Hey Nuggets4 I'm very happy for you. Please beat those anoying Lakers for us. I gues the curse of the nuggets is broken (you know giving you hope before the season and then destroying it during the season).
The Lakers are going down. We exposed them as the inconsistent pile of cow dung that they are. And, now the Nugs are going to ram the point on home. There will be no greater pleasure than watching the Fakers lose this series. Make it happen, Denver!
I tell you guys, I really think the Nugs learned a lot by watching the Rockets play the Lakers. You guys exposed them, but were too injured to finish the job. Now if you want to let us borrow Shane Battier for a few weeks, that'd be nice.
Congrats Nugs on a big win last night! Here's hoping that your team can win this series in 5 or 6 (preferably 5). I had a couple of questions for you though: 1) Linas Kleiza - did he go to college in the US or is he an international guy who came to the NBA after playing overseas (like Scola did)? Wasn't he like your 6th man and a guy who could put up big numbers off the bench? What has caused him to go down this season? Injuries?? Presence of Chris Andersen?? Other factors?? 2) What is the deal with Dahntay Jones? Why does Karl start him every game and then only play him for 16 minutes? Why not start J.R. Smith? I have never understood that. Go Nuggets!
JR is a scoring spark off of the bench, thats why Dahntay starts. I believe LK has a broken finger or something of that degree so hasnt been as effective as in the past until yesterday. Too bad Balkman doesn't get some burn because he could absolutely help Denver out in this series as well IMO. by the way, I like this
His FT's were not Wade-like. He kept attacking the basket. I know it may seem like he was being gifted free throws because of all the hacking they allowed LA to get away with at the beginning of the game when he was driving, but those were legit fouls. You can't hack guys just because you have LA on your jersey....
Well thanks for the response although the questions were really for Nuggets4. I understand that about Jones but 16 minutes total a game? Even when Chuck Hayes was starting, he would play more than 16 minutes a game. To me, it sounds more like a psychological thing - that J.R. Smith would rather come off the bench than start because he has convinced himself of that.
Would you rather have Anthony Carter coming off the bench with Jones or Smith? ..and yeah I think Smith plays better defense as far as not getting abused as much as Jones
Yup. I hope the Nuggets learned enough to take the Lakers down. I've said all along the way to beat them is tenacious half-court defense so they have to work for all their points. Nobody in the NBA can run with this team.
word, at first i thought billups's fts were wade-like but then i would watch the replay and i would see the contact. they looked wade-like because billups would drive into the lane out-of-control, but the lakers bailed him out anyways.
Once again, it is more about a minutes thing than anything else. I usually peruse through the box scores throughout the season and the Nuggets were one team I would occasionally look over and almost always Jones' minutes were around 16-18 a game. I just find that very odd for a starter. Another guy that is similar to that is Batum of Portland who will start but play about 10 minutes or less a game. I guess I am one of these old-school traditionalists that feels your starters should be your 5 best players and they get the majority of the minutes.
Its a different NBA now man where the 6th man gets more minutes as your scoring spark ala Manu, JET, and JR Smith I understand what youre saying but in this day, coming off the bench doesnt = less minutes. That's something Iverson couldn't come to understand and thus destroyed an already fragile but cohesive unit in DET
In Portland, the Blazers started Batum to see what he would give them each game. If he played well, he got more minutes. If not, he was given only a few minutes to start the halves and Outlaw took over. In addition, Outlaw is not a well-rounded player and the Blazers felt his best role was coming off the bench instead of starting. I think the situation is similar in Denver with Jones and Smith. J.R. Smith is better coming off the bench than starting. Next year, I imagine the Nuggets will have a different starter at SG than Dahntay Jones. Great post McGradySNKT. AI's ego was too big.
I never thought there would come a day where Allen Iverson and me would feel the same about something basketball-related, ha! I understand what you are saying and it makes sense. I guess if you look at the old Celtics teams of the '60s, Havlicek as their 6th man probably played more minutes than their starter at the 2 or 3.
It's an interesting change that is happening in the game. That makes me wonder why David Stern forces changes through rules when the game would naturally evolve like thus. Im curious what Denver can do even more next year when they get rid of Anthony Carter and bring in another big man...should've kept Camby though One thing is for sure, I would love to see Denver take LA out of the playoffs so that all of these bandwagon fans here in LA drop those car flags and go back cheering for the raiders. Not only that, its more fun watching Melo grow up than it is listening to and watching the league and ESPN force Kobe and Lebron down our throats like its a state sponsored league.
The way Denver is playing, and the way Carmelo has stepped up his game, I change my mind. I want Denver in the Finals, and I want to see a Carmelo vs. LeBron matchup. That would be fun.
