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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After an embarrassing, mistake-filled, foul-heavy 3-point loss in Denver to the Utah Jazz, the Nuggets are in must-win territory over the next two games.  They travel to Salt Lake City tonight for tomorrow night’s battle with the Jazz, and will need to win an away game this weekend to stay in the series.

Monday’s loss means that Utah has stolen the home court advantage Denver earned by winning the season series between these teams.  With this best-of-seven tied at 1-1, this 1^st Round playoff series effectively becomes a best-of-five.  But with two games already played in Denver, three of the (potential) next five will be played in Utah.

That does not bode well for a team that has historically struggled in SLC.

Denver nearly scrapped out two wins in Utah during the 2009 regular season, but even their one win was a miraculous accomplishment.  The Nuggets have long used their play against the Jazz as a Litmus Test for their abilities against the better teams in the NBA.  Utah coach Jerry Sloan has maintained a near-constant level of competitiveness in his Jazz for decades, and Utah always measures up around the middle of the playoff pack.

That makes them an ideal 1^st Round opponent for Denver… but also a dangerous one.

Should Denver win this series, they will have earned it.  Utah will not go down without a fight in a single game, much less an entire playoff series.  The Nuggets have not played up to their potential in a solid month of regular and then postseason basketball.  If they have any real shot at returning to the Western Conference Finals, they will need to display the offensive consistency and defensive discipline that had them rolling over Dallas & New Orleans in 2009.

Denver had a unique opportunity to crush the Jazz in Game 2, and they let it slip away.  Utah is beset by injuries, losing Andrei Kirilenko & Mehmet Okur over the last few weeks.  Granted, Deron Williams & Carlos Boozer had outstanding games in Denver, but the Nuggets’ bench was absolutely useless on Monday night.  If Denver’s B-Team can’t beat Utah’s C-Team, the Nuggets don’t deserve to move on in these playoffs.

Game 3 will be the first test of the playoffs for a Denver team that has looked lost since George Karl departed for cancer treatment.

Karl was at the Nuggets’ practice this week for the first time since the chemotherapy dragged him away from the Denver bench.  And while Adrian Dantley will again head the Denver coaching staff come game time, perhaps the Nuggets will find strength in seeing their stricken leader pull himself willfully from bed just to see them shoot jumpers.

George didn’t speak much, a task that is undoubtedly still painful for him.  But Karl’s 15-minute presence speaks volumes about his unflinching commitment to this team.  Here’s hoping the Nuggets can win one for George in Utah.

Game 3: Denver @ Utah on Friday, April 23^rd 8:30 MST on ESPN 2 & Altitude

Game 4: Denver @ Utah on Sunday, April 25^th 7:30 MST on TNT & Altitude

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The doctor charged with overseeing George Karl’s treatment for neck & throat cancer is optimistic about the NBA coach’s recovery.  In fact, Karl may yet return for his Denver Nuggets’ playoff run.

Dr. Jacques Sarri reported to AOL Fanhouse that George would most definitely miss the Nuggets’ first playoff series citing necessary rest after two rounds of chemotherapy.

However, Dr. Sarri said that recent tests at Johns Hopkins revealed successful treatment, with only a 15 percent chance that the cancer may return in a couple years.  That’s good enough news to suggest that Karl could be back in time for the second round of the NBA playoffs.

“I would say there’s a two-thirds chance he would be back for the second round,” said Dr. Sarri. “But that’s a rough estimate. There’s still a margin of error.”

Karl will assuredly return to coaching in Denver as soon as possible, having stated that as his number one priority post-chemo.  George may feel especially motivated to press himself back into service on the Denver bench now that his son Coby has signed a contract to join the team.  Coby Karl will lend the Nuggets depth through the 2010 playoffs.

Karl’s life partner Kim Van Deraa had already revealed George’s unlikely 1st Round return, going so far as to cast doubt on a return to the Nuggets through the remainder of the postseason.

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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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Brian Butch will join the Nuggets after Denver lost another big man to injury last Thursday.  Chris “Birdman” Andersen suffered an ankle sprain against Portland, and joins big Power Forward Kenyon Martin on the list of injuries to Denver’s frontcourt.

