The National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Player’s Association certainly were not concerning themselves with the health of their players when they signed off on a condensed 66-game schedule in December.  As the bitter lockout burned through the traditional free agency period, training camp, and then a good chunk of season, it became apparent that the league’s players would pay the price for a failure to negotiate with appropriate urgency.

Now a wave of injuries and exhaustion is robbing the game of its punch.  Chicago’s Derrick Rose (back spasms) and New York’s Carmelo Anthony (groin) both went down on Monday night.  Then it was Danilo Gallinari – the prime piece that NYC traded to Denver for Melo – going down in Denver with a bone chip fracture in his foot.  Finally it was former Nugget/Knick and current LA Clipper Chauncey Billups limping out of a rare Clipper victory in Orlando with an achilles injury.  And this is just one night in the 2012 NBA.

The Nuggets also lost Nene (heel) and Arron Afflalo (ankle/toe) on Saturday and have been without center Timofey Mozgov (ankle) through a brutal stretch of three straight losses.  In fact, Denver has lost 5 of 6 games over a packed 9-day stretch that had them playing in four cities, including a back-to-back-to-back flying to Los Angeles, returning home to Denver, and then departing immediately for Portland.

Even the Nuggets – who began the season with the best depth in the league – are now struggling to put a quality NBA product on the court.  Charles Barkley loudly proclaimed on TNT last week that the league’s product had been diluted, saying he was “embarrassed” about the state of the NBA.  Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban lashed out at Commissioner David Stern for failing to hire more referees to offset the frantic schedule.

“Some of these guys are having really bad nights, and it’s having an impact,” said Cuban after a tough loss to the West-best Thunder in Dallas last Wednesday that featured some truly atrocious officiating.  “The league’s got to come out and say, ‘OK, look, we understand they’re going through some tough travel or whatever. It’s just the way it is.’”  Cuban was fined $75,000 by the NBA the following day.

Most teams have only played 25 games out of the 66 contests packed into a four-month window.  The wave of injuries has just begun.  As this harsh season wears on, the league will have to face the very real possibility that the “best” team will simply be the one that can stay healthy into early May.  Hopefully the NBA and NBPA hammered out a very lucrative Collective Bargaining Agreement in December 2011, because it may end up costing them the quality of their on-court product in 2012.

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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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The Denver Nuggets moved to 8-2 in their first ten games post-Melo.   A win on the road Monday night in New Orleans created some padding between the Nuggets and the Hornets in the Western Conference standings.

In a matter of a few weeks, Denver has gone from isolation offense and poor rotation on defense to an assist-heavy scoring machine that transitions off of an active, shifting perimeter D.

Coach George Karl, who landed a fresh contract with the team last week, sounds like a proud papa talking about his New Look Nuggets.

“They have a lot of freedom to create the game on their own, and tonight they were pretty special,” said Karl after his team trumped the Hornets 114-103 in New Orleans.  “We played with a lot of aggressiveness on both sides of the court, and I think that’s what we’re trying to do. It’s not very complicated. It’s pretty simple stuff.”

There you have it: the Nuggets’ new mantra.  Keep it simple, play aggressive defense, attack on offense, and make team chemistry more important than any one player.

Denver did all of those things on their way to a statement win in New Orleans.  After starting off with a series of bad shots and shoddy defense, the Nuggets charged back from an 11-2 deficit to grab a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Nuggets never looked back.

Karl called an early timeout after the Hornets jumped ahead in the first four minutes of the game.  After that Denver was a different team.  They shut down New Orleans for a full minute of game time that featured a powerful block by defensive leader Kenyon Martin.  From there the Nuggets’ high-powered offense got to work.

Wilson Chandler and Nene combined for Denver’s next 12 points before Chris Andersen tied the game at 15 with two free throws, drawing a New Orleans timeout.  Raymond Felton dropped two three-pointers on consecutive attempts to close the quarter, and the Nuggets never trailed again.

In fact, towards the end of the third quarter Denver pulled ahead by 23 before sitting their big starters and leaving cleanup to a trio of guards.  Ty Lawson, JR Smith and Ray Felton were the only Nuggets to score in the fourth quarter, pacing the Hornets with no less than an 11-point lead for the final 2:30 of the game.

