Major credit to the Nuggets tonight. No Chauncey + No Melo = No losing in Utah tonight. Awesome win for you guys, especially with how bumpy it's been recently. It wasn't a "must win", but you needed it very badly.
Only to have us s**t the bed last night against Philly. Between the Nugs, the Broncos and the Buffs, I'm ready to give up on sports.
Yeahhhh, you've had a rough few days in sports. Trust me, as a Houston sports fan (and an Aggie), I know the feeling of "Black Sunday" all too well. The best remedy is to avoid ESPN and any other major sports network for at least 24-48 hours, take 2 aspirin, visit Clutchfans every 15 minutes or so, and call your doctor in the morning.
Honest to God, I'm just so frustrated with the Nuggets that I question why I cheer for this team. They are like a bad girlfriend. Yeah, she's hot and incredible in bed, but she is abusive, has slept with my best friend and tried to light me on fire once. But she did apologize for that. Ugh. If this team could put out a consistent effort every night, they would be a title contender. As it is, we're lucky to be fourth in the West (note: haven't checked standings since Sunday morning, so I could be wrong on that now). If they had the heart that the Rockets have....I'm just going to stop there. It's safe to say that we are not Joe Morgan's favorite basketball team. Food metaphor.
Nug4 good job. I for one appreciate the love you have for your team. You seem to be very respectful so respect right back. Good luck on the season minus games against the Rockets
So tell me....since we're somewhat deep into the season now, and we can basically make fair assumptions on every team in the NBA now, what exactly is "it" that the Nuggets are lacking? It seems like Carmelo has really taken that next step into being a leader on and off the floor since the Olympics; Chauncey is who he is....an efficient floor general who rarely makes mistakes, and comes through in the clutch when you need him to; J.R. Smith is a knucklehead but he's a firecracker off the bench and Lord help you if he's hitting his shots; Kenyon has turned it on quite nicely since Melo's absence. I could go on and on, but what I'm saying is that looking at the Nuggets' roster, one gets the feeling that it's pretty well-rounded. So, my question is, is it purely HEART that the team lacks?? Is there a personnel move you would want to make to shake things up? I happen to agree with you that the 4th seed is low for you guys, but I can't really put a finger on what's missing.
Monta Ellis is a stupid idiot. A gift for the Nuggets. You can't turn an win into a loss any better than that. The most boneheaded play an NBA player can make.
Really? Looked to me like it was an overzealous ref intent on having a say in the final score of a game. Any contact of the body that the Nuggets' idiotic announcers were screaming about was both initiated by Smith, and came well after the shot was released. Nuggets got yet another gift, much like they did against the Bulls earlier in the year.
I won't dispute what you say, but Ellis never should have given the ref a chance. He must have lost his mind. With 1.4 seconds left, there is no excuse. Dumb da dumb dumb.
