OFFICIAL DENVER NUGGETS Season Thread (Ok... Maybe we're not "finished")

[trasoul82]

SkyLarkster wrote:

---

It's just that Steve Blake was such an essential part of the offense last season, and it was because he could penetrate and dish while still being a shooting threat. This would leave Nene and Melo open every time. If Atkins wants to just be a jumpshooter, he's got another thing coming. He needs to set up guys like Iverson so that Allen isn't wasting his time bringing the ball up the floor.
The one problem I had with Blake is that even though he was a scoring threat, he was to scared to take some wide open shots. Atkins has averaged 13.2pts last year in Memphis, so he isn't exactly a shoot-first type of guy, but I don't think he'll be worried about shooting when the opportunitycomes. His assist will come up with this team, he just needs to make smart crisp passes. Atkins is aslo a career 37% 3pt threat, shooting 38% last year. TheNuggets have alot of streaky 3 pt shooters right now. If Atkins can bring a consistent shot from long range, I'm all for it.

 

[guillermo gutierez]

maybe Melo's slump is a blessing in disguise, maybe now he should focus more on rebounding and passing more.

 

[trasoul82]

Well at least we found a way to make a blowout loss look somewhat respectable.

[h2]Duncan returns, but Oberto, Finley power Spurs' victory[/h2]
[table][tr][td]Also See[/td] [/tr][tr][td]· Nuggets forward Martin suspended for flagrant foul
· Duncan returns
[/td] [/tr][/table]

[table][tr][td]Photo Wire[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
[/td] [td]San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) is defended by Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby, rear, during the first quarter of their NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

· View photo | View gallery[/td] [/tr][/table]

[table][tr][td]Team Stat Comparison[/td] [/tr][tr][td][/td] [td]DENVER[/td] [td]SAN ANTONIO[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Points[/td] [td]91[/td] [td]102[/td] [/tr][tr][td]FG Made-Attempted[/td] [td]36-76 (.474)[/td] [td]41-84 (.48[/td] [/tr][tr][td]3P Made-Attempted[/td] [td]6-15 (.400)[/td] [td]11-22 (.500)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]FT Made-Attempted[/td] [td]13-15 (.867)[/td] [td]9-13 (.692)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Rebounds (Offensive-Total)[/td] [td]5-29[/td] [td]12-43[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Assists[/td] [td]23[/td] [td]30[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Turnovers[/td] [td]17[/td] [td]14[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Steals[/td] [td]11[/td] [td]4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Blocks[/td] [td]8[/td] [td]2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Fast Break Points[/td] [td]25[/td] [td]5[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Fouls (Tech/Flagrant)[/td] [td]20 (1/0)[/td] [td]15 (0/0)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Largest Lead[/td] [td]9[/td] [td]26[/td] [/tr][/table]

[table][tr][th=""]Top Performers[/th] [/tr][tr][td]DENVER[/td] [td]SAN ANTONIO[/td] [/tr][tr][td] [/td] [td]A. Iverson
Points: 30
Reb: 3
Ast: 5
Stl: 3
Blk: 0
[/td] [td] [/td] [td]F. Oberto
Points: 21
Reb: 13
Ast: 5
Stl: 0
Blk: 1
[/td] [/tr][/table]

[table][tr][td]Game Leaders[/td] [/tr][tr][td][/td] [td]DENVER[/td] [td]SAN ANTONIO[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Points[/td] [td]A. Iverson 30[/td] [td]F. Oberto 21[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Rebounds[/td] [td]C. Anthony 9[/td] [td]F. Oberto 13[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Assists[/td] [td]A. Iverson 5[/td] [td]M. Ginobili 7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Steals[/td] [td]A. Iverson 3[/td] [td]B. Bowen 2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Blocks[/td] [td]M. Camby 5[/td] [td]T. Duncan 1[/td] [/tr][tr][td]· Team stats: Denver | San Antonio[/td] [/tr][/table]

