SB Nation User Blog: Nate Timmons

J.R. goes swish... (Nuggets/Hawks recap)

Nate Timmons — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:47:52 -0000

Perhaps J.R. Smith read my 10 Greatest Moments post and felt left out ... his performance tonight will not soon be forgotten, 10-17 from three-point land and 41 points on the night to lead all scorers, just four points shy of his career high. But most importantly ... he led the Nuggets to a win over an impressive team.

The Hawks came into Denver with a 9-2 record over their last 11 games. Like I mentioned in my preview the Hawks played last night in Minnesota and coming to Denver is never an easy place to play, especially on the second night of a back-to-back. But the Nuggets took care of business on the offensive and defensive ends and never gave the Hawks much hope of being able to win tonight.

I'm going to make a suggestion after witnessing this impressive Nuggets performance ... hire a hypnotist Mr. Kroenke. Honestly, if Denver was duped into thinking they were playing the Lakers, Hawks, Blazers or other playoff caliber teams they've beaten this season maybe they'd come with this kind of effort every night. You can't watch a game like tonight's win and do anything but cringe when you think back to some of the losses this season. The team that played at home at Pepsi Center tonight can play with and beat anyone ... perhaps with a hypnotist lies Denver's hope for a championship this season.

The Nuggets earned their 20th win of the season, improved to 13-1 at home and 6-0 at home versus Eastern Conference teams. Let's look at some individual performances from tonight's 124-104 demolition of Atlanta.

J.R. Smith: Scores 41 points and 30 of them from beyond the arc. Smith started the game 4-4 from three-point land, was 6-8 from deep at one point during the third quarter, 10-14 to give Denver a 118-97 lead and finished 10-17 after forcing some shots to try to break the NBA record of 12 three-pointers or match his own record of 11 makes set last season against the Sacramento Kings. Swish has now scored 40+ points four times in his career, but didn't get to his career mark of 45 points (4-13-09 vs. the Kings) because he missed too many free throws! As good as J.R. was going to the basket and shooting from long range he was as unimpressive from the charity stripe, going just 1-6. Perhaps to offer another suggestion ... do what Nick Van Exel did and step back a foot and see if that helps the long bomber. Smith like the Nuggets could use some more impressive performances like tonight's game. Oh and J.R. outscored the Hawks bench by himself 41-36.

Carmelo Anthony: Melo had a great stat line tonight and one of his better games this season. 24 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 block. Melo's 7 assists matched his season high from Nov. 21 against Chicago and Melo was doing an excellent job swinging the ball and finding cutters (especially Nene). Any time Melo does the little things in a game I love it. On one possession Mike Bibby had an easy layup, but Melo was hustling on defense and came out of nowhere to challege the shot ... while he didn't get the block he made Bibby alter the shot enough that he missed badly allowing Bird to toss a court length lob to J.R. for an easy jam on the other end, 4 point swing and momentum killer -- big point swings are one of the best sequences in basketball. We all know Melo can fill up the scoring column, but when he plays unselfish basketball the Nuggets are at their best.

Ty Lawson: 1-1 as a starter now. Lawson bounced back from the Memphis game to lead the Nuggets team tonight and got himself going offensively. I thought Ty looked a little hesitant at the beginning of the game and right when I metioned something to my buddy about it, Lawson took the ball coast-to-coast for a layup and that changed his whole evening. Lawson finished the game with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, basically replacing Billups' numbers on the night. The Hawks couldn't keep Lawsome out of the lane and the rookie finished around the rim and even got a couple offensive boards and put backs. One of Lawson's finer games of the season.

Kenyon Martin: Finished with a very quiet 14 points and 8 rebounds. K-Mart was very efficient tonight going 7-8 from the field and hitting the 8,000 point mark for his career as noted by Altitude TV. Martin held Josh Smith to 5-11 shooting and although he scored 17 points he just wasn't the factor he was when the two teams met in Atlanta. Credit K-Mart's defense tonight and his hot shooting from the field ... I didn't even remember his miss!

Nene: The Big Fella finished with 15 points (6-11) and 8 rebounds. The two plays that stick out ... Nene's missed dunk (jumped too soon after a pump fake) and his monster slam after Melo found him cutting to the hoop just after Anthony Carter drew the attention of Al Horford and Smith for just a split second on a backdoor cut. Nene even started the game aggressive with a pretty reverse layup. The knock on Nene has been his lack of rebounding throughout his career and while he still may not be Dwight Howard on the boards I think he is vastly improved on the boards. Horford didn't have the length to bother Nene and the Brazilian thrived in the paint tonight.

Arron Afflalo: he didn't score in double figures that I was hoping (8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block), but he did hit a three and was aggressive attacking his defender and still taking shots when he needed to. I swear when Melo found him on the elbow one time you could hear #15 scream for Double-A to "shoot it", but I could be wrong. Afflalo's mini-slump may not be completely over, but there were definitely signs that he is close to completely coming out of it. I wonder if Afflalo's fairly mechanical looking shot lends him to slumps more than guys who are just natural shooters. Shooters don't really think about their stroke and Afflalo seems sort of like a golfer who may think he needs to tweak his stroke if it's not working for him. I don't know the guy or how he thinks, but he just sort of seems like he might obsess about his stroke when he gets in a funk ... something I can't see J.R. or Melo caring about, but again I'm just guessing.

Chris Andersen: Bird failed to get on the scoreboard tonight, but he had a few nice boards and the Pepsi Center crowd loves the Bird. Tonight wasn't really any of the bench guys' night with J.R. shooting the way he was.

Anthony Carter: I have to say that I'm a fan of the beard he has going right now. What I was wondering though ... why the black shoes with the white uniforms? And another question from my buddy Dubs, "Why didn't he put black socks on?" A.C. went with the classic old man at the rec look of white socks with black shoes ... not a crowd pleaser. As for his performace on the floor ... A.C. I thought was pretty good tonight. Carter only scored two points, but he had a couple steals, 3 rebounds and 7 assists. This was a game from AAAAACCCeeee that Nuggets fans can live with. Sure he's not going to score a lot anymore (1-5 from the field), but he has to shoot the ball when he's open and I thought did a nice job of realizing his shot was not working and just focusing on getting his teammates going.

This was a great win and one that the team sorely needed after dropped two out on the road. Perhaps the hypnotist can also convince the team that every game is being played at the Pepsi Center as well. The Hawks are definitely going to make some noise in the playoffs this season and the Nuggets earned a nice win over a very good team tonight. Again if this team can find the hunger to play with consistency night in night out then they will make a run at home court advantage throughout the playoffs, but there is that word again -- consistency: J.R. Smith and the Nuggets must find it.

