Denver would end the 1^st Quarter down 10, but the opening stretch was not played so unevenly.  The Nuggets failed to take advantage of their FT attempts, missing five.  Utah again shot above-average from range.  This ungodly trend has to end sometime… right?

The three-point disparity did bleed into the 2^nd Quarter.  At one point the Jazz were 3 of 5 to the Nuggets’ 0-3.  Denver has been reluctant to shoot from deep all series.  (Really, they look uncomfortable in their traditional offense… a testament to Utah’s regimented defense.)  The Nugs have been robbed of a big part of their explosive potential as a result.

Carmelo finally goes off after an awkward start to the game.  Beginning with his favorite lean-away mid-range jumper.  Anthony is very good at warming up with his best shots, working towards efficiency in the latter parts of the game.  This is a good sign.

Another good sign late in the half…

Nuggets down 15, Carmelo Anthony gets called for the worst offensive foul in Denver playoff history.

Adrian Danley *!finally!* goes ape-kaka on the referees and draws a technical foul.  This long-overdue eruption at sub-par postseason officiating almost immediately sparks a Nuggets run.  Denver brings the game back within a single possession with a 13-0 outburst.

Carmelo misses a wide-open three on Denver’s final possession of the half, otherwise the Nuggets would have finished up one at the buzzer.

Denver comes out in the second half on a mission.

The offense starts flowing with good intensity.  Aside from JR Smith & Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets get good contributions across the lineup and through the bench.

Too bad the defense fades before the offense can establish a big lead.  The result is a quick 5-point advantage for the Nuggets that evaporates into a 67-67 tie five minutes into the 3^rd.  Denver stays sharp, though, and manages to stay within three of the Jazz through the end of the quarter.

The Nuggets work hard on both ends in the 4^th, rarely giving up easy points.

In fact, without unfavorable-to-incompetent refereeing, Denver would have likely kept the game at a possession pace.  Unfortunately, contact calls that went to Utah, only occasionally went to the Nuggets.  Denver is repeatedly whistled for highly embellished fouls in the offensive zone.  More than half of possessions for both teams are paused or ended with a whistle, and the Nuggets can’t maintain any momentum.

So, with 4:24 left, Denver trails by eleven.

Denver ends up grabbing a slew of technical fouls in this game, especially late.  All of the skewed officiating over the course of the series finally gets firmly under their skin, and the Nuggets come unglued.  Frustrated by both phantom offensive fouls and touchy whistles in the defensive paint, the team simply becomes unfocused.

With 3:21 left in the 4^th, Denver takes its first free throw of the quarter… after Utah had just finished taking its 13^th & 14^th of the final frame.  Allow the magnitude of this incredible foul-calling disparity to settle in for a moment…

Game on the line, the Nuggets work for open threes to try to close the gap.

But the team is clearly flustered in a very loud road arena with the officiating crew tilting to Utah.  Nothing is dropping, every loose ball is bouncing to Utah, and the Nuggets start to look cooked.

By the time Chauncey Billups takes a turnover into the paint around the one-minute mark, the game is already over.  The routine layup by Big Shot Billups goes strong off the glass for a last wasted opportunity.  Chauncey had his best game of the series, scoring 30 points, but it wasn’t enough.

Denver lost the points race on the lukewarm offensive outing by Carmelo (6-22 for 20 points), and the complete absence of JR Smith off the bench.  JR is usually a game-breaker for the Nuggets, but went 0-3 from beyond the arc to go with a single made 2-point field goal and 1 of 2 free throw shooting.

Even Joey Graham’s surprise 21-point performance wasn’t enough.

Graham matched up very well against the Jazz, but didn’t see any court time until the 6^th game.  Along with a failure to properly utilize Johan Petro throughout the series, Denver’s coaching staff mucked up a solid hand versus a scrappy but injury-depleted Utah squad.  The blame for that can be placed squarely on the shoulders of head coach Adrian Dantley, who was overmatched all series in the presence of Jerry Sloan’s masterful in-game coaching.

Denver went out with a whimper in 2010, and the team will have a long offseason to consider what changes need to be made to improve in 2011.