[table][tr][td]2007-08 Season[/td] [/tr][tr][td]San Antonio leads 1-0[/td] [/tr][tr][td]ec 15, 2007[/td] [td]@SA 102, DEN 91[/td] [td]Recap | Box Score[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Jan 3, 2008[/td] [td]SA @ DEN[/td] [td]9:00 PM ET[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Mar 7, 2008[/td] [td]SA @ DEN[/td] [td]10:30 PM ET[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Mar 10, 2008[/td] [td]DEN @ SA[/td] [td]8:30 PM ET[/td] [/tr][/table]

[table][tr][td]Next 5 Games[/td] [/tr][tr][td]DENVER (ET)[/td] [td]SAN ANTONIO (ET)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]12/16 POR 8:00pm
12/20 HOU 10:30pm
12/21 @POR 10:00pm
12/23 @SAC 9:00pm
12/26 MIL 9:00pm
[/td] [td]12/17 PHO 8:30pm
12/19 @MEM 8:00pm
12/22 LAC 8:30pm
12/26 CHI 8:30pm
12/28 TOR 8:30pm
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]· Complete Schedule: Denver | San Antonio[/td] [/tr][/table]

Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Michael Finley and Fabricio Oberto each scored a season-high 21 points Saturday night in the San Antonio Spurs' 102-91 victoryover the Denver Nuggets.
The Spurs had lost two in a row, but remained perfect at home. They also saw the return of Tim Duncan, who missed fourgames with a sprained right ankle. Allen Iversonled the Nuggets with 30 points and Linas Kleiza had 16 points. Carmelo Anthony added 15 points and nine rebounds. The Nuggets were without starterKenyon Martin, who was suspendedfor one game after he was assessed a flagrant foul in the Nuggets' win Wednesday over New Orleans. Denver, down by double digits for most of the secondhalf, almost got within single digits in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets went on a 19-6 run, and a turnover by Manu Ginobili led to a3-point play by Iverson that brought the Nuggets within 11 with 4:17 to play. Denver got within 11 again, 100-89, when Anthony, on a fast break, tossed theball over his shoulder on a no-look pass to Kleiza, who dunked. The Nuggets got within 11 once more, with 40 seconds to play, but it was too late to make adifference. Oberto, who was 10-of-11 from the field, also grabbed 13 rebounds for the Spurs. Brent Barry scored 14 points for SanAntonio and Ginobili added 11. Duncan had eight points in his return. Tony Parker sat out his second straight game for the Spurs with a sprained left ankle.Anthony Carter scored 10 points for the Nuggets and Jacque Vaughn, who started at point guard in Parker's place, had 10 for the Spurs. Denver went up 27-22 afterone quarter as the Spurs couldn't get their rhythm on the court and missed 12 of 21 shots. But the Spurs took advantage of seven second-quarter turnoversby Denver, and Oberto and Finley each contributed eight points to a 16-7 San Antonio burst that gave the Spurs a 54-48 lead with 1:08 to go in the half. Finleyhit a bank jumper and followed with a 3 from the corner 23 seconds later after Bruce Bowen snagged the ball from Carter. Finley's bank shot turned out to be thego-ahead basket for the Spurs -- it put them up 46-45 with 3:13 left in the half. The Spurs were ahead 56-50 at the break. In the third it was the Nuggets whohad trouble from the field, missing 11 of 19 shots. The Spurs scored twice as many points as Denver in the quarter, getting their biggest lead of the game,92-68, heading into the final period. Finley and Oberto had continued success and Ginobili also got into the action, scoring all 11 of his points in thequarter. And when Ginobili missed a jumper, it was Finley who got the rebound and tipped it in for a 15-point lead with 3:50 on the clock. Game notes
The Nuggets met the reigning champion Spurs in the first round of last season's playoffs. Denver won the first game, but San Antonio took the next four tomove on. ... With less than a minute to play, Spurs C Francisco Elson appeared to roll his right ankle. He limped off the floor unassisted. ... The Spurs were 11-of-22from 3-point range. Finley hit 4-of-5. ... The Nuggets outran the Spurs, finishing with a 25-5 advantage on fast-break points.

