I have made the very difficult decision to start a new Nuggets blog and it is with a great deal of sadness that I announce this will be my last post on Pickaxe and Roll. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank SB Nation for the opportunity they gave me to run this blog and work with what is currently the best group of NBA bloggers on the internet.  SB Nation is a first class organization that only cares about promoting great blogging and I will always appreciate my time here.  I leave with nothing but a great respect and good feelings towards the network.

Thank you to everyone at SB Nation and thank you to all of you who have read, commented, posted and spread the word about Pickaxe and Roll.  I owe you all a debt of gratitude for making this blog what it is.

I struggled with the appropriateness of declaring the launch of my new blog here on SB Nation’s platform and after a great deal of thought I decided to take the middle of the road.  Instead of ignoring it or putting the name in big bold letters I will just say if you are interested in visiting it you can click here.

Box Score | Highlights

Due to the family festivities of New Years’ Eve and New Years Day I still have not seen all of the Denver Nuggets game at Toronto.  I did see most of the second half though and what I will say is both teams played hard and the game was very physical.  The Nuggets have always been capable of playing physical against some teams, the Spurs in particular, but they tend to get pushed around from time to time by teams they are not as motivated to play rough with.  Last night Denver met and exceeded the physical play by Toronto.  There are some nights where the officials allow a physical game based on the way they call it and the team that responds best is typically the team that will win.  The Nuggets responded and won the game, resulting in George Karl's 900th career win as an NBA head coach.

Regardless of how you feel about Karl, that is an impressive accomplishment so congratulations to Coach Karl.

Since I have not seen all of the game I will direct you to the recap by Ryan McNeil over at Hoops Addict who was an important member of the media throng at the game.

Razzle Dazzle Game Stats

Pace Factor – 91.7

Def Efficiency – 116.7 – I will say in the second half from what I saw the Nuggets defense was pretty solid.  Toronto hit some good shots.  However, after yet another sky high defensive efficiency rating the Nuggets now are statistically worse with Chauncey Billups in the lineup than they were before he joined the team.

Offensive Efficiency – 124.4

Raptors Republic | Raptors HQ 

The Denver Nuggets have not lost a game to a non playoff team yet this season.  They demolished the Toronto Raptors in the first meeting in Denver by 29 points.  The Raptors are 4-12 over their previous 16 games.  All signs point to a Nugget win tonight.

The thing that always scared me about playing against Toronto is their dangerous shooters such as Anthony Parker, Jason Kapono, Jose Calderon and even Carlos Delfino was a good weapon from long range last season.  You could not rotate quick enough to cover all of them and it seemed like whoever was open would make you pay. 

Well, this year has been different.  Anthony Parker and Jason Kapono have not been shooting the ball anywhere near their previously lofty standards.  Calderon is still a very good shooter, but he always looks to set his teammates up first.  Delfino is completely out of the picture as he is playing in Russia this season.

The one thing that scares me is the Nuggets propensity to let struggling teams build confidence early in games.  Toronto still has plenty of shooters who can light you up.  As we have pointed out recently Denver has not been playing very well defensively lately, but Toronto is a team that could help them get back on track.  Kenyon matches up well with Chris Bosh, at least as well as can be expected, Nene is listed as questionable with his neck strain and that means Chris Andersen will probably start.  Jermaine O’Neal has a slight advantage there as he should be able to get some room to shoot his nice midrange jumper with Andersen sagging off with the hopes of notching a block.  Carmelo Anthony should be able to handle Joey Graham as long as he stays in front of him and boxes out.

Denver is in good shape on the perimeter as well.  In the first game George Karl chose to put Dahntay Jones on Calderon and Jones did a great job of frustrating Calderon and playing physical with him.  The reason the Nuggets could get away with that matchup is because Parker is a smaller shooting guard and Chauncey matches up with him very well.  It will be interesting to see if Karl employs the same strategy tonight.

I have not been impressed with the intensity the Nuggets have played with following losses lately and I can only hope that tonight is different. 

Denver Nuggets Game Notes

Previous Matchup:  Game 19 – DEN 132 TOR 93

Raptors Republic | Raptors HQ

Update:  According to both the Post and the News Nene will start tonight despite feeling "sharp pain in his neck."

Round four of the Blogger MVP/Rookie of the Year ranings are up over at Raptors HQ.

You can view my ballot here.

For those of you who are Bronco fans in addition to Nugget fans make sure you check out the story and discussion over at the Mile High Report.

Box Score | Highlights

There you have it.  The Atlanta Hawks are good, especially when they are making threes from the parking lot with the shot clock winding down.  The Nuggets defense is not as good as it was early in the season.  In fact, the Nuggets have had eight straight games with a defensive efficiency of over 100 and over their previous 20 their defensive efficiency has been over 100 in 16 of them. 

During that 20 game stretch Denver’s defensive efficiency has been 109.1 which would place them in the bottom third of the league for the season.

That is not the team we put our faith in early in the season.  It is frighteningly similar to what they did last season.  Their defensive efficiency was actually in the top five for much of the first month or two of the season.  They ended up a top ten team, but their efficiency was very poor the last four months of the season.

What has been the problem?  First and foremost it has been a lack of desire.  The Nuggets knew that in order to run with the big dogs they needed to be able to get stops when it counts.  They did a great job of playing with that mentality for all four quarters.  They were a good defensive team and they knew it.  Instead of working to build on that foundation they have chosen to turn it on only when they have to.

We all know that is not the mentality that the best defensive teams in the NBA operate under.

On a more tactical level the Nuggets pick and roll defense has become shoddy.  The bigs are not hedging very well at all and that creates a beve of issues.  The ball handler has plenty of room to shoot or drive.  Because there is no pressure he can also hit the roller cutting down the lane.  Another problem is the Nuggets have begun to rely on switching far too often as their primary pick and roll strategy.  The result of those switches are mismatches all over the floor.  Mismatches result in either easy baskets or double teams, which can frequently result in easy baskets.

The other issue that has arisen that has weakened their pick and roll defense as well as their defense as a whole is their lack of communication.  They have displayed confusion on both switching screens and defensive rotations more and more over the last couple of weeks.  Hopefully they bottomed out in the first half against the Kicks where they seemed more confused than a hillbilly at a foreign film festival. 

The other area where the Nuggets have fallen short of the standard they set early in the season is their lack of on the ball pressure.  They seem content to allow their man to survey the floor and pass it to whomever he wants.  Ball pressure can help make up for breakdowns in other areas by restricting the offensive player’s view of the floor and by threatening the passing lanes with active hands.

To be fair, the Nuggets have also faced more efficient offenses over the previous month as their schedule has increased in difficulty, but good defense is good defense no matter where, when or who it goes up against. 

And oh by the way, the Nuggets record over their last eight games 3-5 and over their last 20 games they are 12-8.  They need to do better.

Other Observations from Game 32:

• I have to wonder how much Nene was just looking for a night off and the sore neck happened to be as good an excuse as any.  This was only the second time since the 2003-2004 season that Nene has played in 31 straight games and before training camp he admitted that he still felt the effects of his chemotherapy treatments. 
  
• There was a popular movement a couple of years ago that gained a lot of traction amongst Nugget fans that postulated that Marcus Camby was the most indispensible Nugget.  After tonight’s game look for the Nene is the most indispensible Nugget movement to take off.  Interestingly enough just today I wrote that the Nuggets can survive without one of their big men for a few games here and there, but if one of them goes down for a prolonged period of time they will be in trouble.  Well, I would hate to see the Nuggets play without Nene for more than two or three games and I doubt they will be able to trade for anyone who is capable of filling even a portion of his shoes.  We all knew that Nene would be a major key to the Nuggets success this season and tonight served as a reminder of that.
  
• Now that Linas Kleiza has heated up Chauncey Billups is in a shooting slump from three point range.  He has only made six of his last 30 attempts good for 20.0%.
  
• As J.R. Smith has regained his shooting touch he has gotten away from setting up his teammates.  When things are not going well he does a better job of setting up his teammates, which is great, but until he realizes that he can get his own points and use his talents to get his brothers in arms easy hoops he will never reach his full potential as an offensive player.
  
• After handling the ball like it was a sub prime mortgage the past few games it was good to see Anthony Carter end up with seven assists and only a single turnover.
  

Razzle Dazzle Game Stats

Pace Factor – We have a new leader in the race for the slowest Nuggets game of the season with a pace factor of only 81.6.

Defensive Efficiency – When you give up 109 points in a game with a pace factor of 81.6 the result is a defensive efficiency rating of 133.7, the worst of the season.

Offensive Efficiency – 111.6, not bad, but nowhere near good enough when they play defense the way they did tonight.

Peachtree Hoops

Sorry for the short “preview” but that 5:00 start has snuck up on me. 

Here is all you need to know about tonight’s game against the Hawks.  Atlanta is good team and they are really good at home.  This is the last game of an eight game home stand for them.  They beat the Cavs (the only loss the Cavs have suffered since November 19th!) and the only game Atlanta has lost during this home stand was a nail biter to the Celtics.

The Nuggets had better gird their loins for a tough, but winnable, game.

Denver Nuggets Game Notes

Peachtree Hoops 

I noticed a new trade rumor as well as an old one floating around the internet involving the Denver Nuggets and figured it might be fun to address both of them.

Talking Trade with Oklahoma City?

The search for an additional big man continues as Denver has been listed as a possible destination for both Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox of the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

Joe Smith would seem to be a no brainer, but he is pretty light in the rump and I would have to question his ability to play defense in the post.  Offensively, I think he would be a great fit as he can set screens, play unselfishly and drain the midrange jumper.  Wilcox is a more impressive physical specimen, but he is such an inconsistent player.  As with Smith, I question his ability to be a stout defender on the block.  He has the bulk, but I do not know if he has the heart.

The other issue is after having no problem with shipping Chucky Atkins out in exchange for almost anything I am now hesitant to deal him because of the horrible recent play by Anthony Carter.  Until either Carter changes his ways or a big man is seriously injured I do not do either one of those deals.

