Rapid Reaction: Denver Nuggets 119 Sacramento Kings 116 (OT)

March 5, 2012
by Charlie
Sacramento Kings 116 Final
Recap | Box Score		 119 Denver Nuggets
Corey Brewer, SF 22 MIN | 3-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 8 PTS | +2

With Gallo and Nene back in the mix, I was worried about Brewer being able to ease up on his shooting. The Nuggets have needed him to produce points with all of the injuries, but double figure scoring from Brew typically means 10 plus attempts and around 40% shooting. The good news is Corey shot a lot less but still took most of his attempts outside the paint and just didn’t produce a lot in the hustle categories, where his true value lies. Despite the struggles, Brew gets a birthday bump for his grade on the night he celebrated his 26th with an utterly fantastic team win.
Kenneth Faried, F 34 MIN | 7-9 FG | 6-7 FT | 12 REB | 1 AST | 20 PTS | -4

When you get a career high 20 points and a double-double for the third time in four games, you get an ‘A’. What’s remarkable about Faried’s last few games is the fact he’s been struggling like all rookies do. Faried was noticeably outhustled and outworked on the boards on several occasions. Just take a look at his gaudy statline and realize this was far from a complete performance. What the ‘Manimal’ is showing us in his short time as a rotation player is quite special — it’s just rare to see a rookie become such an important part of his team’s success is such a short time on the floor.
Timofey Mozgov, C 7 MIN | 3-4 FG | 2-4 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 8 PTS | -3

This is the third game in a row Mozgov has tweaked his ankle and he has yet to sit out for some rest. The young Russian played only 7 minutes and kept the offensively-challenged Nuggets afloat in the first quarter. Shortly thereafter he again came up gingerly on his left ankle and Karl wisely kept him out of the game as a precaution. While Mozgov was solid in his extremely limited stint, there’s not a whole lot here to draw from in terms of a grade.
Arron Afflalo, SG 45 MIN | 9-20 FG | 10-11 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 32 PTS | +3

Incredible. Afflalo set a new career high with 32 points and his clutch heroics need to be experienced to be believed. It was one of the more spectacular finishes I’ve seen in professional basketball, because these players and coaches have seen it all and they definitely weren’t prepared for Afflalo’s performance tonight. Those six points at the end of regulation came off some of the most cold blooded shooting I’ve ever seen at the close of a Nuggets game, even in the era of you-know-who. If you didn’t see it, stop what you’re doing now and go watch.

Ty Lawson, PG 43 MIN | 7-16 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 13 AST | 16 PTS | -4

Another near triple-double, another game-winner, another up and down night where Lawson shined brightest with the game on the line and his team in utter despair. And this was the second night of a back to back. No big deal.
Al Harrington, PF 35 MIN | 5-14 FG | 2-2 FT | 9 REB | 3 AST | 14 PTS | +12

Harrington’s production remains some of the steadiest on the team. He turned in another solid game, nearing another double-double but struggling with efficiency and missing most of his fourth quarter attempts. Harrington played the final 16 minutes of the first half and was fatigued in the fourth quarter. Harrington gives you a solid effort night in and night out, but the increased workload is taking it’s toll. Harrington played “waist-up” basketball down the stretch and had trouble getting his legs under his shot and moving his feet on defense.

Andre Miller, PG 31 MIN | 0-3 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 11 AST | 2 PTS | +8

Miller bounced back in a huge way, considering his second half in San Antonio was probably one of the worst shooting performances in a half by any player this season. Miller played much better tonight, notching 11 quality assists and making a fantastic play on what should have put the game away with 30 seconds remaining in overtime. Bad calls aside, Miller made solid decisions all night, perhaps the only downer being his 4 turnovers.

Chris Andersen, C 14 MIN | 3-6 FG | 3-5 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 9 PTS | -4

He was great in the pick and roll, great in the open floor and superb in the energy categories, where Birdman tallied 2 blocks and 5 free throw opportunities limited minutes. Birdman is doing all he can to debunk the “Anthony Carter” theory stating that he needs a multiple days rest to be effective on the court.
Nene, C 16 MIN | 2-5 FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 6 PTS | -1

The good thing is Nene looked healthy and showed no problems making lateral cuts or elevating. The bad news is it appears Nene has gone the better part of a month without practicing much basketball. The game was moving a little too fast for him and Nene had trouble catching passes and getting his shot off. Nene should work himself up to speed with some more practices and conditioning sessions under his belt.

