The Denver Nuggets have had no choice but to wallow in the unhappy ending to their 2009-20010 season over the last two months.  Will they be able to right the ship by cashing in on the richest free agent market in NBA history?

With a suddenly glaring weakness at power forward, the Denver Nuggets need to make a move to compete in the loaded Western Conference next season.

Denver is in a heck of a bind after their playoff flop versus Utah.

An unfortunate combination of injuries, circumstance, and poor decision-making by the Nuggets’ front office have Denver on the edge of irrelevance as the rest of the West grows inexorably bigger and stronger across the board.

Kenyon Martin & Chris Andersen both had offseason knee surgeries, with K-Mart likely to miss training and preseason work with the team.  The Nuggets’ formerly formidable power forward corps look suddenly paper thin.

Carmelo Anthony is unwilling to sign a contract extension without guaranteed help from free agency that may never come.  Melo’s current deal is up in 2011, and the Nuggets have expressed a willingness to trade him instead of losing him to free agency next year.

It is most likely, however, that Denver and Carmelo will find a way to work out a deal for an extension under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement that will pay Anthony much more over the next four or five years than he could make here or anywhere else after the current CBA expires at the end of next season.

George Karl’s coaching future is still up in the air despite assertions from his family that his road to recovery is firmly on track.  Without Karl’s practiced hand steadying these Nuggets, they are simply not a reasonable contender for the Conference Finals or better.

And the Nuggets gained nothing from a loaded 2010 NBA Draft class that featured a cadre of qualified big men.  Even a lesser pick from the 2^nd Round could have helped to shoulder the crushing low post burden.  Kenyon has been unable to play a full season since coming to Denver, and there is little chance that next season will be any different.

The good news is yet to come. (It has to.)

Word is that Denver did fish for a trade partner to bust into last week’s draft, but nothing materialized that was worth the asking price.  (Denver’s unfortunate recent draft history left them without a 2010 pick.)

That leaves the Nuggets’ front office with continued draft-related failure since nabbing Nene and Carmelo Anthony in consecutive drafts from 2002-2003.  (The book is still out on Ty Lawson.)  Denver has instead opted to do its fishing in the free agent pool, and this season the big fish are biting.

While the Nuggets have not been mentioned by rumor mills like ESPN as suitors for any of the big names in the 2010 Free Agent Class, Stan Kroenke & Co. have been notorious for playing their cards close to the vest.

Do not be surprised to see one of the available power forwards come to Denver, paired with the exit of Kenyon Martin’s expiring contract.

The Big Bosh surprise?

The plum of this free agent class is obviously Lebron, but James and Melo have always been a better foil as opponents than teammates.  Lebron is certainly not willing to shift to power forward to accommodate Melo, or vice versa.

The slightly more likely solution would be a sign & trade with Toronto for Chris Bosh.

Although Denver is not on the Chris Bosh Wishlist, the Raptors’ ability to give Bosh a max deal and get an expiring contract in return makes the Nuggets an ideal trade partner.  Toronto would end up with Kenyon Martin drawing fans to their seats for a year, and the Nuggets would get the youthful big man that they need to partner with Nene in the paint.

As much as Chris may want to end up in the bright lights of New York, Chicago or Miami, he may be more motivated by the riches afforded a sign & trade through his current team.  Bosh would be a great fit in the Nuggets’ speed & isolation oriented offense, and his shot-blocking ability would partially make up for the loss of K-Mart’s unmatched post defense.

Then again, if Bosh and Lebron can find a way to fit into the budget together at Chicago, this all becomes a moot point and another Bulls Dynasty is born.

Amare For the Win

Amare Stoudemire is a long-shot to come to Denver because the Nuggets would have to unload K-Mart by other means in order to afford him.  The Suns will certainly not be interested in a bulky, defense-oriented, injury-prone power forward to replace the explosive Stoudemire.

That means the Nuggets would have to dump Kenyon on another team in exchange for a less expensive talent, then woo Stoudemire to Denver with promises of speedy transition play and a shooting forward (Melo) that can mirror his powerful interior skills out on the perimeter.  This is an unlikely solution and, as with any other potential deal this July, Amare’s path depends on where other power forwards end up around the league.

If Amare wants to win, he will not waste the next few years of his basketball life losing in Madison Square Garden or the NBA Purgatory known as Clipperland.  Better options for such a great offensive talent to win now and in the future lie in Phoenix or Denver.

The Most Unlikely Signing That Ever Was

We’ve gone from sort of likely to outright unlikely, and now we go to the Twilight Zone for the deal that would be fantastic for the Nuggets but would never, ever, not in a million years happen.

Carlos Boozer is an underestimated power forward talent in this free agent class.  He is a force comparable to Kenyon on defense, and his ability to rebound on the offensive glass extends possessions and wears down opponents.

Boozer is the workhorse that Denver needs to anchor its starting five… the anchor that Kenyon has been when healthy.  His skill set is so similar to K-Mart’s that you would hardly notice a difference, except that Carlos would be a force in the late season and playoffs where Kenyon becomes less effective and misses time as the year wears on.

The only problem is that Boozer has spent six dedicated seasons in Utah.  He could have left the Jazz for greener pastures in the past and hasn’t.  The very idea that he would betray the Utah faithful by coming to Denver must be highly offensive to Jazz fans.

However, the Jazz are never going to break through the laundry list of talented teams in the Western Conference to reach the NBA Finals under Jerry “Dinosaur” Sloan.