Butch, a 6’ 11” Center who played college ball with the Wisconsin Badgers, has played all season with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA’s Development League.  Brian averaged nearly 19 points and 12 rebounds in his time with the Jam.

Interestingly, Chris Andersen also came to the Nuggets from the D-League nearly ten years ago.  Birdman was playing with the Fayetteville Patriots in 2001 when Denver called him to NBA action.  Andersen has had an up-and-down career since, missing two seasons due to substance abuse issues.  However, he did come in second in the NBA last season in total blocks with 175, well behind top shot-blocker Dwight Howard’s 231.

For Butch, the learning curve will be much shorter.

The Nuggets need Brian to be a contributor in their final 5 games in order to land a respectable playoff slot.  The team currently sits in a 4-way tie with Dallas, Utah & Phoenix for the West’s second playoff seed.  Every game has enormous home-court playoff implications in this final stretch, and that’s why the Nuggets pulled the trigger on a player with no NBA experience.

Denver may need even more than a token 5-game contribution from Butch, as there is no guarantee that Kenyon Martin will be able to return to the team after injuring his knee 16 games ago.  Martin has been undergoing an advanced form of rehabilitation & treatment in an effort to get him back in powder blue for the playoffs, but may end up needing season-ending surgery if his recovery isn’t near flawless.

That puts the onus on Andersen to get healthy in a hurry and Butch to get his NBA legs even faster.  Wednesday night’s game against Oklahoma City will be Brian Butch’s first test in the big leagues, and may go far in foretelling the Nuggets’ playoff future.

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When last I wrote about the Nuggets I said the Boston loss was the type of loss to either invigorate & refocus the Nuggets… or it would send them into a week & a half long tailspin.  The Nuggets have gone 1-2 since their undressing in Boston.

The 1-3 road trip thus far has sunk the Nuggets into a hole, and so the game tonight at Dallas has new significance.  The Nuggets have three road games remaining and must win all of them to have a winning record on the road.  They are, in order of importance, At Dallas tonight, At Oklahoma City on April 7^th, At Phoenix to end the season.  Conceivably the Nuggets could lose all 3.  If the Nuggets are to lock up the number 2 they will have to win at least 2, maybe 3 of those games.

But the real importance in winning tonight’s game is that the winner gets the tiebreaker.

If the Nuggets win, they move up to the 2-spot with a half-game advantage and force a tie in the all-important Loss Column, but it might as well be 1.5 games with the tiebreaker.  If the Nuggets lose, they will be 1.5 games behind and also behind in the Loss Column.  That would be 2.5 games back with the tiebreaker.

This is the rare 4-game swing in the NBA we are witnessing tonight.  The Nuggets better bring their A game.

1^st Quarter

6:23 The Nuggets are placing more attention on Assists this game.

Everyone’s been talking about how few assists there have per game in the slump.  It hasn’t translated to points.  Mainly the Nuggets are settling for jump shots early and they aren’t falling.  On the other end the Mavericks are also settling for jump shots, but they are falling.  Dallas is 7-10 from the field to start, mainly off the pick and roll.

0:00 Well, the Nuggets have improved their play but are only maintaining the deficit.

The bench is playing better than the starters.  J.R. Smith has hit two in a row and Malik Allen just made a three. (I don’t know how I feel about Allen taking 3s but I like him making them.)  On the other end, the Mavs are passing into the low post on every play.

End Quarter Mavs 31-23

The story of the game has been accurate jump-shooting vs a not-so-accurate jump shot.  The Nuggets are allowing the Mavs to make easy passes to their bigs down low.  Jump shots from there are much higher percentage than the perimeter jump shots the Nuggets are taking.

Denver is trying to set up isolations with Carmelo Anthony on the wing and the Mavs are doubling him.  Someone else needs to step up and teach the Mavs not to double Anthony.

2^nd Quarter

5:22 The bench is coming up big for the Nuggets.

The lead has been closed to 5 and Denver’s backups are shooting 8 for 10 between Ty Lawson, Smith, and Joey Graham.  Allen is also respectable shooting 2-5 with 2-2 three pointers.  The Nuggets are scoring all their points either by the dribble-drive or in transition.  Meanwhile, Chris Anderson looks like he might be having one of his nights – 3 blocks so far.

