Rapid Reaction: Los Angeles Clippers 104, Denver Nuggets 98

April 18, 2012
by Charlie
Los Angeles Clippers 104 Final

Recap | Box Score

 98 Denver Nuggets
Kenneth Faried, F 25 MIN | 4-6 FG | 4-7 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 12 PTS | -10
We all love to praise Faried. For a rookie taken 22nd in the 2011 NBA Draft, he’s been impressive. But it’s games like these where Faried’s inexperience really shows. He was passive, perhaps intimidated, and failed to inject himself into the heart of the action. Like many Nuggets, Faried must figure out a way to be more aggressive on a consistent basis, especially on the glass. Six rebounds in 25 minutes just won’t cut it — not with his motor. He needs to establish better positioning under the rim and not hesitate to get physical with his counterparts.
Danilo Gallinari, SF 28 MIN | 0-7 FG | 4-4 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 4 PTS | -4
What is going on with Gallinari? It’s as if he’s still injured. He’s not attacking — rather taking nothing but jump shots — and doesn’t appear to show any signs of wanting to be “The Man” he was in the beginning of the season. It’s as if he’s reverted back to the jump-shooting perimeter player prior he was prior to coming to Denver. If he’s still injured, then he needs to sit out; otherwise, he needs to start asserting himself in order to help the team win games. Had he been in attack mode on Wednesday, the Nuggets likely would have won.
Kosta Koufos, C 23 MIN | 5-6 FG | 2-2 FT | 9 REB | 1 AST | 12 PTS | -11
Koufos was fantastic. In only 23 minutes he came up one rebound shy of a double-double. He also got it done on defense, blocking two of his opponent’s shots. He was always in the right spot at the right time to make the right play. Faried should take note.
Arron Afflalo, SG 38 MIN | 5-11 FG | 1-2 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 12 PTS | -17
This was the first time Afflalo scored less than 15 points since March 23 — almost a month ago. He hit some big shots, but for whatever reason wasn’t as affective as he has been of late. Look for him to bounce back with a vintage performance on Saturday against the Suns.
Ty Lawson, PG 37 MIN | 9-14 FG | 4-5 FT | 4 REB | 6 AST | 24 PTS | 0
Lawson was furious in his attempt to “out-speed” Chris Paul and he did a good job of it for the most part. I mentioned to one of my friends at the game how I don’t mind the Chris Paul-Ty Lawson match-up should the Nuggets face the Clippers in the first round and Wednesday was corroboration to that theory. Lawson likely won’t out-perform Paul every night, but if he can contain him and counter with his own flurry of points and assists, the Nuggets should be just fine.
Al Harrington, PF 32 MIN | 4-12 FG | 4-4 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 14 PTS | +8
Harrington didn’t shoot the ball particularly well but he finished with a nice stat line overall. It’s clear that heading into the playoffs Harrington’s going to have to play a key role for the Nuggets off the bench, just as he has all year long. The fact that he’s doing it on a torn meniscus is all the more reason Nuggets fans should avoid blaming him for any sort of the team’s downfalls. The fact is: dude’s been in a Nuggets jersey for two years yet he already bleeds blue and yellow.
Andre Miller, PG 26 MIN | 5-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 8 AST | 12 PTS | +4
For whatever reason I don’t remember much of Miller’s performance. I know he attacked the basket — like usual — and threw a few lob passes but other than that he seemed somewhat quiet. Nevertheless, putting up 12 points and eight assists on 50 percent shooting from the field as a backup is always beneficial to the team.
Corey Brewer, SF 16 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | -5
Just like he’s done all season, Brewer followed up a great performance with a complete dud. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen someone as wildly inconsistent as Brewer. He goes from savior to village goat on a nightly basis. Why he can’t find more stability in his performance is beyond me.
JaVale McGee, C 15 MIN | 3-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 6 PTS | +5
McGee deserves more time. Period. There’s just no reason he should be seeing 15 minutes in a game where the Nuggets desperately need a win. He can’t do anything in that amount of time — nobody can. Should he have had more production on the glass? Absolutely. But even so, it’s too difficult to judge somebody when they only receive a sparing minutes here and there in a highly competitive atmosphere.

