Videos: Nuggets 118 Wizards 92

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Anthony is Back on Track as the Nuggets Romp Over Struggling Wizards 118-92

It was just what the Nuggets needed after losing 3 straight, a game against one of the worst teams in this young season. The Nuggets are continuing what they started last year, beating the poor teams on the road, losing easily winnable games at home, and not having a prayer against the really good teams either on the road or at home. I know it’s confusing, but what is important is what all this strange winning and losing means. I have followed this team long enough to decode the morse code that is behind their winning and losing pattern. The code reads as follows: “Help, we have a ceiling on our real potential that is less than our talent and less than our effort. We need help to be able to finally compete with the Texas teams, Phoenix, Utah, and now Boston. We don’t know what we need, and nor do we care much, because we have plenty of fun beating up on the teams with half our talent and that offsets our not having an answer for the really good teams. Against the bad teams, we love to showboat and to get a few alley oops, and to shoot lights out from beyond the arc, just to remind everyone about what they are missing when we shut ourselves down against the really good teams.” And you thought there was no hidden code with a team’s winning and losing pattern.

So there you have it, the Nuggets are a team that goes through the season with enough talent to compete with the best in the NBA, but no system or scheme with which to do that, and they are generally a contented team despite how miserable they look when they are playing a San Antonio or a Boston. They are surprisingly contented with their limitations and are ready to, for the umpteenth straight year, drop out quickly when the playoffs come around.

If you’re a Nuggets fan, it’s like watching one of those horror movies where you know where the monster is lurking, and you are screaming inside your head to the characters to not go into that room, because that’s where the monster is at. You scream at the Nuggets to come up with offensive and defensive schemes that would work against San Antonio and Boston, so that the team will not be eaten alive by those monster teams, but the Nuggets fall into the “we have no system” trap every time and get devoured. The Nugget’s story, like the monster movie stories, always ends with victims who seemed happy go lucky but were really playing the fool. Silly Nuggets, getting cheap thrills from beating up on poor teams while not having a clue as to how to deal with the monsters. Until you get offensive plays that work and defensive schemes that make sense, you are doomed to be eaten alive by San Antonio. Boston, and other similar beasts every time.

So the Nuggets showboated and dominated their way to a 118-92 rout over the helpless Washington Wizards in D.C., taking advantage of this very poor starting team that can’t shoot straight and has a bench clearly less talented than that of the Nuggets. The Wizards were playing on back to back nights and the Nuggets were not, which more or less wiped out the home court advantage. Gilbert Arenas is still from time to time having to have water drained from his surgically repaired knee, and is missing practices and is having a heck of a time getting his scoring touch back into the high gear that the Wizards have to have as a starting point on offense. In this game, Arenas was only 4/12 on jumpers and 5/13 overall for 18 points. Just as if Melo is under 20 points the Nuggets lose, the Wizards definitely lose when Arenas is under 20. Both teams need their top scorers to get at least 25 points before they have a solid chance of winning, and the odds are they win if Melo or Arenas get 30 or more points.

PF Antawn Jamison was 6/17 for 18 points, which was no where near enough to make up for the Wizard’s bench, which had a limited 30 points on 12/30 from the field, and for the center Brendan Haywood, who had just 3 points on 1/3, and for the shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson, who had 0 points on 0/6. Overall, the Wizards were just 31/81 or .383 from the field, whereas the Nuggets, eager to remind everyone that they actually are a really good team even though they have no plan and no hope of beating the really good teams that have plans, were 45/88 from the field or .511.

Neither team was careful with the ball, but the Wizards could not maintain possession to any extent at all; with 24 turnovers, they practically gave the ball away every third play. Camby had 4 steals, Melo 3 steals, Iverson 2 steals, and six other Nuggets had 1 steal each, for 15 steals altogether. That’s almost double the average number of steals by a team in a game, and is 3 more steals than the Celtics are getting per game so far this season.

So what happens when the Celtics play the Wizards? Does the mercy rule go into effect, so that the game ends when the Celtic’s lead reaches 60? Or does the rout continue until every reserve has had the honor of playing during garbage time? There's no mercy in the rules, only rules, so it's the garbage time.

All sarcasm aside, Carmelo Anthony emerged from a deep but short early season slump to have his best game so far this season; he was 11/20 on jumpers, 2/3 on 3-point shots, and 14/24 overall for 32 points. In the first half, he finally became a presence on the boards after almost disappearing during the 3 game losing streak just ended. In the 2nd half, he left the rebounding to the rest of the team, business as usual for Melo, and gave his full concentration to banging down midrange jumpers and the occasional three pointer. In all, Anthony made 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals to go along with the 32 points that will start to get Melo back on the road to competing for the NBA scoring title, which does not require that your team have a good offensive system, by the way.

The Nuggets did not establish a substantial lead until late in the 2nd quarter. An Antawn Jamison three with 8:18 left in the half briefly gave the Wizards the lead 36-34. But it was 26-15 Nuggets the rest of the quarter, as both Melo and Kenyon Martin got into high gear and Linas Kleiza buried two three-pointers late in the quarter. For the game, the Nuggets were an amazingly good 12/25 from 3-point land, whereas the Wizards were a decent 7/20. Melo and Linas Kleiza were both 2/3 from long range, and GF Yakhouba Diawara, SG J.R. Smith, and F Bobby Jones were all 2/4 from that distance. A.I. was 1/3, and Camby buried a 27 foot three from the top of the key with about 3 minutes to go in the third to make it 83-60 Nuggets. This was Camby’s first made three since he made one in the 2005-06 season, and was only his 8th made three pointer in his pro career. This is Camby’s 12th year in the NBA, and now his career 3-point record is 8/52.

A Kenyon Martin half time buzzer beater slam made it 60-51 Nuggets at the half, and then it got a lot worse for the Wizards in the 3rd quarter. The Nuggets like to beat up on teams they think are inferior to them in the third quarter especially. By then, the Nuggets are ready to put on the track shoes and take their show without a script on the road. The Nuggets overwhelmed the Wizards in the 3rd quarter 33-11, with Carmelo Anthony getting 16 of these points. The Wizards were 3/10 and committed a stunning 12 turnovers in the quarter, as they were severely booed by their fans.

It was 93-62 after 3 quarters, so the 4th was all garbage time. The Nuggets have now had 2 straight games with a lot of garbage time, which was the best thing that could happen for J.R. Smith, who can always be found on the court during garbage time these days. He played 25 minutes in this game and 23 minutes in the Boston game. Nuggets fans can hope that J.R. Smith’s bench rust is just about gone.

During this rout, the Nuggets exposed the Wizards defense for 32 assists. A.I., Camby, and Melo were joined by J.R. Smith for 5 or more assists. A.I. led with 8 assists.

The difference between very good and very bad can be one injury and rehab to your best player, as the Wizards plight illustrates. And the difference between good and great can be the confidence and highest gear performance that good defensive and especially good offensive schemes can give you, as the Nuggets plight illustrates. The Nuggets are the NBA’s Lost. They are on that strange island, where no one is going anywhere no matter how good they are.

Eduardo Najera played 24 minutes and was 1/4 and 0/2 on 3’s for 2 points, and he had 7 rebounds, an assist and a steal. Yakhouba Diawara played 20 minutes and was 2/4 on 3’s for 6 points, and he had 2 assists, a steal, and a rebound. Bobby Jones played 17 minutes and was 3/5, 2/4 on 3’s, and 3/4 from the line for 11 points, and he had an assist, a steal, and a rebound. Jones is already showing signs that he can be a capable replacement for the injured Nene.

Linas Kleiza played 24 minutes and was 4/8, 2/3 on 3’s, and 1/2 from the line for 11 points, and he had 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.

Kenyon Martin played 20 minutes and was 6/11 for 12 points, and he had 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

J.R. Smith played 25 minutes and was 4/8, 2/4 on 3’s, and 6/7 from the line for 16 points, and he had 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. How Smith plays is usually connected with how the Nuggets as a whole have played. If the Nuggets have had a good game, Smith has had one two, and vice versa. I’m still trying to figure out which causes which; it's one of the great mysteries of J.R. Smith. I’ll let you know later on that.

Marcus Camby played 31 minutes and was 6-10 and 1/1 on 3’s for 13 points, and he had 12 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals, but 0 blocks. The Nuggets had no blocks at all in this game; the Wizards weren’t throwing much up that needed to be blocked.