Lawson and Felton, Denver’s thunder and lightening point guards, nailed back-to-back threes in the final minute to squash New Orleans’ comeback attempt.

Three Nuggets scored 20+ points, led by Lawson (23) and followed closely by Felton (22) and Chandler (21).  This new Democratic scoring approach has replaced the former ‘All Melo All the Time’ Denver offense, and was facilitated on this night by 22 assists between Lawson and Felton.  The Hornets got just 22 assists as a team.

Denver drained 17 threes two nights after knocking down 18 versus Detroit.  The Nuggets scored on more than half of their field goal attempts in both games, and shot a ridiculous 59% from beyond the arc against the Hornets.  Those numbers are a testament to great ball distribution leading to open shots and dunks.

More amazing still, the Nuggets are doing all of this without two starters – Danilo Gallinari and Arron Afflalo.  Both players should return in the next week, meaning the best is yet to come for the Denver Nuggets.

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The Nuggets won in Phoenix for the first time in seven years on Thursday behind a breakout performance by Ty Lawson.

Denver’s sophomore point guard pushed the Nuggets’ up-tempo offense to 33 fast-break points, distributed 11 assists, and scored 20 as he outplayed Suns counterpart Steve Nash.  By the end of the third quarter Nash had been relegated to the Phoenix bench while Lawson worked to buff up an already robust stat line.

Even the 116-97 final score does little justice to the Nuggets’ victory.

Led by Lawson and fellow point guard Ray Felton, often at the same time, Denver built a healthy first half lead on ball movement resulting in open shots.  In the second half the Nuggets pressed Phoenix into turnovers, charged the floor on possession changes, and built a sustained 20+ point lead.

Five Nuggets scored in double-digits, led by Nene’s 22 in abbreviated play.  With Denver dominating in the second half Chris Andersen came in to do cleanup duty, slamming home 12 points on 5 dunks and 6-6 shooting.

Gary Forbes, who started in place of the injured Arron Afflalo, grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds in just 21 minutes.  Forbes, who played in Europe the last two seasons, got the start over JR Smith.  Most Nuggets fans expected Smith, Denver’s productive 6^th Man, to start in Afflalo’s stead.  Coach George Karl decided to go with Gary the Grinder just two days after landing a three-year contract extension.

With job security and no Melo to force-feed possessions to, Karl is at liberty to take a “what I say goes” approach to coaching these Nuggets.  George runs the show and Denver has responded by playing great team basketball with scoring and defensive depth that is quickly becoming the envy of the league.

JR responded to the snub by dropping 12 points off the bench to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists, a standard stat line for the athletic shooting guard.  Smith logged 24 minutes and drained three key treys; one that stopped a Suns min-run in the first quarter and another that beat the third quarter buzzer to put Denver up 90-66.

The Nuggets are 6-2 since trading Carmelo Anthony to the NY Knicks.  Denver has played five of those games without Danilo Gallinari, the small forward swapped from New York to replace Melo in the Nuggets’ starting lineup.  Despite missing Gallo, the Nuggets have maintained their league-best 107.4 points per game.

Denver’s smart, aggressive defense generated 15 steals and held the Phoenix starters in check for three quarters before backing off.  Since trading Anthony, the Nuggets’ D has held opponents to an average of 94 points per game.  That’s a full ten points below their season average before the trade.

Phoenix reserve Center Marcin Gortat led the Suns with 14 points and 18 rebounds.

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Sources in the Denver Nuggets front office have said that long-time consultant Bret Bearup will be leaving the organization.

The exit of Bearup will continue a complete restructuring of the Nuggets’ front office that began last season when Denver declined to offer new contracts to executive Rex Champan and General Manager Mark Warkentien.  Former Nuggets scout Masai Ujiri was brought over from the Toronto Raptors organization in the offseason to become Denver’s new Executive Vice President.

New Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke took over the team before the 2010-2011 Season so that his father, Stan Kroenke, could pursue complete ownership of the NFL’s Saint Louis Rams.  Since Josh took the reigns, the Nuggets front office has seen a major shakeup, with top executive positions getting predominantly younger in the process.

Bret Bearup is known as a successful talent scout.