Danilo Gallinari, SF 18 MIN | 1-3 FG | 1-2 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 4 PTS | +6

It’s tough for me to tell if Gallo is all the way healthy yet, because he certainly wasn’t moving about the court at his normal speed. On the other hand, Gallo made some nice shots and never forced anything. Gallo still seems to be testing his ankle and feeling out his ability to go full speed, which is fine. Like Nene, the team just didn’t know how to adjust to him being back on the floor yet, especially having played a tough game last night in San Antonio.

Five Things We Saw

  1. Character win: I’m still fairly in shock the Nuggets walked away with a win here. Sacramento played much better throughout the majority of the night and the Nuggets were disjointed from the start. This team has been playing fantastic ball without two starters and incorporating them back into the rotation wasn’t easy for George Karl. While it seems like a big letdown of an effort by the players, the Nuggets competed hard and just faced a hot shooting team on a night the rotation was thrown out of sync. Although I don’t think Denver’s overall play from start to finish merited a win, there’s no denying they played composed and confident basketball when it mattered the most. The mental approach to winning games couldn’t be any more different than what we saw prior to the All-Star break.
  2. Execution: Lawson’s go to play has been a high pick and roll with Faried. He’s used it to set up the game winner twice in the last two contests. Faried is making solid contact on the pick and has greatly improved that aspect of his game since the season began. Outside of getting the bigs involved to create space for Lawson’s game winning shots, the Nuggets also ran a nice inbounds for Afflalo to score a game tying three in regulation. It was poor defense by Sacramento, but Denver is doing a much better job doing the little things to create better shots such as running off screens and attacking the weak side defense. The stand-still offense has been addressed. This is something completely new compared to what we saw during the month of February and the coaching staff deserves credit.
  3. Faried’s impact: Like anything fiercely competitive, the difference between winning and losing at the highest level often comes down to 50/50 situations. There is no one who goes harder after 50/50 balls than Kenneth Faried. Keep in mind his career high 20 points came without the benefit of his teammates or coaches setting him up to score. With his raw post game and under-developed offensive skills, it’s remarkable he can score 20 without the benefit of superstar players to draw all of the attention. It’s difficult to appreciate how good he is at this young stage of his career. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Faried will put up double doubles regularly in a meaningful role.
  4. Changes in leadership: The much maligned play of Andre Miller and Al Harrington has been the source of a lot of frustration whenever the Nuggets lose. While Andre and Al are no doubt the most experienced shot makers on the squad, they often dominate the ball without working through their teammates to create shots. Outside of Andre Miller’s unspeakably bad second half in San Antonio, Andre and Al have deferred and emphasized ball movement instead of pushing the hero role on themselves. It is the biggest reason the Nuggets have gotten better shot opportunities and won games despite Miller and Harrington continuing to shoot the ball poorly. Miller in particular got into a play much more quickly than he normally does, often initiating the action within the first 10 seconds of a possession.
  5. Birdman rises: Chris Andersen started the season entrenched at the backup Center position and couldn’t have been more fundamentally inconsistent. While Bird has always been able to draw fouls and produce rebounds, what really stood about his early-season play was his famous penchant for biting on fakes and his inability to finish dunks at the rim. After taking some time out of the rotation, Birdman has his spring back and he looked like the athletic presence around the rim that prompted the Nuggets to lock him up for a five years after the 2009 season. If he continues this motivated play and realizes that his veteran savvy is what keeps him on the floor, Birdman will soar again.

Game 39 Advanced Stats

Pace Factor: 108.8 – Another OT thriller, one of the fastest games of the year
Offensive Efficiency: 109.4 – How they managed this is beyond me. Nuggets weren’t at their best
Defensive Efficiency: 106.6 – This was one of those nights Sacramento just made shots. The Kings played very tough

Posted on March 5, 2012 at 11:02 pm | filed in Analysis, Game Recap, Rapid Reaction | 71 Comments
  • Alex

    Not to be a downer or anything but having Andre Miller in to finish the game is going to cost us a win sooner than later. But beside that AAA was sooooooo CLUTCH with those free throws and so was Ty with the game winning THREEEEEEE ball!!!!!!!!!! Oh and another Manimal double-double!!!!!

    • Alex

      And I forgot the Happy Birthday to Corey Brewer

    • SmokinNugs

      No doubt! Miller didn’t even score til the 4th quarter. No reason he needed to be in there!

