On the day that Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were named to the NBA Western Conference All Star Team, the Denver Nuggets ran the Clippers out of their own building in Los Angeles.  The Nuggets outscored LA in each of the last three quarters, finishing up 112-91.

Paul and Griffin slowed down after a hot first quarter on Thursday night at Staples Center.  LA was playing their third game in as many nights, and the Denver fast break quickly stretched the Clippers thin.  The Nuggets’ deep bench spurred a series of Denver runs through the second and third quarters that saw LA outscored 35-67.  Without any reliable depth past their starting five, the Clippers simply could not keep up.

The Cardiac Nuggets were in need of a win after consecutive losses by a total of 7 points – the last an OT heartbreaker in Memphis that saw Denver give up a sizeable second half lead.  Both teams came out swinging in the first half Thursday night, and the Nuggets made no qualms about roughing up Chris Paul on the perimeter.   Aaron Afflalo and Ty Lawson took turns playing physical defense on the Clippers’ point man, and Paul had trouble creating plays off the drive during a third quarter dominated by Denver.

This win was doubly important for the Nuggets as they begin their own run of three straight games.  Tomorrow night they will play a marquee matchup against the Lakers in Denver before heading right back to the coast for a Saturday night divisional brawl in Portland.  The Lakers – A.K.A “LA’s Second-Best Team” – have played very poorly on the road so far this season, racking up 7 losses in 9 tries away from home.  The Trailblazers have also struggled on the road, but are 11-1 at home.  Portland will get a day to rest up at home after a tough loss in Sacramento on Thursday.

Perhaps the best part of this victory for the Nuggets (15-7) is that it propelled them back in front of the Clippers (13-7) in the Western Conference standings by a full game.  Denver returns to second place in the West just 2.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Denver’s Danilo Gallinari – fresh off a new five year contract – led all scorers with 21 points in just 27 minutes.  Gallo shot 70% from the field and was a game-changing 5 of 5 from three point range.  Afflalo and Lawson put up 15 and 18 points respectively, and the Nuggets also got double digit contributions from Timofey Mozgov and Rudy Fernandez.

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While many Rochester fans were happy to see JGJ go saying he was washed up, just as many were upset over their star player being traded away. (Colorado fans were just as polarized, but I’ve discussed that previously and won’t discuss it further here.) While JGJ struggled to find his groove last year, he’s having a remarkable season already, and we’re only a quarter into it. Rochester who came out strong in their season opener against the Philadelphia Wings winning by 10 goals is now on a three game losing streak after dropping back to back games against Toronto and Colorado.

1^st Quarter

The Mammoth start the scoring of a minute in on their first possession after the Knighthawks get a shot clock violation.  John Grant Jr passes it to Gavin Prout behind the net, who hits Adam Jones with a bounce pass. Jones passes it to Sean Pollock on the crease for a one on one opportunity with the goalie, making it look easy.  Rochester scores their own goal 37 seconds later after a Mammoth shot on goal is blocked and recovered on the rebound. Cory Vitarelli takes it with an over the shoulder shot. Mammoth then go on a three goal run led by Adam Jones with a bounce shot from the crease following a perfect goal to goal outlet pass from JGJ. Jamie Lincoln follows it up cutting from the outside, he shakes off his defender for a left to right cross body side goal. After a play with multiple dropped passes, Jamie Lincoln manages to recover the ball and passes to Gavin Prout for the score. Stephen Keogh scores one for the Knighthawks just under the seven minute mark. Seventeen seconds later, JGJ scores on a phenomenal behind the back shot hitting Vinc 5-hole for the goal. Mammoth start the quarter off looking extremely strong with lots of cutting and solid goal shots but the second half of the quarter they have a lot of dropped passes and a flat offense.