That was the worst officiated final minute I've seen in a long time. Nugs smack a Warrior, no call. Curry carries the ball, no call. Ellis travels, no call. Nene and Turiaf try to recreate the WWE, no call. Random clock settings. What the hell? Whatever, it's over. Go Nugs. Wow, biased much? I'll agree our announcers were idiots, and JR probably initiated it, but how would the refs NOT call that there? Newsflash -- they constantly call defensive fouls when offensive players initiate the contact, they can't stop doing it at the end of the game. As for the Bulls game, that was a legit call. Miller didn't get the shot off in time. Refs spent over 3 minutes looking at it, and the NBA supported their decision. Intelligence. Chauncey is a brilliant player, no one will ever argue otherwise. But other than him, can you think of a player on the Nugs blessed with basketball smarts? Melo doesn't deserve the hate he gets on this board from a lot of the posters, but no one will ever consider him to be Battier like or Kobe like when it comes to basketball intelligence. Kenyon is intense, but still lets emotion rule his game too much. Nene & Afflalo are both average in this regard. Then there's JR. I love the idiot, but I often find myself wondering if he is brain damaged. Biggest problem the Nugs have had lately though is Chauncey's injury. He keeps the team running. Since the last game before the injury (the win over you guys), they're 3-6. Melo deserves to be mentioned in the MVP talk (not win it, but be mentioned), but it's painfully obvious that the most important player to the Nugs success is Chauncey. We can survive without Melo for a few games. Without Chauncey, we're without our veteran leader, a solid defender and are suddenly forced to give Anthony Carter minutes. That's never a good thing. I realize our injuries are nothing compared to what Portland's going through, but the Nugs are hammered right now. Chauncey has missed 8 games (9 if you count the Portland game in which he kind of played the first half). Melo has missed 3 straight games and might miss Friday's. Bird got hurt on Sunday night. Last night both Lawson and Nene went down with sprained ankles and are day-to-day (Nene returned, Lawson didn't). It's rough. You know things are bad when you find yourself watching a lineup containing AC, Joey Graham and Malik Allen on the floor and it's not garbage time. But that's no excuse. Everyone has injuries. I just don't think the Nugs are mentally tough enough to handle it.
Hey, I just saw an NBA TV special on the Nuggets- wow, that strength and conditioning coach is a trip! He's like Speedy Gonzalez on steroids with a side of crystal meth. I kept waiting for Chauncey to say, "SHUT UUUUUUP!" No, really, he looks like a great trainer- of course, when the injuries start kicking in, I'm sure they get the business.
I LOVE Steve Hess. He's kind of a cult favorite here. If you get a chance (I'd link it, but I'm at work where youtube is blocked) look for the Nuggets holiday clip from this year -- both the real one and the outtakes. He steals the show (although Melo's dance isn't bad).
Dear NBA, Please stop sending the worst officiating crews in the league to call the Nugs-Warriors games. Last night was an absolute joke. Thank you, N4
In news that will surprise everyone, the sun rose today, I yelled at my alarm clock, and JR Smith is acting stupid. Speculation on whether the Nugs might suspend the idiot for acting like, well, himself during the Hornets game and throwing a little hissy fit. Honestly (and this is pure speculation on my part), I've been wondering if the Nugs were shopping him a little this season and it wouldn't surprise me to see them move him before the deadline. It also wouldn't surprise me to see him get suspended for a game or two, come back and light it up. Also, no Melo tonight due to a sprained ankle.
whoa! where to start? Watching this nuggets group playing together for some time now, I came to realization that what I'm seeing is their limit. This is it. They surprised me time and time again with their "mental stability". Last game against Hornets, they have the lead they have the right course, yet they find a way again and again to get back to their improvizing and blow the lead. Come to think of it, it seems to me that this crew doesn't have any play drawn for them. Just improvizing. You can see glimpses of what might have been and then they loose focus again. They have one of the best PG's, yet you can't see single picknroll. They get marginal lead with team play, they turn back to isoing. One of biggs gets offensive board ..and he gets ball stripped for probably overthinking whether is it his turn again. All of this over and over again. This team doesn't need basketball lessons, they need someone to keep them focused.. ..if that is possible.
I'm beginning to wonder if a coaching change is needed. JVG would probably be able to whip these guys into shape real quick....
Not expecting anything to be done (sonofab****), but the front office is trying to land another big to come off of the bench. I've heard three names -- all of which would be solid additions but doubtful that it's the piece to put the team over the top. Tyrus Thomas has been mentioned everywhere, so I can share that one. There are two others being mentioned, but I haven't seen the Nugs linked to them publicly so I'm going to stay quiet on them until after the deadline (both are older players who could provide 15-20 minutes a night but, once again, not season makers). Looks like the current lineup is the one we're taking in to the playoffs. So close, yet so far...
Wait, Nuggets, are you an insider with Denver ala Steveriebel or Clutch? If so, I hadn't really realized that beforehand. < Good. >