      Why don’t we ever start our OT with our game starting lineup? Give the 7 footer a chance to wreak some havoc.

  • Ernie

    Somebody tell me I’m not the only one that turned off the TV with 28 seconds left in regulation and threw the remote outside out of frustration.

    • Kalen

      Hahaha! No, please tell me that didn’t happen. I was close because I wanted to see what was going on with the college games, thank goodness I didn’t though.

      That was insane-crazy, crazy-insane. I can’t remember seeing a game that improbable, frustrating and at the same time gratifying. What a game. Truly unbelievable.

      A few quick notes:

      Afflalo has atoned for his early slow start and then some. Those three free throws are the very REASON he got payed what he did this past summer. I’m not sure if anybody else on the team outside of him and Gallo could have done that. He had two separate streaks where he score eight straight points for the Nuggets and set a new career high in the process. This win could very well end up being a turning point in the Nuggets season and it was largely due to Arron Afflalo.

      What more is there to say about Ty? Western Conference Player of the Week, flirting with three straight triple-doubles and hits back-to-back game winners. This is BY FAR the best stretch of his career and could also end up being a turning point in his individual game. It’s just hard to imagine him going back to being hesitant after this coming out party. Last summer when I kept on saying the Nuggets future lies in Ty Lawson’s hands, this is kind of what I meant.

      As for Faried, it was great to see him get a new career high in points, and he played a huge role in the win, but there were many different occasions where he struggled rebounding. Yes, that sounds weird considering he ended up with a game-high 12 boards, but I lost track of how many times he got pushed around or was way out of position. I guess I’m just being hyper-critical because I know he’s capable of doing incredible things. But his attitude, in my opinion, has changed the way this team is playing basketball games right now. I see him bringing in infectious passion for the game that the Nuggets haven’t really had since K-Mart left.

      • Alex

        I don’t know if there are words to fully describe the way these three guys are playing right now, the furture is really bright in Denver when you add Galo to these three and then the other pieces we got.

      • Ernie

        It is true. I then saw the tweet from you or Charlie about Faried not missing a free throw in the 4Q or OT. It took a good 5 seconds for my mind to understand what was meant my OT, a shot of adrenaline trying to find the remote, and then seeing the end.

    • Topher York

      Don’t worry Yahoo posted we lost by 3 and than corrected it to we lost by 1.

  • Zakk

    Almost did the same^^ .. I was about to type a tweet showing my disgust with the loss.

  • Jim

    That was bad ass. I can’t believe they pulled that out. Didn’t really play that great but they were more bad ass in the end. I can’t believe they called the foul with .6 sec and aaa hit all three. Loved manimal banging hard on cousins too.

  • HD

    great game. Afflalo went off, Ty is clutch, faried is blossoming into a great NBA player, but lets give credit where credit is do. The pepsi center was dead until the third quarter when Karl decided to Throw in the Spry old Birdman. Who instantly ignited the crowd with 9 quick points, 5 boards, 2 blocks in just 13 minutes. Great all around game. Even Miller was dishin’. Much respect!

  • Jeff

    Here’s my Nugget nicknames list, nothing wrong with the others but this is my vernacular..
    Lawson: Blur (only used by my close group of friends, haven’t heard it in the fan base)
    Faried: Bounce (not really into Manimal, just me)
    Harrington: Buckets or Big Al Buckets
    Koufos: K2
    Mozgov: Mozzy
    Brewer: Brew Dog
    Miller: Dr. Dre
    Afflalo: Afflawless (nothing wrong with Triple A but this is another friends one)
    Andersen: Birdman
    Gallinari: Gallo
    Nene: Nene (already kind of a nickname)
    Hamilton: J Ham

    Oh yeah, the Nuggets played tonight. Afflawless killed it.

    • Andrew

      Ha ha. I like these. My friend and I decided to start calling him “Affballso” after he hit those three clutch free throws. The man has some stones on him.

  • MTnugfan

    Gotta hand it to Afflalo. He’s really stepped up after he had some questioning if he was worth his new contract. He has really picked up the slack almost every night lately and reminded me why Bill Simmons had him as the top free agent 2 guard out there in the offseason. Great win! Tip of the cap to Lawson, Afflalo, and Faried!

