Deron Williams was a force in Denver on Monday night, setting up two tough games in Utah for the Nuggets
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
I watched game 1 immediately follow Ubaldo Jimenez’ No-Hitter, and considering that fact I must disclose that I was not entirely focused as many shots were done in honor of U-Ball.
But even in my…eh hum… befuddled state, I was still able to see that a 13-point Jazz loss was a great achievement for Utah. The first game should have been a 25-30 point victory for the Nuggets.
The Jazz looked awful; the fact that they were in the game in the third quarter was only due to an anomalous amount of shots going in after hard fouls. They shouldn’t get such luck this time round. Further, they depended far too much on jump shooting (though they did shoot well). Lastly, the Jazz have shown they have absolutely no answer for the Nuggets’ bigs, and that won’t get easier with Mehmet Okur done for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
I think the Nuggets will win this game easily.
1st Quarter
5:24 The Nuggets are once again outplaying the Jazz but have very little to show for it because Jazz jumpers are falling. But the Nuggets are winning in the paint, both with passes inside to Nene and Carmelo Anthony dribble drives. If thing continue as they are, eventually the Jazz jump-shooters have to go cold.
3:33 Anthony is whistled for a flagrant foul on Deron Williams. It didn’t look like a flagrant to me; it looked like a hard foul. But Deron Williams stayed on the ground in pain for a minute and so the refs decided to call a flagrant.
3:16 Williams has left the floor and gone to the locker room. Maybe Melo does deserve a flagrant.
2:40 Williams has returned. I’m going back to believing it was just a hard foul and Melo got the shaft for Deron Williams being a European soccer player.
End Quarter Jazz 33-30
The Jazz are leading with amazing jump-shooting (7-10 jump shots, 3-5 3Pt, 11-15 FG) led by the “injured†(and then surprisingly spry) Deron Williams (5-5 FG, 3-3 3PT, 15 Points). Despite this strong showin,g they only lead by 3 because the Nuggets are getting foul shots, paint points and steals. I still have to believe the hot shooting will cool off eventually…. and then where will the Jazz go?
2nd Quarter
8:39 The FG percentage for Utah is creeping back down and the Nuggets are creeping back up. So far the Nuggets are crushing it at the line (13-13 FT).
7:59 The Jazz have started driving to the rim. This could change things.
6:00 Paul Millsap braces in the lane to accept a charge on Kenyon Martin, but his foot was in the restricted area. That’s Millsap’s 3rd which means a lesser defender will cover Melo for the rest of the half. A frustrated Jerry Sloan curses out the refs and is dealt a Technical. I don’t get why he’s so angry. Melo got a flagrant and Nuggets have more fouls.
2:54 The Jazz continue to lead by a narrow margin (Jazz 53-51) and continue to believe they are playing above their heads. Meanwhile the Nuggets have had a couple wasted offensive possessions due to poor shot selection, missed layups and offensive fouls. But the game is still within a possession. If the Nuggets just play solid, I really feel a karmic rebalancing about ready to hit the Jazz hard.
End Half Jazz 63-51
Okay, so my initial prediction of an easy win might have been a bit off. But it’s been the Nuggets doing it to themselves. A rash of turnovers and missed layups at the end of the first half stifled the Nuggets’ offense.
But I’m not losing the faith. The Jazz cannot keep up this pace. Look at the scoring stats:
Jazz 68% FG, 4-7 3PT
Does anyone think they can do this again in the second half? Does anyone think any team could pull this off on the road against a playoff team two halves in a row? Here’s another stat to look at:
Jazz 11 PF, Nuggets 16 PF
Does anybody think this is normal? Sure both teams foul a lot and get to the line a lot, but the Jazz foul more and the Nuggets get to the line more. If the Nuggets realize the Jazz are playing above themselves and just keep grinding away, the Jazz will come back to earth hard.
3rd Quarter
10:41 TNT just flashed a stat I must pass along: 68% FG % Jazz Franchise Record for a Half. Starting to see it my way?