Three Things We Saw

  1. Obliterated Outside: This game was lost because of one thing and one thing only: perimeter defense. People can say all they want about referees, flopping or whatever else it may be, but at the end of the day the Nuggets have no control over that aspect of the game. What they do have control over is their defense and once again it was a complete sham. At this point, I’m just perplexed beyond belief. Perimeter defense has been a problem for this team all season long, yet here we are with four games remaining in a tight playoff race where seeding is going to make all the difference and the Nuggets are STILL losing games because they can’t defend the 3-point line. To me, this is a million times more frustrating than the flopping and referees. It’s such a simple concept yet the Nuggets act as if it’s some kind of insoluble quantum mechanical theory. Not only did the Clippers make nine more 3-pointers than the Nuggets for a grand total of 27 points (an entire quarter’s worth), but they did so while shooting nearly 60 percent from the field!!! It’s just inexcusable on all levels and something George Karl must grasp, and change, if the Nuggets hope to have any success in the playoffs.
  2. Ill Will: As most of you know by now, Wilson Chandler will miss the rest of the season due to a hip injury. This is pretty devastating for Nuggets fans. Although he hasn’t been the force many thought he’d be upon returning from China, he’s still an excellent defender who can get his shot off when needed. With Harrington already fighting a torn meniscus, the Nuggets once-perceived depth for the playoffs — a huge advantage — is now looking fairly average. I hate to play the role of “Debbie Downer” (which fans seem to despise) but the Nuggets hopes of succeeding in the post season are significantly threatened without Chandler.
  3. Game of Inches: Though handed a loss in this game, I still believe the Nuggets best match-up in the playoffs is against the Clippers. With only a half game between both L.A. teams and that same distance between Denver and Dallas, it’s absolutely imperative the Nuggets do their best to win three of their next four games in order to ensure the highest seed possible. The Nuggets play Phoenix, Orlando, Oklahoma City and Minnesota down the stretch. Outside of the Thunder, the Nuggets should win each of those games — no excuses. None.
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 10:28 pm | filed in Analysis, Game Recap, Rapid Reaction | 68 Comments
  • Wally

    I will not blame this game on the refs or flopping, it was of our own doing.. but I still seriously hate flopping and Chris Paul. That dunk at the end of the game was weak and childish.

    • Andrew

      I agree. The Nuggets’ failure to defend the perimeter probably cost them this game, but wow, was that officiating horrible. I also thought that Chris Paul dunk at the end was a weak tit move. I agree with everyone who thinks he is extremely talented, but I laugh when I hear people mention him as the best guard. He crumbles under pressure and he seems very easy to body (see C Bill 2009 playoffs)…and he was very fortunate to get all of the calls tonight go his way.

    • Clint

      You know the officiating wasn’t great when the associated press adds a comment like this to their recap:

      “…Kosta Koufos was called for a foul one time even though (Chris) Paul was hanging on his left arm…”

      http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320418007

  • CJP32

    My questions is – where the heck is Gallo??? Last 4 games:

    Mins – 29.5, 27% FG, 26% 3PT, 2.7 TOs and 8.0 pts – dismal.

    He clearly has lost his shooting touch, looks confused, has no confidence and doesn’t get to the FT line.

    The game was lost when our guards decided to dribble the clock down several times instead of driving to the rim quicker. The lob from Dre to Ty at the end should have been finished in one motion. Maybe Gallo/Afflalo should have received that lob?

    Again, we don’t box out and it costs us. Some terrible ref calls, CP3 pushes Dre over, a no call, yet the ball gets deflected and Brewer had a guaranteed break away dunk, but refs messed it up.

    Onto Phoenix now.

    • Andrew

      On that play where Paul pushed Miller, it looked like three separate fouls that could have been called on Paul, and yet he went to the foul line. If it hadn’t happened to the Nuggets, I would have laughed at how poor the officiating was.

      Re Gallo, I think his ankle is still gimpy and it has affected everything else. Just my opinion.

      Did anyone else see the Melvin Hunt (Nugget Asst Coach) interview at half where he essentially shrugged off the three point defense on the Nuggets? Do the Nuggets really think they can win in the playoffs by sagging into the middle, leaving wide open threes and then hoping one of their guys can “fly to the ball” quick enough to at least distract the shooter? Does this seem insane to anyone but me? Does anybody else besides me think they should try to let their big men handle it down low and have the guards stay on the shooters?

      By the way, other than a few mishandles, I thought Koufos looked really good tonight.

  • Dubz

    I have to say I’m not entirely disappointed with this loss. Every needs to remember that Gallo was being questioned in the beginning of the season and he got it together just fine. It just takes him a couple weeks. Just remember he had missed 23 games of a 31 game stretch. It’s not easy to return from that without some road bumps. Anyway, I’d still like for us to receive LA as our playoff match up despite LA’s recent success. I think it would be a very interesting series that the Nuggets could win. I must say too, Al is really busting his ass right now. I really respect the way he’s playing through pain right now and giving it his all. His numbers might not be great, but his passion is infectious. Let’s learn from this game, rest for a few days, and beat Phoenix.

    • Dubz

      Also, Chandler is out for the season which REALLY hurts us. Especially if we have to play OKC in the 1st round. Chandler is the perfect defender for him. I know he was playing poorly but he’s really going to contribute to this team in the near future. Get better Wilson!

  • Eddie

    Five posts and zero calls for Coach Karl’s head! A new record!

    • TJ McBride

      The reason why is because he is playing better lineups and he has found his lost passion for the game. He is coaching to win now and its really translating well to his players.

  • Frontrange

    There were some horrible calls in that game but I actually thought the last play was called correctly. Miller tried to flop the foul (ala C Bill, J. Stockton, or CP3) – if they had called that, the Clipp nation would have been crazy. Then he grabbed at CP3′s leg, who tripped. Tough whistle but probably the right one.

    Now the play b-4 when CP3 hurled himself into Lawson (foul) and then rolled away to avoid the jump ball (travel) . . that was worse, IMO.