Colorado Mammoth 5, Rochester Knighthawks 2

2^nd Quarter

Colorado starts the scoring thirty seconds in by Jamie Lincoln with a low side arm shot hitting 5-hole. Stephen Keogh gets his second goal of the night thirty seconds later. Sean Pollack notches his second of the night with a shot down the middle. Derek Hopcroft scores his first of the night with a high jumping shot at the crease, shooting at the apex before landing behind the rear crease line. To Mammoth fan’s delight, Matt Vinc is replaced in net by Jake Henhawk. The first round Henhawk faces, the Mammoth score but it’s called for a crease violation. After Vinc is pulled, the Knighthawks defense really steps it up and plays much more aggressive preventing Colorado from getting shots off on the new goal tender. After having some time to settle down, Vinc comes back into net.  Capitalizing on a power play, John Grant Jr making it look easy scores on a left sidearm shot. Johnny Powless closes out the half by scoring for the Knighthawks.

Colorado Mammoth 9, Rochester Knighthawks 4

3^rd Quarter

Colorado comes out in the third looking like a completely different team. They’re dropping passes left and right and the offense looks completely flat. No cutting, predictable ball movement, lack of hustle for rebounds and loose balls and Rochester makes the most of it. Mike Accursi scores after the Knighthawks recover a rebound at the crease. Scott Stewart scores an unassisted goal with a one on one opportunity with Matt Vinc hitting the top right corner. Cody Jamieson scores almost immediately into their first power play after Jarret Park is sent to the box for Holding. Alexander-Kedoh Hill scores on the next play followed by another goal from Accursi.  Jamie Lincoln scores for the Mammoth, but Cory Vitarellir scores with a behind the back shot almost immediately after to bring the Knighthawks within two.

Colorado Mammoth 11, Rochester Knighthawks 9

4^th Quarter

John Grant Junior kicks off the scoring with a hat trick goal, assisted by Dan Coates. Mike Accursi gets his own hat trick followed by a goal from Cody Jamieson to bring narrow Mammoth’s lead to one.  Sean Pollock gets his own hat trick scoring on the power play. Midway through the quarter, Creighton Reid scores an unassisted Mammoth goal after getting a one on one opportunity to give Colorado a three goal lead. Gavin Prout scores on an outside shot, but it’s waived off for a moving pick violation. Mammoth defense looks super aggressive and succeeds in keeping Rochester away from the crease and quality shots on goal. While the Mammoth looked good overall, if Rochester hadn’t played the previous night, Colorado’s lackluster play in the third may have been more costly. In the National Lacrosse League, unlike other sports, no lead is safe and Colorado played the third quarter like it was.

Final score:

Colorado Mammoth 14, Rochester Knighthawks 11

Attendance: 15,210

1^st Star – John Grant Junior; with three goals on seven shots and four assists, JGJ once again lead the Mammoth in points.

2^nd Star – Mike Accursi; with three assists and his second half hat trick, Accursi was a much needed spark for the Rochester offense to keep the Knighthawks in the game after ending the first half down by five goals.

3^rd Star – Sean Pollock; new to the Mammoth this year, Pollock is quickly making his mark. With three goals and two assists, he wasn’t far behind JGJ on the score board.

Around the League:

Friday

Rochester Knighthawks 11, Toronto Rock 13

Philadelphia Wings 13, Buffalo Bandits 10

Saturday

Buffalo Bandits 11, Minnesota Swarm 19

Toronto Rock 14, Calgary Roughnecks 13 OT

Edmonton Rush 16, Washington Stealth 5

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Just a couple years removed from an ill-fated attempt to turn Denver into Patriots West, head coach John Fox is turning the Broncos into Panthers West.  John’s old pal Jack Del Rio will be the Denver Broncos’ next defensive coordinator.

Late Friday the Broncos came to terms with Del Rio, who served as defensive coordinator under John Fox in Carolina in 2002.  With Del Rio, the Panthers went from the #31 defense in the league to the 2^nd best in a single season before Jack was hired away by the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Del Rio was fired in November after 9 years as Jacksonville’s head coach.

The Broncos turned to Del Rio just days after the Oakland Raiders poached defensive coordinator Dennis Allen from Denver and installed him as their new head coach.  Under Allen and Fox the Broncos improved from the NFL’s worst defense to 20^th.  Denver’s overhauled D played extremely well during an 8 game stretch that saw Tim Tebow and the Broncos grab 7 wins.

There is no doubt that Jack Del Rio is an exceptional defensive mind.  Even as the Jaguars’ offense plummeted to worst in the league, Jacksonville still rolled out the 6^th best defense in 2011.  Del Rio looks like a perfect pickup by the Elway/Fox Administration fresh off a shocking playoff win and division title.