He was largely responsible for the acquisitions of JR Smith & Arron Afflalo, who currently split minutes at shooting guard for Denver.  Bearup also got credit for pulling the strings in blockbuster trades for Allen Iverson & Chauncey Billups.  He has always been well-regarded within the organization, and there was no immediately clear reason for his departure.

Nuggets coach George Karl gave Bearup a positive review when asked about his leaving Denver.  “I think Bret’s a very good consultant for all of us at times, and I wish him the best. I hope he finds a good path. He had a lot of friends in the organization and in Denver.”

Bret will continue his roll as an advisor to Stan Kroenke, a result of their long-term friendship outside of Kroenke’s basketball ownership.

Bearup was a High School All-American basketball player at Harborfields High in Greenlawn, New York and played college ball at the University of Kentucky.

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George Karl smiled, pulled off his tie, and walked into the tunnel at Pepsi Center to rousing applause from the Denver faithful.  George beat cancer (again) and his reward upon returning to the bench was a thoroughly dominant performance by his Nuggets versus the Utah Jazz.

While the media buzzes about Carmelo Anthony’s future elsewhere, Karl has returned to the bench in Denver a conquering hero.

He battled through neck & throat cancer treatment last season, missing the stretch run plus playoffs as he and his team weakened.  Those Nuggets lost to these Jazz in a clumsy first round series that capped their spiraling ’09-’10 season.

To open against Utah, led by fellow veteran coach Jerry Sloan, must have been George Karl’s idea of heaven on earth.  The Nuggets responded with great team play and decisive shooting on offense coupled with tight, responsible defense for an opening win.

Looks like Denver is picking up where they left off under George last season.

Denver’s Depth the Difference

Six Nuggets (Anthony, Afflalo, Billups, Nene, Harrington & Lawson) scored double-digit points in this 110-88 rote dismantling of the Jazz.  Denver put down a big division rival with timely threes, and consistent defensive pressure that led to 22 Utah turnovers.  Melo led all scorers with 23 after a slow start and played physical defense throughout.

After losing dominant power forward Carlos Boozer to free agency (Chicago), the Jazz look like a very different team.  Their set offense was forced, and a consistent defensive focus by the Nuggets on Deron Williams limited Utah to opportunistic strikes.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets have improved in the paint with the addition of Shelden Williams to the Power Forward rotation, despite the absence of Kenyon Martin & Chris Andersen.  Coming off the bench is Al Harrington, a starter in New York last season.

Harrington, Denver’s consolation prize in last summer’s gala free agent sweepstakes, showed a nice shooting touch and considerable defensive strength in his Nuggets debut.  Al is a big PF-C hybrid and he had a career renaissance in New York over the last two seasons.  Even when the Nuggets’ injured bigs come back in a couple months, Harrington looks to be a productive bench option for Denver worthy of 20+ minutes a night.

Ty Lawson looks like a Billups prodigy in the works, finding creative ways to score and dishing out ample assists.  Lawson kicked off his sophomore campaign with ten points, four helpers & two steals.

Shooting Guard Arron Afflalo continues to improve for the Nuggets.  Arron’s defense made him a starter last season, but this year he looks a step faster and a touch better from range.  Afflalo was the battery that amped up the Nuggets’ offense early in this game, and his shooting & ball movement opened up the floor for the rest of the starting five.

Said Afflalo on his improved performance after the game, “I maintained my defensive level while at the same time trying to be efficient on offense.”

Karl must love having a coachable talent like that on his team.

George & his Boys

Even as Carmelo Anthony’s contract situation looms over the team, the Nuggets seem determined to carry on with the business of winning.

It helps that the respect for George Karl within this team is overflowing.

Afflalo, gushing about Karl’s “spirit & leadership” on the bench, glowed with pride at having made George’s first night back an old coach’s dream.  The impact of that intensity throughout the Nuggets depth chart cannot be undervalued.

No doubt, Karl will look to maintain team focus for games large and small this season after some disappointing losses to sub-par teams last year.  Team chemistry being what it is in the NBA (huge), expect George to press his players into maintaining the strong, cohesive game they showed tonight night after night… with or without Melo.

Of course, we know that George wants Anthony to anchor his teams of the future.  You can be sure that he intends to show Carmelo that this Nuggets team can compete for Championships.