Make no mistake, Sloan runs a tight ship and puts together tough, competitive teams each season.  But Utah is merely a weigh station; a worthy obstacle to be overcome in the playoffs.  Their back-to-back playoff exits at the hands of the Lakers have shown how woefully untalented this team is on the offensive side of the court.

Carlos would be better off in powder blue.

Mr. Boozer could do great things in Denver, most importantly bringing in the kind of toughness and tenacity that the Nuggets have been missing without a 100% Kenyon over the last six years.

Don’t waste your breath, Dirk’s goin’ nowhere.

The last power forward on the Big List (see below) is Dirk Nowitzki.  The big German sensation could make the Nuggets a Title Contender immediately with his rare combination of strength, speed, rebounding ability and shooting touch.

However, despite Dirk’s announcement yesterday that he would opt out of the final year of his current contract, Nowitzki is staying in Dallas.  Doubtless, Dirk decided to opt out that he might garner a more favorable contract under the current CBA than if he had waited until next season.  Like Carmelo, Nowitzki wants to stay where he is… he just wants to be rewarded handsomely for his loyalty.

Best Wishes to Melo & Lala

Carmelo Anthony and longtime girlfriend Lala Vazquez will finally tie the knot next Saturday, July 10^th.

While the rest of the NBA world goes gaga over the big free agent frenzy, Melo & Lala will be saying their vows in New York City.  The wedding is accompanied by a VH1 Reality TV Show that premieres in September and focuses on the months leading up to the wedding.  The finale will be a 90-minute detail of the wedding itself.

So congrats to Melo & Lala.  May their marriage and Carmelo’s career in Denver both last well into a bright ‘n shiny future.

The Big List: Top Ten 2010 NBA Free Agents

Lebron James (SF)

Dwyane Wade (SG)

Chris Bosh (PF)

Joe Johnson (SG)

Dirk Nowitzki (PF)

Paul Pierce (SF)

Amare Stoudemire (PF)

Carlos Boozer (PF)

David Lee (C)

Rudy Gay (SF)

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logo rendering by Ian Cerveny

A year ago the Denver Nuggets were dominant.

Five-game shamings of the New Orleans Hornets & Dallas Mavericks in the first two rounds of the 2009 Playoffs had Denver looking like a Finals contender.  An uneven showing against the Lakers proved the Nuggets lack of discipline.

See, the Denver Nuggets are as bipolar as NBA basketball teams come.

When they move the ball well, stretch defenses with a solid percentage from range, and make clean, responsible rotations on defense, the Nuggets are capable of beating any team in the league over seven games.  When they get bogged down in isolations, take contested threes, and fall asleep in the defensive paint… well… they lose in six games to the undermanned Utah Jazz.

Denver is Dr. Jumper & Mr. Drive – a constant contrast between raw individual abilities and the need for refined team play.

That’s why the Jazz were such a problem for the Nuggets in these 2010 Playoffs.

Jerry Sloan has put regimented, team-oriented squads on the floor for the better part of three decades.  His Jazz will never (repeat, never) win an NBA Championship because they lack exactly the explosive characteristics that make clubs like the Nuggets so dangerous.  Utah is too metered for ultimate success in the modern NBA (or even the 1990’s NBA, a shame for all those great Mailman-centric teams.)  Their ultra-consistent play will always find itself eventually lacking versus a big-play, big-potential team like Denver or Los Angeles.

And yet, the Jazz were the perfect Yin to the Nuggets’ Yang in 2010.  Where Denver was fundamentally deficient, Utah was fundamentally sound.

Bear in mind, of course, that this would not have happened in 2009.  The ot-nine Nuggets would have simply overwhelmed the Jazz with the same barrage of offensive firepower that defeated New Orleans & Dallas.  But without the commanding influence of one George Matthew Karl manually balancing Denver’s speeding keel, they routinely fell out of rhythm on both ends of the court.

Karl was the glue that forcibly held this band of powerful rebels together.

Adrian Dantley filled in as best he could.  But without decades of experiencing playing postseason chess with on-court matchups, Dantley fell prey to Sloan’s superior in-game coaching.

The Nuggets were still capable of forcing the issue, of course, their talent level being so far superior across the breadth of the team from starters to bench.  However, the misuse of available players by Dantley and the lack of a personality manager at the helm combined to doom the Nuggets to a series best quickly forgotten.

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All hands on deck!  After a poor game that the Jazz won by three, the Nuggets put up one their worst performances of year and the postseason is in jeopardy.  This is now a must win game on the road.  If the Nuggets can’t find it tonight, they probably won’t find it.  And Energy Solutions Arena is a tough place for any team save the Jazz to play.

I won’t lie; it’s tough to root for the Nuggets after the lackluster performance on Friday night.  The team played just about the laziest game I’ve ever seen a contender play and it makes me wonder if they ever were truly a contender.  The only cure is a high-energy, high-effort win on the road.

1^st Quarter

5:46 Nuggets get the early lead on the shooting of Carmelo Anthony, but so far the game has looked much like the previous three strategically.  The Jazz are running their dribble drives and pick and rolls.  The Nuggets are working the isolations and looking for mistakes in the Jazz defense under the hoop.

2:28 The Jazz have clawed back in by dominating down low for a solid 3 minutes.  Paul Millsap has come into the game and Nene can’t deal with him.  Nene has got to step up both defensively and offensively against Millsap, because if things continue as they are the Nuggets are looking at a long game and short season.