I am also not so sure that the Nuggets need to add another big man.  They can clearly survive a short term injury to one of their big men as we have seen Andersen, Martin and Melo miss time recently.  Making a trade for another big man might give the Nuggets management one less thing to worry about when they go to sleep at night, but I do not think it is a necessity.    

Linas Kleiza for David Lee?

I also saw a report that the Nuggets were on the verge of acquiring David Lee from the Knicks for Kleiza, but George Karl convinced the front office that Kleiza was too valuable to trade away.  Kleiza is an important player for the Nuggets and over the past couple of weeks his three point shooting has come around and he has hit some big shots.  As we saw yesterday Lee is an absolute beast.  He is a great rebounder and scores all of his points in the paint.  You never have to worry about him settling for jumpers because he never does settle for jumpers.  Denver also needs to consider the possibility of Kleiza wanting to leave Denver after this season although he will be a restricted free agent.

Even though I personally would pull the trigger on that deal I can appreciate where Karl is coming from.  The Nuggets do not have a player like Kleiza on the roster and having his perimeter offense on the bench is reassuring.  Also, Lee somewhat duplicates Kenyon Martin.  While Kenyon is not the rebounder that Lee is and he plays more on the perimeter offensively than Lee they are roughly the same size (or maybe even exactly the same size as both are listed at 6’9” and 240 pounds) and I can understand why Karl would balk at giving up a unique player for one that he sees as somewhat of a duplicate.

Box Score | Highlights

The Denver Nuggets must have had fun toying with the Knicks today.  Even though the point total ended up in the area where the New York Knicks have the best shot at winning and New York put together a couple of pretty impressive runs, I never felt like the Nuggets were in trouble.

If the early start time caused any problems for the Nuggets they were of the mental instead of physical. 

I thought physically they handled the early start time pretty well.  On the other hand, mentally they were not all there.  Defensively Denver was very confused and players were frequently caught out of position.  There were several instances where some players would switch while others would not resulting in two defenders on one player and other situations where one or two guys rotated, but no one else would resulting in one or two players not guarding anyone.  The Knicks took 13 threes in the first quarter because their three point shooters were open at least 13 times. 

Denver locked down on defense for most of the second quarter and most of the fourth and that ended up being good enough.

The truly good news from today’s game was that we saw a much different Carmelo Anthony than the one that last took the floor in Phoenix.  Melo did a great job working for good shots, getting to the rim and looking for cutters.  More importantly Melo made shots from everywhere he took them.  He was very good driving and finishing.  He made a hoard of midrange jumpers and drained his only three attempt.  He pulled down nine rebounds and only turned the ball over once.

All in all, the Nuggets dodged a bullet.  The Knicks were embarrassed at home in their last game and played put forth a strong performance.  The Nuggets now face what would appear to be their toughest test of the road trip facing a much improved Atlanta Hawks team.

Other Observations from Game 31:

• For the second or third time this season Dahntay Jones made a mark on the offensive end of the floor.  He did a great job attacking the basket and finishing in traffic.  He even managed to toss in a couple of tough left handed flip shots. 
  
• Chris Andersen did not play because George Karl chose to play Renaldo Balkman instead.  While I do not see how playing Balkman and Birdman is a mutually exclusive proposition.  However, with the Knicks being primarily a perimeter team I think Andersen might have been a defensive liability. 
  
• One of the reasons I preferred Nene to Marcus Camby was that Nene was more willing to defend on the perimeter.  Well, Nene’s perimeter D was pretty shoddy against the Knicks.  He went out to 18 feet willingly, but when it came to defending the three point line he did not get out far enough on players like Tim Thomas and Al Harrington to take away the three.  Between the two of them Nene allowed several open looks from downtown.
  
• I have had it up to here with Anthony Carter.  He continues to make terrible decisions with the basketball and for the first time since he joined the Denver Nuggets I was actually a little upset that Chucky Atkins did not play.  He seemed to finally be getting into a rhythm against the 76ers after playing in his third straight game.   
  
• Oh and congratulations to me for winning my fantasy football league today thanks to a three touchdown performance by LaDainian Tomlinson.  Of course it sucked that he did it against the Broncos, but they were destined to lose tonight’s game.
  

Razzle Dazzle Game Stats

Pace Factor – 95.9

Defensive Efficiency – 114.7

Offensive Efficiency – 122.0

Posting and Toasting | Knickerblogger

As you would expect from a Mike D’Antoni team offense is the name of the game with the New York Knicks.  They give up a few more points when they lose sacrificing 105.6 points per game in wins and 110.0 when they lose, but the real difference is the complete lack of offense in losses.  In their 11 wins New York has averaged 117.2 points per game.  However, in their 17 losses the Knicks only average 96.2 points per game.  That spread of 21.0 points is the largest in the NBA.  By comparison the Nuggets average 106.2 points per game in wins and 95.5 in losses.  That is a wide difference, but nothing like the Knicks.

What does that mean?  I guess there have been 11 games this season where the Knicks have either been red hot (they have plenty of explosive players such as Al Harrington, Nate Robinson and or have faced non existent defense.  If Denver can manage to play a little defense and challenge the Knicks shooters they should be able to pull off a road win to start this four game trip.  On the other hand, if they let the Knicks get off to a good start as they did the 76ers last night, the Knicks are probably not going to cool off and let the Nuggets back in the game the way Philly did.

There will be an obstacle Denver will have to face other than the Knicks tomorrow.  NBA players are creatures of routine and habit and this game will be the most non-routine game Denver will play this season.  Tip off is scheduled for 11:05 AM Mountain time.  I am willing to bet that the players will have to be on the floor warming up before the time they usually get out of bed for a typical road game.  It will be awkward for the Nuggets and the early start time will be an issue.  The good news for the early start time is they will have plenty of time to fly to Atlanta and get settled in for their game Monday against the Hawks.

More good news is after going 2-1 in his absence Denver will be getting Carmelo Anthony back as he is listed as probable for the game tomorrow.

I think we will see a good effort out of the Nuggets.  It is the first game of a road trip where they have a legitimate chance of winning all four games (the only winning team they will play is Atlanta) and hopefully they will use their comeback victory against Philadelphia as a motivational victory instead of proof that they can afford to only play a quarter of the game against an inferior opponent.

Denver Nuggets Game Notes

Posting and Toasting | Knickerblogger

Box Score | Highlights

I am not entirely sure how the events of this night actually transpired, but what I do know is this game was exciting enough that even my wife was riveted.

The Denver Nuggets broke out a small ball long range assault that left the Philadelphia 76ers wondering where their 17 point third quarter lead (which was also a 12 point lead with just over eight minutes) disappeared to.  With a fourth quarter lineup consisting of Chauncey Billups, Chucky Atkins, J.R. Smith, Linas Kleiza/Kenyon Martin and Nene Denver drilled seven three pointers in the final stanza to roar back and win a wild and wacky game.

We could dissect the X’s and O’s as much as energy as anything.  The 76ers started the game with full court pressure, which I believe was the first time the Nuggets faced such a tactic right out of the gate.  Early on Philly really pressured Chauncey wherever he went and with the absence of Carmelo Anthony it was obvious that he was the player they did not want to allow to beat them. 

By after seemingly every Nuggets caught fire in the fourth quarter the Sixers had forgotten about Chauncey and were simply struggling challenge shots.  With the game on the line and holding a one point lead with 17 seconds left Philly once again decided to attack Chauncey and they doubled him near half court after a pick from Kenyon Martin.  Chauncey passed to a wide open Martin at the three point line who was completely startled with the vast openness of the lane before him.  He drove to the rim nearly unchallenged and threw down a game winning dunk with nine seconds remaining.  After playing such a solid defensive game it was shocking to see the 76ers just roll out the red carpet with the game on the line.

It was actually the second defensive breakdown in the last minute of the game for Philly.  On the play before Kenyon’s dunk Chauncey drove off of a high screen from left to right at the top of the circle.  Thaddeus Young hedged out and slowed him down.  Samuel Dalembert also stepped up to help stop him and Chauncey stopped at the right elbow.  Players are taught from the time they are very young that the ball is what kills you not the man.  In other words, you want to cover the guy with the ball first and worry about someone else who may be open later because it is the guy with the ball who can score, not the man without it.  Well, both Young and Dalembert left Chauncey to go back to their men leaving Billups open for an easy elbow jumper.  Needless to say Andre Miller who had switched and was not struggling to recover back to guard Chauncey was quite distraught and the play only underlies the importance of communication on defense.

The Sixers were not done with mental errors though.  Andre Iguodala traveled in the middle of the lane with only 2.9 seconds left to give the ball back over to Denver.  Iguodala was playing to pass off to a teammate when he spun into the lane, but much to his surprise saw two teammates standing and watching giving him nowhere to pass off to.  The final mental mistake came as Miller was called for loitering around the free throw line prior to Chucky Atkins shooting his first free throw after Philly fouled on the inbounds play.  (If memory serves the NBA instituted a rule that you could not attempt to intimidate a free throw shooter after LeBron James hung around saying God knows what in front of Gilbert Arenas before two crucial free throws late in a playoff game after which Arenas missed both free throws and the Cavs won by one.)  Altitude never showed a replay from the midcourt camera, but I by watching from the baseline camera you can see Miller come waking into the lane in front of Atkins after Chucky was set to shoot.  Atkins backed off while Miller slowly walked back out of the lane towards the three point line.  Miller was talking the entire time, but I am not sure if it was directed towards Atkins, a ref or his teammates.  Regardless of who he was communicating with the ref had seen enough and called the T.  As a result the Nuggets had an extra free throw and after three makes Denver was up four points instead of three and any hope for a tying three pointer went out the window.

As I mentioned in the game thread I had written the game off a couple of times in the second half and even after Denver heated up in the fourth quarter Philly kept hitting shots and it seemed like Denver would fall short even after their hot fourth quarter shooting, but in the last minute it was the Nuggets who kept their composure and made plays.

Other Observations from Game 30:

• Denver scored 37 fourth quarter points and only six of them came on two pointers.  Only Martin’s dunk was scored inside the paint.
  
• J.R. Smith continued to pick up the offensive slack with Melo out of the lineup.  He did a good job of mixing up his shots when he had the ball and only forced one three pointer.  If he could be accused of forcing anything it would be forcing drives as he missed a couple of tough shots from near the rim though they were high degree of difficulty attempts. 
  