Stiff moment of the night:

Arron Afflalo and Maurice Evans get tied up under the hoop and Evans tumbles to the floor ... loose ball foul is called on Afflalo. Bibby comes in for Evans and on his way out of the game Evans intentionally knocks George Karl's cough drop container to the floor, spilling Karl's favorite sideline treats. I had to double check to make sure Afflalo was the one who had the foul called on him ... he was and Evans got himself a nice technical foul for the goofy outburst.

ntimmons73@yahoo.com
Twitter: Nate_Timmons

Photo courtesy of AP Photos

Robert Swift out of basketball?

Nate Timmons — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:41:45 -0000

AOL FanHouse writer Tom Ziller reports that former Seattle Supersonics' 12th overall draft pick of the 2004 draft, Robert Swift, is apparently done with basketball.

The tale of Robert Swift might be the most sad of all recent lottery busts, if only because of where Swift is today. The 7-foot redhead was Seattle's top pick in the 2004 draft, the 12th choice overall. The kid battled injury and alienation, barely getting on the court in five seasons with the Sonics/Thunder franchise. When he did, he was underwhelming, at his "peak" averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes.

This year, Swift couldn't find an NBA job and made his way to his hometown Bakersfield Jam of the D-League. The Jam, of course, have their own vaguely neocolonial issues, but apparently the basketball wasn't working out for Swift there. After two games, Swift abandoned the Jam. His coach, Will Voigt, thinks Swift might be done with the sport forever.

I mentioned earlier this season that the Nuggets should look at Swift as a possible end of the bench guy with some upside since he's just 24 years-old, but I'm not quite sure after reading the article if Swift's heart is in basketball anymore.

Swift came into the league looking like a farm boy and then underwent a pretty radical transformation after sitting out with his torn ACL ... see for yourself:

via jugones.files.wordpress.com

It's almost as if Swift was begging to play for the Nuggets. All jokes aside ... it's sad to see the kid out of basketball as he becomes yet another bust. The article states that he's made over $11 million in his career so I don't feel too bad for him. I wonder if he'll make a comeback attempt after getting away from the game for a little while.

ntimmons73@yahoo.com

Game 29 Preview & Thread: Nuggets vs Hawks (7pm MDT)

Nate Timmons — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:28:29 -0000

The Atlanta Hawks are among the NBA's elite this season and the Nuggets already had one up close and personal look at this team ... and it wasn't pretty. Tonight the well rested Nuggets get a shot at revenge against the Hawks, who are in town after crushing the Timberwolves last night in Minnesota (112-87).

The particulars ...

Records:
Denver: 19-9 (12-1 at home, 7-8 on the road)
Atlanta: 20-7 (12-2 at home, 8-5 on the road)
Injuries:
Denver: Chauncey Billups (left groin) and Johan Petro (left ankle) are both listed as questionable tonight.
Atlanta: Joe Smith (dislocated left thumb) is out.

Opposition's Take: Peachtree Hoops

Back on November 7th the Nuggets lost to the Hawks 125-100. Let's roll out the Polar Express also known as the Excuse Train ... the Nuggets were without injured Kenyon Martin and suspended J.R. Smith and were playing the second game of a back-to-back having played and lost in Miami the night before. Had the Nuggets been at full strength and not played the second of a back-to-back would they have won? Well, we can't even say tonight will prove that because the Hawks are coming in, as noted above, after playing in Minnesota last night.

Atlanta did have an easy time with the T-Wolves, but they didn't really get to rest their rotation guys too much. Al Horford logged 41 minutes, Joe Johnson 34, Marvin Williams 31, Mike Bibby 28, Jamal Crawford 27, Josh Smith 21 and Maurice Evans and Zaza Pachulia played 20 minutes each.

Jamal Crawford continues to look like a great addition to this team as he's averaging 16.5 points off the bench as the Hawks "J.R. Smith" clone (or maybe since Craw is the vet Smith is his clone?). Anyhow, on NBA TV last night they threw out the 20+ points stat for Crawford ... when he scores 20+ points the team is 9-2. So, I wanted to know if shutting him down is the key to beating the Hawks ... well when he scores below his season average of 16.5 points (or in this case 15 points or less) the Hawks are 9-4. Whether Crawford is having a good night offensively or a off night the Hawks still have put up a 18-6 record and that's the great thing about ATL ... their depth.

Who can defenses focus on when playing the Hawks? Pick your poison. Last night the Hawks had 6 players score in double figures and they can basically play to any style. You want to go inside? Horford, Williams and Josh Smith can score inside. You want to play outside? Crawford, Bibby, and Joe Johnson (J.J.) will eat you alive if you leave them open on the perimeter. Do you want to crowd the shooters and force them to drive? J.J. is one of the best guards in the league at getting into the lane and either finishing around the rim or finding a slashing big man for an easy bucket.

Atlanta can also play in transition or the half court and they play defense to boot, allowing just 96.6 points per game while scoring 105.5 points (tops in the East and 4th in the NBA). It should come as no surprise that with their win last night the Hawks tied their franchise mark for the best start through 27 games. Head coach Mike Woodson attributes the success of the team to their core guys playing together for four seasons now and I think he is right. When you get used to playing with the same guys it's just easier ... you know where they need/want the ball on offense and you also can communicate on defense without even having to say anything.

It's no secret that Denver has not been playing well over their last two games. A tough loss in New Orleans on Dec. 18th and a lack of effort loss against the Grizzlies in Memphis on Dec. 20th. The Nuggets have had two full days off to try and cure what ails them and playing at home at the Pepsi Center could be just what the team needs. The Nuggets are 10-5 against Eastern Conference teams this season and a perfect 5-0 at home against the East.

I'm not sure if we'll see Billups tonight as Ty Lawson is penciled to start for the second time this season. Bibby doesn't have great size, but he can play in the post and we've seen guards try to post Lawson up all season so tonight should be no different.

Crawford, Josh Smith and J.J. proved to be problems for the Nuggets in their first matchup as the trio combined to score 69 points against the Nuggets. The Hawks, again with the depth, had seven players score in double figures against Denver on Nov. 7th, including all five starters.

Having Kenyon Martin in the lineup should prove better at slowing down Josh Smith than Renaldo Balkman, Birdman and Joey Graham did in the first matchup. We can continue to say it until we are blue in the face ... the Nuggets must must get after the rebounds tonight. Atlanta doesn't have the biggest guys around, but they are athletic and rebound as a team. I'd like to see Denver improve on the 10 offensive boards they were able to snare against the Hawks in ATL and that is done almost solely on effort (and maybe not so many rushed outside shots in transition).

Who could use a good game?