The Broncos will look to Del Rio to provide stability at defensive coordinator.  Jack is Denver’s 7^th new defensive coordinator in as many seasons.  He inherits a young Broncos defense that will need to add talent through the draft or free agency to shore up its porous secondary and lack of depth at interior lineman.

Jack Del Rio is 48 years old and played 11 seasons in the NFL as a linebacker.  He earned a Pro Bowl nod as a Miami Dolphin in 1994, but retired in 1996 after losing his roster spot to rookie Zach Thomas.  Del Rio was a linebackers coach with the Ravens and a conditioning coach in New Orleans before joining Fox in Carolina.

Tweeted Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins from Hawaii, “Love the hire, just hope we can keep him around.”

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Just four days after Danilo Gallinari outplayed Carmelo Anthony in a Nuggets win in New York City, the Italian forward has signed a four-year $42 million dollar extension to stay in Denver.

Gallinari was the key piece in a trade that sent Melo to the Knicks last season.  On Saturday night Gallo showed himself to be the superior player by outscoring, outrebounding, outdefending and generally outplaying Carmelo at Madison Square Gardens.  Apparently, the Nuggets have seen enough of Danilo that they are willing to build their future around his burgeoning talents.

At 23 years old, Gallinari is just hitting his stride in the NBA.  (Learn more about Danilo Gallinari)  He leads the Democratically-oriented Denver offense with 17.4 points per game – one of six Nuggets averaging double-digit points.  But what sets Gallo apart from Melo and most other NBA forwards is his commitment to improving his defensive game.  Danilo has put in more minutes this season than any other Nugget, and the big reason coach George Karl keeps him on the court is his stalwart defense.  Gallinari is +74 in 17 games so far.

Nuggets General Manager Masai Ujiri can count the Gallinari extension as another feather in his cap following the successful trade of Anthony to New York and the re-signing of restricted free agent shooting guard Arron Afflalo in the abbreviated offseason.  Ujiri was also responsible for the Nuggets exercising their option on young point guard Ty Lawson late last season, and for the decision to retain sixth man Al Harrington instead of amnestying his contract per the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.  The youthful core that Ujiri and young owner Josh Kroenke are building – combined with their willingness to stick with resurgent veterans like Al Harrington and Andre Miller – has made the Nuggets a contender now and into the foreseeable future.

This extension represents a considerable raise for Gallinari, who will make $4,190,182 this season and roughly $10.5 million next season.  Thanks to the trade that got Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups’ sizeable contracts off the books, Denver will still have the cap space to consider signing restricted free agent small forward Wilson Chandler when he returns from playing in China this March.

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Looking healthy and energetic following his second defeat of cancer, Denver Nuggets coach George Karl finally has the team he has always wanted.  On any given night, the Nuggets could dominate with their starting five or cobble together a win with contributions all the way down the bench.

The Nuggets currently lead all NBA teams in points per game at 105.5 – a tick better than the Miami Heat’s 105.4 – and are perched firmly at second place in the Western Conference.  Only the division rival OKC Thunder are better in the West right now, but watching these young Nuggets you get the feeling that they are still a month or two away from playing their best basketball.

George is living in a coaching dreamland in Denver.  He’s got the kind of depth and athleticism that even most big market NBA teams lack.  Karl just has to decide who has the hot hand, who makes the best matchup, and which of his ten floor-worthy players get time each night.

Coming over from the Milwaukee Bucks in 2005, George was heralded as a matchups guru with the ability to challenge the best coaches in the league.  Now that Phil Jackson has retired from Lakerland, Coach Karl may be the best matchups coach in the league.  And with Carmelo Anthony slowing the offense to a crawl in New York, the Nuggets have the cap space and floor time to run the most dynamic, team-oriented style in the league.

In his early years with the Nuggets, Karl had the pitiable task of making sure Melo got his points every game.  Now George can watch five players score double-digits and have a half-dozen guys geared up to make big shots in the final minutes.  Plus, an increased load on the bench means the Nuggets can throw a relentless up-tempo attack at their opponents for 48 minutes.  No wonder Denver leads the league at 24.5 assists per game.