Karl on Melo after the big win, “He wants to stay here he just doesn’t know it yet.”

And Melo on Karl, “Come on man,” laughing, “just let me play.”

With rich storylines in tow, the Nuggets will press on to New Orleans Friday night.

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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.

1^st 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?

2^nd 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 3^rd 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.

3^rd 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!!”

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 3^rd 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.

4^th 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 3^rd or early 4^th 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.

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The Nuggets’ 98-94 edging of the driven Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday displayed the offensive dynamism and (occasional) sharp defensive rotation that Denver has been lacking for most the last two weeks.

After losing five of six games in ten days, the Nuggets had fallen back into the pack of teams chasing the #2 seed in the Western Conference.  They got brutalized in Dallas, losing the season series versus the Mavericks after sweeping them out of the playoffs in ’09.  New York, Orlando & Boston rounded out four ugly road losses in a five-game swing.

Then Denver came home, and as has happened so often in the last two seasons, rediscovered their mojo with some Pepsi Center magic.

This time it came against the Portland Trailblazers.  A contentious first half blew up into a 109-92 victory by a Nuggets team that played looser on offense and tighter on defense over the final 15 minutes.  Denver followed with a similar late-game thumping of the LA Clippers, fighting back from a 21-point first half deficit for an 8-point win.

Now a hard-fought win in Oklahoma City where JR Smith had a defensive breakout and the forgotten Arron Afflalo had his best game in a solid month.  Afflalo was an incredible +17 in a 4-point win.  JR nabbed 4 steals and 2 blocks.

Kevin Durant was incredible a night after getting egregiously fouled on what would have been a game-winning 3-point OT winner at Utah… and then standing dumfounded as time expired with no foul call.  (See: Carmelo Anthony five years ago)

And so Denver is back in a 3-way tie for the 2-seed with Dallas on top and Phoenix below.  (Utah dropped one in Houston to descend to the middle of the playoff field.)

The Nuggets will finish their final week at home versus the Lakers, Spurs & Grizzlies before traveling to Phoenix to take on the Suns.  Depending on how Dallas handles their easier schedule, the Nuggets may be in a one-on-one battle with the Suns right up to their regular season finale.

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I got here late.  Gotta start paying attention to the game, no time for pregame comments.  I will say this… considering the way the Nuggets and Hornet played last week in New Orleans, the Nuggets should win this game by about 15 point with a big run in the third quarter.

1^st Quarter

 

9:39 The game begins as expected with the Nuggets running isolation to Nene and Carmelo Anthony, and the Hornets pulling up on drives for midrange jumpers.

7:51 Okay, now the Nuggets have decided they like the midrange jumpers too. Denver made two in a row; one by Anthony, one by Johan Petro.  (Something about Petro taking jumpers gives me the willies).

5:37 Darren Collision has had 2 bad passes in a row result in turnovers, but there is a deeper problem for the Hornets.  The Nuggets are playing at about 75% effort and are leading by 3.  If things continue as they are the Nuggets will coast to a double digit victory.   This won’t necessarily be the best thing for the Nuggets; they still need to learn that when they play with full effort few teams can hang with them.

2:50 The lack of effort continues and the deficit remains intact.  It should be more though. The Nuggets should be at least 6 points ahead by now, and it’s only a lackadaisical attitude that is to blame.   New Orleans has taken a timeout, but it should be Adrian Dantley that should be yelling at his team.

2:36 Nuggets come out of a timeout and run a good offensive play. Melo drives down the lane, kicks to Aaron Afflalo on the left side corner, fake a three drives to the lane for a high percentage jump shot, 2 points.   2 drives on the same play and both were done with urgency.

2:36-0:00 Nuggets close the quarter on a 10-2 run, due to simply upping their effort.  It is amazing how perfectly designed the Nuggets are for the Hornets.  The Hornets can’t stop the jump shots unless they give up drives, can’t keep up with Nuggets in transition, and have no answer for Melo.

End Quarter. Nuggets 27-17

 

I try not to jump to conclusions too much, but from my point of view this game looks over.   The Nuggets already have the Hornet by the throat, and Denver isn’t even playing their best basketball.  This game might become a perfunctory exercise really quickly.