 

[melofan15]

Did anyone see the game? EVERY SINGLE call went against the nuggets. Melo played solid and didn't force his shots, but as always the Nuggets D wasnonexistent, up until the 4th quarter. AI and Kleiza played good, but the lack of Defense cost the game. It wasn't that bad of a loss, and if K-Mart had been there, it would have been a totally different game

 

[trasoul82]

[h1]From NuggetsInsider.com

Same Old Story[/h1][h2]Parker-less Spurs steam roll Martin-less Nuggets[/h2]

Hey stop me if you have heard this one before: The Nuggets outmatched and unable to scheme theirway out of meltdown against a flop-happy, well-executing San Antonio team. No need to check the publish date of this recap, unfortunately this is not just anold recap from one of the many Nuggets beatings that have come at the hands of San Antonio within the last five years. Nope, sorry to say, this is as fresh asit gets, and what can you expect? Nothing outside of the Nuggets looking the exact opposite of fresh. Stale as mail-order bread, a good way to scribethe Nuggets performance. And just so we are clear, that's stale across all facets of play, offense, defense, you name it and the Nuggets made it look bad.The Spurs made their 102-91 win over the visiting Nuggets look, well, Spur-ugly. "Spur ugly" can only be described as a style of play that lacksflashy flair but boasts bullish brilliance. Yes, there were flops. Yes, there were torrents of awful stints of officiating. That all should be second nature atthis point, after you are the Nuggets and you are playing the Spurs on their home court. But before we add another pin in our Manu Ginobili voodoo dolls, weneed to at least give some jeering, if not jealously laden, credit to the lumbering Spurs and their ability to get the calls. True, the officials assigned tothe game were eggregious in their incompetence, with the majority of which being delivered by the blundering crew chief, Eddie F. Rush. But, as they say, thewhistling zebras, even the good ones, like to reward execution, and that, above all else, is what the Spurs fluidly accomplished. If its part of the battleplan, no matter how resentful, to flop and frolic, then you go out and flop and frolicked like your life depended on it. As much as I have justified reason tohate on the Spurs savage, break-you-down-slowly style of play, I really am in continued awe of how they manage to get it done so convincingly against a Nuggetsteam, who for lack of a better explanation, simply lacked any sort of game plan. Tis' life in the George Karl era. Kind of like the bronze age when theyhad no toilets but still had the human need to eliminate waste, so they went about laying excrement all over the township. That's what the Nuggets did lastnight. While they had no humane way of taking care of their preverbal 'business', they were forced to labor away countless droppings of fertilizer.Seriously, if you know you are playing a highly formulary basketball team, would it not seem wise to present yourself as if you had an offensive scheme of yourown? How many offensive possessions that resulted in any sort of point conversion, actually were born out of movement, or any form of set offense. Stand aroundthe perimeter, wait for someone to drive and dish; That was how the Nuggets chose to spend their second half.

The first half, all be it, far from perfect, was at least peppered with momentary jolts of pick and roll/backside-cut conversions. Whoreally was surprised when the Nuggets came out in the second half and seemingly abandoned any such desire to run planned, drilled upon, offensive sets? Nobody.And if you were surprised then you were probably also the same dopes who heard George Karl's pre-game -"this is a measuring stick type game"-hyperbole and thought to themselves that maybe such talk would indeed bring about a result that would be something George would want to cop to come the finalbuzzer. I surely hope that, after all these years, you know better than to actually want to use one of these games as any sort of a measuring stick.Personally, I think George got caught in his own trap. If your George Karl, you looked at the Spurs being without their court general Tony Parker, who say outdue to injury, plus a dinged up Tim SlamDuncan.com, and HEY, WHY NOT SAY THIS WAS TO BE A 'MEASURING STICK' GAME. Ut-oh George, youshould have guessed that offering