1:46 The starters come back in and the lead promptly goes up to nine.

Foul shots coming for Brendan Haywood.  A good comparison right now that Adrian Dauntley better see is that the Mavericks are putting a player under the basket on every shot for an Offensive Rebound and blocking out on every Nuggets shot.  The Nuggets are doing neither.

0:00 The Denver starters stop the bleeding.

Once again, only enough to maintain the deficit.  The Mavs tried to drop the hammer in the closing seconds and began launching poorly arranged threes.  Fortunately for the Nuggets, none fell.

End Quarter 55-46

In retrospect it’s not as bad as it could have been, and that’s usually a sign that a momentum change will alter the entire game.  The refs have been even-handed, the bench has outplayed one of the (so-called) best benches in basketball, and the Mavericks have gotten 3 disgusting three pointers to fall (including one by Rodrigue Beaubois in which Chauncey Billups tipped the shot and it went in anyway).

But Dallas is leading in the important stats (Boards 22-18, Dimes 14-6).  The Nuggets could be ahead in rebounds if they would just put someone under the basket on every play.  And at some point someone is going to have to pass the basketball… this whole doing everything yourself thing ain’t working.

Although the biggest reason for the deficit is Melo’s stat line (1-8 FG, 0 dimes, 3 points).  In most cases I’d say if the shots aren’t falling then pass the ball to somebody else, but this is Melo.  He can’t be shut down for the entire game right?   But Carmelo has only driven off the isolation once and it resulted in his three points.   Every other time Melo gets the ball in isolation he’s been double teamed or took a quick jumper.

Carmelo Anthony needs to go to the rim.

3^rd Quarter

8:55 Nuggets open the quarter by falling into the same bad habits that got them the deficit in the first place.

Jump-shooting way to early in the possession, and letting Dallas get the ball to the low post way too easy.  The lead is now 16.

5:53 Apparently I spoke too soon in praising the refs for their even-handedness.

6 fouls in the quarter, all of them on the Nuggets.  No less than 2 have been bona-fide phantom fouls, and at least one foul on the Mavericks has been missed.

0:00 The bench comes in and battles back to 10.

The highlight was in the Nuggets last possession J.R. Smith after draining the clock drives down the right side of the key, Jason Kidd puts his hand out and knocks the ball away, Smith recovers beyond the three point arch at about the right side 40 degrees mark.  With the shot clock about to expire he’s forced to put up a prayer, he jumps backward out of bounds.  3 points. 3diculous shot.

End Quarter Mavs 79-69

The Nuggets are just kinda hanging around.  With as bad as the starters have played and as well as the Mavericks have played (particularly Heywood) the game certainly feels very much in question for a 10-point game.

4^th Quarter

10:02 Nuggets open the quarter with points on their first 4 possessions.

Denver closes the lead to 7 and Dallas wants a time out.  Mostly due to poor transition defense by the Mavs results in two fouls on Nene and a particularly bad defensive setup that left Smith open at the top of the key with no one between him and the basket.

10:02-9:56 Time that elapsed between Dallas’ four and fifth timeouts.

Good defense by the Nuggets on the inbound.

8:55 Credit where credit is due, the refs open the 4^th by calling fouls in the Nuggets’ favor 5-1.

7:58 The Nuggets were playing with all the momentum in the world.

Denver had cut the lead to 8 and then fumbled the basketball away, the Mavs went the other way and scored two.  The following possession goes the same way.  4-6 point swing.

6:44 The Mavs make the most of the momentum swing.

Dirk Nowitzki buries a three from the top of the arch to put the Mavs up by 16.  This game feels over.

0:00 The game ends without further incident or contest.

End Game Mavs 109-93

This entire game was still on the line even with the Nuggets down by 8 in the fourth.   And then 1 moment’s lack of focus by J.R. Smith and Jason Kidd steps in with a steal and Dallas takes an 8-point lead to 16 in 2 minutes.   One play in the middle of the fourth quarter and a possible win becomes a 20ish point loss.  That’s how close this was.