Obviously Ty Lawson's first career start didn't go as well as he could have hoped, but he is a rookie so I'll let him slide for now. The Nugget who could use a "pick me up" game is Arron Afflalo. After scoring 17 points back on December 3rd against Miami - Double-A has looked like a minor leaguer. Afflalo hasn't scored in double figures over his last nine games and is shooting an unimpressive 32% from three-point land over that same stretch (8-25) including an 0-6 night against the Hornets from deep. All NBA players go through shooting slumps and it'd be nice to see Afflalo break out of his mini-slump tonight.

NBA News:

Just wanted to mention a couple of key notes that have occurred this week.

Joel Przybilla of the Portland Trail Blazers ruptured his right patella tendon and dislocated his patella in Tuesday's (Dec. 22) win over Dallas. He is out indefinitely. Przy is probably going to miss the rest of the season and that's a shame. The Blazers have been hit very hard by injuries this season and I was hoping they'd be the team to push Denver this season to make the Nuggets work to maintain the division title and that's probably not going to happen unless Portland makes a trade for a big man (something the Nuggets need) or can muster up some Houston Rockets type mojo.
The Utah Jazz traded promising rookie point guard Eric Maynor to the Oklahoma City Thunder for basically nothing other than a salary dump of Matt Harpring's expiring contract. Bill Simmons warned that teams would give up quality players if they could save money in this economy and it's looking like he might be right. We might see some interesting deals as the trade deadline approaches.

ntimmons73@yahoo.com
Twitter: Nate_Timmons

Photo courtesy of Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images

ALL-STAR VOTING LINK!

Nate Timmons — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:44:45 -0000

Four members of the Denver Nuggets have made the official All-Star ballot: guard Chauncey Billups, forwards Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin and center Nene. Remember you can also do "write in" votes. Support the Nuggets and get out and vote early and vote OFTEN. Let's get the deserving Nuggets into the all-star game. Click here to get to the voting link on NBA.com.

The All-Star game will be in Dallas this year and the voting is brought to you by T-Mobile ... I actually just dropped T-Mobile and went with Verizon and got myself the Droid. Phone is absolutely awesome and I now have access to the world wide web any time I need. This is completely irrelevant ...

We need Nuggets Nation to get the vote out and get the deserving players into the game! If Yao Ming gets voted in I'm going to lose it!!!

You can vote daily until January 18th. (so vote daily!)

The game is February 14th at 7 p.m. mountain time.

HoopsData.com BETTER BOX SCORES

Nate Timmons — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:54:46 -0000

Just saw this on Sactown Royalty ... which led me to Blazers Edge ... which led me to HoopsData.com.

Follow this link as Ben from Blazers Edge explains the new generation of BOX SCORES!

This is awesome stuff!

The 10 Greatest Individual or Team Performances of the Past Decade

Nate Timmons — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:31:40 -0000

The past decade of Nuggets basketball has featured some of the best and worst times for the Nuggets franchise and its fans as Andrew illustrated in his piece A Decade Retrospective. Let us now focus in on some of the best specific individual and team performances from that span.

Born in 1982, my Nuggets memories begin right around the time Dikembe Mutombo was drafted to the team out of Georgetown University in 1991. Perhaps my favorite memory from the period was when my dad took me down to the Air Force Academy for an intra-squad scrimmage during training camp. I took my Upper Deck 1991-92 Mutombo rookie card with me in hopes of getting it signed, just in case I would happen to run into Mt. Mutombo.

After the scrimmage the players were kind enough to stick around and greet the fans and sign autographs. I remember seeing Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson at the time) and couldn't believe the scoring machine was standing literally just a few feet away from me, but then I saw the big guy. Mutombo, all 7'2'' of him, was walking right at me, so I stood my ground and stuck my hand out to greet him. The memory has faded just a bit, but I do remember his hand as I shook it ... his fingers literally were touching my elbow! I couldn't believe how big he was and how nice he was as he signed his rookie card for me. I stared at the black Sharpie signature the entire drive home and couldn't wait to get to the card shop to buy a hard case for my new prize. I'll remember that moment whenever I look at that card ... the time my pops took me to see my favorite newfound team.

After that encounter I was hooked. I started playing basketball around that same time and couldn't get enough Nuggets basketball. By the time the legendary 1993-94 season rolled around I knew just about all anyone could know about a team, and then it happened. The Nuggets made it to the playoffs and were set to face the best team in the Western Conference ... George Karl's Seattle Supersonics.

In 1994 my basketball team (Parker Hawks-Blue) added a new player named Jason. He was a tall guy (for an elementary school kid) that our team desperately needed for the power forward position and he had a smooth left handed stroke ... he'd be our Brian Williams, as it turned out he was from Seattle and was a huge Sonics fan. So, when the Nuggets squared off against Karl's team I heard plenty of confident trash talk. I'll never forget watching Game 5 at my buddy Austin's house along with Jason. As Mutombo pulled down the final rebound and crashed to the floor in pure happiness after the buzzer, Austin and I ran out of his basement and sprinted around the house screaming our heads off. Jason came out after us, at a much slower pace, and we let him have it ... we had turned on the garden hose and when he came out of the house and around the corner we soaked the kid. As the saying goes, kids can be cruel.

After that magical season things spiraled downward for the Nuggets and the franchise wouldn't get back on track until the 2000's. I watched a lot of bad throughout the late 1990's and early 2000's so getting to put together a list of "Greatest Individual or Team Performances of the Past Decade" was a rewarding experience. Without further ado, let's get to it.

10.) March 26, 2001: George McCloud registers 22 assists in a 109-104 overtime win in Chicago.

You might be asking yourself how a guy that Andrew nominated as a candidate for the 2008 Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame could make this list and I'll gladly tell you. McCloud's 22 assist night ranks second all time in Nuggets history, behind Fat Lever's and Larry Brown's (yes, that Larry Brown) 23 assist efforts and just eight shy of the NBA record established by Scott Skiles on December 30, 1990. McCloud's time in Denver could best be described as forgettable, but his performance that night in Chicago nearly broke a record that has stood since February 20, 1972 when Larry Brown handed out 23 assists against Pittsburgh in an ABA game.

9.) December 6, 2007: Allen Iverson scores 51 points against the Lakers.

In what would become a bit of a trend for the Nuggets throughout the decade, a great individual performance was overshadowed with a loss. Iverson dumped 51 points on the Lakers with 49 of them coming in the game's first three quarters, but Denver ultimately lost to L.A. 111-107. A.I. was limited to just four shots in the final period as the Lakers did all they could to shut "The Answer" down.

The undersized Iverson's 51 points were the most scored by a Nugget since another undersized guard scored 51 points on December 7, 1995 in Utah ... his name: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Iverson finished the night shooting 66% (18-27) from the field, got to the foul line 18 times and made 15 of them and also tallied 8 assists.

8.) December 3, 2003: Voshon Lenard scores 26 points in the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors.