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Down three games to one in the opening round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs, Denver needed a big victory on Wednesday night.  More than that, they needed a big outing from absent star Chauncey Billups.  The Nuggets got both in Game 5 at Pepsi Center, part of their 116-102 win.

Carmelo Anthony & Chauncey Billups both came up big in this elimination game.

Where Melo had carried the team through one win and three tough losses, Billups stepped in and shouldered his share of the load at long last.  Chauncey was good for 21 points and 4 assists.  Carmelo added 26, well below his 34.5 point/game playoff average.

But the Nuggets don’t need Carmelo Anthony to score 35 points a game to win.  They need a complete team effort, and Denver finally got that.

The whole Denver bench contributed to this victory, scoring 37 points to 16 from the Utah bench… all by Jazz PF Paul Millsap.  JR Smith dropped 17 playing starter minutes (31), and Ty Lawson had another well-rounded game with 2 board, 3 dimes and a pair of steals to go with his 6 points.

Even after starting Center Nene Hilario went down with a tweaked knee in the 2^nd Quarter, the Nuggets played strong team basketball to muscle out a series of leads.  After giving up 6 & 8 point advantages, Denver dropped the hammer with metered scoring and responsible defense in the latter part of the 4^th Quarter.

Nene has underperformed along with Chauncey all series, and may not be the Nuggets’ best option at Center.

In fact, Nene has been a liability on both ends of the court, and both Johan Petro & Chris Andersen were more effective as replacements.

Petro & Andersen combined for 13 rebounds, and Birdman notched 10 points despite a nagging hand injury.  Both were more effective defensively, getting out on big Carlos Boozer’s deadly jumper from the top of the key.  Carlos has killed the Nuggets with that shot all series, but longer arms coming out of the paint threw off Boozers’ rhythm in the second half.

Nene’s 5.8 rebound/game average was inflated by an 11-board performance in Game 2, but the Nuggets’ only other win in the series came in Game 1 when he played just 14 minutes.  (Nene averages 34/game.)  It could be that the 1-2 punch of the taller, longer Chris-Johan combo may be a better match on the glass against the Jazz.

Denver has a rough road ahead of them.  They are still just one loss away from elimination.

The Nuggets will need to do on Friday night what they have only rarely done in the last decade; win a game in Utah.

The team showed glimpses of its old dominant self in Game 5, and will need to be firing on all cylinders to overcome the imposing Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena in Game 6.  Despite all of their trials and tribulations through the last few months, the Nuggets are just one big W away from coming home for a decisive Game 7 on Sunday morning.

Game 6: Denver Nuggets @ Utah Jazz

Friday, April 30^th on ESPN & Altitude

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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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Well, it’s over.  Western Conference Finals Game 1 in LA.  A home loss to Milwaukee followed by a road loss to New York will do that.  It’s time the focus shifted from catching LA to dealing with Dallas, Utah, Phoenix, OK City and all the rest of the capable teams within striking distance.  The 2 seed is of the utmost importance considering the Nuggets haven’t won a road series since 1994.

At least the Nuggets have Boston tonight to find their legs.  Yes Boston and Denver have played even the last couple of years (1-1 four years straight, 8-7 last 15 meetings), but in recent games against Boston when Denver wins they dominate and when Boston wins it’s close.  Denver’s starters are about even with Boston, but the bench tends to play big against the Celtics. (Chris Anderson in particular, who Boston has shown time and time again they simply have no answer for.)

1^st Quarter

 

11:45 First play out, the Nuggets elect to leave Kevin Garnett unguarded under the basket, easy alee-opp.   Not a good sign.

8:38 Both teams, are playing some pretty lazy defense out of gate (Boston up 10-9) The only reason the score’s not higher is that Boston keeps the pace so slow.

5:28 A nice slow game just as the Celtics like it, and oddly enough Boston is by up 3 early with better transition play.   The Nuggets offensively are getting good looks and getting good drives, they just need to finish.  After a Johan Petro travel, Boston calls a timeout (odd for Boston to call the timeout, they’re on a roll). 

4:27 Aaron Afflalo has found his range: he’s 2-3 with a 3pt and a FT for 6 points.  So far he’s being left open.  The Nuggets are turning up the speed of the game and starting to get the scoring going.