A.I. played 36 minutes and was 5/13, 1/3 on 3’s, and 4/4 from the line for 15 points, and he had 8 assists, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds.

Melo played 35 minutes and was 14/24, 2/3 on 3’s, and 2/2 from the line for 32 points, and he had 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals.

The next game will be Saturday, November 10 in Indianapolis to play the Pacers at 5 pm mountain time. Both the Pacers and the Nuggets are going to be playing on back to back nights in this game.

Game Preview: Nov. 9: Nuggets at Wizards

KEY
POS. NO. PLAYER
HEIGHT WEIGHT
PPG RPG APG FG%(Points, Rebounds, & Assists Per Game, Field Goal Shooting %)
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

NUGGETS PROBABLE STARTERS


Small Forward 15 Carmelo Anthony
6-8, 230
2007-08: 24.0 3.4 5.4 .410
Had nine assists at New York on 11/6, his most since having a career-high-tying 10 at Milwaukee on 2/10/07.


Power Forward #4 Kenyon Martin
6-9, 240
2007-08: 8.5 5.5 0.3 .441
Recorded 3+ blocks in two of his three appearances this season, including four vs. New Orleans on 11/4.


Center #23 Marcus Camby
6-11, 235
2007-08: 10.4 15.6 3.0 .500
Has collected 10+ rebounds in the first four games of the regular season for the first time as a Denver Nugget.


Shooting Guard #43 Linas Kleiza
6-8, 235
2007-08: 9.8 3.0 0.8 .463
Started his first game of the season at New York on 11/6, scoring a season-high-tying 18 points on 8-13 shooting.


Point Guard #3 Allen Iverson
6-0, 165
2007-08: 25.2 3.4 7.8 .426
Topped the 30-point mark for the first time this season with 32 points (13-22 FG) at New York on 11/6.


(No highlights from the Celtics game? I wonder why!)

WIZARDS PROBABLE STARTERS


Small Forward #3 Caron Butler
6-7 228
2007-08: 20.0 9.3 0.7 .451
Scored a season-high 23 points vs. ORL (11/3)...Recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds on opening night at IND (10/31)...Was a first-time All-Star in 2007...Averaged career-highs last season in points per game (19.1), rebounds per game (7.4), assists per game (3.7), steals per game (2.1), and field goal percentage (.463).



Power Forward #4 Antawn Jamison
6-9 235
2007-08: 19.0 10.3 1.3 .295
Recorded his second double-double of the season (career, 182) with 10 points and 10 rebounds at BOS (11/2)...Scored a season-high 27 points and had a season-high 16 rebounds at IND (10/31)...Has been to the playoffs in all three seasons since he was traded to Washington...Selected to the NBA All-Star team in 2004-05.


Center #33 Brendan Haywood
7-0 263
2007-08: 10.0 13.7 1.0 .520
Is averaging a league-leading 8.3 offensive rebounds per game...Recorded a double-double in Washington’s first three games this season (first time in career with three consecutive double-doubles)...Had a career-high tying 16 rebounds vs, ORL (11/3)...Grabbed a career-high 11 offensive rebounds on opening night at IND (10/31).


Shooting Guard #2 DeShawn Stevenson
6-5 218
2007-08: 4.7 3.3 1.3 .263
Currently has the NBA’s third longest streak of consecutive games started (171), trailing only San Antonio’s Bruce Bowen and Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince...Registered career-high numbers in fg % (.461), three-point field goal percentage (.404) and assists per game (2.7) in 2006-07 with Washington.



Point Guard #0 Gilbert Arenas
6-4 215
2007-08: 21.7 5.3 4.0 .333
Scored 34 points on opening night at IND...Is a three-time NBA All-Star and All-NBA player (2005-07)…Set a new Washington franchise scoring record with 60 points at the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 17, 2006...Donates $100 for every point he scores in Wizards home games to a different DC area school each game.

TEAM STATS COMPARED
Points Per Game:
Denver.....102.4
Washington..90.0

Field Goal Accuracy
Denver......44.9
Washington..36.4

Rebounds Per Game:
Denver......44.0
Washington..47.0

Assists Per Game:
Denver......22.6
Washington..14.3

NUGGETS INJURY REPORT

OUT: Anthony Carter suffered a 3rd metacarpal fracture on his right hand and underwent successful surgery on 10/10. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks
OUT: Chucky Atkins suffered a severe right groin strain at Phoenix on 10/25 and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
OUT: Nene will have surgery on a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb on Friday and will miss up to six weeks, the team announced on Thursday.
QUESTIONABLE: Mike Wilks suffered a right hamstring strain vs. New Orleans on 11/4 and did not play at New York on 11/6. He is considered questionable for tonight’s game.

WIZARDS INJURY REPORT:

OUT: Etan Thomas C Heart Out indefinitely. Could miss entire regular season
OUT: Oleksiy Pecherov C Ankle Out until at least mid-December

ON THE AIR:
Tonight’s game will be televised on Altitude 2 with Chris Marlowe and Scott Hastings handling the telecast. The game will be broadcast on KKFN AM 950, with Jerry Schemmel doing the play-by-play and Jason Kosmicki hosting the studio courtside.

KEY MATCHUPS:

SF Carmelo Anthony vs Caron Butler
Melo needs to double his 3.6 rpg rebounding during the Nene injury emergency and finish layups and dunks better. His shooting percentage has dropped to a NBA career low 41%, and he is averaging only 24 points per game so far, which puts him under last year and the year before in scoring. Meanwhile, Butler is off to a good start, especially on the boards. If Melo has another poor rebounding and/or another poor shooting night, the Nuggets are probably not going to win this game.

PG Allen Iverson vs Gilbert Arenas
Arenas is completing a rehab from knee surgery and is struggling at 21.7 points per game on .333 shooting. Iverson is at 25.2 points per game on .426 shooting. Both teams are weak in the guard department in general beyond their two star players, and it would be a big surprise if either team had a big night from any other guard. J.R. Smith is still working to remove the bench rust from his game. So most likely, as Iverson and Arenas go, so go the Nuggets and the Wizards respectively.

NUGGET'S KEYS TO VICTORY

Melo, Kenyon Martin, and either Najera or reserve C Steven Hunter have to be strong in rebounding or the Nuggets are in substantial trouble against this good rebounding team. The “let Camby handle the rebounding” attitude has got to stop now or the Nuggets are subject to continuing to lose games to the teams with good front courts.

Melo has to step it up. Melo’s numbers in the new season are no where near last year’s in scoring and rebounding so, obviously, he can do better. With the Nuggets in deep trouble due to injuries past and present, and due to the lack of a good offensive system, either Melo steps it up both offensively and defensively or the Nuggets are subject to losing to everybody except rebuilding teams. If Melo is double teamed all night, he's going to have to get about 10 boards or the Nuggets are in trouble.

Run planned or set plays. Have you noticed that the Nuggets have been scoring almost every time off time-outs, but in general seem to have an inconsistent and sometimes lame offense? That’s because the Nuggets are no longer a running team that doesn’t need set plays, yet they have the talent to succeed on plays scoped out in advance. If the Nugget’s coaches will not provide an offensive system, it’s time for A.I., Melo, and Camby to get together and plan the offense better on their own.

WIZARD'S KEYS TO VICTORY

Dominate up front and get a lot of second chance put backs, especially from Haywood, Butler, and Jamison. Losing Reggie Evans to a trade and losing Nene to an injury makes the Nuggets one of the more vulnerable teams in the NBA to second chance opportunities at the hoop.

Get out of the NBA cellar on 3-point shooting. The Nuggets are below average in defending the three and the Wizards haven’t gotten much of anything from beyond the arc so far this year. Until they do, they’re not going anywhere. This game is the Wizard’s opportunity to finally get going on 3-point shooting which is, along with good defense, two of the most important factors determining the ultimate fate of a team in the playoffs.

Double team either Melo or A.I.. Doubling Melo has been working out for everybody so far, so you are probably a fool if you don’t do it. Double A.I. if Melo is missing everything or is out with foul trouble or something. Try to get steals off of Iverson.