    • Lane

      After watching highlights I need to give Birdman a shoutout- huge timely boost.
      I still find the line-up decisions curious at the end of ball games.
      You would think with enough good defenders; Afflalo, Brewer, Gallo, Faried, Stone, Bird, Kofous, and Mozgov George could get most of them to be a really long, athletic and cohesive group for end of game defensive situations.
      But there seems to be no attempt ro utilyze the talents of the roster when we need a big stop or rebound. And with leading the league in scoring and 2nd in rebounds, I think we can all agree that defense is the only thing holding this team back at all.

  • Irritated Fan

    Best nuggets game I have ever been too. Some of the “fans” started leaving early. There’s a reason you don’t ever turn it off, or leave early and this is it. Pepsi center was rocking at the end.
    Baby Ty, AAA, faried played amazing.
    Wow.

    • Daniel

      I was there too. When AAA hit those ft’s it was probably one of the most exciting moments I have ever experienced. The I had to Pee before OT and the line was too long. So I held it, and then when Ty hit that three, it was definitely the most exciting moment I had ever experienced. Then the line was still way too long after the game, and I peed behind the car. Go nuggets, my voice is gone because I was screaming the whole game.

      • Irritated Fan

        The only thing that was missing from the night was a rocky half court make. The ball wouldn’t stay in!
        But in the same situation, I won’t be talking much tomorrow

        • Daniel

          Yeah he kept missing. After that offensive foul on Andre I was a little upset and a rocky half court make would have made me happy. Was it just me or was that definitely not an offensive foul on Andre? It seemed like the defender jumped and dre hit the shot and it should have been an and-one. Am I right?

          • Irritated Fan

            Your completely right. Everyone in the Pepsi center was ecstatic, because no one thought it was a charge, it was a clear and one I thought. But to pull that through, I just can’t get over AAA’s three pointer followed up by the 3 free throws. Amazing

          • Andrew

            I watched it on Altitude and even Hastings was going off on the ref on that call. The replay shows that the defender not only shuffled his feet, but jumped up and into Andre. Terrible call.

          • magster

            It was a charge according to the Sacramento broadcasters that I watched on an internet feed last night. It was an “excellent” call (eyeroll).

            They did make a good point showing Afflalo being fouled at least twice before he was fouled again on that last second shot. At least they acknowledged that the Afflalo foul on the shot was a foul (and they acknowledged that Lawson’s 3 was clearly a 3).

    • Jeff

      I was at the Dallas game last year when people were leaving early and Afflalo hit the buzzer beater. That was crazy!!!

  • Alex

    Just saw that Chris Paul had the same chance that AAA had down three with 2.7 left and he had three free-throws but he went make-make-miss and the Clippers lost.

  • Ricardo

    What a win for the nuggets. People that say that a team without a superstar can’t be good in crunch time is dead wrong, Lawson has made two game-winners in a row and he’s not a superstar. Faried got, yet, another double-double; he’s quickly becoming into a great basketball player in the NBA. The only thing I didn’t like is that GK put Miller at the end of the game again, which leads to the nuggets giving up leads and losing games at the end.

    • Ricardo

      And another thing I forgot is that I’m glad GK put Nene to play at center so Faried could be in the game.

  • Andrew

    I was disappointed that Karl had Miller in there and also that Karl never really went back to Moz. The Nuggets need that extra big in there in the post.

    • Alex

      Moz was said to be unavailble in the 2nd half because of his ankle

      • Andrew

        Thanks. I missed that on my first read though. Oops.

  • Andrew

    By the way, does anybody know when Koufos is due back?

  • Ruben

    Ty’s new nickname should be Ty-nomite!

  • Evan

    The Ty-nasty has begun!

    • Evan

      …not TY … Nasty. T instad of D. just to clear that up.

  • Brett

    Winning this way was the best possible outcome for this team – better than a blow out. Now Lawson and AAA are emerging as clutch shooters, which is exactly what this team was missing in many several close games that we lost in the first half of the season.

    Also, Karl trusted Faried with crunch-time minutes and he did not disappoint. Everyone will remember this night for the clutch shooting of AAA and Lawson, but let’s not forget what Faried did down the stretch. First, he hit two free throws with five minutes left. Then, down 98-103 with 1:12 left in the fourth, Miller missed a 6-footer (again) and Faried cleaned it up with the put-back dunk. We had to score on that possession and Faried got it done. Later, when the game was tied with 1:09 left in OT, Faried again knocked down two huge free throws. Those were the last points we scored before Lawson drilled the game-winner.

  • Evan

    I love this team.