End Quarter Jazz 31-25

The Nuggets’ offense left the building for a few minutes and the Jazz pulled away.  It happens.   A missed layup by Nene here and missed wide open 3 Pointer by Chauncey Billups there and you only score 4 points in the final 4 minutes of a quarter.

The Jazz are simply getting too close to the basket.  They’re shooting 60% and it’s because the vast majority of shots they’re taking are from within the restricted area.  The Nuggets have got to find a way to keep the ball on the perimeter.

2^nd Quarter

7:57 Millsap has left the floor and the Nuggets are chipping away at the lead (was at its highest at 8, now down to 5).   Looking at the stats, the Nuggets’ shooting is a little low (42%).  That needs to come up.

5:04 The Nuggets are battling.  At times today, they’ve looked like they have no idea what to do and at others are showing the toughness that got them here.  J.R. Smith has been the best defender so far with a pair of steals and 2 rebounds.

3:21 The Nuggets have abandoned the paint and their post players are taking stupid jump shots.  The Nuggets’ shooting is down to 39%.  Worse, look at the shooting from the Nuggets bigs:

Kenyon Martin 1-7

Nene 1-2

Chris Anderson 1-3

Martin has been exceptionally bad.  He can’t make layups or jump shots.

2:16 Martin just got his third foul and will have to sit on the bench.  Considering the way he’s played, good riddance.

End Half Jazz 54-45

The shot selection for the Nuggets is the culprit tonight (37% FG, 1-7 3 Pt).  Even Anthony’s numbers have slumped (7-15 FG, although he has picked up 3 of his own rebounds).  Only Aaron Afflalo is making more than 50% of his shots (3-5 FG).  Adrian Dantley needs to be yelling at his low percentage shooter (Kenyon & Anderson specifically) and telling them they’re not allowed to take any low percentage shots.

On the other end, the Jazz shooters are having an off night, but they are still shooting 56% because the bigs are finding easy paths to the basket.

3^rd Quarter

7:41 Even when the Jazz try to help the Nuggets out, Denver gives the ball right back.  On a bad pass by Afflalo, Wesley Matthews takes the ball the other way and misses a dunk.  I’m feeling like this could be the Nuggets’ time, and Melo steps out of bounds on the drive.  The Nuggets look dead in the water down by 15.

3:10  Denver has taken a game they were in only down by 9, and with lazy play (especially on the defensive side) have turned it into an asskicking.  There is only one way to describe the Nuggets’ second half performance; shameful.  This team has gone from being a contender to win a championship and in one month turned into a team that may need to be blown up.

End Quarter Jazz 86-68

The Nuggets have given themselves a tall order to keep their season going.  They pretty much have to play perfect basketball in order to win this game and I don’t need to remind you that this game is the playoffs.  I think Basketball season may be over.

4^th Quarter

9:40  Well the good news is the Jazz have started launching stupid shots.  If this continues and the Nuggets have someone get hot the game might not be over.  I’m not holding my breath.

6:04 The Nuggets closed the lead to 11 from 20 in half the quarter.  A few more minutes like this and I might be wrong about the Nuggets season.

2:36 The Jazz make their clutch shots and the Nuggets need 2 and a half minutes of absolutely perfect basketball to win.

0:54 After closing it to 7, Melo misses a 14 footer and the Jazz are into foul shots.

End Game

The Nuggets could have won this game (and this series) with consistent effort.  When they played hard at both ends they were clearly the beater team.  But Utah simply out worked them.   Melo was the only one who played hard all the way through (et to Billups?) and he missed time with foul trouble again.

And now the Nuggets must win 3 in a row with the middle one on the road.   That’s probably out of the question for this team.  Next time I’m scheduled to write for the Nuggets will be game 7…  so I don’t expect to write about them again this season.

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Game Preview & Playoff Race Update

Well one week in Milwaukee and everything seems to have settled in the NBA… but not quite settled.

Realistically the Nuggets probably lost their shot at the number two seed with the home loss against San Antonio since the Mavericks just need one win or one Nuggets loss to clench.  Also, since Phoenix visits Utah on Wednesday, one of them is out if the Nuggets win tonight.  Now the game on Tuesday in Phoenix will be huge one way or another, but the importance can be lessened with a win tonight.

Now let me make this perfectly clear, if the Nuggets are to do anything in the playoffs they must beat Utah.  That is imperative.  Utah is a team that will crush the Nuggets in the first round if game one is in Utah, and Phoenix stands a good chance of beating the Nuggets at home or on the road.  If Phoenix beats the Nuggets for the third spot, but the Nuggets host Utah, Denver probably rolls through the first round.

Granted, they’d have to play LA in the second round, but there are benefits to playing the Lakers earlier.  (see: Chauncey Billups – legs)   If the Nuggets head to Phoenix in the Conference Final, they will deal with that then.  I just don’t see them anywhere near the Final if they visit Utah or have to play Phoenix and LA in succession.

1^st Quarter

8:58 Gotta hand it to Memphis… I always like their game plans.  Drive the lane, drive the lane, drive the lane.

Sure, such a strategy would never work against San Antonio (who they’ll have to beat at some future point to win their division), but it sure generates points and fouls against defense that like to spread out.   The Nuggets are doing the same on offense, but more because Memphis looks disorganized and apathetic.  Thus, Chauncey Billups is seeing a lot of open lanes.

6:40 So Kenyon Martin makes a nice block and sends the ball into the Memphis bench area.  As the fan behind the Grizzlies bench passes the ball back to Kenyon, Memphis coach Lionel Hollins stands up and bats the ball away.  Billups complains and is dealt a technical.  Tell me how that makes any kind of sense.