OVERALL PREDICTIONS
Great, PF Nene is out at least 6 weeks for thumb surgery and the first Center Camby and the Nuggets meet up with is Brendan Haywood, who is out of the box this season one of the best offensive rebounding and put back centers in the NBA. And neither PF Antawn Jamison nor SF Caron Butler are rebounding slouches either, so unless both K-Mart and Melo both rebound like hell, the Nuggets are going to be exposed by the Wizards front court. And unless PG Mike Wilks comes back from a hamstring, the Nuggets are going to continue, with three point guard injuries, to be severely shorthanded on guards. So the setup is there for the Nuggets 4th straight loss, and to a team playing on back to back nights no less. Gilbert Arenas Thursday night at New Jersey, playing after having water drained from his surgery repaired knee again, was 21 points on 7/17 with 6 assists and 4 boards. On the other hand, SG DeShawn Stevenson is off to a poor start and was not a factor again in the Wizards-Nets game. And the Wizards bench, except maybe PF Darius Songaila, is not a strong one by any stretch so far. If and only if Linas Kleiza or J.R. Smith or Eduardo Najera can produce off the bench, and Melo and Martin stay with Butler and Jamison, the Nuggets can stop the bleeding at 3 games straight lost. There is very little margin of error here, and the game should be very close. Whether and how well reserve C Steven Hunter and reserve GF Bobby Jones play will go a long way to determining the fate of the Nuggets. But if Melo has his third straight poor game, the Nuggets most likely lose no matter what Iverson or anyone else does.

DON'T TICK ME OFF MORE THAN USUAL GK
Play either Bobby Jones or Von Wafer at least 8 minutes, more if Jones or Wafer are good.

Video: Celtics 119 Nuggets 93

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The Celtics Run the Nuggets Out of Town 119-93

The Boston Celtics, playing with 2 nights rest, routed the Denver Nuggets, who were playing on back to back nights, 119-83. By bringing up the rest factor, I’m not trying to excuse the horrible defensive effort and the lack of offensive strategy of the Nuggets. I’m just being informative as always. The Nuggets were run right out of the arena right in the first quarter. After a 9-0 run to start the 2nd quarter, it was 47-22 Celtics and the game was clearly decided at that point. The Nuggets were dead in the water, and the only questions from that point on were what good game records were the Celtics going to set and what bad game records were the Nuggets going to set. Allen Iverson said to a referee at one point, when Najera was hit with a technical, “We’re 25 behind, isn’t that enough?” Someone has to publish an Allen Iverson quotation book someday after he is retired.

The Nuggets committed a staggering 24 turnovers, though the Celtics had 20. The Celtics had 20 steals off the worn out and system-less Nuggets, while the Nuggets had 11 steals off the Celtics. Allen Iverson had 3 steals, but J.R. Smith had none. If J.R. Smith doesn’t get steals, his negatives might become greater than his positives. Carmelo Anthony played one of his worse games ever, 3/11 on jumpers and only two shots at the hoop, both of them missed layups. He had only 2 rebounds, but 6 assists. This is Melo’s 5th season, and now it is his worst start ever. He is now in an early hole with respect to competing for the scoring title. J.R. Smith was still buried in bench rust, and couldn’t get much going either in the regular session or in the garbage time.

The garbage time was, at a minimum, the 4th quarter, when almost every starter on both squads was benched. But garbage time really was the entire second half. Although an average team can be expected to be routed like this 6-7 times or so in an 82 game season, this was what you might call a super rout. Because it is rare that an entire second half can be considered garbage time, as in this game. When you have a super rout, you have the rare phenomenon of starters playing for an entire quarter or more in garbage time, where they all know who has won and so they are no longer playing to actually win the game but are just playing for pride as they say. And in fact the Nuggets did play pretty well in the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Celtics 28-26 in that quarter. So don’t ever believe Karl if he starts saying again that some of the Nuggets don’t respect the traditions of the game. If your starters can come out of the locker room and outscore a monster team like the Celtics after being blown out 77-38 in the first half, they respect the game, trust me. For all I care, Mr. Karl can keep muttering that certain Nuggets “don’t respect the traditions of the game” on his way out the door; it won’t matter to me as long as he is exiting.

G Von Wafer and GF Bobby Jones both played well enough in the garbage 4th quarter to raise the question as to whether they should be getting some or all of the playing time that Yakhouba Diawara, Linas Kleiza, and Eduardo Najera are getting. I know for a fact that, had Bobby Jones played at least a dozen minutes in the Hornets game, the Nuggets would be 3-2 right now instead of 2-3. And the fact that Von Wafer has not played at all with 3 point guards injured is bizarre.

This was the first game where at least one of the two teams is playing on back to back nights. A couple of days ago, I scoped out the schedule and marked all of the no rest games the Nuggets will play this year, both games where they will have no rest and games where their opponent will have no rest. There are 82 games in a regular season, and there are a total of 39 games, almost half, where at least one of the teams is playing on back to back nights. This Celtics game was the first of 14 back to back games that the Nuggets will play where the opponent is not playing back to back. So slightly more than 1/6 of games are going to be played with that disadvantage. There are 6 games where both the Nuggets and their opponent will be playing with no rest, including this Saturday’s Nuggets-Pacers game. Of the other 5 double back to backs, 4 will be against the big 5 teams of the West: Mavericks, Rockets, Jazz, and Suns. Then there are 19 games where the Nugget’s opponent will be playing on back to back nights but the Nuggets are rested. So the Nuggets have a +5 game advantage with respect to back to back games.

If you key in on games that the Nuggets play against the big 5 teams of the West, there are only two games that the Nuggets have the back to back disadvantage: Jan. 7 vs. the Suns, and Apr. 13 vs. Houston. Meantime, there are 4 games against the big 5 where the opponent is playing back to back but the Nuggets are playing rested. There are not one but two Spurs games where the Spurs but not the Nuggets will be playing on back to back nights, Friday, March 7 in Denver and Monday, March 10 in San Antonio. In between, the Nuggets play the Jazz on March 8, and both the Nuggets and the Jazz will be playing back to back in that one. The other two key big 5 games where the Nuggets have the advantage are December 20 against Houston and March 5 against Phoenix. So the Nuggets get an advantage from this flaw in the NBA schedule. both in general and in matchups with the best teams in the West.

The main reason I did the research was to check to see whether the League evens out back to backs, so that every team plays the same number of them. I thought the answer would be yes, but it’s no, as the Nugget’s advantage shows. That will teach me for ever supposing that the League would go out of it’s way to be fair. I have never done a check, but I am pretty sure that the Nuggets were on the short end of the stick with respect to back to backs last year.

The final thing to note about back to backs is that a road back to back is much worse than a home back to back. I think of a back to back as giving the team not playing back to back an advantage roughly equivalent to home court advantage. So if you are playing a back to back at home, it is rougly equivalent to playing the game on a neutral court. But if you are playing a road back to back, it is roughly equivalent to your opponent having a double home court advantage. Which brings us back to tonight’s game. The Celtics had the equivalent of a double home court advantage. And the Celtics were playing with a roster that was transformed overnight from too inexperienced to too dangerous for any other team’s comfort level. Celtics Genera Manager Danny Ainge pulled off a two trade title chasing blockbuster off season by getting Kevin Garnett from the Timberwolves and Ray Allen from the Sonics in two separate trades where much of the Celtic’s 2006-07 lineup was sent packing for Minnesota and Seattle. I am now predicting that Boston will in fact be the Eastern Conference winner this year and will meet the Western Conference winner for the NBA title. Here are my current odds, but please, do not make any bets based on this, it’s just educated guessing, and an injury or two will change everything:

EAST
Boston 70% chance
Detroit 15% chance
Someone Else 15% chance

WEST
Houston 25% chance
San Antonio 25% chance
Phoenix 25% chance
Dallas 15% chance
Someone Else 10% chance

I don’t see anyone stopping the Celtics from going to the Championship this year, it’s that simple. I’m still scratching my head over how Kevin Garnett ended up on the same team with Ray Allen, let alone on the one with Paul Pierce on it. All three of them are the kind of players who are smart enough and experienced enough to create their own system to win with, so they would have a good chance to go all the way even if they didn’t have strategies and specific plays provided to them by their coaching staff.

The Nugget’s big three, Melo-A.I.-Camby, have about as much talent as Garnett-Allen-Pierce, but can not on their own create a system that makes winning a lot easier. Melo, in particular, is a young player who doesn’t know everything about the nature of basketball yet. He knows that he doesn't know everything, so he doesn’t even try to coach himself or anyone else with respect to either offensive or defensive schemes. In his young player world, players play and coaches coach, and that’s it. It will probably be a few years before Melo starts to help coach his team the way Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen already do for the Celtics.