• Nene has been incredibly efficient over the last four games.  Since the Cleveland game, where he was a non factor, Nene has scored 69 shots on only 36 attempts.  Anything over 1.25 points per shot is impressive and Nene’s 1.92 over those four games is out of this world.  Oh, by the way, he is averaging almost 13 rebounds a game since the Cleveland game as well.
  
• Chauncey and Nene shot 22 free throws, the rest of the Nuggets took three and two of those were by Atkins when he was fouled at the end of the game to stop the clock.
  
• For those of us who like seeing Renaldo Balkman on the court he got just over six minutes of playing time.  He did not play incredibly well, but it takes a while to get back into the swing of things after sitting out all but four minutes of the previous six games.  He did manage to be credited with four offensive boards.
  
• Speaking of taking a while to get in the swing of things, after playing significant minutes for the third straight game Atkins may have found his shot.  I have always supported playing Anthony Carter over Atkins, but the way Carter is turning the ball over this season, and turnovers were a major issue for the Nuggets tonight, Atkins has a window to win me over.
  
• I am not sure if Karl knew it would work or if he was out of ideas, but he deserves credit for sticking with his small lineup even after Philly pushed their lead back into double digits about four minutes into the fourth quarter.  After Denver started hitting shots it slowed down the Sixers running game which was a key to their big lead in the second half.
  
• Philly was hot from behind the arc.  How hot were they?  Even Andre Miller made one and for Andre to hit one he has to be absolutely red hot.  In fact, after missing all of their three point attempts in their previous three games they made five against Denver. 
  
• The 76ers played very well, but they put up two of the worst shots I may have ever seen from the lane.  Mareese Speights, who is going to be a very good player, airballed a dunk attempt.  He tried throwing down a monster one handed windmill, but he was a little too far away and came up a little.  As a result he spiked the ball and it went out of bounds.  Louis Williams, who I think can be a very good player one day too, one upped him though.  After driving baseline along the baseline from left to right tried throwing up a reverse layup that was so far off he shot it on the wrong side of the backboard.  He missed so badly that it did not even hit any part of the rigging holding the backboard up.      
  

Razzle Dazzle Game Stats

The pace factor was typical for a Nuggets home game at 95.6.

The Nuggets defense was a little subpar for most of the night, but they clamped down enough in the fourth quarter to edge their defensive efficiency down to 105.6 which is near their season average.

Denver’s fourth quarter explosion also pushed their offensive efficiency up near their average as it ended up at 109.8

Liberty Ballers | Sixers 4 Guidos

Sorry, not much of a game preview today.  Andre Miller and the 76ers come to town tonight without offseason prize Elton Brand who is suffering from a separated shoulder.  Denver will have to avoid a letdown following their tough six game stretch and facing a four game road trip.  The absence of Carmelo Anthony should help keep them focused.  

Denver Nuggets Game Notes

Liberty Ballers | Sixers 4 Guidos

Box Score | Highlights

While I am not pleased with the result, I definitely did appreciate the effort.  The Denver Nuggets hung tough with one of the best home teams in the NBA tonight.  Add in the fact that they were shorthanded, playing their sixth game in nine nights and that Chucky Atkins and Anthony Carter were on the court together for 10:16 and the fact that it was a close game is pretty impressive.

The stretch of six games in nine nights is now over with and the Nuggets finished with a disappointing 2-4 record.  There is no shame in losing the games they lost.  At Houston they came out flat, bounced back and played maybe their best ball of the season in the second quarter, but ultimately fell short.  They were demolished by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a game where Denver did not seem to compete physically or mentally very well.  The next night they battled Phoenix and still forced Steve Nash to drain two clutch threes despite one of Carmelo Anthony’s worst games as a professional.  The final loss was tonight against Portland. 

Did we learn anything about the Nuggets during this segment of the schedule?  I think we did.  Our bubble burst a little bit.  There were hopes that the Nuggets may have been the fourth best team in the NBA with Chauncey on board.  That is clearly not the case.  Denver did not separate themselves from the second tier of teams in the west. 

There is good news though.  The Nuggets are clearly every bit as good as the Trail Blazers and I think when both teams are healthy and playing at their best Denver is the better team.  The Nuggets played four road games during a demanding part of their schedule and even though they only won one of those four games they battled in all of them and every game came down to the last couple of minutes.  At this point in the season the only teams in the Western Conference I think the Nuggets definitely lose a playoff series to are the Hornets, Spurs and of course the Lakers, but I think they have a shot at anyone other than LA.  That is a great place to be for this team especially considering where expectations for them were in the summer.

The bottom line is while this edition of the Denver Nuggets may not set a franchise record for wins, they still possess a good shot at ending the five year losing first round losing streak.  You also have to believe that the front office will be active in an attempt to upgrade the roster.  Whether or not that gives you a warm feeling in your tummy I do not know, but

If you find yourself just too down about Denver’s 2-4 stretch just remember if it was not for the Nuggets Boston would have a 26 game winning streak instead of a 19 game winning streak.

Other Observations from Game 29:

This set of six games in nine nights is not only hard on the players, but on bloggers too.  I am going to bed.  Believe it or not my wife does not like when I sleep in until 11 even though I am on vacation.

Razzle Dazzle Game Stats

Pace Factor – 84.3 – Which is now the slowest paced game of the season

Defensive Efficiency – 119.8 – Clearly their defensive efficiency took a beating in the fourth quarter, but the reason was not poor defense, but fouls.  Portland took sixteen free throws in the fourth quarter alone of which they made 15.

Offensive Efficiency – 109.2 – Not bad, especially with the starters shooting a combined 16-46 (34.8%).

Blazer’s Edge | Rip City Project | Trail Blazers Center Court

Let’s all hope that BeefySwats ends up prophetic.  He projected that the Denver Nuggets would start off this six game stretch 1-3 and then sweep the Trail Blazers.  We are one game away from that happening, but the Nuggets will have their work cut out for them. 

Portland is going to be out for blood after losing a game they feel like they let get away from them.  You can especially expect Brandon Roy to play much better tonight. 

On the Nuggets side of the ball I am not sure any of their key players are going to be able to raise their game any higher than they played last night.  Maybe Chauncey heats up and drains a couple of threes that he barely missed last night or J.R. has a huge quarter. 

However, the beauty of how the Nuggets have increased their defensive intensity and focus is that they can win ugly this season.  As long as they can play good or better defense they will be in this game. 

I expect to see Portland jump out of the gate quickly and capture a lead in the first quarter.  The Nuggets will come back in the second and we will have a see saw second half.  And maybe, just maybe with the Nuggets short handed and playing their third back to back set of games in nine nights we will have a Renaldo Balkman sighting.  I am starting to feel like Balkman is some kind of mythical creature like the Griffin or Minotaur. 

Denver Nuggets Game Notes

Previous Matchup:  Umm…Last night

Blazer’s Edge | Rip City Project | Trail Blazers Center Court (Official blog of the Trail Blazers)

Box Score | Highlights

I think it is safe to put tonight’s victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in the nice win category.  Whenever you are playing without your leading scorer, no matter how putrid he may have been playing, against a very good team it is a good win.  The Nuggets did exactly what we all knew they needed to do.  They got back to playing aggressive defense, even though they did have plenty of breakdowns, and they played very unselfishly on offense, especially in the first half.

The Nuggets defense was pretty good for most of the night and they even ramped it up to great for a couple of brief stretches.  To me the biggest key was not switching every screen.  Playing to fight through screens with the big man hedging is not only a more sound strategy, but it helps keep the players focused and active.  The Nuggets clearly responded to the challenge.  They still did switch a few times, especially in the second half on the weak side down screen which caused some problems, but overall it was a much better defensive performance. 

Denver also did an amazing job on the boards.  Portland leads the league in rebound percentage, a more telling stat than total rebounds because it eliminates pace from the equation, but Denver outrebounded them by 11.  In fact, J.R., Kenyon and Nene all had as many defensive rebounds, 23, as Portland did as a team.

Without Carmelo Denver relied much more on offensive movement and passing to get good shots.  As was pointed out in the preview Portland allows a lot of penetration and Denver did a great job attacking the rim which was evident in their 39 free throw attempts.  I also liked the fact that they attempted a season low 11 three pointers.  Without Melo it would have been easy for J.R. and Chauncey to take the easy way out and try to win the game by making a bunch of threes.  Chauncey did take a couple of bad threes, but overall Denver worked to get good shots for most of the night. 

We have ragged on Linas Kleiza quite a bit this year and George Karl has said that LK is a slow starter.  He has indeed played pretty well lately and tonight he was an asset at both ends of the floor.  He is currently experiencing one of his hot streaks and I hope he can keep it going at least until we get a fully healthy Carmelo back.  How scorching was Kleiza tonight?  He took the ball to the basket twice on left handed drives, which tied his career high for a season.  Both times he earned a trip to the free throw line.

I did not realize it until tonight, but that Brandon Roy is a nice guy.  When he found out that Carmelo Anthony was going to miss the game tonight, apparently he decided to take the night off just like Melo did.  Maybe I am giving him too much credit though.  The other time he scored eight points in a game this season Portland won by 38.  Maybe he was just trying to recreate some of that magic.

All kidding aside Roy was simply a victim of the law of averages.  As blazing hot as he was the other night scoring a career high 52 points it was just his turn to have a rough outing in order for nature to smooth out his averages. 

These two teams play again tomorrow night and it will mark the end of the Nuggets six games in nine nights stretch.  Another victory without Melo would have to force us to consider it a success even though we all hoped for something better than a split of those six games.  A loss will make the six game stretch a disappointment and Denver better be prepared to play better than they did tonight because you know Brandon Roy will.

Other Observations from Game 28:

• Even without Carmelo Anthony playing George Karl still could not manage to find any minutes for Renaldo Balkman.  This entire situation is getting out of hand.  I am beginning to wonder if Karl found out that Balkman sodomized Cobe in Vegas during the summer league.  I honestly cannot think of a more rational explanation. 
  