2^nd Quarter

 

12:00-8:44 Nuggets open the quarter on an 8-4 run. (Yes, I know, not quite a run by standards, but I’m gonna count it because it makes for an 18-6 run spanning the break.)  Nuggets are beginning to show signs of recklessness; they aren’t fighting as hard for rebounds and are taking low-percentage shots.   The shots are falling though.  The run ends with a New Orleans Timeout.

6:30 All of a sudden the only way anyone can score is with offensive rebounds.  Seriously, shooting has dropped like a rock but scoring is holding because both teams are crashing the O-Boards on every shot and putting it right back in.  It seems like the first team to play defense will win this standoff.

6:29-2:38 Nuggets go on a 17-4 run with 1 FT coming. New Orleans calls a timeout, but I haven’t typed anything recently so I decided to take advantage.   New Orleans had officially given up at 3:00 left in the 2^nd Quarter (mark it down) by leaving J.R. Smith wiiiiidddde open in the right corner for 3 whole seconds before he drained a 3 pointer.  This run may continue through the timeout.

2:16 Credit where credit is due, the run ended at 18-4 after Nene’s FT with a solid isolation by Emeka Okafor on Nene. After the post-up on the left side, nice fake to the baseline, jump shot from 10 feet, all on the first play after the timeout. (Note: Nuggets follow the play with a backdoor pass to driving Anderson for 2 that was poorly defended, but hey… it’s not like they haven’t already given up.)

End Quarter. Nuggets 62-37

 

What can you say? The Nuggets have the best team ever created to beat this New Orleans team, and they are showing it by dominating with subpar effort (though they have picked it up a bit since those first few minutes of laziness).  You would expect New Orleans to show a little fight, given their playoff situation (or lack thereof).   I guess losing by 58 in the ’09 playoffs at home has long-term effects.  Who knew?

3^rd Quarter

 

8:43 The Nuggets have moved into “Maintain the Deficit” mode.  They are making sure to take at least 14 second off the clock before most shots, and are playing tenacious but cautious defense. (Between you me this is the effort of defense they should play all the time.)  The Hornets, predictably, have stepped up the effort out of halftime, but still look inferior to a Nuggets team that is playing more patient and decisive than lazy this half.

5:41 New Orleans, with slow and steady play, has clawed back to 20 points down.  It might be time for a timeout to talk about the focus.  New Orleans has decided the only option is to move the ball into the paint (entirely different from every other team’s desperation game plan) which is exactly what they should do.  I hope Dantley sees what I see and revs up Nene, Petro and Birdman.

5:01 New Orleans scores on a low post pass to duck again and Dantley calls a timeout with the Nuggets up by 17.  It is my opinion that Dantley should be given a shot as a head coach somewhere is the league in the next two years.  He has earned it.

3:32 With New Orleans threatening to climb back in, the Nuggets grab three offensive boards. The sequence ends with a Nene going to the charity stripe for 2 shots.  Note: all three misses were by JR Smith.

0:31 The Nuggets have committed 3 turnovers in a row and the lead has been cut to 16.  New Orleans has begun swatting at every ball.  The Nuggets should move back into the isolation, drive with this defensive strategy, and then wait for the fouls.

End Quarter. Nuggets 77-61

 

Pretty bad quarter for the Nuggets in any other game, but the massive 1^st half will easily negate a lousy third quarter.   However, it was a high shooting percentage quarter for New Orleans( 9-15); it would be a surprise if they kept it up.

4^th Quarter

 

9:42 Things are starting to get a little scary. The deficit has been narrowed to 12 and the Hornets look like they think they still have a shot… which apparently they do.

8:16 I just saw a stat flash up on the board: the Nuggets shot 50% in the first half and are shooting 24% in the second… and they’re up by 13.  This is how much better they are than New Orleans. If they just focused a little more on offense this game would still be a rout.  And Anderson just missed two FT’s.

5:55 I take back everything I said about the Hornets giving up on the game.   New Orleans has brought the Denver lead down to 10 with great defense (though Nene gets two shots) and poor shooting by the Nuggets.  This is reminiscent of the Nuggets of old, when there offense would just go flat at 15-minute intervals.