2:57 The Grizzlies have taken the lead by a point.  They are taking absolutely ridiculous shots and getting them to fall.  The Nuggets are slacking on the boards.

End Quarter Nuggets 32-31

The Grizzlies are getting a considerable amount of bad shots to fall along with shots after Nugget fouls.

Take away those, and the Nuggets seem to have a stranglehold on this game.  Nene and Carmelo Anthony are dominating against some pretty good bigs in Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay.   Also, as I look down the box score I notice 3 Grizzlies starters with 2 Personal Fouls and their backup center Hamed Haddadi with 3.

2^nd Quarter

8:07 Johan Petro hit the floor hard driving for a loose ball in the offensive end, and stays down.  After the commercial he’s seen sitting on the bench in less pain.  Good news.  Losing Petro at this point in the season would leave the Nuggets a little thin in the front court.

4:47 The Nuggets are doing what they should do, forcing the issue offensively and taking their game to the line.  Most importantly, they’re making their foul shots (15-19 FT).  If this keeps up (combined 9 PF among 4 starters), the Grizzlies are going to be forced to play with their bench in the fourth quarter.

On the other end, some recklessness with the basketball leads to 2 Carmelo Anthony fast breaks.  The Nuggets are showing signs of pulling away.

End Quarter Nuggets 63-57

The following is a list of the Grizzlies who project to be in foul trouble that affects their playing time:

Rudy Gay-3 PF

Zach Randolph-3 PF

Hasheem Thabeet-3 PF

Hamed Haddadi-3 PF

And here’s a list of the Nuggets:

Aaron Afflalo-3 PF

I wouldn’t even say the Nuggets are getting away with being on the good side of bad officiating.  Memphis is simply slashing at the basketball recklessly while the Nuggets drive to the basket.  The Nuggets are probably a little bit too much for Memphis anyway, but asking bench players to come in and produce against starters is a tall order.

I will say this about the Grizzlies: Mike Conley is a good basketball player.  He’s the only player on Memphis who’s been consistently effective.  I think if Memphis ever gets him a full team, or if he goes to a team just a little better than Memphis is right now, he could be a top-five point guard in the league.

3^rd Quarter

8:13 Very quickly in the quarter, Thabeet commits his fourth foul.  out goes Hasheem, in comes Haddadi.  Then Haddadi commits his fourth, out goes Haddadi, in comes Darrell Arthur.  The wheels are about to come off for Memphis.

4:21 The Nuggets are now systematically removing every viable threat from the game.

Gay has committed his fourth foul and will take a seat on the bench.  Melo drew the foul on an isolation drive from the top of the arch.  Melo missed a FT but the Nuggets are still pouring on the points at the line (25-30 FT).

1:28 I hate to talk about nothing except the foul situation, but this is what the game has come down to.   Haddadi just committed his fifth foul and now the Grizzlies are running out of options in the post.

1:13 Randolph apparently knows what I know and it makes him angry.  He’s whistled for his fourth foul hauling in a rebound and curses out the referee.  Zach Randolph Ejected

End Period Nuggets 93-74

The Nuggets are taking apart the Grizzlies like an expert chess player takes out an inferior player.

Every move presents a new complication that the later isn’t equipped to deal with.  Inevitably, mistakes are made which lead to more and greater mistakes.   The Nuggets look to set themselves up with an easy end game.

4^th Quarter

12:00 Petro is back in the game.  Thank God.

7:44 J.R. Smith and Aarron Afflalo are on fire from the 3 point line and Johan Petro is blocking shots and dominating the boards.  This game looks to be over.

0:00 The game ends without incident.

End Game Nuggets 132-101

In fairness, Memphis probably did more to themselves than Denver did, but to the Nuggets’ credit they played patiently and got out of the way while Memphis imploded.

Make no mistake about it; Denver won this game at the foul line (32-39).

Melo and Nene dominated the post, Afflalo recorded his first double-double (22 Points, 13 boards), and J.R. Smith dropped the hammer (6-14 3PT) with regularity.  But this game came down to crushing your opponents at the charity stripe.  You cannot win when you give your opponent 39 FT’s and the make 32.

This was just what the doctor ordered for the Nuggets’ hopes to win the Northwest Division.  Three starters played less than 29:00 minutes (Nene, Billups, Martin), so everyone should have plenty of energy to run with the Suns tomorrow.   A win Tuesday night in Phoenix clenches the 3 seed.

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This date with the Blazers proved to be a shot of adrenaline for the Nuggets’ stars, who have failed to rise to the late-season occasion as the playoffs draw near.  All you Denver fans owe Portland a big, sweaty thank you.  Here’s why…

Sometimes all it takes is a favorable matchup within the friendly confines of a home arena to cure what ails.  For the Denver Nuggets, that was especially true on Thursday night.  A 109-92 overpowering of the Portland Trailblazers was just what the doctor ordered.

This game is the story of how the Nuggets’ Big Three got their groove back one by one.

The Denver starters match up in a peculiar way against the defensive-minded Blazers’ top five, creating an interplay of equal but opposite forces in the early going of games.

This is an interesting note, because each team’s starting lineup is markedly different in both skill sets & physical attributes.  These teams roughly fill each other’s defensive gaps.  That favored Portland initially as the Nuggets again struggled to find an offensive rhythm.  The Blazers are all about their method, and it was all Denver could do in the 1^st Quarter to keep pace.