• Chucky Atkins made an appearance and took the minutes I expected to go to Balkman and honestly, he did a pretty good job.  He worked hard on defense and was not a liability on that end of the floor.   Offensively he ran the offense and was very vocal about getting what he wanted.  I was also impressed that he did not take a shot in over eight minutes of floor time.  I do not know if Karl wants to start giving him some minutes or if he was getting some run in an attempt to raise his trade value, but he definitely outplayed Anthony Carter.  If Atkins can simply come in and run the offense the way he did it will give Karl another option other than Carter on those nights where AC is in turnover mode.
  
• I thought J.R. played a very good game.  He forced a couple of drives, but that is better than forcing a couple 28 footers.  He was active and just played an all around solid game.  He may not be scoring at the rate he did last season, but I think I like this version of J.R. better.  He is rebounding, defending as well as he can and really letting the game come to him.
• Kenyon Martin made me a little nuts a few times tonight.  There were several occasions where he was caught guarding one of the Blazers three point shooters and he laid off playing against the drive.  Fortunately for the Nuggets he was only burned a couple of times.  I do not understand why big men play so far off of guards who can hit threes.  If they get beat off the drive, they have help.  On the other hand, they have no help when they are playing eight feet off and he launches a three. 
  
• I thought Dahntay Jones did a solid job guarding Brandon Roy.  Roy loves to drive down one side of the lane and throw a shot fake.  Even if the defender does not leave his feet Roy typically gets him leaning to one side or another and that is all the space he needs to get off what for him is a high percentage shot.  The key to stopping that play is balance and strength.  If you can stay balanced and absorb a little bump that Roy will give the defender can stay centered and prevent Roy from gaining the advantage he is seeking with the shot fake.  Jones did as good a job as anyone in defending that tactic.
  
• Karl put Nene in the game with 11:45 left to play and I wondered if Nene could finish out the game or if he would need another blow.  Nene did indeed play the rest of the game, but I thought he looked a little gassed by the end of the game.
  
• I am pretty sure I have seen much more video of Travis Outlaw than Kenyon Martin has, but Kenyon caught on to his game pretty quickly.  Outlaw is a very good fourth quarter player and all he does is spot up from the corner and shoot pull up jumpers.  After hitting a pull up jumper from the free throw line against Kenyon, Kenyon got in his face and forced him to back up and when Outlaw went up for the shot Kenyon was so tight that he had to flip a pass backwards to Roy in the corner who missed the three which pretty much ended the game.
  
• The Nuggets now have their eighth win of the season in slow paced games in which they have held the opposition to 90 points or less.
  

Razzle Dazzle Game Stats

The pace factor falls in the category of cement galoshes at a very slow 86.9.  Once again the Nuggets have proven they can win playing at a slow pace.

The Nuggets defensive efficiency was 102.4 which may seem average, but when you consider the Trail Blazers entered the game with an offensive efficiency of 114.0 that is a very impressive performance.  The Nuggets also held Portland to 41.8% shooting.

Offensively the Nuggets did just fine without Carmelo as they did slightly better than their average with a 111.6.

Blazer's Edge

The Denver Nuggets and Portland Trailblazers have never been considered rivals.  Until the 2004-05 realignment they were in separate divisions.  They have only played in the NBA playoffs on two occasions, after the 1985-86 season (Denver won the first round matchup 3-1) and after the 1976-77 season (Portland won in the semifinals 4-2 on their way to their only NBA title).

Last season this matchup took a step towards becoming a rivalry.  They played a very intense overtime game last season on February 4^th which was won by the Nuggets 105-103 on a last second shot by Allen Iverson.  Had Portland won they would have won the season series 3-1 and at the time with both teams fighting for a playoff spot the tiebreaker seemed significant.

Fast forward to today and Portland and Denver are tied atop the Northwest Division and.  Both teams appear to be in position to be contenders for the Northwest Division championship for the next few seasons.  You can expect a hotly contested game.

Portland is a very good offensive team.  They are second in the league in offensive efficiency at 114.0 and they play at the slowest pace in the entire league.  What is strange about the Trail Balzers is most teams that play at a slow pace are defensive oriented teams.  Portland is a poor defensive team and the slow pace with which they play makes it more difficult to capitalize on the offensive advantage they have over almost every team in the league.

Portland’s offensive dominance is especially impressive considering that they are a jump shooting team.  Even their power forwards, LaMarcus Aldridge and Channing Frye, are long range marksmen.  Their only interior big men Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden, are not scorers.  Portland has a similar situation to the Nuggets in their starting lineup.  They start rookie Nicolas Batum for defensive purposes as the Nuggets start Dahntay Jones.  Both are at their best when they run the floor, but Batum is a better shooter.  Portland has another European rookie, Rudy Fernandez, who plays the J.R. Smith role of instant offense.  He is very similar to J.R. in that he has deep range, a love of taking shots with a high degree of difficulty, he is athletic, can penetrate almost at will and is also an exceptional passer.

However, as talented as the Blazers are they have one player who is head and shoulders above the rest and that is Brandon Roy.  Roy is a dominant offensive player.  He is a great shooter, is a very adept passer and just knows how to play basketball.  He is an instinctive player who makes brilliant plays appear natural.  In the fourth quarter he runs the show.  Every time down the floor he has the ball in his hands and makes sure Portland gets whatever shot he wants them to.  He loves to drive from the top of the circle and once he gets his defender on his hip he will stop, draw some contact and drain a little ten or 12 foot jumper.  If the Blazers need a three, well, he will get it and usually make it.  If he happens to miss he has a knack for ending up with the rebound.  It is uncanny.

Defensively the Trail Blazers have good athletes, but give up too much penetration.  They scramble well, but tend to be a step slow with their recovery.

Denver is going to have to find a way to get back to the way they were playing before this three game losing skid.  They cannot hope that a red hot J.R. Smith will keep them in the game as he did in the second quarter in Phoenix.  Carmleo is going to miss at least the next three games thanks to his sore elbow (and some input from his agent Bill Duffy) and it will be interesting to see if Denver will play with better flow without him.  Chauncey is going to have to get back to directing the offense and demanding movement that will open up the floor. 

Defensively, the Nuggets are going to have to play with a great deal of intensity and focus.  They must rotate well in order to close out on Portland’s shooters.  I think Dahntay Jones has a chance of frustrating Roy a little and it will be interesting to see if he can at least slow him down.  If we see Anthony Carter on Roy Denver will be in big trouble.  I suspect you will see more switching on the perimeter so as to ensure that no shooter is left open, but that will only create more issues as we have seen over the previous few games.

With Denver playing at home I think you will see a more spirited effort and hopefully a more intelligent floor game.  If not, Denver will be in second place in the division come tomorrow morning.

Denver Nuggets Game Notes

Blazer’s Edge (one of the top handful of team blogs around has a very good outsider's point of view on the Nuggets) | Rip City Project

Last Season’s OT Game:  DEN 105 POR 103

Box Score | Highlights

34.8% shooting, 45 points, six assists, five rebounds and 12 turnovers.  Sounds like a pretty full game for Carmelo Anthony.  Well, actually it is accumulative stats during the Nuggets three game losing streak.  That is right, after looking like a new and improved Carmelo who could potentially average nine rebounds and five assists Melo is averaging two assists and 1.7 rebounds over his previous three games.  The sad thing is he is playing a mindless brand of basketball.  How brainless has Melo been on the basketball court lately?  Well, let’s just say if Forrest Gump’s mom wanted to get Carmelo admitted into “regular school” she would have to pork the principal a few more times than she did to get Forrest admitted.

Melo may have had one of his worst games as a pro tonight and you could make a very good case that Melo lost the game against Phoenix tonight.  Chauncey missed the big shots down the stretch, but had Carmelo not stunk the joint up so badly up until that point Denver may not have been desperately trying to catch up to the Suns in the first place. 

Ignoring the fact that he was almost completely useless during the game, and much to the dismay of those of us chatting it up in the game thread, George Karl reinserted him into the lineup with 5:42 left in the game and the score tied at 95.  Chauncey Billups made a free throw for a defensive three second violation that occurred before Melo entered the game so technically the Nuggets were ahead 96-95 before Melo was part of the action.  By the end of the game with Melo on the floor the Suns had outscored the Nuggets 13-5.  Melo was either horrible or non existent down the stretch and I have put together a little summary of his activity over the last five minutes of the game.  I recommend if you are easily disturbed by disgusting basketball I recommend you skip past this section.

Upon entering the game Carmelo stood in one place for the entire possession, behind the three point line on the right wing, and when Kenyon Martin retrieved an errant shot by Anthony Carter he kicked it out to Melo who possessed the ball for approximately .003 seconds before chucking a three pointer with 23 seconds on the shot clock.  Needless to say he missed.

Following that shot on the Suns possession Melo was a detached observer and allowed Amare Stoudemire to drive the lane without helping even though he was at the free throw line in position to help.

Returning to the Nuggets end of the floor Melo stood outside the three point line on the right baseline while Chauncey and Nene play pick and roll.  Nene turned the ball over and Melo could not catch up with Grant Hill who scores an easy layup over Anthony Carter.  Honestly, he did not really do anything wrong on that possession and the fact that he stayed out of the way on offense was probably a good thing.

On the next possession Melo posted up on the left block with Grant Hill guarding him.  Melo backed Hill down into the lane, but instead of going up strong or spinning by Hill he took a weird turnaround jump hook type shot.  When you are 3-12 it is not a very good idea to fiddle with a new type of release.  Denver needed a bucket there badly and he was in great position to score, but made an inexplicable decision on how to take his shot.  It would be his last shot attempt of the game as “Mr. Big Shot” takes over from here.

Defensively Melo was very stationary did not move with any sense of urgency or desperation.  He was covering Grant Hill who was not a threat to shoot from the perimeter and should have been ready to help at the drop of a hat.  He did box out Shaq on one possession where Nash made a three and stepped into the lane on another Nash three pointer, but his passivity was shocking. 