On Wednesday night Karl’s Nuggets will have a chance to close out an undefeated five-game road swing.  Four victories so far include overtime triumphs versus the surprising 76ers and the struggling Knicks.  Now Denver draws the defensively challenged Kings in Sacramento.  With six Nuggets averaging 10+ points per game, Denver looks strong to return home Friday with one of the best records in the NBA.

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While the term Battle of Alberta is usually reserved for when Edmonton and Calgary face off, the past few seasons, the Mammoth have had their own Battle of Alberta facing off against both Edmonton and Calgary in back to back games. Playing a barn to barn game is tough enough but at least you’re playing a team that also played the previous night. The Mammoth headed into Alberta faced with the challenge of playing not just two different teams but two strong division rivals. They definitely had their work cut out for them and they rose to the challenge.

Colorado Mammoth at Edmonton Rush

1^st Quarter

If there was any doubt in Colorado’s mind that Edmonton came to win, the first five minutes of the game definitely erased it. The Rush took a commanding three goal lead with a bounce shot goal before the game hit the minute mark, followed by a phenomenal play from Zack Greer where with a combination of faking and fancy footwork he was able to get around his defender and shoot one over Levis’s shoulder. Not to be left out, Scott Evans scored on an outside shot.

Rookie Adam Jones gets the Mammoth on the board with a crease shot from a behind the net pass from John Grant Jr. Sean Pollock scores off a diving shot but it’s waived off for crease violation and understandably, since it’s still very early in the game, there’s no challenge from the Mammoth bench despite it looking like a good goal. Zack Greer answers with his own assisted by Shawn Williams. Jones gets his second goal assisted by Sean Pollock to close out the quarter.

Colorado Mammoth 2, Edmonton Rush 4

2^nd Quarter

While Edmonton started off strong and the Mammoth offense looked flat and unfocused, the second quarter was a whole other story with Colorado dominating completely. The Mammoth offense looked good. It was hard to believe it was the same team. Levis found his groove and the defense prevented a lot of shots as well. Again assisted by Pollock, Jones starts off the scoring notching a hat trick as the only Mammoth player to score. John Grant Jr scores an unassisted goal on a running shot from the outside bouncing it five hole. In a beautiful play, Pollock spins to the outside of his defender to break away and score with a crease shot. The Rush stop the bleeding for nearly eight minutes before Jed Prossner scores his own unassisted goal followed by Jones scoring his fourth on the night.

Colorado Mammoth 7, Edmonton Rush 4

3^rd Quarter

Early in the third quarter, Mammoth rookie Jamie Lincoln blasted a hard shot at Rush goalie Aaron Bold only to have it ricochet off the side of Rush defender Jim Quinlan’s head ringing his bell. Zack Greer opened up the scoring with his hat trick goal four minutes in. In a questionable call for a game that hadn’t been remotely chippy, Mammoth player Rory Smith and Rush player Scott Evans both receive two minute roughing penalties for a non-fight. Apparently in the East coast, they get full on team brawls, however, on the West, mild pushing and shoving is the same penalty. The next play John Grant Jr scores his second goal of the game followed by Gavin Prout with a power play goal. In a beautiful underhand five hole shot, Shawn Williams follows up with his own power play goal for the Rush launching the Edmonton into their own run. Corey Small followed by Ryan Ward with his own power play goal and Brett Mydske to tie it up. With four seconds remaining in the quarter, John Grant Jr scores his hat trick goal on the power play to take back the lead.

Colorado Mammoth 10, Edmonton Rush 9

4^th Quarter

Thirty seconds in, Adam Jones kicks off the final quarter with his 5^th goal assisted by John Grant Jr. Tom Johnson scores his first goal of the night followed by a pair of goals from Ryan Ward, (one of them a shorthander), to take the lead for Edmonton. John Grant Jr dashes Edmonton’s hopes though by scoring both the tying goal and with fifteen seconds left, the game winner. Both teams made a lot of mistakes and it’s obvious it’s early in the season, but both teams showed potential and their next meeting February 4^th in Denver should be exciting.

Final

Colorado Mammoth 13, Edmonton Rush 12

Attendance: 8, 192

1^st Star – Adam Jones, the rookie had 5 goals (4 of them in the first half), a 41.7% shot percentage, and was second in loose balls.