The former 2004 NBA All-Star Three-Point Champion rode an extremely hot hand against the Warriors and scored 26 of Denver's 39 first quarter points or 66% of them. Lenard said of his performace, "I've been hot before -- in the sun."

I remember watching Lenard make shot after shot in Oakland and thinking how insane it was and that he just wasn't going to miss. The only three-pointer he missed on the night came at the end of the first when Lenard pulled up for a straight on three and didn't connect to close out the period. Although it was the most points given up to an individual in a quarter by the Warriors ... David Thompson's 32 point quarter was still safe in Denver's record book (more on that later.) The Nuggets went on to win the game 117-109 and Lenard finished the game shooting 14-21 (5-6 from deep, 5-5 from the foul line) and set a new career high with 38 points.

7.) April 3, 2007: Marcus Camby posts 21 points and 20 rebounds as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 111-105.

This game marked the sixth time that Camby would put his name in the 20/20 club in his career. The Nuggets went into the game with an overall record of just 36-36 and needed a win at Staples Center to keep playoff hopes alive. The Nuggets were without head coach George Karl, who was with his son who was undergoing cancer treatment and the team would be coached by assistant Adrian Dantley who said after the win, "The guys did a good job. They responded to me and they didn't give me any problems. We needed the game."

Camby would pull down 5 boards in the first, 2 in the second, 7 in the third and 6 in the fourth quarter to go along with 6 blocked shots and an 8-14 shooting performance from the field. Camby grabbed nearly half of his team's rebounds (20 of 42) and basically refused to let the Nuggets lose by transforming himself into a monster on the glass. And as a little bonus ... the Nuggets spoiled Kobe Bryant's night in which he became the youngest player to reach 19,000 career points.

6.) March 16, 2008: The Nuggets score 168 points in regulation and crush the Seattle SuperSonics.

On February 27, 2008 the Nuggets beat the Sonics 138-96 and set their third highest margin of victory mark over an opponent in the 42 point win. Just a couple of weeks later when Denver faced the Sonics again at Pepsi Center nobody could have seen what was coming. The Nuggets laid a 168-116 smack-down on the Sonics and set the Denver franchise record for margin of victory over an opponent in the regular season with the 52 point shellacking. The 168 points was also a new record for the most points scored in regulation for the franchise.

(I'm sure some of you recall Denver's 186-184 loss to the Pistons back on December 13, 1983 that set the NBA record for most points combined in a game, but that loss took three overtimes to get to 184 points with Kiki Vandeweghe leading the way for Denver with 51 points. It was nice to see the Nuggets on the winning side of a lopsided score.)

Eight Nuggets scored in double figures with Melo notching 26 points, Iverson 24 points and K-Mart 23 points against the Sonics. Camby posted a triple-double with 13 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists and said afterwards in an ESPN game recap, "I've never been a part of a game like this where we won by so many points and scored so many points. This is definitely a game I'm going to keep in my archives." And so should we.

5.) December 10, 2008: Carmelo ties an NBA record by scoring 33 points in one quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Entering the third quarter, of the Dec. 10th game, the Nuggets were losing to the T-Wolves 56-44 and looking for a spark. Carmelo Anthony was more like a bundle of dynamite scoring in a variety of ways to tie George Gervin's NBA record of 33 points in one quarter. Melo also broke the Nuggets franchise record of points scored in a quarter by breaking David Thompson's 32 point effort against Detroit back on April 9, 1978. The funny thing ... Gervin and Thompson each set their marks on the same day, the last day of the regular season (April 9, 1978), in a battle to determine the NBA's scoring champion that year.

From the Denver Post after Anthony tied the mark Doug Moe had this to say, "Tonight's performance brought back memories because Gervin was on fire, they couldn't stop him, and Melo was totally on fire." Moe happened to be in attendance for Gervin's performance as he was coaching the Spurs and George Karl was on Moe's staff, but according to the Post Karl was on the road scouting during Gervin's game.

Sometimes Melo can be a quiet scorer and you'll often look at the scoreboard to realize he's approaching 30 or 40 points, but it against the T-Wolves it was Melo's show in the third quarter and he was front and center. "I've never been a part of a quarter like that before. I just felt that good. I can't explain it. My 3-ball was going, driving to the basket, getting fouled. Just the complete game tonight," Melo said in the ESPN game recap.

Not even veteran Chauncey Billups could hold back on Melo's performance calling it "the best I've ever seen in a 12-minute span."

In the quarter Melo shot 12-15, 4-5 from deep, 5-6 at the foul line for his 33 points. The "Hot-Hand" theory in action. The best part ... YouTube. You can watch Melo's scoring splurge here.

4.) April 10, 2004: Melo puts on his first true clutch performance against Trail Blazers in a 110-100 overtime win.

When the Nuggets drafted Carmelo Anthony out of Syracuse University before the 2003-04 season fans at long last had a reason to be excited for the upcoming NBA calender year. Before the season began the media was tripping over themselves to hand LeBron James the Rookie of the Year award, but it would be Carmelo Anthony leading his team to the playoffs with a record of 43-39 after going 17-65 the season before. Yes, a healthy Marcus Camby and free agents Andre Miller, Jon Barry, Earl Boykins and Voshon Lenard helped remake the Nuggets, but Melo was a star in the making.

Coming down to season's end Denver was battling division rivals Utah and Portland for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference and with just three games left a battle with the Portland Trail Blazers loomed large. Both Denver and Portland were 41-38 coming into the April 10th showdown at Pepsi Center. My sister's catering company had purchased a suite for the game and I was going to be in attendance for the biggest Nuggets game since Game 7 of the Utah Jazz series back in 1994 ... 10 years earlier!

At the half the Blazers held a 48-46 lead and coming into the second half Melo had scored just 7 points. The final two quarters were going to make-or-break Denver's turnaround season and you just knew they needed to win this game to get into the playoffs with just two games remaining for the young team.

The "Jail Blazers" as they were nicknamed at the time were enjoying some fine nights from Darius Miles, Zach Randolph and Derek Anderson and Portland was keeping Anthony in check ... until the second half.

The Nuggets were able to grab a 69-67 lead heading into the fourth quarter and a "winning time" performance, as Magic Johnson calls it, was needed by somebody in white and powder blue. With the game on the line down the stretch Melo showed the Denver faithful what kind of player he was going to become by scoring 7 of the team's final 9 points in regulation to force overtime.

In the game's final minute the Blazers held a 92-90 lead thanks to a Derek Anderson three-pointer and it was now Melo's time to shine. I remember the arena being on edge and everyone basically holding their collective breath as Melo took the ball into the heart of the Blazer defense and converted a very difficult runner in the lane to tie the game at 92-92 with 29.6 seconds left and the Pepsi Center crowd let out a collective roar as the shot fell.

