, one team passed the ball one dribbled it. 

I also have a hunch about a problem the Nuggets have with setting picks, but I want to double check my theory before I share it with the world.

Check back later on tonight or tomorrow for the results.

Camby’s Favorite Shot

Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll

I have intended to write an article about Marcus Camby’s shot selection for a few days.  The time has come.   

I hate Camby’s propensity to jack up jumpers.   

It makes me nuts.   

We all know that his favorite shot is from the top of the circle.  He takes it at least twice a game and some games he takes it four or five times.  He definitely believes he can make it and he proves it by shooting it over and over.  It does not matter how many times in a row he has missed it.  He is going to shoot it again.  And again.  And again. 

A couple of seasons ago, it seemed like he made a solid percentage of his shots from straight away.  I really do remember him being effective in 2005-2006 from that spot.  I decided to look at the stats to determine if I was right expecting to see a difference in his shooting percentage from 2005-2006 to 2006-2007 when I remember that he really did not shoot well from his favorite spot.  I was wrong, but not in a good way. 

In 2005-2006, when I remembered him shooting reasonably well from his favorite spot, 63% of his shots were considered jumpers.  He made 36% of those shots.   

In 2006-2007, when I remember him being considerably less effective from his favorite spot, 58% of his shots were considered jumpers.  He made 37% of those shots.   

This year, where there is no doubt he has not been able to hit his favorite shot through the first four games, he is shooting only 42% of his shots form outside, but his percentage is 27%!  We can look for both of those numbers to increase where they approach the numbers from the pas two seasons, which is both good (his shoting percentage will undouobtedly increase, but so will his ratio of jumpers).  

Camby has shown the ability to make that shot from the top of the circle even if he has not been shooting well form there since 2005-2006, but that is no longer the shot he consistently takes.  Camby has started shooting from the sides of the circle.  This may not seem like a big deal, but the angle of that shot is drastically different if he moves two feet to the left or right.  When he shoots it from that angle, he very rarely makes that shot. 

My other issue with Camby is that he tries a pull up jumper.  Camby is effective when he drives to the basket.  However, from time to time he pulls up off the dribble to take a jumper.  I have watched nearly every Nuggets game he has played since he came to Denver and in the past three seasons I have missed only a couple of games and I make the following claim with absolute certainty.  You that you can count on one hand how many times he has made a pull up jumper.  In the past two plus seasons I can remember three times he made that shot. 

Three. 

Maybe he has made five, but he has shot at least 50.   

At what point do you say, maybe I better stop doing this?   

This may seem like a bit of a nit picky article.  Camby has averaged just over ten shots a game since the beginning of the 2005-2006 season.  He is not jacking up 15 or 20 shots a game.  He puts the work in on the glass and he deserves to take a couple of shots a game from wherever he wants to. 

There are two problems with that.  Camby has a distinct role with this team.  His number one job is to rebound.  When he is shooting from the perimeter, he cannot be there for the rebound.  But the bigger issue is that he is hurting the offense.  Camby is a center who shoots less than 48%, and usually lower than 47%, from the field.  That places him firmly in the bottom half of starting centers.  Offense is not his strength, but he needs to limit its impact as a weakness. 

You are going to get tired of reading this, if anyone out there is indeed reading it, but the difference between 50 and 55 wins can be just a few points here and there.  Camby is costing the Nuggets some of those points by continually shooting from the perimeter. 

This is just one more thing the Nuggets need to change in order to take tings to the next level.  It is not the number one item on the list or probably even the number five item on the list, but it is on the list.   

I just wish Camby would find a new favorite shot preferably from no more than four feet from the basket.