2^nd Star – John Grant Jr, hard to argue with 5 goals, especially when his last two tied the game and subsequently won it.  He also had 4 assists and 6 loose balls.

3^rd Star – Scott Stewart, there’s plenty of discussion about how important face offs are and whether having a dominant face off guy a la Geoff Snider is important or not, but as Stewart won 22 of 29 including key moments like the end of the game, this at least is one instance where the face off guy had a huge impact.

Colorado Mammoth at Calgary Rush

1^st Quarter

Coming from across the crease, Sean Pollock makes the most of the first Mammoth possession scoring 47 seconds in. A Minute later, Daryl Veltman scores with a low hard shot going top shelf on a power play provided by John Gallant. (Unfortunately, what happened was off camera. Gallant was charged with a minor roughing, but game play was stopped and the trainer came out to check on him and he looked like he was in a lot of pain walking to and sitting in the box. By the look of it, he may have been lucky he only had to serve about 10 second of the penalty.) In the first of what would be many Roughneck illegal substitution penalties, John Grant Jr. capitalizes almost immediately to retake the lead. Kaleb Toth scores on the next play to knot it back up and kick off a Calgary run. Scott Ranger and Shawn Evans both score on the power play followed by Curtis Manning. Derek Hopcroft stops Calgary’s run heading in to the second quarter and on the assist, John Grant Jr scores his 1,000^th career point.

Colorado Mammoth 3, Calgary Roughnecks 5

 2^nd Quarter

Rookie Jamie Lincoln starts things off scoring for the Mammoth in the first minute followed by John Grant Jr on a penalty shot forty seconds later after the Roughnecks were served with a trio of penalties for delay of game (Kaleb Toth), illegal substitution and unsportsmanlike conduct (Dane Dobbie). Mammoth Captain Gavin Prout scores his own power play goal a minute later followed by a power play goal from Gavin Prout to retake the lead. Daryl Veltman and Curtis Dickson each score a goal in under twenty seconds to retake the lead. And that was just the first three and a half minutes! Adam Jones scores on the power play for the Mammoth to tie the game, but Veltman immediately follows it up to give Calgary back the lead. Pete McFetridge scores a short hander after Mammoth take a shot, fail to get the rebound and Mike Poulin passes it down the floor to give McFetridge a clear one on one opportunity.

Colorado Mammoth 7, Calgary Roughnecks 9

3^rd Quarter

For as heavy scoring and back and forth as the second quarter was, the third quarter was relatively quiet aside from penalties. Midway through the third, Shawn Evans scored on the power play followed by Scott Ranger making it look easy as running ahead of his defender he catches a pass from Shawn Evans and scores from the crease to give the Roughnecks a four goal lead, but John Grant Jr scores a short hander and in an unusual circumstance Derek Hopcroft recovers a rebound off a bad Calgary pass that bounced off the ref to score his second goal of the night to cut the lead back to two.

Colorado Mammoth 9, Calgary Roughnecks 11

4^th Quarter

Curtis Manning starts of the scoring with a one on one break away to take Calgary back up to a three goal lead. In a play that would get anyone else benched for even attempting, John Grant Jr scores on a no look behind the back shot to the top right corner. Jones gets his own breakaway chance to score bringing Calgary’s lead down to one. Chris Levis may have had some rough moments early in the game, but the fourth quarter was all about Levis standing on his head making tension inducing saves. Especially against Dane Dobbie who was relentless, peppering him with one shot after another. Adam Jones scores his hat trick goal on the power play to tie the game. Levis continues to make one phenomenal save after another to keep fans of both teams on the edge of their seats as the game goes to over time.

Colorado Mammoth 12, Calgary Roughnecks 12

Overtime

As expected, Geoff Snider won the faceoff for the Roughnecks giving them a definite advantage in overtime however Levis is able to block the shot, Mammoth get the rebound. In a “what in the world were you thinking” move, Shawn Evans clearly intentionally trips the Mammoth player giving the Mammoth a man up advantage which Gavin Prout uses to his advantage to score the winning goal.

Final

Colorado Mammoth 13, Calgary Roughnecks 12

Attendance: 9,341

1^st Star – John Grant Jr, four goals and six assists in this game was huge.