End Quarter Celtics 30-27

 

Pretty boring, slow-paced game.  Blame the high score on the refs calling a high-foul game (13 first quarter fouls) which resulted in load of FT’s.  Glen Davis and Rajon Rondo each have two fouls, so it’s time to give the ball to Carmelo Anthony and let him carve up the bench players.

2^nd Quarter                                                                                

 

9:13 The Refs are continuing to calls loads of fouls, which is contributing to the slow pace but also keeping the Nugget in a game they’re playing a little flat in. 

6:31 The Nuggets are showing some commitment to letting J.R. Smith just run the offense and so far it has elicited mixed results.  Every play has been good, resulting in points or open looks or foul shots.  The problem is J.R. Smith is 1-4 from the charity stripe.

3:50 The Nuggets defense has fallen off a cliff.  No one rotating, shots aren’t being challenged. 

3:31 I addition to the poor defense, the Nuggets have suddenly forgotten how to make a FT (11-18 FT’s).  Between Nene and Smith they’ve missed 5 FT in the last two minutes.

5:23-0:01 Celtics go on a 17-7 run, due to lazy defense, poor rebounding, and missed FT’s.  The key sequence was one Boston possession in which the Celtics got 5 offensive rebounds and the Nuggets got 2 fouls.

End Quarter 61-51

 

51 in one half against Boston is respectable.  Allowing Boston to score 61 is pathetic.   Boston had two 30-point quarters.  Keep in mind that the Celtics are averaging 99 points a game and they are already almost two-thirds of the way to that average halfway through the game.

Pretty much everything must get better.   The Nuggets are trailing in virtually every category:

FG 54%-53%, FT 82%-65%, Dimes 19-11, Boards 21-16, TO 4-7

The Nuggets are still in it though, and it certainly says something that they are only down by 10 in game they should be down by 20.

3^rd Quarter

 

10:32 The bad defense continues right into the second half.   No energy.

7:08 The Nuggets can’t get a break, Anthony has had three layups in a row rim out.  On the other end either the Nuggets don’t block out, or they do and the ball bounces out to the perimeter.

4:07 Nuggets put together a few good possessions in a row to claw back to 16 poinst downs.   It all began with a  drive to the basket. 

1:31 Ty Lawson is back in the game and the Nuggets have closed the lead to 10.  Melo is starting to get the offense going.

0:58 Nuggets cut the lead to single digits on a Melo FT.

0:00 Nuggets play great defense to force a bad 3 pointer from Nate Robinson, Anderson gets a fantastic effort rebound and then throws a pass all the way down to J. R.  who buries a three as time expires.   6-point swing.

End Quarter Celtics 87-80

 

Nuggets have clawed their way back into the game.  One more good quarter should win it now.

4^th Quarter

 

9:35 After the Celtics come out of the break hot, the Nuggets reestablish the defense and are threatening again.  The Celtics are settling for jump shots and that helps.

6:46 The Refs are giving nothing up… there’s been questionable whistle on the last four possessions. 

4:14 Celtics are up 14 and are in burn-the-clock mode.  

2:32 The Nuggets have given up. 

End Game Celtics 113-99

 

Bad game all the way around for the Nuggets and now the Mavericks have the 2-spot.  This is the type of game that can only have one of two long-term consequences.  Either 1.) The Nuggets will regroup and become focused and angry and win 5 of their next 6, or 2.) the wheels will come off and the Nuggets will lose 4 of their next 5.

The next game is Toronto, which represents the best chance to win left of this road trip.  I think we will know very quickly which Nuggets team will show up over the next week and a half.

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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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Chauncey Billups is a profound leader for these Denver Nuggets.

With Adrian Dantley again heading the Nuggets’ bench, Chauncey took up the role of Big Shot Floor General in directing Denver through another treacherous road game.

Down by double-digits midway through the 3^rd Quarter, Chauncey took charge.  He orchestrated a forceful Nuggets comeback that culminated when Denver took its first lead with 4:05 left in the 3^rd.  Billups shouted instructions to his teammates (mostly the thick-skulled Johan Petro) occasionally taking it to the rim himself to drive home a point.