up minimal to no halftime/in-game adjustments, would make it matter but a mousefart that the Spurs were sans their second best player. After all, stepping in for the injured Parker, was the basketball force that is, Jacque Vaugn. JacqueVaughn? Oh yes, very much a Jacque Vaughn domination tonight. You probably shouldn't have forgot about the unstoppable basketball phenomenon that is,Francisco Oberto. Oberto. That's right, Oberto. He combined with Vaughn, were really the best possession-4-possession participators in the contest. Why arethe Nuggets letting average role players take over a game that was supposedly going to provide some sort of measuring stick? All I can say is that, the Nuggetshave at least been consistent at making marginal players look like world beaters this season, Beno Udrih • John Salmons, ringing any bells? Maybe that'sjust it though, maybe its not that the Spurs simply own the Nuggets like a fat kid owns a King Soopers Savings Card. No no, maybe its much more dark andpitiful. Maybe the reality we eventually have to come to, is that, perhaps the Nuggets themselves, are really no better (and thus definable) as a completelymediocre collection of ballplayers. Toss in a head coach who can't buy a winning game plan against Gregg Poppovich, who characteristically, embarrassed hisgood friend's team. Its not that they lost on the road against one of the NBA's best team's - rather its more, the way ,in which the Nuggets wererendered push over's against said depleted team. "Frustrated Incorporated" - Soul Asylum. For Nuggets fans, tonight, there is noasylum. Altitude should play that fitting 90's alt-rock anthem, during the lead-in to all games against San Antonio.

Last thing, to end on a souring positive, at least said Altitude Sports & Entertainment broadcasting team were able to go, arecord, 3 solid quarters without mentioning the over cooked Lexus Drive of the Game - and T H A T = some degree of progress. Baby steps everyone, weall take baby steps. We do so, as the venerable San Antonio Spurs continue their uninterrupted championship stride.



[h2]More Denver Nuggets News[/h2]

 

[boutmymoney333]

I still cant believe these _'s let Vaugh get a rebound while he was sitting on his#++@

. The rebounding and defense out there was terrible. We BETTER bounce back against Portland tonight.

 

[dmv is rnb]

.... like I said, Manu was not going to kill us.

I'm not even sure why people are trippin. Melo basically shot 50% from the field... he only took 15 shots I think. Kenyon didn't play leaving Marcusas the ONLY big man by himself. No Nene, who gave Tim Duncan problems last season, especially in the playoffs.

I wasn't even aware of the Kenyon suspension until I seen the box score and realized he wasn't there.

It's really not indicative of much at all. Defense has to get better, but we already knew that.

 

[dmv is rnb]

And Marcus said it best....

Oberto, who was 10-of-11 from the field, also had 13 rebounds for the Spurs.

"He had a great game. He usually doesn't go for numbers like that," said Marcus Camby, who had just four points and six rebounds for Denver. "We were so small with K-Mart being suspended, he (Oberto) was being played by a 6-7, 6-8 guy most of the night."

 

[skylarkster]

True, the officials assigned to the game were eggregious in their incompetence, with the majority of which being delivered by the blundering crew chief, Eddie F. Rush
Why isn't anything done about this? George Karl and Edwardo got technicals for nothing. All 3 of Kleiza's firstfouls were BS. Melo got 3 quick fouls (did y'all see that block on Oberto? How can you possible blow the whistle?)...I don't care how you put it, wewere hanging right there with the Spurs and the officials wouldn't tolerate it. Now we know why they have a pefect home record.

Yeah Nuggets straight up went flat in the second half but I don't care how you look at it: you can't win when it's 5 against 8.

 

[aepps20]

This team is confusing to watch

 

[lootpac]

^I'll agree, they'll be lights out one second, and the next they're throwing up hot garbage. They're so frustrating, but should make theplayoffs. The biggest problem is that we have 3 amazing guys, (melo, AI and Camby) and the rest of our team is mediocre at best, Minus K-Mart who seems to behot and cold. Whenever I check for a nuggets score it seems like they lost and blew a big lead all the time.

 

[whywesteppin]

I'm still here.

But I'm still trying to get over the disappointment of the Broncos so I haven't been following the Nuggets lately. I think they'll be fine though.

 

[blowdawhistle]

The Nuggets need Nene and Atkins to hurry and get healthy..

 

[blowdawhistle]

Here's something I noticed from looking at the schedule

the nuggets are 10-1 when melo is the leading scorer

they are 4-9 when iverson is the leading scorer

 

[gregbutler20]

My boy Melo needs to come out of the slump. I wonder if he is drained from all these summer usa tournaments.

 

[gregbutler20]

My boy Melo needs to come out of the slump. I wonder if he is drained from all these summer usa tournaments.