2^nd Star – Adam Jones, the second highest scorer on the night with three assists, and instrumental in sending the game to overtime.

3^rd Star** – Chris Levis, Calgary had plenty of opportunities in the fourth including stonewalling Pete McFetridge on a breakaway, with ten seconds left, and a diving shot from Dane Dobbie, who went zero for fourteen on the night, immediately afterwards but Levis stopped them all. Without Levis’s performance in net the last quarter, Calgary would have had the game in the bag.

**Gavin Prout was a strong consideration for third star, especially as not only did he have the overtime game winner, he also had another goal and four assists, however, in a game where their opponent was capitalizing on power plays, he had 7 penalty minutes because of his tussles with Andrew McBride.

Around the League

Washington Stealth 9, Philadelphia Wings 10 OT

Buffalo Bandits 12, Rochester Knighthawks 9

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The Denver Nuggets committed highway robbery when they sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks in return for a full complement of up-and-coming talent last season.  That fact was never more apparent than it was on Saturday night after Danilo Gallinari finished trumping Carmelo Anthony at Madison Square Gardens.

The Nuggets managed to grind out a 119-114 double-overtime win in NYC thanks to Gallinari’s dominant play.  In a game that pitted superstar Carmelo Anthony against two of the guys he was traded for – Gallinari and center Timofey Mozgov – it was the Nuggets’ new stars that won the day.  Even if Denver had not landed Mozgov, Kosta Koufos, Raymond Felton and Wilson Chandler in the deal that sent Melo and Chauncey Billups to New York, the Nuggets may have gotten their money’s worth with Gallinari.

Gallo outplayed Melo in virtually every aspect of the game on Saturday night in Manhattan.  Danilo scored more points – 37 to 25 – pulled down more rebounds – 11 to 10 – and played better defense than his New York counterpart.  While defensive prowess is sometimes difficult to demonstrate with statistics, it was wicked simple in this case.  Carmelo finished with a plus/minus of -9 over 45 minutes.  Gallinari finished with a +5… the exact margin of victory for the Nuggets.

Meanwhile, center Timofey Mozgov – who was the final piece in the trade that sent Melo to the Knicks – managed a +5 rating as well.  Mozgov paired that with 16 points and 3 big blocks in a tight game that saw 14 lead changes and 15 ties.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Nuggets – all on the road – who now stand firmly in second place in the Western Conference behind the division-rival Oklahoma City Thunder.  While the season is still in its early stages, Denver has weathered a tough opening schedule and come out on top.  They will enjoy a rare three day break before heading to Sacramento on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, the Knicks drop to 6-10 and have lost six consecutive games.  They are one of two teams with losing records in the top-heavy Eastern Conference that would make the playoffs if the season ended today.

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By knocking off the 76ers in Philly on Wednesday night the Denver Nuggets grabbed their 10^th win in 15 games played and handed Philadelphia its first home loss.  The improved 76ers were 6-0 at home this season, and have played as well as any team in the NBA to this point.  The final score in overtime read 108-104 in favor of the Nuggets thanks to a breakout 28-point effort by backup point guard Andre Miller.

Denver’s 10-5 record locks them into a four-way tie for the third best winning percentage in the Western Conference.  That group includes the LA Lakers and Clippers plus the San Antonio Spurs, with Denver legend Chauncey Billups keeping the Clippers afloat while Chris Paul recuperates from an injury.

In a topsy, turvy NBA season the Nuggets are still getting their footing like most other clubs.  On Wednesday it was great to see the guard duo of Lawson and Miller pick up where Lawson and the departed Raymond Felton left off last year.  Against the 76ers Lawson and Miller combined for 84 minutes of floor time, 41 points and 17 assists.  Nene chipped in 14 rebounds and 20 points, including 4 of the Nuggets’ 12 points in overtime.

Denver still sits behind the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder in both the Conference and Northwest Division standings.  But the Jazz are playing over their heads thanks to a favorable opening schedule where 14 of their first 20 games will be played at home.  Brutal February and March road trips will bring Utah back down to earth.