Portland got the ball back and Zach Randolph tried to play the villain by hitting a little fadeaway with 8.2 seconds remaining ... 94-92 Blazers. Melo once again was called upon and you could have heard a pin drop as his jumper from 17-feet left his fingers ... a make and we're going to overtime ... a miss and Denver's season is on the brink of being over. The shot sank and strangers were hugging strangers as a Nuggets community was united by their young star. Overtime wasn't going to be an issue because momentum was on Denver's side and the Nuggets ran away from Portland in the extra period as Melo led the way with 6 points in OT.

This was the first time I remember thinking that Anthony was truly going to become a special player and not just a scoring machine. Star players never shy away when the game is on the line and Melo, just a rookie, was up for the moment scoring 30 points and 23 of them in the second half.

3.) April 27, 2009: Game 4, Denver Nuggets 121 - New Orleans Hornets 63

Winning margins like the one that happened in New Orleans in the playoffs in 2009 are not supposed to happen. Playoff teams should not get beat by 58 points. Perhaps the most impressive part about the win was Denver nearly beating the Hornets by as many points as NOLA could score.

Denver held Chris Paul and Company to 17-54 shooting on the night (31.5%) and tied the NBA record for largest playoff winning margin that stood since 1956 when the Minnesota Lakers beat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75.

The game gave Denver a commanding 3-1 playoff series lead and crushed any hope the Hornets would have of being able to win another game in the series. George Karl said in the ESPN recap after the game, "Every coach talks about playing a playoff game, every possession having value, every possession having intensity to it. I thought my team, probably in my career, I've never seen a team probably do that on every possession -- do what they were supposed to do and play the game the right way -- as much as they did tonight."

That comment summed up the game. A complete performance by Denver.

The Nuggets starters outscored the entire Hornets team 74-63, seven Nuggets scored in double figures, 42% of the Hornets total points came from the free throw line (27 of 63) and the Hornets only scored 24 second half points (11 in the third and 13 in the fourth) . You could tell from the outset that Denver intended on winning as they raced out to a big first quarter lead of 36-15. Typically the opponent will make a run, but the Hornets just couldn't muster any kind of anything and it was the ideal basketball game from Denver's standpoint and one that will remain in the history books for a long time.

2.) May 9, 2009: Game 3, Denver Nuggets 106 - Dallas Mavericks 105. Melo buries game winning three-pointer with under five seconds to play.

Melo took his clutch playing level to new heights in the playoffs last season and took the wind out of the Mavericks sails with his clutch three-pointer. Said Melo in the ESPN game recap, "I have hit a lot of big shots in my short career, but never in a situation like this. It was a thin line between 2-1 and 3-0."

Melo scored Denver's final five points and brought the Nuggets back from a four point deficit with just 30 seconds to play in the game. Things were not looking good for the Nuggets in Dallas and perhaps Denver had no business even winning ... if not for Melo's performance.

This game didn't come without controversy as Antoine Wright claimed he was trying to foul Melo as Melo took the ball across the top of the three-point line to the elbow near the Mavericks bench, absorbed some light contact and buried the winner in front of Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. Denver fans can forever argue that Melo has taken much more contact than Wright ever gave him on that final possession and not had a foul called and there are those who say Wright should have wrapped Melo up to prevent any continuation. But the moment belonged to Melo as he hit the biggest shot in his young career to date. (Watch the game winner by clicking here.)

1.) April 19, 2009: Chauncey Billups leads the Nuggets with 36 points and sinks 8 three-pointers in Game 1 versus the New Orleans Hornets in a 113-84 win.

This game for me showed me that Billups was going to do whatever it took to get the Nuggets to the second-round or beyond of the 2009 playoffs. Mr. Big Shot took plenty of shots as he seemed to sense that the playoff-iffy Nuggets (just 4-20 in the playoffs with Carmelo Anthony) needed someone to guide them to victory.

Sitting in the stands (in the Melo's Yellows section) and watching three-pointer after three-pointer fall for Billups was a thing of beauty. Each shot spoke to the team letting them know that Billups had their back. His sense of calmness in a big game let the team relax and begin to play the way we've waited for them to play in the postseason for years. Finally Denver had their leader and Melo could be the star, but not on this night ... Game 1 of the Nuggets 2009 postseason belonged to Denver's son.

The 113-84 victory was Denver's second largest margin of victory in the team's playoff history, but would quickly become the third as Game 4 had yet to be played. Billups' career-best eight three point makes (in nine attempts) fell just one shy of the playoff record of nine ... which has been done just three times by Ray Allen in 2001, Vince Carter also in 2001, and by current Nuggets Vice President of Player Personnel Rex Chapman (on April 25, 1997 versus the Seattle SuperSonics as a member of the Phoenix Suns).

Billups said of his night in an ESPN game recap, "It's just one of those special nights that you have sometimes."

On the night Billups finished 10-15 from the field, 8-9 from deep, 8-8 from the free throw line, 8 assists, 0 turnovers and 36 points.

In his first playoff game for his hometown team Billups inspired a city and helped guide the Nuggets to their best playoff performance since the 1984-85 season and one that this city is not soon to forget.

That's the list. That's the 10 greatest individual or team performances of the past decade for the Denver Nuggets.

ntimmons73@yahoo.com
Twitter: Nate_Timmons

Photos Courtesy of AP Photos

No lead is safe... (Nuggets/Hornets recap)

Nate Timmons — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:31:30 -0000

In the preview I said the Hornets were having a "hide your face" start to their season, but tonight it was the Nuggets who should be looking to cover their heads after the stink bomb they unleashed in NOLA.

The Nuggets are now 1-1 without Chauncey Billups since he arrived in Denver last season and 0-1 this season without their floor leader. But in Billups' absence the Nuggets found out one thing for sure ... Ty Lawson deserves the bulk of the time at point guard if Billups isn't able to go on Sunday and 26 minutes was not enough for the young guard.

I really don't want to knock Anthony Carter's game because he can be a game manager, but he cannot be a difference maker like Lawson can and was tonight against the Hornets. When Lawson was on the floor Denver's offense seemed to move the ball better and got more opportunities to get out on the fastbreak.

But if you want to point out some areas where the Nuggets failed tonight you have plenty to look at. Ball movement seemed to slow when the ball found it's way to Carmelo Anthony, missed shots/free throws were costly and as the old saying goes live by the three, die by the three.

I completely understand that superstars need to get themselves involved in the game, but Melo's unwillingness to pass the ball tonight was a frustration. When Melo did give up the rock he had success (4 assists), but too often he was trying to force his way to the basket or force up highly contested shots. A good amount of blame also has to be put on Melo's teammates because as double teams came nobody was cutting through the lane. I've played with guys who dominate the ball and sometimes you start to refuse to cut because you know you wont see the ball and that could be what some of the Nuggets think, but at the same time there is no excuse for players to stand around or for Melo to hold the ball as much as he does. The Nuggets are not going to win too many games when Melo shoots jusst 31.2% from the field. Melo did get himself to the foul line (7-9) and got the benefit of some whistles (as did Chris Paul ... it's good to be a star in the NBA).