7:28 The refs are still calling it Utah’s way and the Nuggets can’t claw back into the game. It looked like they might early. A pair of offensive fouls are to blame.
3:51 The Nuggets run 5 plays in a row through Melo. The result: Miss, Assist to Martin, Miss, Assist to J.R. Smith (3), FG. At the same time the Nuggets put Melo on Williams. The result: Miss, Miss, Traveling, Steal. Add it all up and that’s a seven point swing. Utah Time Out.
3:07 Chauncey Billups just committed his fourth foul, a really ticky-tacky reaching foul following a rebound on Carlos Boozer. Boozer promptly missed two FT. “Ball Don’t Lie!!â€
2:34 Melo is dealt his fourth, a charge. The Nuggets have to find a way to hang tough without the stars now. Ty Lawson, J.R. Smith, Arron Afflalo, anybody; someone needs to step up.
End Quarter Jazz 88-82
The B-Team came in and gave up 4 points but it could have been worse. Ty Lawson keeps things from getting out of hand. Kyle Korver is playing with a hot hand (like usual). I’d want someone to give him a hard foul, but everyone’s in foul trouble.
The good news is the Jazz have indeed come back to earth (37% FG in the 3rd quarter). If the Nuggets keep it close until the stars come back I think they will win. But so much for my easy win prediction.
4th Quarter
12:00 Sloan has pulled all his starters to save them for when the Nuggets stars come back. The Nuggets B-Team could beat the Jazz B-team. Maybe the time is now.
10:23 Melo and Billups are back in, and the bench damage was limited to 2 by Lawson. Great job by the rookie.
9:42 Nuggets have the lead on a pair of steals and 5 points; a Nene breakaway dunk and a Billups pullup 3 Pointer.
6:17 The Nuggets are driving and passing and passing and driving on every play. They haven’t settled for a jump shot in 5 possessions. The result: FG, FG+1, FTs, FG, FG, and a 3 point lead.
3:05 The Nuggets and Jazz are trading drives to the basket on every possession and neither team can figure out how to defend it. Of course, Deron Williams is a force of nature on the drive. The Jazz still have no answer for the Nuggets’ bigs, and the Jazz bigs are starting to see the fouls pile up.
1:43 Bad turnover by Melo driving the lane from the left side. Jazz have a chance to take the lead.
0:25 Down by 1 Melo called for a reach in on CJ Miles. Reckless. He’s done and the Jazz have FTs. (Made both) Someone needs to step up in Melo’s stead and get the game tied. How about you Chauncey?
0:11 Nuggets opt to get rid of 13 seconds in favor of not fouling Korver. The fact that everyone is in foul trouble is the reason. It’s not a good enough reason.
End Game Jazz 114-111
Way too many charging calls tonight on the Nuggets, whether they were good calls or not (8 offensive fouls on the Nuggets, 4 on Carmelo Anthony).  The refs probably should have laid off the whistle on 3 or 4 of them, but 2 of Carmelo’s were just failures to get around the defender on the first move.  In case you’re keeping track that’s 1 flagrant, 4 charges, and a reckless reach-in foul the final minutes.
Bad foul night for Melo.
Here’s something else that didn’t occur to me until I checked the stats; no one dropped the hammer with a truly crushing 3 pointer. The Nuggets shot 4-18 behind the arc; no one could find the range tonight.  One 3 pointer during the Nuggets late 3rd or early 4th quarter runs probably ends Utah’s night.
The cost of this whole thing is that now the Nuggets must win in Utah. It’s among the toughest places to play in the league. It’s tiny and steep and loud. It feels like the crowd is right on top of you. Literally, I think they sell seats in harnesses that hang from the roof of the arena.
I think the Nuggets will still win the series though. The injuries for the Jazz are a little too much, and it’s doubtful they can consistently produce the best half in their franchise history every game to win by 3.