In a game dominated by the referees, the Nuggets put together an excellent game plan.  Early on, it was Houston benefiting from a crew that called every contact.  By the 4^th Quarter, the Nuggets were driving through moving Rockets for big foul calls.  But after giving up a 104-93 lead early in the 4^th, the Nuggets had to work against both Houston’s aggressive defense and a biased officiating crew.

The Nuggets and Rockets each shot a solid 80% from the free-throw line, but it was the vast disparity in attempts that did the Nuggets in on Monday night in Houston.  The Rockets took 35 shots from the charity stripe while the Nuggets, despite an aggressive offensive game, only took 20.  Worse, Chauncey got hit with so many ticky-tacky calls that he fouled out with 0:28 left in a game that came down to the final 3 seconds.

In the end, Billups’ commanding presence wasn’t enough to overcome the driven Rockets.  Houston sits outside of the playoff field in the Western Conference by 5 games even with the tight win over Denver, and the Nuggets could afford to lose a game after a very successful road trip.

Still… it would have been nice to see Denver get a fair shake from the refs in Houston.  This has been a consistent problem over the last four years, and George Karl had to spinning in his armchair with frustration.

Carmelo Anthony paced all scorers with 45 points, including consistent production throughout the final quarter.  Slashing, undersized Point Guard Aaron Brooks dropped 31 for the Rockets.

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So here we are, at the outset of the gauntlet. The Nuggets are venturing forth to play 4 games in 4 cities in 5 days. This could be the kill stroke for the LA Lakers to clinch the conference or it could be the Nuggets’ chance to show the conference is still up for grabs. In the next five days, they must play in New Orleans, Memphis, Houston, and then return home for Washington. Do not be deceived by the quality of the teams… four cities in five days is tough for everyone no matter what cities they are. The only way they pull off the top seed is if they win 3 out of 4.

Also, let’s not forget that The Hornets hate the Nugget for last year’s playoffs. They will leave everything on the court tonight. The Nuggets had better be prepared to deal with a high energy team, and that pick and roll will be everywhere.

1st Quarter

9:32 Nuggets open the game with a quartet of quick passes to mid range jumpers by Carmelo Anthony, Nene and Chauncey Billups; and some bad defense to play to an even first three minutes. If this accurate jump shooting keeps up, the Nuggets will win by double digits.

7:56 Johan Petro has some nice defense on a David West drive to the right side of the hoop. He might just play himself into a starting role with another team with what he’s done in the last three games.

6:01 Anthony looks pretty unstoppable in the first 6 minutes. He has scored easily on the drive and has his range with his jumper.

2:23 Apparently nobody want to play defense right now. Neither team is rotating back to the play side on dribble drives, and thus we get a lot of paint points. Nene and Julian Wright love it.

1:56 It’s clear the refs want to be in control of the game. There have been at least two phantom fouls by both teams.

End Quarter Tied 29-29

The refs are unwilling to let anything go. This favors the Nuggets. The Hornets seem commited to tack away the Nuggets jump shots and turn this game in to a paint game. This favors the Nuggets. Melo has been able to do whatever he wants. Obviously, this favors the Nuggets and yet the game is tied. The Nugget defense has left something to be desired (especially the transition defense).

Also, despite a large number of fouls called, no Nugget has taken a free throw.

2nd Quarter

10:30 The Nuggets appear to have an answer for the transition defense and it’s transition offense. 2 breakaways and 4 quick points separated by 22 seconds. J.R. Smith’s hustle was key in both breaks.

9:17 After two New Orleans three pointers, Anothny Carter steals the ball on a fast break with an opportunity to break back. He holds up to slow the game down. Wise move. Carter is a smart basketball player.

6:58 The Hornets have decided to pack the middle and leave Malik Allen open. The Nuggets are doing what they should; driving and dishing out to Allen. Too bad the Hornets are right, Allen can’t hit anything (2 midrange misses from the left side).

4:59 The Hornets are certainly showing the effort I expected, thought the pick and roll has been absent. They are dominating the transition once again and playing tenacious (though suspect) defense.