Iverson is his own scheme; he’s seldom if ever played with anyone who could play on his level, so the idea that he would come up with offensive schemes or an entire system has always been foreign to him. What would be the use of coming up with a system if your teammates are not quite good enough to run it correctly? But the Nuggets need a system, they need more set plays, and they can only go so far without them. So I, for one, vote to trade George Karl and his assistants and a second round draft pick to the Celtics for Doc Rivers and his assistants.

The Nuggets right now are down to about a 1% chance of winning the West. They started the season with about a 10% chance of winning the West, so they have already been severely exposed with these three straight losses to the Hornets, Knicks, and Celtics. It’s not the losses themselves, or even the scores, including the Celtics rout, but it's the lame way the Nuggets have played that has me heading for the exit on the Nuggets chances.

I honestly did not think it was possible for the Nuggets to under perform worse this year than last, but they have now started down that road this year. Here they are, as shown in my recent reports, thinking they are a running team and not having the players anymore with which to run. And here the Nugget’s coaches are, having with great fanfare announced to the World that the Nuggets were not going to be the defensive patsies of last season this year. No sir, “we’re not going to be defensive chumps this year.” But they are in fact chumps, as illustrated by the total interior meltdown in the Knicks game and the inability to put up any fight at all in this Celtics game.

I decided to report all that back to back stuff in this report because there isn’t a whole lot to say about this rout, and one thing that caused it was the back to back factor. But the Nuggets have 19 games coming where only the opponent will be playing on back to back nights, and only 13 games coming where only the Nuggets are playing on back to back nights. Who knows, this advantage might allow the Nuggets to squeak into the playoffs whereas without the advantage they would miss the playoffs. But come to think of it, that might tick me off, because whether the Nuggets make the playoffs or not is probably the trigger that determines whether George Karl will be coming back for the 2008-09 season and, as everyone who reads me knows, I definitely do not want him back unless and until he provides a system and real motivation. In fact, I think it would be better for the Nuggets if Karl were to retire or be fired by the all-star break, even though it is conventional wisdom that a mid-season coaching change is very destructive to a team in general and to it’s playoff chances in particular. My view is that yes, there would be some damage from a mid-season coaching change to cohesiveness and chemistry, but less total damage than Karl would cause if he remains the coach for the duration of the season. But the amount of damage in each case would be close, and there is a lot of room for argument on this point. You could argue that winning some extra games after the all-star break this season with a new coach is not worth the huge disruption of a mid-season change if the Nuggets can’t get out of the first round anyway. Whatever, all I know is that for me, the sooner Karl goes the better.

Life is miserable these days if you are a Nuggets fan. The high expectations balloon has burst. Certain media people including the new Yahoo guy Kenny Smith were apparently way off in saying the Nuggets could compete for the NBA title. For now, Nuggets fans will have to console themselves with the fact that it appears that,in all likelihood, the hated divisional rival Jazz team is not going to win the West this year. So you can wipe that smug expression off your face, Jerry Sloan, right now. The Nuggets may be in a world of hurt, but your team isn't gonna make it either. Now excuse me while I go back to following the Avalanche. Heck of a skating team this year, but I still think the goalies look funny dressed up like Jason from the horror movies. And maybe I don’t make such a good hockey fan, because I keep thinking that, sooner or later, one of those Jasons is going to try to slash someone’s head off with a stick.

Von Wafer played 16 minutes and was 3/4 for 6 points, and he had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Nene played 11 minutes and was 0/1 and 2/2 from the line for 2 points, and he had 1 rebound and 1 assist. Linas Kleiza played 22 minutes and was 0/2 and 0/1 on 3’s for 0 points, and he had 1 assist. Najera played 23 minutes and was 3/5 and 1/2 on 3’s for 7 points, and he had 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 rebounds.

Bobby Jones played 12 minutes and was 3/4, 3/3 on 3’s, and 1/1 from the line for 10 points, and he had 2 rebounds and a steal.

J.R. Smith played 23 minutes and was 2/8 and 0/2 on 3’s for 4 points, and he had 5 assists and 3 rebounds.

Kenyon Martin played 26 minutes and was 6/13 for 12 points, and he had 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

Marcus Camby played 29 minutes and was 7/11 and 3/5 from the line for 17 points, and he had 8 rebounds, a block, and an assist.

Melo played 30 minutes and was 3/13, 1/4 on 3’s, and 4/4 from the line for 11 points, and he had 6 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal.

A.I. played 33 minutes and was 6/11, 2/6 on 3’s, and 8/11 from the line for 22 points, and he had 4 assists and 3 steals.

The next game will be Friday, November 9 in Washington to play the Wizards at 6 pm mountain time. The Wizards will be playing on back to back nights and the Nuggets will be playing after a night off.

Game Preview: Nov. 7: Nuggets at Celtics

NOTE: I'll use 2006-07 stats for the Nuggets for the first 5 games of the season. So starting with the next game, I'll switch to the 2007-08 stats.

KEY
POS. NO. PLAYER
HEIGHT WEIGHT
PPG RPG APG (Points, Rebounds, & Assists Per Game)
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

NUGGETS PROBABLE STARTERS


Small Forward 15 Carmelo Anthony
6-8, 230
2006-07: 28.9 6.0 3.8
Had nine assists at New York on 11/6, his most since having a career-high-tying 10 at Milwaukee on 2/10/07.


Power Forward #4 Kenyon Martin
6-9, 240
2006-07: 14.8 7.4 2.2
Recorded 3+ blocks in two of his three appearances this season, including four vs. New Orleans on 11/4.


Center #23 Marcus Camby
6-11, 235
2006-07: 11.2 11.7 3.2
Has collected 10+ rebounds in the first four games of the regular season for the first time as a Denver Nugget.


Shooting Guard #43 Linas Kleiza
6-8, 235
2006-07: 7.6 3.4 0.6
Started his first game of the season at New York on 11/6, scoring a season-high-tying 18 points on 8-13 shooting.


Point Guard 3 Allen Iverson
6-0, 165
2006-07: 24.8 3.0 7.2
Topped the 30-point mark for the first time this season with 32 points (13-22 FG) at New York on 11/6.


CELTICS PROBABLE STARTERS


Small Forward #34 Paul Pierce
6’7” 235
2007-08: 20.5 5.0 5.0
In 85 minutes so far this seasion, Pierce has scored 41 points, and has had 10 rebounds and 10 assists.


Power Forward #5 Kevin Garnett
6’11” 253
2007-08: 22.5 16.5 5.5
In 82 minutes so far this season, Garnett has 45 points, 33 rebounds, and 11 assists.


Center #43 Kendrick Perkins
6’10” 280
2007-08: 5.5 5.5 0.5
In 54 minutes so far this season, Perkins has 11 points, 11 rebounds, and an assist.



Shooting Guard #20 Ray Allen
6’5” 205
2007-08: 25.0 4.0 1.0
In 88 minutes so far this season, Allen has 50 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists.


Point Guard #9 Rajon Rondo
6’1” 171
2007-08: 8.5 2.0 2.0
In 60 minutes so far this season, Rondo has 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.



NUGGETS INJURY REPORT

OUT: Anthony Carter suffered a 3rd metacarpal fracture on his right hand and underwent successful surgery on 10/10. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks
OUT: Chucky Atkins suffered a severe right groin strain at Phoenix on 10/25 and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
QUESTIONABLE: Mike Wilks suffered a right hamstring strain vs. New Orleans on 11/4 and did not play at New York on 11/6. He is considered questionable for tonight’s game.

CELTICS INJURY REPORT:

NO INJURIES REPORTED

ON THE AIR:
Tonight’s game will be televised on Altitude 2 with Chris Marlowe and Scott Hastings handling the telecast. The game will be broadcast on KKFN AM 950, with Jerry Schemmel doing the play-by-play and Jason Kosmicki hosting the studio courtside.