  • FinazzAus

    This game really proved something about our depth. Not many team can ease back two of there starters and give them time to find form. love that both gallo and nene can play limited minutes the next half a dozen games to get form/ conferdence and pace back and be happy knowing we should win still. That’s depth.

  • Desean

    I really think our fully healthy clutch lineup should be
    Nene
    Faried
    Gallo
    Afflalo
    Lawson

    Faried is always more effective with his morale boosting plays late in games.

    If he was getting real minutes consistently he would probably be averaging something like 19 and 13 and I’m not even exaggerating, he has all star talent if he can develop a consistent 15-10 feet jumper

    • Desean

      Plus he wasn’t even rebounding well tonight, he missed out on several half rebounds with buttery fingers or fouls that weren’t called. Actually no he would average like 14.5 rebounds.

      Nene needs to suck it up and play center again most of the time except maybe against a team like the lakers where we need to play bigger

  • al68

    cuantas A y B cuando hemos hecho un partido pésimo que no lo perdimos porque Sacramento es malísimo.

    No entiendo esta relajacion casi rompemos una gran racha de victorias, el único que no se relaja nunca es Afflalo.

    Los mejores Afflalo Andersen y Faried, Lawson cumpliendo y el resto mal sobre todo Brewer ni ataque ni defensa.

    Creo que esta victoria tan agonica nos debe despertar para conseguir 3 victorias mas seguras.

    • magster

      Reading my daily al68 comment is teaching me Spanish faster than Rosetta Stone.

      • al68

        i trying to learn write english. sorry

        • magster

          Don’t apologize! Say what you want to say in whatever language you want to say it in. I wasn’t mocking you.

      • al68

        please use google translator like me.

    • Charlie

      al68, do not fault the players for bad effort. I don’t think you can accuse them of not playing hard at any time during last night’s game.

      Sacramento played a good game. The rotation was thrown way out of whack after guys had gotten used to dealing with the injuries.

      There was no player who made any glaring mistakes on the court last night, outside of Harrington who could barely stand up straight due to fatigue

      • al68

        Pienso que hubo mucha relajacion desde GK a los jugadores. Una prueba es ver a GK de pie muchas veces en el partido contra SA y ayer contra SAC mucho menos, otro ejemplo la ultima jugada el tiro de francisco garcia es un Open shot muy facil de meter.
        Con 89-81 nos volvemos a relajar.

        Por eso yo no aprecie mucho esfuerzo como tu dices, y esa relajacion es la que llevo a los kings a casi ganar el partido nosotros les dimos la posibilidad. Aunque es solo mi opinion.

  • Landry

    I don’t feel like we can take Faried out of the starting line-up because he brings too much energy to the table. No longer do we see poor starts with his force on the glass.
    Starters
    Nene, Faried, Afflalo, Lawson, Gallinari
    Back ups
    Mozgov/K2, Harrington, Hamilton/Hernandez, Miller/Stone, Brewer
    Finally does anyone notice how Faried is clutch in every possible way?

    • Desean

      He not only makes clutch offensive boards but he has hit some big shots/free throws

  • Thomas

    Don’t mean to be a downer, but we should have lost yesterday to a lousy team and blame would fall on GK once again.

    We have a diamond in the rough with this roster and GK will not allow it to happen. We could surprise people in the playoffs, even with a low seed.

    But, with GK, we will be in a crucial playoff road game that we have to win against a very good team and coach will go small ball and rely on Andre and Harrington at the end. We will obviously come up short.

    No need for a crystal ball to see that coming. And he won’t mind much.

    Wait ’til he starts giving a lot of minutes to his favorite player (Rudy), and further compromise any chance of us establishing a playoff rotation.

  • Jim

    I don’t know about the hate. I thought miller, Birdman, Harrington – those guys played good basketball. Dre had 11 assists and no shot attempts until late in the game and really should have won the game if not for a stupid call. I’d take that every game. Birdman was great too. Karl didn’t force gallo or nene in the game late. That was a tough back after beating the spurs in San Antonio. They showed a ton of heart and clutchness. Feel good.

    • Ernie

      What drives me crazy about Miller is when he is in the game most of the time he is still dribbling the ball with 14 seconds left on the shot clock 25 feet from the basket.

  • magster

    As far as the grading goes, I thought Nene played better than Gallo last night. It’s going to be tough mentally for Gallo to drive with authority.

    Also thought Lawson made to many extra passes last night when he should have shot in the 4th quarter, and OT redeemed Lawson (and then some).