3:16 You dance with one who brought ya. Nugget have gone back to Melo and Billups isolations. New Orleans is still packing the paint leaving some wide open midrange shots for the second option on the play.

2:12 Somebody has got to knock Marcus Thornton off his game (I’m looking at you Aaron Afflalo). He is single handedly keeping the Hornets in the game (4-5 3-pt, 16 points)

End Half Hornets 52-51

I didn’t think I would ever say this about this Nuggets teams, but if they want to win they had better slow this game down and make it a half court game. The Hornets are passing the ball much better off the rebound and are leading the TO and Steal categories.

The Nuggets for their part are playing well (especially for a team that isn’t in control of the game). They need to take care ball better and they need to play smarter defense. To tell the truth, it kind of feels like the Nuggets are toying with them. Now as cool as torturing a lesser team with hope might sound, the Nuggets should just put this thing away quickly and then rest their starters for the remainder of the 4 cities in 5 days trip.

Point of interest: No runs. The most amount points in a row either team has scored has been 6 (New Orleans on 2 shots) For it to be a run in my book a run requires two things 1) at least 7 points more than your opponent must be scored and 2) at least 5 possessions combined must have elapsed. Now both these teams have been to grind out wins when they haven’t had their A game, but you would think sooner or later one of these teams has to put together 4 solid minutes, right?

3rd Quarter

8:05 The Nuggets opened the quarter strong with some nice ball movement to get the ball down to the hoop. But then they started launching shots from the perimeter for no good reason (and Smith isn’t even in the game!). Defense has improved.

5:53 The game has slowed down to the a half court like I wanted but the Nuggets aren’t winning in the half court like they were in the first. They are trying mini dribble drive-pass out to the perimeter and launching 3s from low percentage spots.

3:46 Petro is having a hell of game in Kenyon Martin’s stead (10 point, 9 boards). I tell you the truth, he’s beginning to reenter a lot of people’s minds as a starting center with quality minutes like he was in Seattle.

1:51 The Nuggets take 4 smart jump shots in row, and miss all of them (2 by Smith, 2 by Chauncey) Fortunately, it isn’t costing them anything since they’re playing great defense but at some point if you want to win you have to make a shot you should make.

0:42 Lo and Behold, the Nuggets go to the paint and score easily. Chauncey drives, pass to Melo right side baseline, dunk.

0:01 The refs just made an awful call. The Hornet inbound to Morris Peterson for the final shot, J.R. steps into his path and clearly establishes position, Peterson runs into him accepting the pass, foul on Smith. One of the worst calls I’ve seen this month. J.R. had the right to space and wasn’t moving. Peterson further clarified the bad call by missing two out of three FT (THE BALL NEVER LIES!).

End Quarter Hornet 75-73

This game began with a load of whistles and now the refs are swallowing them (except to blow calls that would be obvious to a fourth grader). Bad time considering the Nuggets can’t make a shot. The game is still in question though and one good quarter is all it takes.

4th Quarter

10:34Three quick fouls on the Hornet have the Nuggets poised to take control. It’s time to isolate Melo.

9:42 Nuggets follow up the three fouls on New Orleans with 6 quick points to take back the lead (2 on a Melo isolation at the top of the arch). I personally smell blood, and New Orleans is reeling; they call timeout before things get out of hand.

6:14 Both teams are getting good chances to score but neither team can put it in; New Orleans on the transition Nuggets on the drive. The only points being tallied are by FT.

5:07 The Nuggets have looked like the better team all quarter, but every time they look to pull away with the game, the Hornets reel them back in. The Nuggets have to figure out a way to stop the Hornets transition game. I don’t know if they need to rotate the free attacker up or fight harder for offensive rebounds or what, but the Hornets are flying down the floor on every possession.

3:29 There we go, 4 points in transition, are hard fought defensive set that yield no shots, and Chauncey stills the following inbound to earn a foul. Dare I say……

4:20-2:36 Nuggets go on a 8-0 run due to what I wrote in the previous comment and a nice little drive and ditch in the paint from Chauncey to Nene. Nuggets can now play solid the rest of the way and win fairly comfortably. The run ends with a Hornets time out.