The Nuggets didn't enjoy a good night shooting the ball. From the field Denver shot a semi-respectable 46.8%, from the foul line just 73.9% and from beyond the arc an atrocious 18.8% (3-16) from downtown. Poor Arron Afflalo was the main dud from beyond the arc tonight going 0-6 from deep ... a very off night for Double-A, who has been playing pretty great for the Nuggets this season.

Without question the Nuggets best lineup tonight featured Ty Lawson and J.R. Smith. The duo combined for 39 points (14 and 25 respectively) and helped build a big lead and helped erase a fourth quarter deficit (79-71) on four straight possessions to start the final period. When Lawson was pulled at the 8:17 mark of the fourth quarter and not re-inserted until the game was basically over I had a big cringe on my face. Lawson seemed to have it going tonight and I would have liked to see Karl ride that hot play a little more than he chose to.

Smith's 4-4 ridiculously hot shooting performance to start the fourth looked like it was going to be enough to get the Nuggets rolling and put the Bees to sleep, but after Smith tied the game at 79-79 the team just never got the offense going again.

I applaud the Hornets for fighting their way back into the game and pulling out the victory in the final period. The knock on the Nuggets is looking like a familiar one from the 2007-08 season ... even if you are down big, hang in because the Nuggets will let you back into the game and maybe even collapse mentally down the stretch just a bit.

Andrew and I discussed a few weeks ago that perhaps he was the jinx this season with his recaps all seeming to be tough losses and now the tide seems to be turning as I've been having to recap some tough ones lately. Never to fear, I'm always a glass half positive person and I expect yet another loss to help motivate the team. One trend seems to be glaring ... when Denver is missing a key player they lose.

Of the Nuggets 8 losses 5 of them have come when the team is not at full strength. The Nuggets feature a strong eight man rotation when 100%, but if any of those eight guys are out this team is going to struggle because the back end of the roster has been unable to step up and while is nearly impossible to replace a Billups or K-Mart you'd think the team would pull through at some point.

Nuggets not at 100%:

at Miami (K-Mart only plays 12 minutes): loss.

at Atlanta (K-Mart out): loss.

at Charlotte (K-Mart out): loss.

at Detroit (K-Mart out): loss.

at New Orleans (Billups out): loss.

Views you can use:

Ty Lawson started the game 6-6 from the field and finished the game 0-4 from the field
The Nuggets combined for just 18 team assists ... Chris Paul put up 19 assists himself
Denver out-rebounded the Hornets 45-43
The Nuggets bench outscored the Hornets 43-13 and yet somehow lost
The Nuggets starters were outscored by the Hornets 49-85

ntimmons73@yahoo.com
Twitter: Nate_Timmons

Photo courtesy of AP Photos: Bill Haber

Game 27 Preview & Thread: Nuggets at Hornets (6pm MDT)

Nate Timmons — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:45:38 -0000

It's been sort of a hide your face start for the New Orleans Hornets this season, but the good news is that Chris Paul is completely healthy again after missing eight games and the Hornets are 4-2 since his return. The Nuggets will be tested at the hive against last season's playoff foe.

The particulars ...

Records:
Denver: 19-7 (12-1 at home, 7-6 on the road)
New Orleans: 11-13 (9-3 at home, 2-10 on the road)
Injuries:
Denver: Chauncey Billups (left groin) is listed as questionable tonight.
New Orleans: Sean Marks (right shoulder strain) and Ike Diogu (left knee strain) are both out.

Opposition's Take: At the Hive

If you have ever questioned George Karl when he says going .500 on the road is a great success, look no further than the Hornets. NOLA is just about as good as Denver at home, but out on the road ... well their 2-10 record speaks for itself and is exactly why the Hornets are on the other side of .500 right now. And you can't point to Paul's injury for all that road blame as the Hornets had four home games and four away games during his absence. With Paul in the lineup the Hornets are 5-3 at home and 2-6 on the road.

And on the road is where the Nuggets will be tonight. Denver has a chance to get a little breathing room above that .500 mark with five of their next seven games coming on the road, but they should not overlook the Hornets tonight.

NOLA has a little bit of a different look this season as they shipped out the oft-injured Tyson Chandler and sharp shooting Rasual Butler in the offseason. They replaced Chandler with Emeka Okafor, but they didn't really find a replacement for Butler as Devin Brown (former Nugget) has stepped into the starting shooting guard role (from the bench) and rookie second round pick Marcus Thornton has provided some scoring off the bench (10.6 ppg in 19 minutes per game).

The Hornets know what it's like not to have their floor general as they went 4-4 with Paul out of the lineup (which is quite impressive). In Paul's absence rookie (21st overall pick) Darren Collison out of UCLA stepped up and filled the starting role nicely. Collison averages 20 minutes per game, 8.7 points and 3.9 assists on the season, but with Paul out his numbers rose to 27.7 mintues, 13.6 points, and 5.8 assists. His turnover ratio climbed just a bit as expected with his increased minutes from 1.85 to 2.5, but still not bad for the "rook".

Since Paul has been back he has been on a tear averaging 15.8 points and 13.7 assists. A.C. and Lawson should each have their hands full tonight.

Denver now faces a similar problem with Chauncey Billups likely to miss a couple of games for the Nuggets. Rookie Ty Lawson has shown he is more than capable at running the Nuggets offense, but the Nuggets have the luxury of not asking the rookie to do to much with veteran Anthony Carter slated to start in Billups' absence. I'm sort of on the fence with the Lawson conundrum. Do you start him and see what he can do or do you keep him protected a bit by bringing him off the bench? It's a tough call, but not disrupting his current role with the team may be the best move at this point in time. But the Nuggets must find a way to replace his 17.4 points and 5.7 assists, but he will still be offering his insight from the bench I would assume.

Staying with the similarity card ... Emeka Okafor's role with the Hornets is eerily similar to the role Nene plays with the Nuggets.

Season stats for Nene: 13.2 points on 57% shooting, 8.6 rebounds and 1.08 blocks.
Season stats for Okafor: 10.6 points on 54% shooting, 9.6 rebounds and 1.90 blocks.

Okafor is not much of a focal point on offense, but maybe he should be. Like Nene, Okafor could use more shots as he has only recorded double figure shooting attempts in 8 times this season, likewise Nene has only recorded 10 games of double figure shooting attempt nights.

Okafor typically feasts on the Nuggets and in his career he averages 15.8 points and 13.7 rebounds against Denver, but last season in his two games with the Bobcats against the Nuggets he put up 12 points and 13 rebounds combined. Perhaps Denver has figured out a way to contain the big fella ... we'll find out.