KEY MATCHUPS:

SG J.R. Smith vs Ray Allen
The sports media world shows J.R. Smith as the clear starter at the 2-spot, so I’ll overrule the Nugget’s coaches and show him in the slot rather than Yakhouba Diawara or Linas Kleiza or Von Wafer or Bobby Jones. 13-year man Allen is off to a blazing start. He has made 9/16 threes and 16/26 shots already for 50 points in two games. J.R. Smith has played 23 minutes so far and is 2/6, with all 6 shots being threes. If Smith could be the first to make Allen miss a few, perhaps by getting 2 or 3 steals, it would go a long way toward giving the Nuggets the possibility of a big upset. Don’t hold your breath.

SF Carmelo Anthony vs Paul Pierce
No longer the Boston superstar without a prayer, Pierce is cruising for a Championship now that Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have boarded the Celtic's ship. Anthony had big expectations for this season coming in, but has come up short relative to his normal for two straight games and that, combined with the Nugget’s lack of a system, are the biggest reasons the Nuggets have lost 2 straight. Melo is going to have to make up for some of the drubbing the Nuggets are going to take at PF by Kevin Garnett. As he gets used to the luxury of having Garnett up front, Pierce has had a relatively slow start shooting wise. But that problem is no longer the big problem it used to be for the Celtics, with Garnett cleaning up at the hoop. If Melo is double teamed, the challenge will become the ability of Melo to find the open man and the ability of that open man to score.

NUGGET'S KEYS TO VICTORY

Run some set plays. The Nuggets are not a running team until J.R. Smith is back in gear, and until Von Wafer or Bobby Jones are playing at the same time as Smith and Melo. Smith-Wafer-Melo would constitute a running team. Iverson @46 minutes-Kleiza-Melo does not constitute a running team.

Stop relying on Iverson and Camby to rescue the Nuggets from every single problem on offense and defense respectively. Iverson is one of the best guards in history but he can’t solve by himself every single problem you have on your basketball team. Get realistic and rest Iverson for at least 6 minutes a game until one of the point guards comes back and at least 10 minutes a game after that. Melo or Wafer can play the point a little if Wilks is still out.

Tell Camby, Nene, and Martin to avoid shooting contested jumpers for this game. Camby, Nene, and Kenyon Martin should be penetrating and shooting layups in this game, because getting Garnett in foul trouble may be the only chance the Nuggets have to score an upset here. And second chance cleanup layups and dunks are also going to be critical for the Nuggets to have a chance

CELTIC'S KEYS TO VICTORY

Have a balanced attack. The Nuggets can be burned from inside or from the perimeter these days, so mix it up to do the most damage. Boston doesn’t need me to tell them to have a varied attack; they already are using one of the best outside-inside mixed offenses in the NBA.

Double team Melo or A.I.. Start with double teaming Melo and continue with that unless A.I. is having a huge game and Melo is not, in which case start double teaming A.I.. Also, go for steals against both of them.

One of the most obvious keys you will ever see: Have Garnett pound inside for scores and layups. Neither Nene nor Kenyon Martin are at 100%, whereas Garnett is, so it is likely to get ugly for the Nuggets in the defensive paint again. A possession where Garnett settles for a short jumper is mostly a wasted possession. Knock the Nuggets out early and enjoy garbage time in the 4th quarter.

OVERALL PREDICTIONS
The Celtics should win this game easily. The only way the Nuggets can compete is if they get a huge night from a couple of key players. For example, if J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony were to combine for 8/15 on threes, and Kleiza and Najera were to add a few, that might be enough to give the Nuggets a chance. Or if Kenyon Martin, Nene, and Camby were able to slow down Garnett and Ray Allen was off in his shooting. It would be a big upset if the Nuggets were to win. The Celtics have what I call a double home court advantage. They are at home and they are rested, whereas the Nuggets are playing on back to back nights. To top it off, the Celtics have no injuries at all to deal with right now on their roster. So even if the Nuggets were not reeling from three point guard injuries and two power forward rehabs in progress, the Celtics would be favored. When you combine the personnel problems with the Nugget’s lack of effective strategies, it all points to an ugly game and the need to get out of town without any more injuries major or minor. The Nuggets have all the trouble they can handle right now, and probably more than they can handle. Oh well, if we get a lot of garbage time, we finally get to see Bobby Jones, Von Wafer, and Steve Hunter in a regular season game, and J.R. Smith will have a lot more time for rust removal.

DON'T TICK ME OFF MORE THAN USUAL GK
Get all starters except J.R. Smith out of the game for all garbage time. Most likely, obviously, the garbage time would be caused by the Celtics having an insurmountable lead.

Videos: Knicks 119 Nuggets 112

More videos can be found below all the posts on this page, and there is a huge selection of videos on the +Nuggets 1 Videos page

Knicks Pound the Nuggets Inside, Win 119-112

Allen Iverson played his guts out, and played another classic A.I. East coast game, but Melo and Nene only played about two thirds as well as they are capable of, and the Nuggets were hammered inside by PF Zach Randolph, C Eddy Curry, and backup PF David Lee. The Nuggets blew a 92-82 end of the 3rd quarter lead, and lost to the New York Knicks in New York City 119-112. The Nuggets have now lost two straight games against teams that are most likely middle of the pack at best, and seem to be hounded by a long list of shortcomings, with a different set of shortcomings kicking in on different nights.

The Nuggets are already heading down the road of having little or no chance of getting the home court advantage for at least the first round in the playoffs and, with the monster Celtics team coming up in less than 24 hours, are staring in the face a very disappointing 2-3 record to start the season.

Roughly speaking, there is no answer for about 1/3 of these shortcomings, about 1/3 of them are clearly bad coaching, and maybe 1/3 of them are poor basketball execution by the players. Since a basketball season is 82 games long, and only 4 games have been played, there is plenty of time to work on many of these shortcomings, but the Nuggets have little time to waste in the stacked Western Conference. If you have a losing record after about 24 games in the West, a record of 11-13 for example, you have little chance after that to earn a home court advantage for the playoffs. You need to win about 60 games out of 82 to get home court advantage for at least the first round, and it is close to impossible to go something like 49-9 in the West. So if, as expected now, the Nuggets get pounded again tomorrow night, by the Celtics, they had better get some kind of act together to at least defeat winless Washington on Friday night and have a shot against in Indianapolis against the Pacers on Saturday night. If not, there will be real, serious hell to pay.

In the winnable Hornets game, it was a lacking and unrealistic offensive strategy and execution which was the overall main problem. And the lack of enough competitive guard manpower made those shortcomings worse. When PG Mike Wilks went out early in that game, the bottom fell out of what little effectiveness there was in the Nugget’s offensive strategy.

Wilks remained out with a pulled hamstring for this game, and 32 ½ years old Allen Iverson was the only player on the court besides 27 years old Jamal Crawford who played for virtually the whole game with no breathers. Would someone please e-mail George Karl and remind him that all 32 years old players should come out for more than a couple of minutes during a game so that they are not worn down and unable to perform at that extremely high level needed to pull out a game late in the 4th quarter? Ironically, A.I. caught a break at the worst possible time, very late in the 4th quarter, when Stephon Marbury ran into him casing a lip bleeder cut. But Karl called time and got A.I. back in quickly. But what good does that do you if Iverson’s tank is just about empty? A.I. did score 7 of his 32 total points during the 4th quarter, including a three that tied the score at 108 with 2:47 to play. But years ago, when Iverson could play 46 minutes without losing a step, in a game like this where he came out of the tunnel ready to kick the Knicks into the Hudson River, he would have made 2-4 more shots in the 4th quarter than he made here and had the Nuggets coming out a winner or at least heading into overtime.

But that was then and this was now. The Nugget’s coaches are living in the past when they think that Iverson can do the exact same things he used to do for Philly years ago. When Iverson came on the team last winter, I indulged in the fantasy that Iverson might win games by himself like he used to do on a regular basis. I wasn’t foolish enough to think it was likely, but I knew A.I was going to be on the court most of the time and I was speculating that maybe there is something inhuman about Iverson. It turned out he is human, unfortunately. He did win a handful of games on his own last season, but it did not happen anywhere near often enough to justify it being a strategy. Has there ever been a guard whose total energy available does not go down a little after age 30? With Wilks out and J.R. Smith playing in his first game since the Spanish-American War, why not have Von Wafer or Bobby Jones in there for at least 8 minutes or so to give Iverson a recharged battery for the last half of the 4th quarter?

