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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