We all marveled at Melo’s performance when he tied the record for most points in a single quarter, but I think it has corrupted Melo’s mind.  His average stats since that quarter are horrible.   (Note that for the purpose of these per game statistics I have converted his stats from the fourth quarter of the Minnesota game into a full game’s worth of stats by multiplying them by four.  That may or may not be the accurate thing to do, but it makes sense to my simple mind.)  Anyway, here is what Melo has done per game since his 33 point quarter.  He is averaging 17.8 points on 37.3% shooting with five rebounds, three assists and four turnovers.  The sad thing is almost all of his shot attempts have been from the perimeter.  At some point he will realize that the style he is attempting to play is a dead end, but I have to wonder when that point will come.  His play is a big reason behind the Nuggets three game slide. 

However, it is not just Carmelo.  A disturbing trend for the Nuggets starting five continued tonight.   For the third straight game the Nuggets entire starting five had a negative plus/minus rating.  I am not just talking about some totals that are barely into negative numbers, each and every one of their minus totals have been in double digits.  Think about that.  All five of the Nuggets starters have had double digit negative plus/minus totals for three straight games!  That is baffling and disturbing.  Their average plus/minus over those three games is -16.5!  Against Houston and Phoenix Melo had the lowest plus/minus of the entire team posting a -24 in Houston and a -26 tonight against the Suns. 

An even stranger trend is that against Houston and Phoenix not one of the Nuggets bench players had a negative plus/minus.  To be fair Anthony Carter had a plus minus of zero which is not positive, but it ain’t negative either.

I think it is clear that the Nuggets are not quite as good as we had all hoped they were, but we should not jump to drastic conclusions based on a three game losing streak either.  Of course we had all hoped they would do better during this six game stretch and a sweep of the Trail Blazers in the upcoming home and home would be great, but they way the Nuggets are playing that seems pretty far fetched.

It is clear that there is something wrong with the mental state of this team.  They are playing passive defense and offensively they are no where near the same team they were early in the season.  They have returned to the take the first available shot with minimal movement and as few passes as necessary.  As with Melo and his 33 point quarter the Nuggets may have let their early season success go to their head.  Portland will have little problem with them in the next two games if Denver does not get much smarter very quickly.

Other Observations from Game 27

• Once again J.R. Smith was the Nuggets best player.  He was the reason this game was not a 20 point blowout.  For some reason he only played 13 minutes in the second half though and Karl had him on the bench for almost four minutes in the middle of the fourth quarter.  Smith had been in the game from the 4:22 mark of the third quarter so I can see that he may have needed a break instead of playing the entire final 16 plus minutes of the game, but take him out before a time out and put him back in a minute or two later.  Denver needed him tonight.  The most damning thing of this team’s sad mentality was that despite being their best scorer in the game he did not take a shot in the last seven minutes of the game.  The Dahntay Jones experiment made sense to start the season, and I have defended it, but with J.R. raising his play the way he has over the previous couple of weeks I think it is time for him to start and play 35 minutes a game.  Right now he is only averaging 25 minutes a game for the season and that is silly.
  
• There continues to be a great deal of consternation among those of us who participated in the game thread about the Nuggets reliance on switching screens.  I realize that there is a time and place for switching, but it should never be your primary defense on screens.  I think a big reason why the Nuggets are struggling on defense against good teams is their refusal to jump the ball handler and force him backwards on pick and rolls.
• Linas Kleiza has picked up his game.  Denver has needed his three point shooting and over his last 14 games he is 19-44 which equates to 43.2%.  His defense is still subpar, but at the very least he is raising his trade value.  Tonight I would have much rather seen him in the game over the last few minutes than Carmelo.
  
• Chris Andersen has also done a very good job off the bench.  He has been incredibly aggressive on the glass and continues to just play hard.
  
• Keeping with the bench I know I am not the only one who is baffled by Karl’s inability to get Renaldo Balkman minutes.  He needs to be on the floor for a couple of eight minute stretches every game.
  
• Nene bounced back from his disappearing act against the Cavs, but as noted he still posted a negative plus/minus.  I am willing to assign the blame for that to the fact he played most of his minutes with the other starters and not directly as a result of his own performance.  I thought Denver did too much double teaming of Shaq when Nene was guarding him.  Make Shaq prove that Nene could not handle him before putting your defense at a disadvantage by doubling.
• Last year when asked by the Kamenetzky Brothers over at Lakers Blog what the Nuggets did best I replied that it was their ability to score easy points in the paint.  Well, the Nuggets are no longer a force in the lane and they only scored 30 of their 101 points in the paint tonight.  Last season that number was usually around 50.  They are relying far too much on perimeter shots and as a result are struggling to beat the better teams in the league.

Razzle Dazzle Game Stats

The Pace factor was an unbelievably fast 104.9 at halftime, but as most games do it slowed down considerably in the second half.  The final pace factor was 95.4 and as the game slowed down it was the Suns who took advantage by making the plays in a limited amount of possessions.

The Nuggets defensive efficiency was an atrocious 113.2.  It was their third game in a row of finishing with a defensive efficiency of well over 100.

The Nuggets offensive efficiency was an acceptable 105.9, but they really fell off at the end of the game and I shudder to think of what it might have been without J.R.’s red hot second quarter.

Bright Side of the Sun

For today's "preview" head on over to the suprelative Suns blog Bright Side of the Sun for a little podcast action with Phoenix Stan and yours truly.

Denver Nuggets Game Notes

Previous Matchup:  Preseason Game 4 DEN 94 PHO 91

Box Score | Highlights

When the Nuggets beat the tar out of a crappy team I generally claim there is not much you can tell from a win like that.  Well, if we carry that philosophy to its logical conclusion I should avoid jumping to conclusions when they get pounded by a red hot team that may be the best in the league.

Cleveland completely destroyed the Nuggets on both ends of the floor and honestly it was not even close.  Other than the fact that we can add a second team in the league that the Nuggets are absolutely outclassed by (I think we can now put the Cavs in the same category as the Lakers as teams the Nuggets have no chance at defeating although we do not need to worry about taking on Cleveland until next season) there were a couple of issues that really bothered me.

Early in his career Melo seemed to get caught up a little too much with his one on one competition with LeBron when they played, but he seemed to get beyond that pretty quickly.  However, tonight Melo tried to win the head to head battle with LeBron and it really hurt the Nuggets on offense.  The confusing thing though was how he settled for midrange jumpers.  There was only one occasion where Melo really attacked LeBron and he blew by him with ease for a dunk.  The numbers suggest that when LeBron covers Melo the Nuggets would be better off for Melo to pass the ball.  In the first meeting Melo was 2-7 when covered by LeBron and ESPN showed a stat at one point during tonight's game that Melo was 1-7 when guarded by LeBron.

The good news was Melo did not only try to go after LeBron on offense, but he played some decent defense on him at the other end of the floor.  He did try to pressure LeBron and really played some of the most intense defense I can remember.  On the other hand, he seemed very eager to switch off and he did not guard LeBron the entire time they were on the floor.

Melo was not the only Nugget who played with impatience on offense.  As against the Rockets Denver met their opponent’s defensive resistance with lazy one on one offense.  They did not move without the ball and even though they totaled 20 assists only nine of them were passes in the lane.  Had Denver not shot 10-20 from three point range the score would not have been nearly as close. 

I guess if you are looking for some good news, Chauncey was the only Nugget to play over 30 minutes.  Since the outcome of the game was pretty much set by the middle of the third quarter Karl could afford to rest his starters knowing they have a game tomorrow night in Phoenix.

Denver is off to a disappointing, but predictable 1-2 start to this important six game stretch, but they can still salvage their rep if they can play some good ball over the next four days.

Other Observations from Game 26:

After boosting his assist average to 4.5 Carmelo has had three or fewer assists in ten of his previous 11 games.  The Nuggets had success with a set where Melo would get the ball on the left wing and having the weak side players run circle cuts through the lane.  I have not seen that set for a while and it may be part of the reason why Melo has seen a drop off in assists.

Sticking with Melo I know he is shooting a good percentage from the three point line, but I really wish he would reduce the number of threes he takes.  I may be way off base, but I think it only adds to the temptation to become more of a perimeter player, which is his greatest mental weakness on offense.

The way the Nuggets run their ball screens has been driving me nuts.  The Nuggets big men slip almost every screen.  The entire point of the pick is to dislodge the defender from his position.  Slipping the screen can be a great tactic when it is set up with a plethora of solid screens.  If you do it every time it does not work.  The ball handler does not get the benefit of his defender being bumped off and the screener does not get the benefit of his man being forced to leave him in order to hedge on the dribbler.  Slipping screen after screen is simply inane.

The way the Cavs shot the ball it is difficult to assess the Nuggets defense.  When Zydrunas Ilgauskas is draining threes (he had nine career threes entering tonight’s game) and splashing 18 foot fade aways with Nene in his mug there is only so much the defense can do.   The Cavs also did a great job of moving the ball.  They make such crisp swift passes the defense does not have the time to rotate and organize.

Razzle Dazzle Game Stats

The pace factor was 94.4, which is right about average for a game in Denver.

The Nuggets defensive efficiency was a seemingly disappointing 111.3, but they did manage to hold the Cavs below their average offensive efficiency for the season.

The Nuggets string of 15 consecutive games with an offensive efficiency over 100 has come to an end after posting a 93.2.

Fear the Sword 

We are all impressed with the Denver Nuggets 16-5 record since Chauncey Billups rolled into town.  Well, the Cleveland Cavaliers have gone 20-2 over their previous 22 games.  Now that is impressive.

The truly impressive thing is the Cavs are not killing LeBron James in order to dominate the regular season.  He is only averaging a hair over 35 minutes a night during that 22 game stretch.  The Cavaliers are playing arguably the best basketball in the NBA.  They are first in the league in offensive efficiency, 114.3, and second in defensive efficiency, 99.7.  They are the only team even close to the Boston Celtics in defensive efficiency.

When Melo and LeBron first entered the league there were hopes that they would be the Magic and Bird for the new millennium.  Obviously, the rivalry has not quite reached that level.  However, LeBron and Carmelo are only the second set of player from the same draft to average at least 20 points per game over their first five seasons with the first pair being Michael Jordan and Hakeen Olajuwon. 

That is some pretty good company.