What are the Nuggets trying to do here, run Iverson into the ground? They already have severe injury problems; a serious Iverson injury would instantly transform the Nuggets in their current state from long-shot West winner to lottery team. And if you can’t stop yourself from playing someone 45-47 minutes, why not play 23 years old Melo rather than 32 years old A.I. to that extreme extent? Is George Karl thinking that he can’t be fired no matter how badly the Nuggets underperform as long as he has Iverson out there so much that a Nuggets disaster would be blamed on Iverson? Is this the devious scheme that is underway?

In this winnable Knicks game, the rebounding was inadequate and the defensive effort was choppy. And once again, there was a critical lack of competitive manpower at PF making the execution problems worse. And apparently, the Nugget’s coaches think that there is a law that C Steven Hunter, who was obtained from Philadelphia for Reggie Evans, can not play at all, even though he pulled down about 5 rebounds a game in about 23 minutes a game last year for Philly.

Last year, Reggie Evans, the rebounding demon who now starts for the Philadelphia 76ers, was able to spell Camby and make up for Nene’s relatively small appetite and aptitude for rebounding, and save the Nuggets from time to time from the kind of inside pounding that was delivered to them tonight. Evans, now the starting power forward for the 76'ers, is still rebounding the hell out of the ball. Evans in Philly is averaging almost 12 rebounds in 24 minutes a game, though his low point production downside is still there, as he is under 6 points a game on 36% shooting, remarkably low for a power forward. Eddie Najera, who did step up in this game to some extent during his 30 minutes, and Nene had 9 and 8 rebounds respectively, and A.I. had 4 rebounds, but no one else, including Melo, had more than 2 rebounds.

PF Kenyon Martin is not allowed to play two games in a row as he completes the rehabilitation for surgery on both knees. So he was held out until the Celtics game tomorrow night. This alone probably cost the Nuggets the game, but over straining either of Martin’s knees would probably cost the Nuggets the season, so it was a necessary sacrifice.

Nene, the other PF, had 8 rebounds, but fouled out with 2 minutes left in the game and had a critical 4th quarter turnover in 26 minutes. Overall, though, the Nuggets ended up with just 12 turnovers while the Knicks had 18. The law of averages caught up with the Nuggets in general and with Marcus Camby in particular: a team can over rely on one player for rebounding for only so many games in a row before that ploy is used up and you are subject to an onslaught of inside scoring and likely defeat. Tonight, the Nuggets went to the Camby rebounding well once too often; Camby’s 13 rebounds were enough for Camby to remain as the best rebounder in the NBA, ahead of or at least even with Kevin Garnett of the Celtics who the Nuggets are playing tomorrow night. But those Camby rebounds were not enough, along with the lack of rebounding from Kleiza and Melo, and the relatively unaggressive Nene rebounding, to prevent the Nuggets from getting pounded in the paint. Overall, the Nuggets were out rebounded 49-40. With anything over 13 offensive rebounds being outstanding, the Knicks had 17 offensive rebounds. And so the Knicks earned 5 more shots on goal than the Nuggets, and for the game made 48/91 shots or .527.

After the interior defense dam burst, the Knicks racked up a killer 70 points in the paint and stole the game from the more talented Nuggets. Hopefully the Nuggets in general, and Melo and Kleiza in particular, have learned that having the defensive player of the year on your team does not give you a license to not fight for rebounds when a game depends on it.

That the Nuggets are a running team is another living in the past item. For the second game in a row, the Nuggets had few fast break points.

Melo was unable to realize how critical it was to fight for rebounds with the likes of Curry, Randolph, and Lee in there, and nor was he able to do any better than 4/14 on jumpers, about 2 fewer made jumpers than normal, and 3/6 on layups, for 7/20 overall and 10/13 from the free throw line for 24 points. But the Knicks wisely double teamed Melo much of the night. Melo does not shoot much anymore out of double teams. He finds the open man now; he led the Nuggets with 9 assists in this game with the half-run-into-the ground Iverson getting 5 assists.

Compounding the absence of Melo in fighting for rebounds was the absence of Linas Kleiza, who has been concentrating on his shooting technique in practice, but has been, of course, unable to practice how to contend for rebounds close to the hoop against players such as Randolph and Curry. There are certain skills that are difficult to pick up in practice, and that is one of them, because your teammates are never going to be quite as fierce rebounding the ball in practice as your opponents will be in a real game.

The Yakhouba Diawara starting at SG experiment was over; Linas Kleiza started and had a smoking first quarter, gradually fading after that. By the 4th quarter, Kleiza could not hit much of anything. J.R. Smith is listed as the starting SG by most sports sites, including ESPN and CBS Sportsline, but that will never stop George Karl from starting GF Linas Kleiza, at the position, or the Man on the Moon for that matter. Smith never came close to regaining his starting slot last season after his knee surgery in February, and he was given small minutes and then denied small minutes in revolving door fashion when he returned, before being benched entirely for much of the Spurs playoff series. Normally, you would expect a player who lost almost everything in the course of a season would be traded in the off-season, but Smith didn’t want to find another team for some reason, and the contract and accounting stuff dictated that he could not be traded just yet. So the outside world considers J.R. Smith the obvious starter at SG for the Nuggets, but George Karl simply refuses to live in or even acknowledge the existence of the outside world. So J.R. Smith has the history (from a year ago) and the talent to justify 30 minutes a game, but can get only 20 or so. Another problem is that it’s going to be at least mid-December before Smith will be able to shake off all the rust and have a chance to get his three point shooting back up over 40%, and to start getting numerous steals and driving dunks again.

The Nuggets are waiting on Nene to come back into condition and eliminate his choppy play, on K-Mart to be fully cleared by the trainers and doctors, on J.R. Smith to clear out the rust, and on Melo to fight for more rebounds and get his three point shooting up to speed. But the clock is ticking, and Iverson is getting a day older every day. Are the Nuggets going to run out of time?

Najera played 30 minutes and was 6/11 and 1/1 on 3’s for 13 points, and he had 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block. Kleiza played 32 minutes and was 8/13, 2/6 on 3’s, and 0/2 from the line for 18 points, and he had 2 rebounds.

J.R. Smith played 23 minutes and was 2/6 on threes and 2/2 from the line for 6 points, and he had a block and a rebound.

Nene played 26 minutes and was 4/7 for 8 points, and he had 8 rebounds and a steal.

Camby played 35 minutes and was 3/7 and 3/6 from the line for 9 points, and he had 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 assists, and a steal.

Melo played 39 minutes and was 7/20, 0/1 on 3’s, and 10/13 from the line for 24 points, and he had 9 assists, 2 rebounds, a steal, and a block.

A.I. played 45 minutes and was 13/22, 1/2 on 3’s, and 5/9 from the line for 32 points, and he had 5 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds.

The next game will be Wednesday, November 7 in Boston to play the Celtics at 5:30 pm mountain time. The Celtics will be rested and the Nuggets will be playing on back to back nights.

Game Preview: Nov. 6: Nuggets at Knicks

NOTE: I'll use 2006-07 stats for the Nuggets for the first 5 games of the season.

KEY
POS. NO. PLAYER
HEIGHT WEIGHT
PPG RPG APG (Points, Rebounds, & Assists Per Game)
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

NUGGETS PROBABLE STARTERS


Small Forward 15 Carmelo Anthony
6-8, 230
2006-07: 28.9 6.0 3.8
With his 20 points vs. New Orleans on 11/4, he has now scored 20+ points in 15-straight regular season games.


Power Forward #31 Nene
6-11, 260
2006-07: 12.2 7.0 1.2
Had 12 points on 4-6 (.667) shooting vs. New Orleans on 11/4, marking the first time he’s scored 10+ this season.


Center #23 Marcus Camby
6-11, 235
2006-07: 11.2 11.7 3.2
Posted his second-straight 20+ rebounding game with 21 boards vs. New Orleans on 11/4.


Shooting Guard #5 Yakhouba Diawara
6-7, 225
2006-07: 2.1 1.7 0.9
His .538 (7-13) field goal percentage thru the first three games this season currently leads the team.


Point Guard 3 Allen Iverson
6-0, 165
2006-07: 24.8 3.0 7.2
Moved into 25th on the NBA all-time scoring list past Bob Pettit with his eighth point vs. the Hornets on 11/4.


KNICKS PROBABLE STARTERS


Small Forward #23 Quentin Richardson
6’6” 235
2007-08: Averaging 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 33.0 minutes per game…Scored six points (2-5 3-PT FG) and had two rebounds in 35:51 at Cleveland, Nov. 2.