Peja Stojakovic's offense is tailor-made for Carmelo Anthony. Peja is mainly a stand still shooter at this point in his career and when he does take the ball off the dribble he could be guarded by a street post. But veteran players have ways of scoring with angles and Melo must stay in front of him. Peja has hurt Denver with his shooting in the past, so while he is an easy matchup for Melo ... Melo does have the tendency to leak off his man and allow them open looks.

A great defensive matchup tonight will be Kenyon Martin against David West. K-Mart made West a non-factor in the playoff series between the two teams last season and I'm sure West remembers that. Paul and West love to run the pick-and-pop game and Denver has shown they like to trap Paul coming off the screen ... it will be interesting to see how Denver decides to play the pick-and-pops tonight.

Views you can use:

The Nuggets are 1-0 with Billups out of the lineup ... that one game came on February 4, 2008 in Oklahoma City where Melo's runner in the lane gave Denver a thrilling 114-113 win
The Nuggets are 48-30 with Anthony Carter in the starting lineup all-time
Former Nugget Devin Brown plays his best against his former team ... with at least 17 games played against an opponent Brown averages his best numbers against the Nuggets (and Suns) with 9.1 points per game

ntimmons73@yahoo.com
Twitter: Nate_Timmons

Photo courtesy of AP Photos: Gus Ruelas

Keeping a safe distance (Nuggets/Thunder recap)

Nate Timmons — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:30:01 -0000

After a slow shooting start to the game Denver found their rhythm, took the lead and kept the Thunder from ever really being a threat.

This was exactly the type of hope crushing win the Nuggets needed. While the final score (102-93) doesn't indicate a completely dominant performance by the Nuggets, the Thunder were never really in this game after the first quarter. And that's the kind of performance that good teams have against opponents coming from out of town for the second game of a back-to-back set.

Too often this season we've seen the Nuggets give hope to their opponents (especially ones that are not on the Nuggets level) and it's nice to see Denver put on sort of a snoozer, by their standards this season anyway. The Nuggets bench got a bit back on track tonight with some nice efforts from J.R. Smith, Chris Andersen and Ty Lawson.

Smith and Bird each scored in double figures and the Birdman recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds (3 offensive). It was great to see the Bird going strong to the hoop and his best finish came at the 3:45 mark of the second quarter when Billups took the ball towards the foul line and bounced a pretty pass between his own legs right to a streaking Andersen who kept the ball high and threw down a jam over Nenad Kristic. I think Bird went for the strong finish to insure he either made Sportscenter or so he got heavy consideration for the Chris Marlowe special ... the Kuni Lexus Drive of the Game.

It was also nice to see J.R. Smith back on track after a shaky performace against the Suns last Saturday night. As reader TheNoticer pointed out ... Smith wasn't happy after heading to the bench against the Suns, but he made up for it tonight by scoring 19 points. Most impressively, Smith got to the foul line 10 times and was able to convert on 8 of those attempts. I'll forever maintain that with Smith's shooting ability, it's a shame he can't shoot 85% or better from the freebie line.

The starters tonight also put forth a solid effort. Kenyon Martin was a workhorse on the glass, collecting 6 of his 11 rebounds on the offensive end. The Thunder are not the biggest team around, but they work on the glass and seeing Martin's effort just makes me greedy wanting him to come out with the same tenacity every night on the offensive end.

Keeping with good rebounding ... Nene posted 9 boards and got to work on offense as well posting a shooting night of 6-11 for 13 points. When Nene gets going on offense it continues to open up the floor for the rest of the Nuggets. The Brazilian is so tough to guard one-on-one that when he gets going teams almost have to double him and if you have to double Nene your team is in trouble because the big guy can pass the ball and his teammates like to cut to the rim. Nene also got a few dunks in tonight and it's always good to see the "big fella" (Bill Hanz!) get some easy ones.

Speaking of easy ones ... Melo was able to score at will tonight. Melo lost the one-on-one scoring battle against Kevin Durant 31 to 32 respectfully, but his team got the win. I thought the game really started to swing early when Melo made two passes on one possession that resulted in a Arron Afflalo three-pointer at the 5:19 mark of the first quarter. Scott Hastings could be heard on the broadcast saying to himself, "please go in," as Afflalo's three found its mark. That play gave Denver an early 12-11 lead, but seemed to get the team away from one-on-one jump shots and to focus more on moving the ball and eventually getting to the rim.

Billups had a poor night shooting the ball, but he was getting his teammates involved (7 assists) and was active in the passing lanes and overall on defense collecting 4 steals. The task of covering Russell Westbrook didn't prove to be a difficult one for Denver's floor general and that's a good thing because I was pretty concerned that Westbrook could be an X-factor tonight.

Turns out this game wasn't of the exciting brand and perhaps for the team and for us fans that's a good thing for a change. I had just about all I could handle against the Suns in my emotion department and a win like this tonight was again exactly what this team needed.

Random thoughts during the game:

The Thunder have the worst away uniform name plates in the league. Seriously, "Oklahoma City" ... just horrific and don't get me started on their nickname. (Am I still bitter the Sonics are no longer around? Yes! We beat the Sonics in the 1994 playoffs ... not the Thunder!) Funny ... Sonic Boom sounds like Thunder.
Thabo Sefolosha no longer rocks the corn-rows, didn't notice until tonight. Also sort of weird that he's from Switzerland isn't it? I'm not much of a world traveler and I'm probably an idiot for thinking that, but is basketball big in the land of Swiss cheese?
Robert Sanchez of 5280 magazine shows us how Bird styles his hair. With the long hair in the back I propose we call Bird's look the "Mull-hawk" since it's basically turning into a mullet in the back.
With 2 minutes left in the first quarter Scott Hastings said after a Nick Collison dunk that the former Kansas star had speed like a "1928 flatbed ford" ... I'm guessing he probably meant this 1939 version.
After Lawson snuck behind the defense for a wide open layup I finally figured out that if he were a NBA Jam character he'd be those annoying little guys ... the John Stockton NBA Jam type. I loved that game and almost guarantee I'd beat anyone at the original Sega version. Dikembe Mutombo and LaPhonso Ellis can hit 3's on that game!
The reason this game might seem a bit slow paced, a combined 71 free throw attempts. BLAH.

ntimmons73@yahoo.com
Twitter: Nate_Timmons

Photo courtesy of AP Photos: David Zalubowski

Game 25 Preview & Thread: Nuggets vs. Thunder (7pm MDT)

Nate Timmons — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:05:19 -0000

Last season the Nuggets won two thrilling games versus the Thunder in Oklahoma City then played two melodramatic games against Kevin Durant and Company in Denver. SB Nation's Mike Prada has both the Nuggets (#6) and Thunder (#4) ranked in the Top 10 on his NBA 'Watchability' Scale this season ... so perhaps fireworks are in order tonight at the Pepsi Center.