In spite of the mistake that cost the Nuggets the game, Smith was clearly the best player on the floor.

Further, the mistake notwithstanding, the reason for the loss is the fault of the stars, Carmelo & Chauncey.  They combined for 6-30 shooting and a tepid 21 points.  If two guys are going to take 40% of your shots they can’t miss 80% of those.

The good news is that I think the losing streak is over.

Not just because the road trip is over, and 5 of the remaining 7 are at home, but because of the type of loss this was.  This was about as close to a must-win you will get in the regular season and the team played well while the stars played poorly.  That one almost fixes itself.

Before, when the Nuggets lost to Boston, everyone played badly except Melo and Chauncey.

That’s a harder fix.   That takes players taking a step back, getting back in line, playing for the teams.  When your stars play poorly, it takes everyone doing exactly what they did and the stars need to step up, which they are doing anyway.  I expect the next game against the Portland Trailblazers on Thursday to be a rout of 15-25 points and Portland won’t challenge in the 4^th.

And expect Melo and Chauncey to pile it on.

In other news, everyone raise your glasses to the New Jersey Nets.  With a 90-84 win over the San Antonio Spurs, the Nets have recorded their 10^th win of the season and successfully become NOT the worst team ever.  Congrats.

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All of the above statements are true.  And although the first three may sound like negatives, they are simply characteristics of a key role-player in this Nuggets organization.  (We’ll get to the fourth one later.)

AC was undrafted out of Hawaii, initially playing with the Minor League Sun Kings before signing with the Heat.  He has played ten years in the NBA at Miami, San Antonio, Minnesota & Denver… and he has never once averaged more than 30 minutes a game.

That means he has always been a depth guy, a bench player.  And not the fancy “sixth man” type of bench player either.  Carter has only averaged more than 6.5 points once in that span; during his 2007-2008 season with Denver.

That ’07-’08 season is worth noting, because it was the only season that Anthony Carter was a consistent starter.

He marched out for the opening tip-off in 67 of his 70 games that season, and still only averaged 28 minutes per.  It was his best statistical season by far in almost every major category.  In ten seasons, that single campaign stands out as Carter’s opus.

And don’t think I’m being facetious here.  A slow, undrafted guard with terrible range starting alongside Carmelo Anthony, Marcus Camby & Kenyon Martin is a sight to behold.  Carter even improved to 35% from beyond the arc.  (Compared to his career average of 25%.)  Not bad for a role-player.

And boy does George Karl love his role players, especially at the Point Guard position.

George loved Earl Boykins, the very undersized PG who won the hearts of Nuggets fans as the little guard that could (hit 90% of his free throws.)  And Karl loves Anthony Carter for the same reasons: fundamentals & work ethic.  That alone justifies Carter’s tenure here in Denver, and for the last three seasons I assumed that his workmanlike resolve was the only thing keeping Anthony in uniform, much less on the court.

In fact, I’ve been talking trash about Carter (most especially his awkward attempts at threes) ever since he came to the Nuggets.  My Nugget buddies and I had been waiting for the blessed moment when Anthony Carter would be relegated to towel duty.  He just seemed like such a schmuck out there with all those stars.  Then tragedy struck…

Rookie phenom Ty Lawson, the heir-apparent to Chauncey Billups, went down with a shoulder injury.  Lawson had usurped Carter’s backup role in mid-January, playing very effectively with the energetic second unit.  A left shoulder contusion took him out of a key game against the Lakers, which was an especially shameful shame considering Lawson has earned the title “Laker Bane” in his short time with the Nuggets.

But in those dark days after our own little Weapon X went down, I saw something different in the play of AC.  Old Mr. Carter started playing like a less talented Chauncey Billups, and the Nuggets started plowing through lesser opponents.

Nothing tells the story of a player better than plus/minus (the difference in scoring while that player is on the court).  In the eight games since Lawson got hurt, Anthony Carter went +7, +9, -1, +14, -5, +12, +8 & +7.  Seven of those eight games were wins.

Carter is also averaging 6 assists per game over that span, quite a feat for a guy playing around 18 minutes each night.  For some perspective, Chauncey Billups is averaging 4.0 assists per game playing 30-40 minutes.