Power Forward #50 Zach Randolph
6’9” 260
2007-08: Averaging 18.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 37.0 minutes per game…Scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds in 33:35 vs. Minnesota, Nov. 4…Scored 21
points (10-23 FG) and had 14 rebounds in 40:42 at Cleveland, Nov. 2.


Center #34 Eddy Curry
6’11” 285
2007-08: Averaging 16.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in 34.0 minutes per game…Scored 14 points (6-8 FG) and had seven rebounds in 34:46 vs. Minnesota, Nov. 4…Scored 18
points and had seven rebounds in 32:55 at Cleveland, Nov.2.


Shooting Guard #11 Jamal Crawford
6’5” 200
2007-08: Averaging 24.5 points, 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals in 40.0 minutes per game…Scored a team-high 24 points and had seven assists and two steals in 42:00 vs. Minnesota, Nov. 4…Scored a team-high 25 points and dished out a team-high six assists in 38:02 at Cleveland, Nov. 2.


Point Guard, #3 Stephon Marbury
6’2” 205
2007-08: Averaging 13.5 points and 6.0 assists in 35.0 minutes per game…Scored 17 points and had seven assists in 39:13 vs. Minnesota, Nov. 4…Scored 10 points and had
five assists in 31:13 at Cleveland, Nov. 2.

NUGGETS INJURY REPORT

OUT: Anthony Carter suffered a 3rd metacarpal fracture on his right hand and underwent successful surgery on 10/10. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks
OUT: Chucky Atkins suffered a severe right groin strain at Phoenix on 10/25 and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
QUESTIONABLE: Mike Wilks suffered a right hamstring strain vs. New Orleans on 11/4 and is considered questionable for tonight’s game.

KNICKS INJURY REPORT:

QUESTIONABLE: Nate Robinson: Mild Strained Right Hamstring
DOUBTFUL: Jerome James: Left Knee Tendinitis
OUT: Jared Jeffries: Sprained Right ACL and Bone Bruise

ON THE AIR:
Tonight’s game will be televised on Altitude with Chris Marlowe and Scott Hastings handling the telecast. The game will be broadcast on KKFN AM 950, with Jerry Schemmel doing the play-by-play and Jason Kosmicki hosting the studio courtside.

KEY MATCHUP:

PF Zach Randolph vs Nene & Kenyon Martin
Zach Randolph came to the Knicks from the Trailblazers in the off-season, and is one of the better power forwards in the league. Nene is still not up to full speed yet and Martin is limited to no more than 22 minutes and is still a little rusty. Randolph, who is a jump shooter as well as a penetrator, has a good shot at a good or great game against these Nuggets defenders. The Nuggets are looking for even more from Nene in this game than he showed against the Hornets, 12 points and 6 rebounds in 21 minutes, which was the first game he showed much of anything this season.


PG Stephon Marbury vs Allen Iverson
Marbury and Iverson both started in the NBA in 1996. Most would agree that Marbury’s last really good year was 2004-05; the last two years he has been slower and less productive than before. And Marbury is off to a slow start in the Knicks first two games this year. Overall, Marbury has had a good career, but Iverson has had a hall of fame great one. But Marbury will bring a lot more experience playing point guard to this game than Iverson has.

NUGGET'S KEYS TO VICTORY

Remain Cool and Confident The Nuggets have to remain cool and confident as they start what will most likely be a long and slow process of building their offensive strategy for the playoffs. There are going to be a lot more offensive breakdowns similar to the one in the Hornets game. The objective is to all but eliminate offensive breakdowns by the start of the playoffs. The NBA season has more than 5 months still to run, and that is more than enough time to get everyone on the same page.

Contain Zach Randolph As mentioned above, this will be critical. If you get lazy dealing with this guy, he can burn you from many spots on the floor. You can go for steals against Randolph. You can also try to get him in foul trouble if the refs are calling a close game.

This game especially, make sure Melo gets a lot of possessions Players such as Quentin Richardson and Reynaldo Balkman are no match for Carmelo Anthony. This can be a great night for Anthony as he and the Nuggets return to the scene of the crimes that caused the long suspensions.

KNICK'S KEYS TO VICTORY

Double Team Melo or Iverson Pick one and double him from time to time or, in the case of Iverson, you might simply try to force steals and bad passes as well. Iverson is getting little or no rest time these days, and you can wear any player out who plays 45 or more minutes faster by playing a harassing, intense style of defense. I’d double team Melo because Quentin Richardson is going to need help guarding Melo.

Total Green Light for Jamal Crawford The Nuggets are reeling from three point guard injuries and Crawford should try to take full advantage of the situation. Since the Nuggets are a poor 3-point shot defending team, Crawford should try to take advantage of that as well. Quentin Richardson and Stephon Marbury should also be on the lookout for open looks from behind the 3-point line.

Defensively, worry about Nene more than Kenyon Martin at this point Nene is now starting over Kenyon Martin. Make sure someone quickly picks up Nene on any pick and rolls, and make sure you box him out for rebounds whenever possible. Nene is not as good a rebounder as Camby is, and Camby can’t play 48 minutes, so you can try to dominate the boards when Camby is out and try to use that to go on a run. As everyone knows, it is relatively easy to go on 6-12 point runs on the Nuggets.

OVERALL PREDICTIONS
The Nuggets are one of the most unpredictable regular season teams in the League for the second year in a row, and plus it’s very early in the season, so any prediction on how well they are going to play is only an educated guess. PG Mike Wilks is questionable. If he does not play, the Knicks in Madison Square Garden could take this game. In order to avoid having a player on the court who is a lot less rested than the one he is guarding, no player should be playing 47 minutes, including Allen Iverson, but that is exactly what A.I. will be doing again if Wilks is out. If Wilks plays, I like the Nuggets in this game because Carmelo Anthony should have a big scoring and rebounding night here and Isaiah Thomas apparently does not have much firepower on his bench available. To win, though, even with Wilks in, the Nuggets need at least two solid games from any of two of their players other than Camby, A.I., and Melo, unless one of those three blows up, in which case they still need at least one other solid game from somebody. Don't tick me off GK: if Wilks is not playing get Von Wafer out there for 12-15 minutes or more if he's good.

Video: Hornets 93 Nuggets 88

More videos can be found below all the posts on this page, and there is a huge selection of videos on the +Nuggets 1 Videos page

The Hornets Shoot Poorly and Still Beat The Nuggets, 93-88

The Denver Nuggets were defeated soundly by the New Orleans Hornets 93-88, and are clearly in danger of becoming a losing team if you were to judge based on the first 3 games. The two teams that the Nuggets have beaten so far this season, the Sonics and the Wolves, are a combined 0-5, and both are in serious rebuilding. The Nuggets are, in effect, 0-1, because a veteran team can’t lose to either the Wolves or the Sonics unless it takes the night off, or is having extreme basketball difficulties.

Earlier in the day in Detroit, the football Broncos were destroyed by the Detroit Lions 44-7, so when the Nuggets came up lame it rounded out a miserable Sunday for sports fans in Denver and vicinity. And folks were already in a foul mood from the Rockies being swept 4-0 in the World Series a week or so ago. The all around foul mood caused the boos at the Pepsi Center to start up early, in the second quarter, and they became gradually louder in the second half. By the end of the game, it was harder to tell who was more depressed, the average fan, or the average Nuggets coach. Players don’t get the blues. If they did, they wouldn’t have the total psychological makeup needed to be pro players. Even J.R. Smith does not get the blues.

The Nuggets posed as a grind it out team and got grinded out by the Hornets, who have more than enough discipline and balance to grind you out if you do not come correct.

Both teams came out as cold as ice, missing everything and putting the fans to sleep quickly. The Nuggets even missed their first three layups. Camby, knowing that in the Minnesota game no one besides himself, A.I., and Melo were hitting much of anything, came out ready to work on his jump shot again. But he missed his midrange jumper and all three of his long range jumpers for the night. So Marcus Camby tried and failed to make up for the lack of a shooting guard, and for the lack of J.R. Smith in particular.