The Nuggets will have to capitalize their fast break opportunities as the Cavs like to play at a relative slow pace.  They do not want to have to go up against the Cavs halfcourt defense all night long.  Denver played a lazy offensive half against the Rockets and they need to raise their level of play if they want to compete with the Cavs.  That is right, not win, just to compete.

Once again the Nuggets play a team that will force them to rotate to cover their shooters and Denver’s big men will have to match the intensity of players like Anderson Varejao and Ben Wallace. 

Denver has done well against the Cavs since LeBron and Melo entered the league, but this Cavs team handled the Nuggets relatively easily despite a red hot shooting performance by Chauncey Billups in their first meeting this season.

This should be a great game and it is another chance for the Nuggets to make a case that they are the best among the second batch of teams below the Lakers, Celtics and Cavs. 

Denver Nuggets Game Notes

Previous Matchup:  Game 8 – DEN 99 CLE 110

Fear the Sword

The third round of the Blogger MVP/Rookie of the Year rankings are up over at The Dream Shake.  

You can check out my personal rankings here.

This is an advance copy of an article from the December 22, 2008 issue of Sports Illustrated.

Home Cookin'

Energized by being reunited with family and friends, Denver native Chauncey Billups has guided the previously directionless Nuggets to the brink of first place in the West    By Chris Mannix

The smile on Chauncey Billups's face opens slowly and grows as he begins to speak: about the catfish dinners at M&D's Fish & Barbeque Cafe, and the Sunday brunches at A&A Fish Market & Restaurant. His lips are curving north into a grin. About catching cousin Jaidah's high school basketball game last week, and the courtside view he had of a middle school clash between cousins Jevon and Metise a few days later. His teeth are starting to show. About the 
 25-minute drive from his South Denver residence to the home of his parents, Ray and Faye, a trip that he makes nearly every afternoon when the Nuggets are in town, to watch TiVo'd episodes of Desperate Housewives and The First 48 with his mother. He's practically giggling now.

Is Billups happy? Try ecstatic. The sting of being traded from Detroit, where he had spent six-plus seasons with the Pistons, faded quickly. Billups is home again. Back in the state that first embraced him when he was a three-time Mr. Basketball at Denver's George Washington High, and that fell in love with him when he passed on scholarship offers from Big East and ACC schools to sign with Colorado, which he led to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 28 years. Back in the city that has been home to four generations of Billupses, where blood relatives number more than a hundred and a night on the town feels like a high school reunion. "Being here, it's priceless," says Billups. "It really is a dream come true."

For everyone. Since Nov. 3, when Billups was acquired from Detroit (along with forward Antonio McDyess and center Cheik Samb) for guard Allen Iverson, the Nuggets were a robust 15–4 at week's end with Billups in the lineup. (They were 16–7 overall, the second-best mark in the Western Conference.) Further, Billups's numbers with Denver—18.9 points and 7.0 assists—have made him a bona fide All-Star candidate in a conference loaded with elite point guards (see: Paul, Williams, Kidd, Nash, Davis).

As a result, Billups has been greeted with the same enthusiasm shown to Broncos hero John Elway. The Nuggets' community relations staff has been inundated with requests for their point guard, and the loudest ovation during pregame introductions is reserved for the city's native son. More than 50,000 fans in Boulder gave him a welcome-back roar before the Oklahoma State–Colorado game last month. The phone at his parents' house doesn't stop ringing with ticket requests. "Chauncey bought me and his father season tickets," says Faye, "but we really need a thousand." Faye was probably the most excited to hear about the trade, not only because she gets to see her son for more than a couple of holidays and six weeks in the summer, but also because she gets to spend more time with his wife, Piper, a (surprise!) Denver native, and their three daughters: Cydney, 10; Ciara, 8; and Cenaiya, 2. "Mom's way more excited about the grandkids," says Billups. Faye agrees and laughs: "He's right!"

And the Nuggets? They're thrilled too. Going into the season Denver was viewed as an undisciplined run-and-gun unit that lacked leadership and any discernible defensive presence. Enter Billups, a never-rattled floor general and a two-time second-team All-Defensive selection whose leadership skills were validated by the championship ring that he won with the Pistons in 2004. Round peg, meet round hole. "What I've felt from him as much as any player I've coached in Denver is winning," says Nuggets coach George Karl. "It's winning and nothing else."

Billups has stepped into his role as easily as he has his new uniform. He has a coach who empowers him to run the team as he sees fit and a roster full of players who are eager for guidance from a former Finals MVP. "He's got the ring, he's got championship experience," says guard Anthony Carter. "We defer to him." During the first half of the Dec. 10 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Pepsi Center, Denver was battered on the boards and fell behind by 12 points. In the quiet Nuggets locker room at halftime, only Billups's voice was heard. He blasted his teammates for a lack of effort. He told them to have some pride. He reminded them that they would regret losing games like this in April when they were fighting for playoff position. Those words resonated. In the second half Denver hustled to a nine-rebound edge over the T-Wolves and, keyed by forward Carmelo Anthony's NBA-record-tying 33 third-quarter points, escaped with a 116–105 victory.

Watch Billups on the floor and you can almost see him thinking. If the situation calls for him to score, his mind recalls the lessons he learned from Nick Van Exel, a shoot-first point guard whom Billups backed up in his first tour with Denver (a 58-game stint bridging the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons that was aborted when the coaching staff couldn't figure out whether he was a point guard or a two guard). If the moment calls for patience, Billups channels his inner Terrell Brandon, who taught Billups to play with poise during their two seasons together in Minnesota. "[Billups] knows how to run a team," says Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "That's what good point guards do—they control and help other people play the game more easily."

With the Nuggets trailing by one in the third quarter against the Timberwolves, Billups pushed the ball up the court on a fast break. But instead of taking the ball to the basket, he pulled up and launched a three-pointer five seconds into the shot clock. On the surface it appeared to be a bad decision. But in the few seconds that the ball was in his hands, Billups had noticed Anthony in prime rebounding position underneath the basket. The shot missed, but Anthony was there to corral the rebound and put in an easy two. When he is reminded of the sequence a day later, Billups recalls it instantly. "I make that shot, we take the lead and the ceiling blows off," he says. "I miss, I know Melo puts it back and we get the same result."

Walk through the Nuggets' locker room, a spacious, curved space dominated by sky-blue carpeting, and you'll find no shortage of players who have benefited from Billups's presence. Take center Nenê, who missed 66 games last season while recovering from testicular cancer. When Denver jettisoned Marcus Camby in a cost-cutting move in July, Nenê expanded his workouts to prepare for his new role as a starter. He polished his post moves and added a 15‑foot jump shot to his arsenal. But during the preseason, he remained the fourth or fifth option in the offense. Not with Billups in the lineup. During games, Billups makes a conscious effort to keep his big man involved, and in timeouts he encourages his teammates to keep feeding Nenê in the post. "He's our most efficient player," says Billups. "He has to get his touches."

Next, wander across the room to Anthony's locker. For most of his career Anthony has had to work for his shots off isolations and post-up plays. Billups's goal: to get Anthony a handful of easy buckets every game. "I don't have to play as much with the basketball as I did in the past," says Anthony. "I've had a lot of fun in my five years, but right now I'm having the most fun I've ever had."

Nobody, however, is having more fun than Billups, who continues to enjoy his welcome-back moments. Before his third game with Denver, Billups did a double take while he was in the pregame layup line when he spotted a face in the crowd that he hadn't seen since junior high. That's junior high. "Mary George," says Billups. "And she looked exactly the same." He pauses before letting out a long, hearty laugh. "I love it. It's great to be home."

Box Score | Highlights

I could not have been more excited at halftime of this game.  The Denver Nuggets had weathered a predictable early flurry by the Houston Rockets and then took the game over in the second quarter.  They were attacking the rim, working for good shots and flying around on defense. 

Things changed considerably in the third quarter.  There are games where the team comes out after halftime a changed team and everyone says to someone nearby, I guess the coach really let them have it.  Well a neurosurgeon must have let them have it because the Nuggets came out lobotomized in the third quarter.  I honestly think you can count the number of good shots the Nuggets took in the entire second half on one hand.  

The Nuggets still respond to defensive resistance with decreased effort instead of increased effort.  Instead of settling for the jumpers a good defense like the Rockets was giving them they need to work even harder to break down the defense with off the ball movement and unselfish passing.  The Nuggets chose the easy way out.  They would try to do the right thing, but when it proved to be difficult their offense became more perimeter oriented than a doughnut (you know, nothing in the middle).

They also started slipping almost every screen.  Scott Hastings did a good job to point out on television the vast difference between the screens set by Yao and the screens set by the Nuggets big men.  More often than not there was no contact whatsoever leaving the ball handler with few options.

Still as poorly as Denver was playing they were still within three a couple of minutes into the fourth quarter and with five minutes left the lead was only five. 

As painful as the second half was to watch the most shockingly disappointing aspect of this game was how badly Aaron Brooks dominated Chauncey Billups.  Brooks found his way to the paint so easily Chauncey should have changed his name to Poland.  On the other end of the floor Billups was completely flustered by Brooks speed as well.  Chauncey has a great post game, but he could not get Brooks pinned down to receive an entry pass.  When he tried to back Brooks down Brooks tipped the ball away and almost created a turnover. 

Chauncey only exacerbated things with his shot selection.  It may not be fair to skewer Chauncey like that because he is the reason why Denver is where they are, but Brooks dominated him so completely I could not ignore it.

The players were not the only ones to drop the ball in the second half.  I thought George Karl made two major errors down the stretch and they both occurred at the same time.  One was removing J.R. Smith instead of Anthony Carter when Chauncey came back in the game with 6:49 left in the game.  Then with Billups and Carter in the game together the Nuggets matched up completely wrong with Billups remaining on Brooks and Carter covering the bigger Tracy McGrady. 

It is easy to write this game off.  Second half of a back to back.  The Rockets are healthy again.  The Rockets just hit their shots in the second half.  Houston got all the calls in the second half.  Yao, McGrady and Artest were all on their game.  I think all of those things are true, but this was a winnable game and the best teams in the league win more of these games than they loose.  Denver still has four games in this six game stretch to prove themselves and I will expect the best out of Denver in each of those four games.