Better yet, Carter has gone out in tight situations in the 3^rd & 4^th Quarters and sparked big-time, game-changing scoring sprees with his team behind on the scoreboard.  He has played stellar defense against some very talented guards, and his three-point shooting just hit 30% accuracy for the month of March.  Anthony is stretching defenses (a little), penetrating the lane (mostly with accurate passes), and changing the course of NBA basketball games.

Unexpected as it may be, Anthony Carter is enjoying a sort of Renaissance… the sort of Renaissance a career backup has when his team really, really needs him.  He even added some extra ink in the past few years to match the tattoo flavor of the neo-Nuggets. What more can you ask for from a teammate?

AC may be relegated to the bench again when the super-speedy Ty Lawson returns in a few games.  But for two weeks in March of 2010, with injuries ravaging the depths of this Denver team, Anthony Carter elevated his game.  What a great guy to have on a basketball team.

Try these ones on…

Anthony Carter the dedicated.  Anthony Carter the consistent.  Anthony Carter the valued.

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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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The Golden State Warriors decided to key in on defending the paint Thursday night with the Denver Nuggets in town.  That was just fine with Denver’s Chauncey Billups.

Chauncey drained 7 of 8 three-point field goals, part of a 37-point evening, and outplayed his talented young counterpart, Warriors Point Guard Stephen Curry.

On a night when the only defense was a good offense, Billups took it upon himself to propel the Nuggets’ high-powered attack.  Chauncey catalyzed his team in the opening seconds by driving the lane hard on Golden State’s lightly-regarded interior defense for a six-foot running jumper.  That drive set the tone for the game, and the Warriors’ defense played the rest of the game on their heals.

The Nuggets actually played some good D while Kenyon Martin was on the court.  Unfortunately, Kenyon exited the game late in the second quarter with a left knee contusion, and his +14 ± left with him.  The Nuggets’ 61-44 lead dwindled to 65-56 at the half.

With Head Coach George Karl missing his first game since undergoing what will be several weeks of treatment on cancerous growths in his neck & throat, it was up to the players on the court to fill his sizeable shoes.  While Chauncey took it upon himself to fuel the offense with timely scores and a general’s bravado, Carmelo Anthony played the part of Referee Lobbyist.

None of Karl’s assistants have enough clout with NBA officials to argue calls, and that fact became increasingly apparent through a 1^st Quarter where the Nuggets couldn’t buy a favorable whistle.  Melo stumbled or fell with every contact, embellishing each bump or nudge, and utilized his star power to argue every foul call until the officiating evened out in the 4^th Quarter.

While it shouldn’t be necessary for a team missing its coach to find creative ways to get fair treatment from league officials, those are the breaks in the modern NBA.  Carmelo & Chauncey knew their roles with Karl sidelined, and they played them to perfection.

Anthony finally returned to his role as an offensive dynamo in the 3^rd Quarter, scoring 11 of his 27 points.  That stretch kept the Nuggets a pace ahead of the Warriors, and JR “Threediculous” Smith sealed the deal with a series of dagger threes throughout the second half.  Every time Golden State got close, JR Swish was there to knock them back.

I have always contended that Smith is a game-changer, and key to any Championship run.  His play tonight showed that in spades.

JR missed a number of first-half threes badly… really, really badly.  He missed long, he missed high, he missed short and to the left.  Any miss you can think of, JR shot it.

But with 4:45 left in the 3^rd Quarter and Golden State within nine of the Nuggets, Smith reared back and knocked down a beautiful 23-foot jumper.  Not satisfied, and clearly feeling the heat, JR made a great athletic steal of the Warriors’ inbound, forfeited a 2 on 1 break, stopped 27 feet away from the basket, and knocked down another three.  (The first was a swish… the second may not have touched the net long enough to make a sound.)  Smith would go on to knock down seven threes on the night for 21 of his 25 points.

In the endgame, the Nuggets steamrolled Golden State.  Denver outscored the Warriors in every quarter, even though Golden State played within ten points for much of the night.  Despite another outstanding offensive performance from the Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30), Denver won this one running away, 127-112.

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