The particulars ...

Records:
Denver: 17-7
Oklahoma City: 12-10 (6-6 at home, 6-4 on the road) (key wins: at Detoit, San Antonio and Miami and vs. Orlando)
Injuries:
Denver: Kenyon Martin (dislocated left pinky) is probable.
Oklahoma City: Kyle Weaver (shoulder surgery) and Kevin Ollie (right knee surgery) are both out.

Opposition's Take: Welcome to Loud City

The most important thing that a young team has to learn is how to win the close games. Oklahoma City dropped two thrillers against the Nuggets last season by a combined three points. When the teams matched up on January 2, 2008 Kevin Durant hit the go ahead three-pointer with just 2.7 seconds left on the clock, but Carmelo Anthony answered by hitting the game winning three-pointer in the corner off a Kenyon Martin inbounds play giving the Nuggets a 122-120 win. (Watch it again here.)

The two teams faced off again in "Loud City" just over a month later on February 4, 2008 and the Nuggets once again found themselves down 113-112 with just 17 seconds remaining after a Kevin Durant bucket. Melo took the ball into the teeth of the Thunder defense and somehow hit a runner in the lane with 5.3 seconds remaining and Denver went on to win that one 114-113.

When the regular season series shifted back to Denver for games on March 11th and April 8th I expected more close battles ... well the games were exciting for Denver fans as the Nuggets won each contest rather easily with scores of 112-99 and 122-112. What will tonight's matchup have in store?

Oklahoma City is growing up and they are playing well in close games this season. The Thunder have a record of 4-5 in games decided by 9 points or less and a record of 2-2 in games decided by 4 points or less. Recently however, games involving Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green haven't been too close.

In their last five games the Thunder have either won or lost (3-2) by an average point margin of 13.2 points. The Nuggets on the other hand have found themselves in some tighter games and in their previous five (3-2) they have either won or lost by a margin of just 7.4 points.

The Thunder have a lot of young legs, but they could find themselves a little zapped for energy in the latter stages of the game since they played and lost yesterday to the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-89. Durant (42), Green (40) and Westbrook (34) each logged major minutes against LeBron's squad and that should play a role for the Nuggets tonight. Durant, the 21 year-old forward, boosted his third overall NBA scoring average (28.3 ppg) slightly with 29 points in the Cleveland loss.

Some other Thunder players to keep an eye on tonight:

A touch more on Durant. He's every bit of the listed 6'9'' and his length allows him to shoot over basically any defender. His length also causes his defenders to foul him a lot when they are trying to contest his shot. Durant averages 9 free throw attempts per game and he's hitting a career best 88.3% of them aka 7.9 per game. His first two seasons in the league he averaged 5.6 and 7.1 foul shots per game ... he's starting to learn how to draw fouls and that's not good for anybody assigned to cover him. Durant's three-point percentage has taken a pretty big dip this season as he's shooting just 28% from beyond the arc compared to 42% last year. KD is more of a volume distance shooter this year averaging 4.4 threes a game versus 3.1 attempts a year ago ... quality over quantity every time (not just a lesson that pertains to dating).
Russell Westbrook: The Thunder's second leading scorer averages 16.1 points per game to go along with 6.8 assists. This kid is a blur and thrives when he gets into the lane. I remember thinking last season that when he was going to the rim against Denver the Thunder were going to win the game ... then for no reason Westbrook and the rest of the team stopped attacking the Nuggets and they lost. Fast paced is the best way for Westbrook to play.
Jeff Green: The Thunder's third leading scorer at 15 points per game to go along with 6 rebounds. Green is somewhat of the forgotten man in the Thunder's "Big Three", but he is very dangerous. His overall offensive game is impressive and if Melo doesn't pay attention to him on the defensive end it wont matter how many points Melo can score because Green will negate them with his own points.
Rookie and 3rd Overall pick James Harden: The "Rook" is averaging just over 21 minutes a game and the kid can shoot. He's connecting on 36% of his three pointers and gives the Thunder another offensive weapon with his 9.2 points per game. I remember hearing he put up a 0-10 performance a while ago from three-point land and after looking at his game log it's true. On November 18th Harden went 6-7 from deep in Orlando, on Nov. 20th he went 4-6 from deep against the Wizards and then on Nov. 22nd in Los Angeles Harden posted the atrocious 0-10 stat line from deep against the Lakers. Somebody must have sat him down after that because since that three-game stretch he has been averaging just 2.25 three-point attempts per game.
Thabo Sefolosha: He plays the "Bruce Bowen" role for the Thunder. He's not asked to score a lot, but he is very athletic and can have good offensive nights. Sefolosha though is a good and active defender with a very difficult name to spell a la Dahntay Jones or Arron Afflalo. Why can't "defensive specialists" have easier names?
Nenad Kristic: Another fun name to spell and the Thunder's big man. When Kristic was playing in Russia last season I was hoping the Nuggets would somehow bring him to Denver, instead the Thunder swooped in and brought him back to the League. Kristic was looking like a young star in his early days with the Nets and was averaging 16.4 points and 6.8 rebounds during the 2006-07 season in 26 games, but he tore his ACL that year and has never quite made it all the way back. He's big (7' 240 lbs) and has talent on the offensive end, but Nene should be able to attack him by going strong to the rim.
Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison and Shaun Livingston: Ibaka and Collison form a big man tandem off the bench with Collison possessing decent offensive talent and a knack for being an annoying offensive rebounder against Denver. Livingston has seen more action recently averaging 15 minutes per game and I'm not sure if he got injured earlier in the season as he has 12 games of 0 minutes sandwiched between a little bit of action.

I'm looking forward to this game tonight as I've had it circled on my schedule all season. The Thunder are definitely an up-and-coming team and one that could challenge for a playoff spot this season. The Nuggets are coming off a game in which I commented to my friend in the first half, "this team might implode tonight," and then in the second half, "this could be one of those games that causes the team to rally and come together. They were on the brink of being blown out and somehow battled back."

You had to wonder if maybe the Nuggets had a "players only" type talk at halftime of that Suns game or what was said in the locker room. Yes, there are reports that Denver said they were going to come out and play hard, but I'm guessing the language was a bit more harsh than that.

What will the Nuggets do for an encore? We'll find out soon ...

Sidenote:

Just looking around the internet today and talking with some co-workers, I stumbled upon this Westword blog featuring the Birdman drinking glasses at Arby's. (A little clarity for MattressKing)

ntimmons73@yahoo.com
Twitter: Nate_Timmons

Photo courtesy of AP Photos: Lance Murphey