Other Observations from Game 25

• Once again J.R. Smith was the best Nugget in the second half.  He did take a horrible three that resulted in a three pointer for Houston that was a big part of the momentum swing that came in the middle of the third quarter, but he was the only one who did not settle for jumper after jumper. 
  
• The Nugget who did the best job on Yao was Chris Andersen.  He was the only Nugget big man who started fighting for position with Yao early in the possession and as a result he kept him out of the paint.  Nene and Kenyon were content to let Yao pick his spot and then they started holding their position.  That is just asking for trouble and was a big reason why Yao dominated so thoroughly.
  
• We have all been hard on Linas Kleiza, but he played a very good game. 
  
• The Nuggets have had to deal with hot players like Dirk Nowitzki and Tracy McGrady over the past two games yet we have not had a single Renaldo Balkman sighting.
  
• Apparently it was Rosie O'Donnell wig night in Houston.  Oh wait, I was wrong.  It was Luis Scola wig night.  I got a little confused.  Sorry about that Luis.
• Kenyon Martin did not play in the fourth quarter and I am not sure why.  Karl did try to go small, especially at the end, but I do not know if Karl was unahppy with Martin's play, if his wrist was bothering him or if there was anothe reason for his absence.
• OK, here is the key stretch in the third quarter where the Nuggets lost the game.  Dahntay Jones made a fast break dunk to put Denver up 67-60 with eight minutes left in the third quarter, then the roof caved in.  Houston hit a three thanks to the fact that both Kenyon and Dahntay ran at McGrady leaving Battier wide open in the corner and the Nuggets offense went into doughnut mode.
  

-          Melo takes a three with 15 seconds on the shot clock

-          Nene looses ball on dunk attempt

-          Out of a timeout Kenyon makes a runner in the lane

-          Chauncey takes a horrible one handed leaning 15 footer with 16 seconds on the shot clock, Nuggets corral the rebound and then Melo gets the ball on the right wing dribbles across the court to the left wing, drives into the lane, over penetrates and has no choice to dump the ball off to Nene who looses it out of bounds with 14 seconds still on the shot clock

-          J.R.’s aforementioned disastrous step back three pointer with 12 seconds on the shot clock

-          Melo fiddles with the ball at the top of the circle, drives and throws up an right handed runner while flying in the air forward and slightly to the left, Nene tips in the miss

-          Kenyon gets a pass from Chauncey on the right wing (in all honestly as soon as he caught it I thought, he is going to take a bad jumper) and even though he was isolated with the slower Luis Scola and has a deadly right handed push shot in his arsenal he settles for a jump shot that misses

-          Chauncey takes a decent 18 footer, but he does it with 19 on the shot clock and of course, it misses

-          Finally the string is broken with a fast break lay in by Melo

-          However, it picks up again as Chauncey takes a three with 20 on the shot clock

The end result a 21-7 Houston run that for all intents and purposes was the deciding segment of the game.  The sequence included six jumpers, five of which I would classify as bad shots and two turnovers.

• On one of Yao’s second half buckets he entered the lane with 17 seconds on the shot clock and took his shot with 11 seconds on the shot clock.  I was pretty good at math in school and I am confident that that means he was in the lane for more than three seconds.  And I am not talking his big toe was hanging over the line.  He was planted in the middle of the lane. 
  
• One last (disturbing) thought.  The Nuggets starters were a combined -94, while the bench was a combined +34.  No starter had a positive plus/minus and no bench player had a negative one.

Razzle Dazzle Game Stats

The pace factor was a season low 82.8.  Incredibly slow.

The Nuggets defensive efficiency was a season high (or season low depending on how you look at it) 130.5.  Incredibly bad.

As a result of the slow pace the Nuggets posted a very good offensive efficiency of 116.0.  Thanks mostly to their scoring explosion in the third quarter.

The Dream Shake

Game two in the six game drive to dominance is tonight in Houston against the Rockets.  In the past you could put a tick in the loss column whenever the Nuggets were playing a road game on the second night of back to back, especially against a quality opponent. 

Not so this season. 

As I wrote after the Nuggets impressive win in Dallas Denver is carving out a personality for road games.  They are not afraid playing a game in the 80’s or 90’s (by that I am referring to point total, not the years 1980-1999).  Last night was the fifth road win for the Nuggets this season where they have held their opponent below 90 points.  Consistently winning that type of game has been nearly unheard of at any point during the Nuggets existence.  This year it is a reality and the result has been eight wins in 12 games.

Denver does have a tall task ahead of them tonight, but then again, Houston is not playing at the top of their game.  They lost their last home game against the Los Angeles Clippers by 13.  However, because of that you can expect the Rockets to bring a very good effort tonight.  

The Rockets play very good defense and are patient on offense.  They swing the ball at least once on almost every possession.  Sometimes the do it to give Yao a chance to get position on the weak side before they enter the ball or they dump it in to him first to force the double team in order to open the weak side up for their shooters.  In the first meeting, won by the Nuggets, the Rockets were able to stay in the game thanks to some very good three point shooting made possible by ball reversals and penetration.

Defensively Denver is going to have to play physical with Tracy McGrady and make sure he is strictly a jump shooter.  Yao is a load and they will have to swarm him with big players as they did in the first meeting.  They cannot lose track of Shane Battier and when Carl Landry enters the game they need to treat him like would Carlos Boozer.  He can hit the 15 footer at a very high rate and plays with a lot of energy in the lane. 

The area of the game Denver has the advantage in this game is on offense.  Denver will have to play better than they did last night in Dallas, and they certainly can.  The Mavs are a decent defensive team, but Houston is at another level.  Melo will have to contend with Shane Battier and maybe Ron Artest who may play tonight.  Nene will have to attack Yao and oh by the way, a big key to this game is if either Yao or Nene get into foul trouble.  Denver will have to attack the rim, and that means attack Yao, and make sure they are moving without the ball.  Melo cannot get into a one on one battle against either Battier or Artest.  He needs to get his assists back up in the five or six range in order for Denver to be successful tonight.

Obviously a win tonight would be huge and would really get this stretch off to a great start and I want a win like Lloyd Christmas desperately wants to make love to a schoolboy.

Denver Nuggets Game Notes

Previous Meeting:  Game 18 - DEN 104 HOU 94

The Dream Shake

We have all scratched our heads a little bit wondering why Antonio McDyess was so dead set against rejoining the Nuggets.  Obviously there was some bad blood there, but why?  What happened that soured McDyess on the Nuggets organization?

The cat is out of the bag and the reason actually has to do with one of the most entertaining nights and well known stories in Nuggets lore.  

Most Nugget fans over 30 will remember the tale of how as a free agent Antonio signed with the Nuggets just one season after they had traded him to the Phoenix Suns.  Antonio was in McNichols Arena signing his contract during a Colorado Avalanche game while McDyess' Phoenix teammates Jason Kidd, Rex Chapman and George McCloud, who made an emergency trip to Denver with the hopes of convincing him to return to Phoenix, were stuck outside in a blizzard after Dan Issel made sure they could not gain entrance to the arena.  (Before we move on Chapman is now part of the Nuggets front office and McCloud would go on to join the Nuggets a year later and improbably become the Nuggets record holder for most assists in a single game.)

We all believed it was a shrewd move by Issel that prevented the Suns from making an emotional plea to sway McDyess from doing what he really wanted to do, return to Denver.

For the first time I am aware of McDyess has told his side of the story to Chris McCosky with the Detroit News (thanks to TrueHoop for the link) and it includes a few facts that are missing from the record as Nuggets fans know it.

It was January of 1999, and the lockout-shortened season was about to start. McDyess, who had played in Phoenix the previous season, was a free agent about to sign with Denver, his first NBA team.

"I didn't want to sign there," said McDyess, a forward. "I sort of had an in-between mind at that point."

Problem was, he had given a verbal commitment to the Nuggets, and they had flown him in on the eve of training camp to sign the contract.

"When I got to Denver, I just felt like that wasn't the place for me," he said. "So I called Jason Kidd (his teammate in Phoenix the previous season) and told him, 'I don't know if I want to sign here, man.' He said, 'Just stay right there and don't do nothing you don't want to do. I will be there soon.' "

Kidd, along with Suns teammates George McCloud and Rex Chapman, chartered a plane and flew through a blizzard into Denver that night.

"I was at a (Colorado Avalanche) hockey game (in the owner's suite) and I wasn't going to sign until they got there," McDyess said.

But McDyess said Dan Issel, Denver's coach and general manager at the time, knew Kidd's rescue party was on the way, and instructed security and ticket sellers at McNichols Arena to keep Kidd and company out of the building.

"I mean, it was a blizzard outside, and they wouldn't let those guys inside the arena. They kept them out in the snow," McDyess said. "It was crazy times."

McDyess, true to his character, honored his verbal commitment to the Nuggets and played four more seasons with them. But he's always regretted the decision he made on that snowy night.

There you have it. Antonio McDyess never wanted to be back in Denver a second time and as a result he turned down a shot at a third.  

The signing of McDyess in 1999 was a big boost to the Nuggets.  He blossomed into an All-Star and Olympian.  He scored the game winning buzzer beating basket in the semifinals of the 2000 Sydney Olympics against Lithuania to prevent the US from losing their first international game with professionals.  I was proud of that.  He gave the Nuggets a sense of legitimacy.  

Of course, the Nuggets never managed to make the playoffs during McDyess' tenure and he was shipped to New York on draft night in 2002 to bring Marcus Camby and Nene to town.  

Who knows how things play out if McDyess does what he truly wanted to do and signed with Phoenix instead of Denver in 1999.  A million different things could have happened between then and now, but it is possible that Issel's strong arm tactics that seemed so great at the time have cost the Nuggets a player who could have legitimately lifted them to the status of contender.  

As much as I love(d) McDyess would I trade those feelings of legitimacy he gave a perennial lottery team almost a decade ago for a chance to compete with the Lakers this year?

You better believe it.

The NBA is clearly a meat market and the business is as cut throat as a girls high school bathroom.  However, treating people the right way is never a bad thing.  Whether it is Dan Issel locking McDyess in a luxury suite until he signs a contract or Marcus Camby being traded without so much as a call and thank you from the front office you have to wonder if the Nuggets organization treats players with the proper respect.  