4:20 Thanks God for Melo. He is still a problem for every other team in the league.  Two isolations on the right side (Melo’s side), 4 points.

2:52 After a great defensive play by New Orleans to earn a two-on-one, Afflalo comes from behind to steal the ball mid-break for an even defensive play.  The Nuggets follow that up with an Iso to Melo on the right side, 2 points.  Huge swing, probably the dagger.

1:14 Melo has taken it upon himself to end this basketball game.  10 points since the dreary middle of the quarter to ice the contest.  Game Over.

End Game Nuggets 93-80

 

The rout was in question for a while, but the Nuggets pulled it out.  Melo deserves the vast majority of the credit for stopping the bleeding.  He owned the second half of the 4^th quarter when the outcome of game was beginning to come back into question.

It turned out to be a defensive game to be sure (isn’t it nice that the Nuggets can win the defensive games now?) but a quick look at the stats shows the two reasons for the rout:

Turnovers:                          Hornets 21-Nuggets 10

Offensive Rebounds:     Hornets 11-Nuggets 20

That equals 20 extra possessions at 40% shooting, good for around 18 extra points.  (Of course some of those possessions would be fouls and the Nuggets had a subpar night from the line at 15-21.)  New Orleans simply couldn’t take care of the ball, and the Nuggets on-and-off night was more than enough to deal with a lousy Hornets squad.

The Nuggets have a game against Milwaukee next, which they must win both to even the score and to keep pace with the other contenders. Then comes the final East Coast swing.  5 games in 7 days all on the road.  It will be the last, biggest test of the Nuggets before we see if they have a shot at the 1^st seed in the Western Conference.  They must win 3 of those five to have a shot.

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Billups & Anthony have anchored the league's 3rd-best team

Before characterizing the Nuggets, who have quietly been ambushing opponents and analysts alike, let’s review where they currently stand in relation to the rest of the league:

With 35 games to be played…

-Denver is currently in first place in the Northwest Division with a record of 32-15, which is 4 games ahead of both Utah and Portland,

-Denver holds the second-best home record in the league at 21-3,

-the Nuggets have the third-best overall record in the NBA behind only Cleveland and the L.A. Lakers; both of whom Denver has defeated,

-finally, Denver has defeated Cleveland, L.A. and Orlando; each of which stands atop their respected divisions.

With all of these impressive stats in place, the Nuggets are still lacking two important elements; bench productivity and size.

Compared to last year Chris “Birdman” Anderson is averaging less points and blocks per game, and J.R. Smith is also averaging less points per game, yet receiving more minutes (due to team injuries.) Neither player is producing as they did the previous year, and it is putting pressure on the rest of the Nuggets’ reserves. A lot of that pressure has been placed upon a rookie point guard in Ty Lawson & new starter Aaron Afflalo, both of whom seem to have embraced their hastily-given responsibilities.

In relation to size, Denver’s Nene does have a nice quick shot and great game endurance, but he lacks attitude and gives up a little in height to consistently pull down offensive and defensive rebounds. Melo, Chauncey and Kenyon Martin, despite injuries have managed to develop a great on-court relationship, leading to greater point and assist production for each.

An adversary of this season’s Nuggets has undoubtedly been the challenge to sustain a healthy starting five. Melo, Chauncey, Nene and Kenyon Martin have all seen their unwanted share of the bench this year, with that in mind it is fare to say that the Denver Nuggets are a better team than their impressive record indicates. Heading down the stretch I believe this team can push themselves to peak in time for the playoffs, while maintaining a rotation that gives Melo and Chauncey time to rest and recover. That means Coach Karl will not only have to game-plan against specific opponents, but also game-plan for the best interest of his star players as well.

With all that said, I believe the Nuggets will be the greatest threat to the Lakers as Los Angeles tries to repeat last year’s Championship run.

With a tough 35 game schedule ahead, I predict the Nuggets, healthy or not, can come away with a 23-12 record and take the division running away. This week the Denver Nuggets schedule looks like this:

Monday, February 1st, Sacramento (Home) *Must Win

Wednesday, February 3rd, Phoenix (Home) *Shoot-Out, Win

Friday, February 5th, L.A. Lakers (Away) *Hangover, naw, we’ll beat ‘dem Lakers

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