A fun fact: Portland sports three ex-Nuggets starters, all formerly high-priced acquisitions for Denver.  The Blazers start Marcus Camby at Center & Andre Miller at Point Guard, plus Juwan Howard at Power Forward.  By the end of the game, it was apparent that the Nuggets have upgraded at each of those positions.

Nene Hilario in particular exploited his counterpart’s softness.

Nene exploded for 22 points against Camby (and often a second defender) to break out of his offensive slump.  Each of the Nuggets guards and forwards, especially Carmelo Anthony, made sure to force the ball into Nene in the post early and often.

Nene responded by being the first Denver standout to rediscover his happy place.  Turns out it lies somewhere between a spinning, driving dunk and a 10-foot jumper.  Who knew?

As great as it was to see Nene return to form, the real advantage for Denver in the first half was its reinvigorated bench.

The Nuggets’ second team matches up very well against the slow, workmanlike Portland backups.  Remember, the Blazers have lost half their lineup to injury at different stages of the season, and are still battling to find continuity throughout as a result.

Meanwhile, Denver just got the speedy PG Ty Lawson back from a shoulder strain.  Lawson’s aggressive play and improving defense make him a big problem for any team, especially a long, tall team like Portland.  Ty is simply too quick and his ball movement too far away from the Blazers’ defensive comfort zone.

The result is not always points for Lawson, but he is a constant disruption to any balanced D.  Welcome back Tywon!

The first half closed out as you would expect in a game between division rivals: neck & neck.  As has been the case for several seasons between these teams, the Nuggets came brought outstanding talent to the contest, and the Blazers matched it with sure-handed, even effort across its lineup.

Halftime score: Nuggets 56-55

Denver typically comes out soft defensively in the second half, and it’s a good thing too.

The Blazers exploited the sleepy Denver D for a quick lead change out of the gates.  At 9:45 of the 3rd Quarter Portland took a 4-point lead on an uncontested LaMarcus Aldridge jumper from 7 feet.

Carmelo & Crew decided that was enough.

The Nuggets, as if waking from an unpleasant dream, snapped into ball-movement mode on their next possession.  The result was a Nene dish to Aaron Afflalo along the baseline.  Double A drained a 3 to cut the deficit to one.

That would be the last time the Blazers led.

Nene stole a bad pass by Portland’s Nicolas Batum, flipped the ball to Chauncey Billups, and ran to the basket on the break.  Billups’ pass met him there for a big-time Nene dunk.

Right here Portland could have taken control back with a strong offensive play.  Unfortunately for the Blazers, these Nuggets were doing what they had failed to do in over a week: siphon energy from their opponent with pestering defense and unstoppable, demoralizing offense.

Nene swatted a block for a turnover, Carmelo in isolation on the right side, driving layup for two.  The Pepsi Center erupts, Portland Timeout.

When the Nuggets play like this they are the sleeping giant awakened, and it is a fine site to behold.

Carmelo is the next Nugget to find his mojo, and it starts with that driving layup.

To be fair, Carmelo has been the one bright spot through an awful 5-game stretch that dropped the Nuggets from 2^nd to 5^th in the West.  He has been consistent, aggressive, and solid on defense.  You can’t ask for any more from your team’s best player.

And yet Anthony was having a quiet game (for him) until an interesting exchange between Carmelo and a testy official sparked the final phase of the blowout.

Anthony is called for a bogus offensive foul, and comes back on a defensive turnover for a breakaway layup.  Melo flips the ball to the official at the far end of the baseline after his score instead of handing it to a waiting Portland player under the basket.  The official gets puffy and red briefly before calling Anthony for a Technical Foul: delay of game.

(Melo sits for the rest of the 3^rd Quarter, presumably thinking all the while about how he’s going to throw some daggers in the final frame.)

A miss by Brandon Roy on the freebie leaves the Nuggets perturbed and in the mood to crush skulls.  Denver breaks out for a 7-point lead.

Portland takes a stand here, and it’s a good thing too.

The combination of stubborn Blazers and egomaniacal officials wakes Chauncey Billups from a week-long basketball coma.

Suddenly Chauncey is reaching deep into his bag o’ tricks and pulling out amazing driving layups.  Rudy Fernandez repeatedly falls victim to Billups’ veteran wiles.  This is alternately entertaining and relieving, and Denver closes out the 3^rd with an 11-point lead.

Anthony opens the 4^th Quarter with matching 17-foot jumpers from 40 & 45 degrees on the right side on consecutive possessions.  This is Melo’s Shot, and he was practicing it during second half warmups.  Always a pleasure to watch him fade slightly and drop 2 points from that range… especially when the net doesn’t even move.  Anthony has the prettiest shot in the league from that distance, and his second make comes with a foul shot bonus.

Melo’s make on the free throw puts Denver up by 14 with just over 9 minutes left and the Nuggets never look back.

Still, Portland doesn’t start playing defeated, deflated basketball until near the 4-minute mark.  That was when the Blazers cut the Denver lead to 10 points.

Denver’s Big Three responds with back-to-back-to-back unanswered scores by Chauncey, Carmelo & Nene in that order.

Nene draws a foul on his score and, after a desperate Portland Timeout, comes back in to finish driving the nail home: 105-88 Nuggets.  Each play in this 3-part series is an athletic, slashing drive to the basket, culminating in Nene’s finishing body blow to silence Portland for good.

The 17-point Nuggets advantage holds for a 109-92 final score.