1:26 The Nuggets make a valiant attempt to give the give back with a TO and some lousy rebounding, but the Hornets can’t capitalize. And now the Nuggets are into clock burning mode.

0:26 Another turnover draws the Hornet to within five; too little too late because now the Nuggets are in foul shots.

End Game Nuggets 102-95

Tough game, all the way around. Tough game to play on both sides, tough game to lose. Tough game in every way except to diagram down to a single series, because that late game 8-0 run was easily the deciding factor in the game. Chauncey Billups steal of the inbound half way through the run was the key play. The Hornets were already reeling from a Nuggets breakaway, followed by a brutal (literally, very physical) Nuggets defensive stand, followed by another Nuggets breakaway. Easy to feel frustrated and toss the ball back in with a little emotion and Chauncey just jumped in the way and earned his way to the line a few seconds later. Shame to lose a game that way but hey, basketball is just like Miss America. Poise Counts.

Defensively a pretty good game, but the passes out for the transition were slow for most of the game. The Nuggets might have won much more comfortably if they ran the way New Orleans did. Speaking of…

The Nuggets transition defense was terrible and it’s tough to put my finger on what went wrong. Maybe the Nuggets weren’t fighting hard enough for the rebounds, maybe the ball was just bouncing the Hornets way off the rim, but ever single play the Hornet were pressing the issue and the Nuggets struggled to come up with an answer.

As far as individual performances go, it was a pretty ho hum night for everybody except Johan Petro. Petro got a double-double (10 points, 10 boards) and kept us in the game during the stretches when the Nuggets couldn’t make a basket with his defense on West. The man is gonna play himself into a starters spot on another team before long.

Oh and credit where credit is due: Nuggets were 25-28 FT shooting. Do this every night and they will win 60 games every season.

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Backup head coach Adrian Dantley filled in for George Karl in Minneapolis on Wednesday night.  Dantley kept Denver focused while Karl recovered from chemotherapy and surgery related to neck/throat cancer.

No doubt, George told his team to go out and play solid ball in his absence.  The Nuggets have responded by playing fluid and loose.  Coach Karl has made his impression on each one of these players and it shows.  When the Nuggets play in accordance with his principles, they don’t necessarily need him courtside to be successful.

That’s not to say we don’t need Karl back on the Nuggets’ sideline.  He matches wits with the best coaches in the game, and gives Denver a chance in any playoff series.  I wish him ongoing strength as he fights through his second bout with cancer.  A speedy recovery to you, George.

While the Nuggets starters played well, it was Denver’s on-court backups that worked hardest to make Dantley look good.  Every healthy Nugget except Malik Allen and Joey Graham played double-digit minutes; a fantastic stat in the first game of a four-game road swing.

Johan Petro started again for the Kenyon-less Nuggets.  A backup in a starting role, Petro had another strong first half of a first quarter before Chris Andersen spelled him 7:40 in.

Then Andersen, a sort of 6^th Man in the frontcourt, made up for a pitiful first quarter with an outstanding, workmanlike effort the rest of the way.  In 25 minutes of live time Birdman had 14 points, 10 boards & 3 blocked shots.  Better yet, Chris did it on the road where he has struggled mightily in the past.  (The Timberwolves have a way of bringing out the best in their opponents.)

Andersen was the only Nugget with a +/– below 0, but he repeatedly demoralized the Timberwolves whenever they got on a good groove.  At one point Bird literally chased Minnesota Center Al Jefferson out of the paint with a block followed by an assertive flapping of his arms.  Jefferson pitched the ball out above the key without enough time for the Wolves to complete a play.  Turnover on the shot-clock violation.

J.R. Smith had another explosive game off the bench.  Mr. Swish threw down a set of threes early when the Nuggets were lagging, and slammed home a wild, twisting alley-oop as Denver closed out the game inside the last five minutes.

Anthony Carter continued his hyper-competent play of the last couple weeks, dishing 8 assists in 16 minutes on the court.

The total team effort was good for a Nuggets victory over the Timberwolves, 110-102.

Denver climbed within 3.5 games of Los Angeles in the Western Conference Standings.

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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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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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