I honestly do not know the answer.  Perhaps they do treat players as well as any other team in the league.  They certainly do their best to provide the highest quality of facilities.  However, I have heard enough little anecdotes that make me wonder if Antonio McDyess will not be the last player to decline a chance to play in Denver.

Box Score | Highlights

I am going to be a mess by the end of this six game stretch.  Even with a double digit lead in the fourth quarter and armed with the belief that the Denver Nuggets were the better team which had been solidified by everything I had seen during the game up to that point I was still on pins and needles.  Jason Terry hit a three to cut the lead to ten and I made so much noise my wife came running to see what just happened half expecting to find out a loved one had just died.

Needless to say she left the room wondering why she married me when I finally admitted what actually happened.  After all, they were still up by ten.  I think I may be a little too fired up about the next nine days.

The Nuggets are definitely crafting a road identity and it is showing in their 8-4 mark away from the Pepsi Center.  They are playing a more responsible game as they are content to work the shot clock to earn a good shot and rely on their defense to carry them to victory.  Denver’s offense suffered from some inconsistent play, but the defense was there almost the entire game.  They did a great job of chasing Jason Terry and crowding him on the perimeter.  When he ventured in the paint he had no space to operate.  He still tallied 19 points, but he was not the game changing force he has been for the Mavericks over their 9-2 streak.  Anthony Carter deserves a lot of credit for how well he hounded Terry when he was in the game.  Carter is probably the best Nugget of trailing a shooter around screens and arriving at the end of the route at nearly the same time as the ball does. 

The Nuggets also did a good job of frustrating Dirk Nowitzki.  Whether it was Kenyon Martin, Nene or Carmelo Anthony covering him, they were very physical and did a pretty good job forcing Dirk into difficult shots.  Apart from a short stretch to start the second half Dirk was pretty well neutralized. 

In that third quarter spurt, led by Nowitzki, the Mavs played with a great deal of intensity, but it was not a level they could sustain for a very long period of time.  The Nuggets bent, but they did not break and after Dallas went on a 26-4 run to tie the game at 65 Denver collected themselves and put together a 10-4 run of their own to reassert some control once again.  Then J.R. Smith took over and the Mavs were toast.

The Nuggets opened the door a little in the fourth quarter when they went into a dry spell for over four minutes, but Dallas could not take advantage with Nowitzki out of bullets, Terry being hounded all over the floor and Kidd virtually nonexistent.  In fact there was a stretch from 7:20 of the fourth quarter until the 3:15 mark where neither team made a shot from the field.

Apart from that hot streak Dirk had early in the second half, Denver really dominated this game and for the first time in years I think it is safe to say Denver has moved ahead of the Mavericks in the Western Conference pecking order.

Tomorrow night they have a chance to make the same statement to the Rockets.  Denver won a back and forth contest at home earlier this season and a win tomorrow would entrench the Nuggets ahead of the Rockets in that same pecking order.

Other Observations from Game 24:

• Carmelo was making me absolutely nuts in the third quarter.  He let himself get caught up in a personal battle with Devin George.  Instead of keeping the ball moving, he turned most of the third quarter into a mano a mano contest.  The Nuggets offense bogged down and it took an explosive fourth quarter from J.R. Smith to get the Nuggets offense out of the rut Melo put it in.
  
• Speaking of Smith I was not sure how much he was going to play because I did not think he was a very good defensive matchup on Terry, but he basically delivered the knock out blow to the Mavericks in the fourth quarter.  He scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth including ten in the first three and a half minutes.  He almost singlehandedly pushed the lead from four to a game high of 16.  I mentioned the Nuggets opened the door for a Mavs comeback by going scoreless for four minutes in the fourth quarter and honestly Smith played a role in that as he tried to force things offensively that were not there.  Smith will go from a good player to a great player when he realizes that even when he is on, he can use his immense powers to set up his teammates and not just to see how many points he can pour in.  The Mavs were completely keying on him, yet he took bad shots on a couple of drives instead of dishing off to any one of his open teammates.
  
• The Nuggets have already clinched a tie with the Mavs for the season series, but I believe they will certainly win at least one of the two games left to clinch the tiebreaker in case it should come into play.
  
• I try not to get into officiating, but I thought the refs got a little caught up in the Mavericks run in the third quarter and started calling the game in their favor.  Denver showed some very good mental toughness and pushed through it.
  
• Melo made me crazy with about a minute and a half left in the game.  Dallas tipped a rebound out of bounds giving Denver a fresh shot clock and the ability to run it down close to a minutes before taking a shot.  Instead Melo got the ball in the post and was called for an offensive foul for hooking Dirk in his effort to drive around the double team.  What made it a truly horrible play was he made the move with 18 seconds left on the shot clock.  That was completely asinine and selfish.  
  
• The Mavs have some very good shooters in Dirk and Terry, but they are not a great shooting team.  The Nuggets forced them to play a completely perimeter oriented game and Dallas only scored 14 points in the paint.  I do not track points in the paint, but I never remember seeing a team below 30 points in the paint, let alone belwo 20!  Nene, Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin deserve a great deal of credit for the way they shut down the lane tonight.
  

Razzle Dazzle Game Stats

The pace factor was right about where the numbers said it would be at 93.1, in line with the Mavs season average and just a tad quicker than the Nuggets road pace factor of 91.7.

The Nuggets defensive efficiency continued to improve.  With a rating of 94.5 it was the fourth time in the last six games where Denver posted a sub 100 defensive efficiency.  For the season their defensive efficiency is 103.0 and they are knocking on the door of the top five.  Tonight was also the ninth time this season they held an opponent below 40% shooting.

The Nuggets had a sluggish offensive night by their new lofty standards, but they still managed their 14^th straight game with an offensive efficiency over 100 with a 105.3.

Mavs Moneyball

This is why we watch sports.  We hope and pray that we get a chance to root for a special team.  As a Nugget fan that chance comes along only slightly more frequently than death so when there is any chance that we may be witnessing a season where the Nuggets might make some serious noise it is difficult not to get excited.

The Nuggets are 15-4 in games where Chauncey Billups has suited up, there were a couple of good wins mixed in there and the losses against the Lakers, Cavaliers, Hornets and Spurs are all understandable.  Naturally we want to know if this was just a nice stretch of basketball with a favorable schedule or are the Nuggets for real.

Tonight the Nuggets start a difficult six game stretch.  It starts off in Dallas before they move on to play at Houston tomorrow night followed by Cleveland at home, a trip to Phoenix the next night and after a day off it is a back to back with Portland.  It all adds up to six games in nine nights all of them against playoff quality teams and great chance for the Nuggets to prove how good they really are.

The Mavericks appear to be a stern challenge as they are riding a streak of nine wins in their last 11 games.  Look closer and the Mavs are not playing quite as well as that record would indicate.  In their last two games they have struggled to beat the Thunder and Bobcats at home and it required a monumental effort by Dirk Nowitzki to pull those games out.

Dallas has not only been getting some very good play from Dirk, but Jason Terry has been a dynamo off the pine.  He is averaging a career high 20.8 points per game, but over his last 11 he is putting up 24.5 points per game.  Over those 11 games Terry is hitting 51.2% of his shots and 42.9% from long range. 

It will be vital for Denver to rotate and cover Terry as he is primarily a catch and shoot and pull up jumper scorer although he does have a floater in his arsenal too.  Terry can pass when he wants to as he broke into the NBA as a point guard for the Atlanta Hawks so it is important to cut off penetration before the interior defense has to collapse on him.  He did have a season high seven assists in the first matchup between the Nuggets and Mavs.  Terry is a very good matchup for Anthony Carter so you can expect to see a lot of AC tonight. 

For the Nuggets the Mavs do not have anyone who can handle Melo, Jason Kidd is not able to stay in front of Chauncey and Eric Dampier and DeSagna Diop should be in constant foul trouble by trying to cover Nene.

This is one of the more winnable games for the Nuggets during this six game stretch.  Dallas used to be a house of horrors for Denver, but the Nuggets have broken through in Dallas over the past couple of seasons and should be playing with confidence tonight.

Denver Nuggets Game Notes

Previous Matchup:  Game 5

Mavs Moneyball - The Mavericks are Lou Holtzin' the Nuggets (talking them up).

"Now it's on to the big fish." - Jason Terry

"They really do some fancy stuff defensively, and they’ve got so many athletes. They switch, and they jump, and they’ve got great hands." - Dirk Nowitzki

I was fortunate enough to have a couple of minutes with Sonny Weems after his home debut with the Colorado 14ers.  I may or may not have edited out a reference to Alabama instead of Arkansas in the last question and he may or may not have laughed in disbelief when I may have mentioned Alabama, but I am not going to admit to anything.

Jeremy:  You had a groin injury in training camp.  Was this the first major injury you experienced?

Sonny Weems:  Yea, I pulled my groin when I was a senior in college.  I just had surgery when I got drafted and it was a long process of trying to get it healed and I think right now I am 100% and ready to play.

Jeremy:  Is that the only major injury you have ever sustained or have you had any other injuries?

SW:  No broken bones, that’s about it.  Just a couple of weeks you’ll be back.  This is the only thing I have had that has kept me out for a while.  I am just happy to be back.

Jeremy:  What is it you are hoping to get out of the D-League?  What is it you are looking to work on?

SW:  You know I am just trying to build my stamina back up.  I have not played in almost eight months so I am just trying to get up and down, run up and down the court, play a little defense and help the 14ers win.  I think I can bring something to the 14ers.  They were good before I got here I am just trying to add a little more spice.

Jeremy:  You are from Arkansas.  Is that the only place you have ever lived?  Is the snow new to you?

SW:   I used to live in Memphis when I was younger and it snowed in Arkansas, but not like this.  That’s what I was telling the people back home it snows in Arkansas, but it does not get like this.

Me:  Thanks a lot, I appreciate your time.  Good luck and stay healthy.

Sonny:  Alright, you’re welcome.

Thanks again to Sonny for taking a couple of minutes to chat and make sure you check out my scouting report on he, Cheikh Samb and James Mays.