 

[boutmymoney333]

George Karl needs to be fired asap. This guy has defensive talent sitting on his bench but refuses to use them in the game. I've read numerous of times inthe denverpost how GK has said that he "loves Diawara and Bobby Jones defensive energy. He just cant figure out a way to use them in the game". Whattype of #!%+ is that?? You're a ++#%$@% head coach, thats part of your job +$@!%@%

. The 1st time we played Portland this year, Diawara and Jones did a solid job on the defensive end. Both of them did not see ANY time in the gamelast night. I'm not a fan of Diawara at all, but I can admit that his does a decent job on the defense. J.R. Smith was doing more coaching from the benchthan GK was

. Also I cant wait till Nene gets back because our rebounding hasto get better. Hopefully Nene got rid of his porno honey again......

In the second game of a back-to-back, Karl played only seven players until the final minute, and even then, guard J.R. Smith wasn't used. Sunday was the first game this season for which Smith was active and did not play.

"I was shocked," Iverson said about Smith not playing. "Shocked, honestly."

Asked why Smith didn't play, Karl said: "Would you have played him? Did you see him play last night (at San Antonio)? We're in a bad defensive game (against Portland) and you want to play a guy who hasn't played defense in a week?"

@ Howthis clown bashed J.R. in the paper. Thats something that you keep in-house. He did the same thing in the playoffs last year. Im sick of this dude.

 

[skylarkster]

Hopefully Nene got rid of his porno honey again......

"Now he's ballin".

I guess I've been too much of a George Karl fan to put up a 'fire GK' sig but someone needs to slap some sense into the Nuggets defense. They havethe potential to be nasty defensively but look like they have no motivation. Maybe another coach would bring that.

 

[noblekane]

Originally Posted by BlowDaWhistle

Originally Posted by NobleKane

team denver nuggets has gotten thin since all them 76er bandwagoners jumped off

that 6 year extension dont seem good IMO.... what is iverson's strength? his speed. and thats what goes first for athletes...

Iverson's speed isn't going ne where... He's still one of the fastest players in the league and he's 32/33 (i cant remember)... Its not like once he reaches 35 or 36 he's guna turn into yao ming or sumthin as far as quickness and speed goes....Iverson is still going to be quicker and faster than most guys until he retires...

yeah but speed loss hits you out of nowhere. just ask roy jones jr

@ the nuggets being 14-9. suprised considering how horrible they havebeen playing...

 

[melofan15]

For the nuggets to be successful they're going to have to play defensive and be consistent. Melo needs to get out of his slump, and A.I needs to play therole of a distributor. They're 17-0 when he has 10+ assists, that's no coincidence.

 

[melofan15]

Good news:

Nene Cleared to Return to Nuggets Practice

Posted Dec 18 2007 6:54PM

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DENVER, Dec. 17 (AP) -- Denver Nuggets forward Nene has been cleared by team doctors to begin ballhandling and shooting drills and can participate in full practices beginning Friday.

Nene, who has appeared in five games this season, tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb in a game at Boston on Nov. 7.

Copyright 2007 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

 

[blowdawhistle]

Originally Posted by melofan15

Good news:

Nene Cleared to Return to Nuggets Practice

Posted Dec 18 2007 6:54PM

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DENVER, Dec. 17 (AP) -- Denver Nuggets forward Nene has been cleared by team doctors to begin ballhandling and shooting drills and can participate in full practices beginning Friday.

Nene, who has appeared in five games this season, tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb in a game at Boston on Nov. 7.

Copyright 2007 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Finally...hopefuly he'll be playing starting playing next week... we need his help on the boards...i just PRAY that he's in shape...if he'sactually in shape he'll be a monster

 

[aepps20]

This team makes me angry on so many levels. Guys like Diawara need more playing time because their energy seems to infuse the entire team. Melo needs to grabmore rebounds and focus on getting to the rim rather than jacking up jump shots.

 

[boutmymoney333]

Sig check

I guess I've been too much of a George Karl fan to put up a 'fire GK' sig

I used to feel the same way, but the proof is in the pudding. How you gonna have a 7 man rotation on the 2nd night of a back to back?

 

[prinse3]

this team needs a jeff van gundy type to get that defence on lockdown... although it cracks me up already just thinking about the relationship between melo/a.iand gundy