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The Nuggets will be offering a contract to free agent power forward Brian Cook, according to Travis Heath at Hoopsworld. Cook started his career in LA, being drafted by the Lakers with the 24th pick in the 2003 draft. He backed up Shaq in LA before eventually moving on to Orlando in the trade that brought Trevor Ariza to Los Angeles. He was most recently on the roster in Houston, but was waived in February of this year.

Cook is a power forward who will be expected to platoon with Johan Petro filling the enormous void left by the absence of Kenyon Martin. The Nuggets are looking for someone with size who isn’t a complete disaster shooting the ball, and while Cook isn’t known as a defensive specialist, the hope is that he can team with Petro to cover the loss of Kenyon Martin’s defensive skill.

Kenyon Martin is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with a knee injury (tendonitis). It is unclear exactly when or if Martin will return this season.

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Denver Nuggets coach George Karl will have surgery today as part of ongoing treatment for throat and neck cancer.  Karl will then take on a Chemotherapy session Tuesday before resting Wednesday when the Nuggets play the Timberwolves in Minnesota.

Coach Karl last missed a game on February 25^th at Golden State, a game the Nuggets won 127-112.  Minnesota snuck up and bit the Nuggets in Denver earlier this year, but have the worst record in the Western Conference at 14-49.  With George recovering, expect Denver veterans like Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony to carry the team.

Amazingly, Karl says he will try to make it back to the Nuggets’ bench for Friday’s game at New Orleans.  Radiation treatments to this point have had minor side-effects, but today’s surgery immediately followed by tomorrows Chemotherapy will likely have a more profound effect.

Said Karl of the surgery, “I don’t think it’s a serious surgery, but they’re going to have to cut your body open and put something in your stomach. There’s always concerns.”

Wednesday’s game at Minnesota will kick off a four-game road swing for the West’s #3 team.  Denver will play at Memphis on Saturday and wrap up in Houston next Monday.

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Johan Petro started this game.

Believe it.  Petro… started.  And yet somehow it all made sense.

Petro started at Center, played for seven minutes, didn’t take a single shot, grabbed five rebounds, and dished a single assist to Melo out of a double-team for a huge early dunk.

Then Johan vanished.

Petro was replaced by Chris Andersen, their shared singular task to guard the paint against the very tall, skinny Portland Trailblazers.  In the absence of the injured Kenyon Martin, smallish Center Nene played Power Forward while two beanpole goliaths swatted away Blazers.  It was brilliant.

By the time Denver went to their smaller lineup, bringing in JR Smith for Andersen, the Nuggets had a 61-42 lead with under two minutes left in the first half.  Denver finished that half on the strength of a bullying Carmelo Anthony drive down the right side of the lane for two points and a 66-49 lead.

Then the world went crazy.  Avatar missed out on Best Picture (The Hurt Locker), and James Cameron didn’t win Best Director (Kathryn Bigelow, also The Hurt Locker).  Somewhere, an Avatar fan is actively fantasizing an Oscar sweep.

But the Nuggets were unfazed.  Towards the end of the 3^rd Quarter we got a great example of why Denver is so functional in the midst of seeming chaos.

JR Smith took a terrible fading jump-shot from 24 feet with two Blazers in his face.  Portland drove the court, worked the left side, and Martell Webster charged in for a sure score.  Then Chris Andersen rose from the paint and swatted the would-be dunk aside.  Nene grabbed the rebound, chucked a strong pass over two Blazers, and JR Smith slammed a half-windmill in front of a rabid Denver crowd.

Smith, who took a bad shot & got beaten defensively, had the presence of mind to charge upcourt as soon as he saw a block.  The Nuggets thrive on playmaking, and they are a team of versatile, athletic basketball players.  That’s why Denver is virtually unstoppable when they find a groove.

The groove is contagious, and that’s why we saw Aaron Afflalo, Johan Petro and even Anthony Carter making plays throughout a 3^rd Quarter where Portland fought tooth & nail to scrape their way back into the game.

And when the Trailblazers got within ten late in the 4^th Quarter, it was JR “Swish” again who started the Rain of Threes that has become the Nuggets’ trademark in big wins.

The Denver Nuggets took down a big divisional matchup against the dangerous Portland Trailblazers 118-106 at Pepsi Center.

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1^st Half Plays & Analysis

Kobe’s killing us (23 first half points). Melo’s in warm-ups but not playing.  Everyone sucks at free throws. Nobody’s even considered blocking out Gasol.  Joey Graham is useless in every way I can think of.  Why are we still in the game?

Chauncey’s Three Stroke is big.  K-Mart and Birdman threatening double-doubles helps (points-boards each).   Lawson’s speed is winning in the transition.  But it’s hard to put my finger on why we still look pretty good.  Perhaps this team really has turned a corner.

We have been cheating death (or in the case of the Suns, attempting to cheat death) for around 6 games now.   But we did it against teams like Charlotte, Houston, a beat up San Antonio, Sacramento.

This is the Lakers.  Can we really hope to keep up subpar play and stay in the game to the end?  Some things have to change.

Someone need to slow Kobe down.  Someone needs to make two free throws in a row.  And for God’s sake somebody prevent Gasol from getting any more offensive rebounds.

Some good news… our jump shots from the left side are all falling.  That’s Fisher and Farmer’s side of the court.  Fisher is a liability on defense.  The longer it takes LA to realize this the better.  And Farmer seem to be having a bad night.  Good.  Keep attacking him.

One more thing.  Bynum is playing very well, but is a little long in the fouls.   Chauncey and Nene have got to get him off the court.