  • magster

    Looking at the ESPN play by play, I calculated that Denver outscored Sacramento 47-22 in the last 2:15 of every period, including overtime.

    • evan

      “elite teams end quarters in flurries”

  • stevesf47

    I loved this game. Unfortunately i didnt get the full effect as my TV was on mute because my 5 month old sleeps in cradle next to our bed lol. But loved it. Btw, i told everyone to be patient with AA. I knew it was only a matter of time. Kid is intelligent, works hard and can shoot. Even not being the most athletic guy out there, it’s still a recipe for big time success. Love this team. Yes Dre and Al drive me nuts at times and i can complain about them, but for the most part it cant get any better. So much fun to watch. GO NUGS!

  • Daniel Medeiros

    Actually, it was 8 points at the end of regulation. AAA scored 8 (eight!!!) points in the last 22 seconds of the game! much more than amazing, it’s history making.

    • Daniel Medeiros

      not to mention the other 8 points at the end of the first half to tie the game!

    • Charlie

      Yeah, I knew AAA carried the team down the stretch and in overtime.

      What was impressive about those six points though was the fact the game was mostly decided. It was written on everyone’s faces. They were standing around waiting for the time to tick off the clock.

      The way Afflalo calmly drained that three and those pivotal FTs was priceless. It was as if he defied the basketball Gods on that one.

  • Charlie

    I got really tired last night and fell asleep before completing the post.

    Recap is now updated with “Five Things” and the advanced stats. Thanks for the patience

  • Cider

    Saw this on facebook just now and thought it was worth sharing here:
    “Was up late thinking about how bad I want it… To be a top player.. I’m not gonna lie..I wanna be the best”

    • Kalen

      Who said that? Sounds like Faried but I’m not sure. He says that type of stuff a lot. Good to hear.

      • Kalen

        Nevermind, I just saw on Twitter that Ty was the one who said that. Pretty interesting. Ty tweets a lot but doesn’t say that type of stuff to often. Perhaps he’s having an epiphany? All I know is if he keeps playing like he is, this team is gonna wreck havoc the second half of the season.

        • Cider

          Ya, it was Ty. Thought I had included that but I guess I forgot.

    • Alex

      I saw that too on Facebook and just thought that if Ty has a mind set like that he can be such a dangerous weapon.

  • ny nugs fan

    in the past the nuggets would have folded instead of playing through the last whistle

    my hats off to the team on that one

    amazing

  • http://espn Gary

    Great props for a big team clutch win. Sign of a good team is to pull out those ugly ones somehow when everything ain’t going your way. Having said that, looking at the macro level I think there is legit cause for concern. The core players still struggle with consistency, GK’s rotations and plays in presuure situations still leave a lot to be desired and we needed multiple clutch performances to get past below average opposition at home. The struggles we are having to go through to get past mediocre competition at home is worrisome. Despite all failing around us including injuries, poor coaching, cold shooting…one thing has always been a given for us in the past, Home Court. No matter our form, we’ve always beat the minnows and fought the elite at home, but now that aura seems to be slipping.
    So, although am pleased bout last night, this stretch of 9 games will go a long way in actually determining how good these guys are….and we don’t have a single back to back….so lets see, i haven’t made up my mind on their true potential yet…am excited, but intrigued.

  • Connor P.

    That game was amazing! I felt the urge to turn the tv off towards the end of the fourth, but I’m glad I decided against it!

  • Jrsmithisnumber1

    Looking bad I was always confused as to why Ty was always taking the last shot instead of Afflalo. Afflalo has proved he can hit big shots, and Ty always looked nervous in that situation. Not anymore, he looks comfortable now and that’s a great sign. Having two guys who can hit big shots is a lot better than one.

  • Jrsmithisnumber1

    back^^^

  • Ernie

    Anybody read this thing on Grantland. It talks about the rookies and how they rate this year. Faried on the list but what I found most interesting is how good a defender he has been. My unprofessional view was he was an average defender that just wanted to rebound, but apparently his numbers put him in the top 10% as a post defender. And he doesn’t foul much, which is unusual in a rookie.

    http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7652549/the-nba-rookie-power-rankings-including-kyrie-irving-ricky-rubio-derrick-williams-more

    • Alex

      I thought he did a pretty solid job on Evans the couple times he guarded him.

      • Ernie

        It was more based on how if he switches to a shooter he tends to stay in the paint and let them have open looks when the ball moves. Evans beat him a few times but Evans beats everyone a few times so agreed he did a good job there.


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