Born a Nuggets Fan has moved to Pickaxe and Roll
For those of you hoping to see a longwinded and boring post on the game against the Timberwolves I am sorry to disappoint you. Here is a brief, though equally boring, post to cover the highpoints.
Any concerns about the Nuggets taking the Timberwolves too lightly were erased in the first couple of minutes of a game. The Nuggets jumped out to a 12-0 lead that Minnesota was never fully able to overcome.
Denver took advantage of the Timberwolves atrocious transition defense, as evidenced by the fact they are last in the league in fast break points allowed, as they scored layup after layup in the first half.
The Nuggets played a little less consistently on offense in the second half, but once again AI was tremendous in the second stanza racking up 19 points. Only a career night from Rashad McCants allowed the T-Wolves to stay close.
All I wanted to see was the Nuggets play the game with purpose and win. Dave from my office expected them to lose by 8 due to the letdown factor and they avoided that fate. The Wolves did manage to cut the Nugget lead down to six in the last couple minutes, but Denver was never in any danger of losing this game.
So my assessment is mission accomplished.
Sure beating the worst team in the league is not quite mission impossible, but mission accomplished nonetheless.
Other Observations From Game 32:
- Once again, shot and boring. Does anyone else find it odd that after playing well against Golden State J.R. Smith has not gotten off the bench for two straight games?
- OK, one more. How fair is it to have Kuba Diawara record three straight DNP-CDs and then have George Karl throw him out on the court to try to slow down the red hot McCants? Hey Kuba, here’s a bucket, try to clean up that Niagara Falls thing.
- I know you are always supposed to leave them wanting more, but that is making the assumption that you guys wanted any of this in the first place, which is dangerous. I gotta toss out one more observation. Finally Karl realized that Chucky Atkins needs to sit down until he is totally healthy. If he is totally healthy right now, he just needs to sit down period. Atkins was the only Nugget with a minus for a plus/minus in the game. Of course it could have been worse. He could have been Sebastian Telfair who had a -25 in less than 21 minutes! How is that even possible?
Check out TWolves Blog for some insight from the deep dark hole that is the Minnesota sports scene.
January 5, 2008 at 6:25 pm |
Remember Telfair’s movie? Remember when the Blazers got him?
Really, maybe his familial relations to Marbury is what is holding him back. Either way, thank God he’s no longer on any team I follow.
But, your observations about Kuba and JR are intriguing. Will this team really get far on the short rotation they have going now? Well, maybe its not that short but really, JR and Kuba both have attributes they bring and the beating they seem to take from the hands of the coach have to be harsh to swallow for them.
With all that said I think Kenny the Jet and Sir Charles both made good points about what is wrong with the Nuggs so far this year: not enough attitudes akin to Camby’s. Which is playing well without the need or the obsession of scoring. ‘
We’ve seen Melo heed the call the last handful of games with his double doubles. With that said, I hope that trend is the beginning of a Melo who can do it all, and will do it all.
January 6, 2008 at 9:33 pm |
I’m kinda glad Portland can’t lose, I think it will help the Nuggets maintain their focus. Two big games in a row now: tomorrow at Phoenix, then three day off, then home against Orlando. 1-1 is a must, followed by four should-win games. Then a rough one at the Lakers (the next national TV game for those of us ex-pats), then two more should-wins. I’m looking for 7-2.
By the way, I just have to say that the best part of the Iverson pick up is the national exposure it gives this team. Yes, it raises expectations beyond belief (I mean, they SHOULD be challenging for the best record in the West), but how nice is it to see & hear so much about the Nugs on ESPN, TNT, etc?