Also, anyone notice Kobe Bryant’s puppet has more personality than Kobe Bryant does?

3^rd Quarter Plays & Analysis

NOBODY IS BLOCKING OUT GASOL!!! Fundamentals Nuggets.  Here’s a quick hint.  When on defense and a shot goes up the closest three players just run to the rim.

Billups has missed two free throws.  We are now 7-12 and trailing by 9.  2 to 3 more freebie points would be nice right now.

Andrew Bynum has 4 fouls now.  That’s pretty big.  We can win the paint now.

Chauncey still has the Three Stroke going and JR is creating a black hole with aggressive lane moves.

Kobe has 4 PF now and heads to the bench.  Bad call loose ball foul on K-Mart.  Kobe’s angry and probably is right.

Three more points for Chauncey.  He’s making them from everywhere…

Dito.  From five feet back at the 55 degree mark.  Impossible to defend that.  If you step forward you leave the drive to the Free throw line for one of the best free throw shooters in the NBA, and there’s no reason to step up since he’s 5 feet back at the 55 degree mark.

Dito from 65 degrees.

JR joins the party from the 45 degree mark.  Wide open.  Easy money.

Chauncey holds a clinic on jump shooting, leads the Nuggets all the way back.  Not terrible defense by LA in the quarter, just an amazing quarter by Chauncey (21 points, 5-6 3pts). Three threes made from 3 or more feet behind the line.  He’s been taking lessons from JR Swish.

Beginning 4^th Quarter Plays & Analysis

Same plan as last quarter: get Kobe and Bynum on the bench with fouls.

Lawson is faster with the ball than anyone in the NBA.

Birdman playing good defense on Bynum.  He didn’t get baited into giving up position, manages a block.

Lawson is doing nicely while Chauncey rests.  His speed with control of the basketball is amazing, especially in traffic.  The Lakers seem to have decide to go with nothing but iso’s the rest of the way.

7:20. That’s the time left in the game when I realized Odom has done nothing all game (-17, 10 points, 2 TOs).  That’s good work by the Nuggets.  Odom is a game-changing bench player.  It’s almost more important to remove him from the game than Kobe.

Nene is working the lane well in the fourth.  Good sign against Bynum.  It will send Andrew to the bench with 5 fouls.  Nene’s also working well against Gasol.

JR is warming up in the closing minute too.  His ball handling has been above average for him. (5 dimes, 2 TOs)  It’s creating some space for him on the outside.  And we all know what happens when he’s got three feet in front of him to gauge the basket.

4^th Quarter 5 Minute Mark Plays & Analysis

WOULD SOMEBODY BLOCK OUT GASOL!!!!  I’m looking at you Nene!

Kobe is still a problem.

Nuggets go dribble drive by Chauncey down left slot.  Good pass, K-Mart from 4 feet.

Lakers are going for all the money, three pointer under pressure but offensive rebound by… guess who….  Another three try pretty quick.  Nuggets are getting lucky.  At least this time Nene Blocked out.

Weird play.  K-Mart in the corner left wide open.  Takes a three try with 12 on the clock.  Why do you plan that?  Why do you leave K-Mart open.  Why does he just take the shot with 12 on the clock?  Nothing makes sense on either side of the ball.

Nuggets work JR iso at the top of the arch.  Can’t get it to fall.  Nifty idea.

Pick and Roll to Gasol puts Nene on the bench for good.  But he missed one.  Everybody’s making three’s tonight but missing free throws.

Aaron Afflalo is clutch.  Absolutely clutch.

Nuggets are rushing when they shouldn’t be and it gives up quick posession.

Stretch Run Plays & Analysis

1:00 left… game over.  Smith from 70 degrees. Nuggets by 11.  I’m sorry I can’t give better stretch commentary, but the Nuggets own the game now.  Smith throws on one more for good measure 20 seconds later.

Postgame Comments

Nuggets jump shooters had their day today: 57% percent from the field.  If your jump shooters shoot like that you win regardless of where you are and who you are playing.  So this game is a little hard to quantify.  The first half was atrocious, and yet the Nuggets were only down by 5.  This was partly due to the fact that they shot 55% after 24 minutes.  It would seem that the defense finally locked down the Lakers after they got Bynum and Kobe to the bench.  The Lakers finished the first half shooting 54% and finished the game at 47% meaning they shot around 41%-42% in the second.

Nene was impressive tonight offensively.  He seemed to get faster as the game went on, and his movement in the paint was critical to getting Bynum off the court.  If he does what he did tonight on a more regular basis, he will be the second-best center behind Dwight Howard… and the Nugget will win 60 games and a championship one of these seasons.

The Nuggets may have turned a corner.  Without Melo, they beat the Lakers in their own house.  Better than that, they probably just won the season series with LA for the first time in I don’t care to look up how long.  And they did it with a half of basketball that would have lost to the Grizzlies.  (Now if we could just beat the Kings on a regular basis.)

One last thought… Ty Lawson was great tonight on the dribble drive and the transition.  The last time I remember him playing this good was the last game against the Lakers.  So…. Is Ty Lawson Laker-bane?

I didn’t like the pick when we got him, but he has since proven he can hang in the NBA for a while.  The pick may have been perfect for us if his skills are just the trick to take down our greatest rival.  He’s so small and quick, and the Lakers’ forwards and centers are all too tall to defend him without fouling… a gnome darting amongst the trees.

I know 2 games does not a nemesis make, but you would expect a nemesis to play well in the first two encounters.  I will be watching Ty closely in the next game at LA later this month.