That’s what superstars like Camby do: they try to solve problems on their teams by offsetting the mistakes and problems of others. Then, if they fail, they are severely criticized by fans who don’t keep in mind the overall situation. If Camby just goes to the hoop all night, he vastly increases the risk of an injury, and the Nuggets are a Camby injury away from being burnt toast, until Kenyon Martin is cleared to play 30+ minutes a game, which will not be until at least March, and until Nene is back up to speed, and/or until J.R. Smith finally gets to play. Camby made enough jump shots last year to justify an occasional game where he tries some. And he just made 2/5 jumpers along with 21 rebounds and 5 blocks two nights ago in Minneapolis. Now if Bobby Jones, Von Wafer or, especially, J.R. Smith were playing, Camby could cut way back on his jumpers. But with the GK situation the way it is, it’s not a bad idea that he take some jump shots most games. Oh, and before I leave the subject of Camby, you should know he pulled down 21 boards for the second game in a row.

The Hornets, who achieved an accuracy of almost 54% on their two first games, started 2/19 from the floor, and the Nuggets started 1/8. At one point early in the second quarter, the starting front for the Hornets: SF Peja Stojakovic, C Tyson Chandler, and PF David West, were a combined 0/15. At the end of the dismal 1st quarter, with a three from A.I. being the only highlight, the Nuggets led, but not by as much as they should have, by 21-14.

For the game, Iverson made 2/6 threes, but Melo missed two and the Nuggets overall were only 4/18 (.222). Meanwhile, the Hornets had a decent night from beyond the arc; they finished 8/24 (.333) from long range. Several of those 8 threes were wide open blown coverage types of shots. The Nuggets giving up easy threes is nothing out of ordinary. In the second half, the Hornets took advantage of several instances where the Nuggets were using, primarily, the “stand around defense,” a defense I hear that lottery teams have been successful with for many years now. For the game, the Hornets made 33/86 shots (.384) and the Nuggets made 33/90 (.367). But a defensive struggle this was not; neither team played good or great defense. The game was decided by which team had the least pathetic offensive strategy on a night when only a couple of Hornets, SG Morris Peterson and PG Bobby Jackson, were pretty much the only two players on the court hitting much of anything.

The Nuggets were leading 40-34 with about 4 minutes to play in the half, when the bottom fell out. The Hornets went on a 9-0 run, with the Nugget’s coach failing to call a time out until the Nuggets were losing 43-40 after 4 straight Hornets scores. The Nuggets were turning it over and looking like a team that doesn’t have enough plays to run on offense. But with SF Peja Stojakovic just 0/8, and the Hornets as a whole just 17/46 (.370), the Nuggets were leading by a point at the half, 49-48.

The Nuggets came out with no real plan to win in the 2nd half, and the fans kept themselves awake by increasing the volume on their booing. A PF David West reverse layup made it 60-52 Hornets with 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. The Hornets then maintained their 4-10 point lead over the Nuggets for the rest of the quarter, and it was 73-69 Hornets at the end of the 3rd. For the game, the Nuggets had only 18 assists, while the Hornets had 22. Isolation plays only take you so far, and Melo did not get anywhere near enough touches in the second half.

In the 4th quarter, the Nuggets continued to be out-hustled by a team with a very balanced attack, and one that got a lot of help from their reserves in this one, especially PG Bobby Jackson, who scored 13 points on 5/10 shooting, and GF Rasual Butler, who scored 11 points on 4/7 shooting, with 3/5 of that from 3-point land. Altogether, the Hornets second team outscored the Nuggets second team 32-23. Keep in mind that if the only scores that counted were scores by starters, the Nuggets would win at least 65 games and easily make the West Conference final.

A Nene assisted Iverson three with 4:18 left in the game reduced the Hornets lead to 6 points, but then Butler hit one of his threes for 89-80 New Orleans with 3:20 left. The Nuggets did close to 90-88 Hornets with 46 seconds left, but then an inexperienced referee called a foul on Nene, which was incidental minor contact by Nene on David West, and that was all she wrote. It was somehow fitting that a lame call ended the lame excuse of an offensive game for the Nuggets. Maybe you deserve a lame referee if you have a lame offense.

The Nuggets now have 3 injured point guards, Chucky Atkins, Anthony Carter, and now Mike Wilks, who went to the locker room midway through the 2nd quarter with a severe groin strain. Carter is due back in a week or two, but the starter Atkins is not due back until about mid December. We don’t know about Wilks yet, but don’t be surprised if you see Melo playing the point a little in New York on Tuesday night.

The Nuggets also have Nene, who decided to use the last 3 months of the year to get into condition, apparently using a Brazilian calendar which had the NBA season starting in January rather than December. They have Camby at 33 years old and Iverson at almost 32 ½ and Najera at almost 31 ½ and none of them are getting any younger. Chucky Atkins, at 33 years old, and Anthony Carter, at 32, are relatively slow point guards anyway, so don’t expect the Nuggets to become lightning fast when they return.

George Karl continues to contend the Nuggets are a running team, but the Nuggets are short several runners to be only that now. And it was George Karl himself who yanked J.R. Smith, a true runner if there ever was one, out of the rotation completely from time to time last March and April, and then benched him in the playoffs, which led to one of the most pathetic game fives that a “running team” living off of possessions and points ever had in a playoff series, with the Nuggets scoring just 78 points and getting worn out just with that small output. The last time I was that upset about a basketball disaster was 7 years earlier, in 2000, when the Portland Trailblazers blew a 15 point 4th quarter lead in game 7 of the West finals and lost to the Lakers. I had to stop myself from taking a hammer to my television set. Knowing that I would end up with a ruined television if I covered game 5 of the Nuggets-Spurs series earlier this year, I boycotted it. I knew the Nuggets were going to be pathetic. I wasn’t going to sacrifice a television simply because the Nuggets can’t come up with a winning strategy or two.

At this point, it seems that somebody is secretly conspiring to turn the Nuggets into much more of a set play team, knowing that if he admits this in public the Denver sports press will eat him alive. Or else somebody can’t decide what the hell he wants to do on offense. Everyone at this point knows who that somebody is; the initials are GK. He and his assistants need to get up off their rear ends and get the team to run some set half court plays, including some post plays with Camby, Melo and Nene now, and with Kenyon Martin later on, if they want to avoid getting out-maneuvered time and time again this season by middle of the pack teams such as New Orleans, and utterly dismantled by high quality and well coached teams such as Houston, San Antonio, and Utah.

It’s not an either or. All “half court” teams run to one extent or another, and all “running teams,” (except for the Nuggets!) run at least a few set plays in what is known as a “half court offense.” GK is trying to have it both ways when he keeps J.R. Smith out of the rotation, gives trivial minutes to Bobby Jones, and no minutes at all to Von Wafer, yet still insists that the Nuggets are a running team. You have to have at least 4 or 5 runners to be a running team, George. You have them, but you won’t use them. So you do not have a running team. And it’s no surprise that the Hornets, who are by no means the fastest team themselves, outscored the Nuggets on fast breaks 22-11 on their own home court. Running team? I don’t think so.

If you are afraid to play the runners, GK, then you and your coaches need to admit the truth and develop some set plays as soon as possible. Leave your running team fantasy behind and do something, damn it. Fans in Denver don’t want to be left with just that funny game with the ice and the penalty boxes. You know, that game where they have two guys dressed up like Jason from the horror movie standing in front of those funny looking nets? That game.

We need to revamp the offense? With what's his name at the helm? Lord have mercy on us.

Diawara played 20 minutes and was 2/5 and 1/2 on 3’s for 5 points, and he had 4 rebounds. Najera played 20 minutes and was 1/4 and 0/2 on 3’s for 2 points, and he had 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. Kleiza played 24 minutes and was 3/7, 1/5 on 3’s, and 2/2 from the line for 9 points, and he had 3 rebounds.

Nene played 21 minutes and was 4/6, 0/1 on 3’s, and 4/6 from the line for 12 points, and he had 6 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, and a steal.

Martin played 22 minutes and was 3/7 and 3/4 from the line for 9 points, and he had 7 rebounds, 4 blocks, and a steal.

Camby played 34 minutes and was 4/11 for 8 points. He also had 21 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal.

Melo played 41 minutes and was 8/24, 0/2 on 3’s, and 4/6 from the line for 20 points, and he had 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

A.I. played for virtually the whole game and was 8/25, 2/6 on 3’s, and 5/6 from the line for 23 points, and he had 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and a steal.

The next game will be Tuesday, November 6 in New York to play the Knicks at 5:30 pm mountain time. Neither team will be playing on back to back nights, so both teams should be well rested.