The Thunder are another story entirely.  OKC stands at the top of the NBA with a 12-3 record following their first bad loss last night in Washington.  The young, athletic Thunder are primed for this fast-paced season, and it will take some incredible consistency from the Nuggets to keep pace.  Oklahoma City is bound to have its share of off nights – like losing to the 12 loss Wizards – but stand to be the NBA’s best club barring major setbacks or a surprise run by another young team like the Clippers.

Luckily Denver has a pretty smooth schedule through the rest of January.  If the Nuggets can keep ahead of both Los Angeles-es and the Spurs, they can put pressure on these depth-challenged squads as the unusual 2011-2012 NBA Season wears on.  Just as younger teams have a chance to jump ahead in the standings, older clubs like the Lakers and Spurs will be dropping winnable games come March and April.

For the Nuggets – who have a nice blend of veteran presence and ample young talent – it will simply be a matter of building offensive chemistry and playing the brand of aggressive defense that made Denver a tough out in last season’s NBA Playoffs.  With a healthy and energized George Karl at the helm, the Nuggets may not be far off from realizing their potential as an elite Western Conference contender.

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The average age of the Colorado Rockies pitching staff just took a significant increase. The Rockies signed 49-year old Jamie Moyer to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. That means that in just over 4 weeks, a man will take the field at Talking Stick who has nickels under the cushions of his couch that have been there longer than Rockies young pitching phenom Drew Pomeranz has been alive.

The Rockies have been overhauling their entire roster, a process that started with the pitching staff and the trade that sent ace Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland in exchange for pitchers Alex White and Drew Pomeranz. With the departure of Jimenez and longtime Rockie Aaron Cook, the rotation is anything but certain. Jhoulys Chacin figures to be in the rotation, and probably at the top, with the rest of the spots up for competition among Kevin Slowey, Pomeranz, White, Hammel, Josh Outman, Guillermo Moscoso, and now Moyer, with the hope of a full-strength return by hard-throwing Juan Nicasio.

So why Moyer? I think the real question is why not Moyer? Aside from Hammel and Slowey, these are all very young, inexperienced pitchers. Moyer, while no longer a top of the rotation guy, was once the number one starter for the Seattle Mariners, where I got to watch him in the prime of his career. He followed that up with a few solid seasons in Philadelphia before going down last season for Tommy John surgery. So while a 49 year old coming off of Tommy John surgery doesn’t sound terribly appealing, a de facto pitching coach with 26 years of major league experience sounds like just what this staff might need.

If you’re looking for Moyer to go out and post 200 innings and 15 wins, he’s probably not your guy. But there’s a role for him to fill, and that role is a vital one in such a young clubhouse.

Besides, he makes Todd Helton look like a spring chicken, and there’s no telling how much that will revitalize Todd for his 16th season.

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Unlike the unceremonious dumping of Ian Stewart to Chicago, this move has as much to do with roster building and economics. Smith hadn’t been quite the underperformer that Stewart was, nor the unpredictable hitter that Iannetta was. He figured to be penciled in as the fourth outfielder, his starting spot taken by the acquisition of Michael Cuddyer last month. With several guys available to jump into the fourth outfielder spot, the Rockies clearly wanted to unload Smith’s contract more than Smith himself ($2.4M, which avoided arbitration).

While this deal will not approach the Holliday to Oakland deal in terms of return, the Rockies got what they were after – unloaded a replaceable expense in exchange for pitching. At this point, it seems the Rockies are looking for any arm they can get. Both Moscoso and Outman were likely candidates for Oakland’s starting rotation, but that rotation was already weakened by the injuries, especially to Dallas Braden. At least one of these guys, probably Moscoso, will push Hammel for a rotation spot, and should be at the very least a good placeholder for Jorge de la Rosa, who will still be rehabbing from Tommy John surgery throughout the spring.

In the end, it’s probably a good deal for the Rockies, though Seth Smith is another one of the high character guys that just couldn’t make the case for a permanent roster spot. Time will tell if this all-out rebuild of the pitching staff, and the resulting shakeup that extends up and down the entire lineup, is successful. One thing is certain – just like every year, with San Francisco and Arizona sitting atop the division, and Los Angeles not far behind, solid pitching will be imperative for the Rockies to make a run at the NL West – slugging won’t win a title.

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