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Charlotte 93 @ Denver 104

This game is the perfect example of why we lose to lesser teams on the road.

To be fair, the Nuggets showed up when they needed it, and they got the job done quickly and comfortably.  Denver crushed Charlotte at the charity stripe (22-26 to 20-28) led by Chauncey Billups (12-13).  And they had the long ball working (10-23 3pt to 5-13 3pt). But do not be fooled by the high stats of Charlotte’s big two scorers; the Nuggets’ 11-point win could have been 30 if they had played a cleaner game.

Gerald Wallace was pretty much unstoppable from the floor (7-10 FG, 2-2 3pt, 20 Points), and although he had an off night shooting free throws (4-7 FT) he was the Bobcats’ best offensive weapon.  (Wallace was not bad on defense either, adding 7 boards and 2 blocks.)  The 45:34 he spent filling his stat columns were the same 45:34 that the Nuggets trounced Gerald’s Cats.

Wallace leads the Bobcats in +/- and is 24^th in the East with +107 on the year.  Tonight he was a dismal -14, but he wasn’t the only underachieving high-scorer Charlotte had.  Stephen Jackson had a respectable night at first glance (7-16 FG, 1-4 3pt, 7-8FT, 22 Points, 4 dimes), and still ended up -16.  When factoring in +/- with scoring, the only Bobcat to have a decent night was Raymond Fenton (6 points, 9 dimes, -2).  But Fenton was a non-factor, as Chauncey/Afflalo got 5 fouls on him so fast he sat on the bench for much the second half.

Speaking of Afflalo, let’s start with him to compare the Nuggets’ numbers.

Aaron had a career night with Melo out hurt (7-9 FG, 6-7 3pt, 24 points, 7 dimes, +12).  Yes, that’s right, 38 of our 103 points were a direct contribution of Afflalo.  The man simply had the range tonight, odd considering that he was shooting from a new spot… a strange spot.

Before tonight, the Nuggets’ scheme had Aaron waiting in the right corner for dish-outs, but tonight they put him at about 10 degrees rather than directly in the corner.  Typically this is a more difficult spot to shot from for your average sharp shooter.  Afflalo made all four shots he took from this spot.  I’m going track this and see if they keep the adjustment, but for now Aaron just became more dangerous on the offensive side of the ball.

Chauncey had an above-average night that he made great with his production from the free throw line (7-15 FG, 1-4 3pt, 12-13 FT, 27 points, 11 dimes).  59 total points went through Chauncey Billups tonight.  (Quick shout-out for his recent Player of the Week win.  I didn’t think he would be an All-Star this year, but his recent play makes me think he has a shot).  Throw in 29 total assists, 36 total rebounds, an 11-point quarter by Joey Graham (with his twin brother Stephen in the building wearing Bobcat blue), plus a 5-block night by Birdman (ho hum) and you have more than enough for a home win against a .500 team with or without Melo.  So how can I say we should have won by 30?  First off, our bench was atrociously reckless.

Our starters shot 30-56 (.536) from the field, and if you remove Nene (I’ll get to him later), they shot 25-42 (.595).   Our bench shot a pathetic 6-23 (.261).  This was the result of consistently poor shoot selection.  No one was worse that JR (2-9 3pt) who launched 5 three-pointers while under duress with 5 or more seconds on the shot clock (one of which was launched while he was double-teamed with 17 seconds on the clock….clang.)  JR shoots .500 from behind the arch when open and .000 behind the arch when covered.  Go figure.

Ty Lawson was also pretty bad, going 1-5 from the floor with 3 off balance shots.  Coach Karl better be threatening never to use a bench again if this keeps up.

Second, Kenyon Martin got ejected on a stupid Technical Foul.  JR was hit in the face and was called for a foul on the same play, and Kenyon had something to say to the refs about it (this I understand and applaud).  After the tech FT was missed (THE BALL NEVER LIES) Kenyon marched up the court to the referee clapping his hands and received his second technical for poor sportsmanship.

Now, it seems like a small thing to me, and were it an unrelated situation I might agree with his reaction (clapping in the face of the ref.)  But immediately after receiving a technical just shut up, calm down, and do not go near the referee.   I place a portion of the blame on Karl for not pulling Kenyon after the first T.  In any case, Kenyon’s absence cost the Nuggets points and earned the Bobcats points.  It was obvious in the first quarter that Charlotte had no answer for Martin’s post game, and an immediate jump in the Bobcats’ offensive rebounds followed his departure.

Finally, Nene’s laziness cost us 10 points in and of itself.  Four words: Nene missed 5 layups.  The amount of layups it is acceptable for a professional basketball player to miss:  0.

Now you can see how the Nuggets lose so many winnable away games.

On the road, the fans can charge up your opponent and suck the energy out of you.  (More importantly, the refs give close calls to the team with 20,000 passionate people present.)  Take the recklessness and lazy play of the Nuggets tonight, and place that same attitude in Charlotte rather than Denver.  On the road, the Nuggets lose this game.  In Charlotte earlier this season, our boys did lose in this way 95-107, an almost perfect reversal of tonight’s 104-93 victory.

Lack of focus is the reason why the Nuggets lay eggs to subpar teams on the road, and it will be the reason why the Nuggets will once again trek out to the coast in May rather than welcoming the Lakers to the mountains.  If the Nuggets hope for home games in May and June, they had better slow down, pick the right shots, get the easy ones to go, and stop losing their heads at the wrong times.  Even in (or in this case especially in) sure-win situations.

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