  • NuggLove

    Talk about favoring the Clips, this refs are so prejudice that they kill every Nuggets momentum by every stupid whistle called. I don’t think the blame is put on Karl and his smallball. 15% of the blame goes on the Nuggets’ defense while 85% of the blame goes to the stupid refs for stealing the win for the Nuggets.

  • Aaron

    All I Feel Like Saying Rite Now Is.

    THAT WAS THE WORST officiated Game in The Last Minute ive Ever Seen.

  • Aaron

    Next Game I Wanna See Lawson Run Over Nash Get The Ball Loose it Then Flop And Trip Nash And Get a Foul Called On Nash in The Last 30 Seconds!!!!! The Refs Either Had A HORRIBLE GAME Or They Got Bought Out.

    • Trip

      Scott Hastings said it best that “the official probably has a Blake Griffin jersey at home.”

  • Prizzy

    http://www.nba.com/email_us/contact_us.html

    I already wrote the league about this officiating nonsense. It probably only goes to an intern, but its cathartic nonetheless. Send Mr. Stern some well-reasoned hate mail.

    • ryanvdonk

      i would be he avoids anyone with seattle connections…how stern still has a job is beyond me, anyone else that incompetent would get fired. such a weasel.

  • Whimanji

    I wish we could all go back to the 80-90′s era when flopping and touch fouls were non existant. The rule changes hve ruin the flow and toughness of the game. Every game in the association is decided by the refs now… Sad…we need to finish out strong and gain momentum going into the playoffs!! Go Nugs!

    • ryanvdonk

      non existent? guess you never watched reggie miller or vlade divac play

  • GK4Prez

    Even if Stern acknowledged that the officiating was bad, all the Nuggets would get is another formal apology from the league office, which wouldn’t change the outcome of the game.

    Flopping is destroying the game.

  • NuggLove

    Zach Zabra is that ref who made the game bias, favored, and bullshit-one-sided. Remember Game 1 of the DEN-OKC series last season? He is the one who didn’t call the obvious Perkins off.goaltend and let the Thunder won it?

    Can I say the next Tim Donaghy? We’re getting there..

  • GIANLUCA

    2 DAY 4 RECUPER …

    and after one real final : at PHOENIX .. if we NUGGETS win this game , is playoff , and the last 3 game are easy ( orlando – minnesota ) ant at OKC ( that want arrive #2 and NUGGETS WIN !!! )

    if win at PHX #6 38-28
    if lose at PHX #7 37-27

    dallas 37-39
    utah 36-30
    hou 35-31 or 36-30
    phx 32-34 or 33-33

    WE MUST WANT THAT houston floppers win because we are 3-1 vs floppers

    sorry 4 mit englisg, I’M ITALIAN’S DENVER FAN AND IN ITALY THE SCHOOL IS VERY BAD , LA MAFIA DOMINA L’ITALIA

  • GIANLUCA

    at end of regular season 4 miy personal , and inutil CALCOLO

    1 48-49 SPURS
    2 48-49 OKC
    3 42-43 CLIPPERS
    4 41-42 LAKERS
    5 41 MEMPHIS
    6 37-38 DEN-DAL
    7 36 DEN-DAL-UTAH
    8 35-36 DEN-DAL-UTAH-PHX
    9 35 den-utah-phx-floppers
    10 32-33-34-35 phx-floppers barbons scola :)

  • steve

    Yeah that game was hard to swallow. Refs blew a ton of calls but we shouldve played a little better D at times.

    One thing i am a little upset with GK about…i wish he would have taken a Technicial at some point mid 4th quarter. The refs needed to wake up. I

  • Greg

    Not understanding Karl’s hesitation on using Javale more. Played only 15 minutes and was +5. He loosens up the perimeter when he’s in causing the offense to flow a little better.

    • HD

      Koufos played much better, and yet he didn’t play enough either. Karl just likes small ball

      • ryanvdonk

        anyone notice how blake griffin plays downy soft? flopping all over the place! he’s the one player i still wish we had kmart to guard, cause kenyon would just push him all around the floor and take him out of his very limited game. or just put mozzy in there to hack him again, he got scared in that game

  • GIANLUCA

    vs OKL lost 4-1
    vs spurs lost 4-2
    vs clippers lost 4-0 ( CP3 )
    vs LAKERS lost 4-3
    vs memphis lost 4-1
    vs dallas lost 4-2
    vs utah lost 4-3

    IF WE GO TO PLAYOFF WHERE WE GO WITH KARL ?

    the next year with 1 REAL CENTRE ,with 1 NEW YOUNG COACH , with THE REAL GALLO ( 6’13 NEXT YEAR -.- ) , with 2 reserve of lawson and afflalo

    4 exemple TRADE NATE ROBINSON OR VASQUEZ OR BELINELLI ( A FEW $ )
    DENVER WIN NBA !!!

  • Thomas

    Perimeter defense by our guards is a big problem – another reason to get rid of the 2-guard line-up. A lot on blame on AAA, I think he is not getting the job done defensively as shooting guards (starters and subs) are killing us.

    One thing I am certain. If KK and Faried played 5-6 more minutes yesterday, we would have gotten some crucial offensive rebounds that might have made the difference. Obviously I am biased against having big Al out there, particularly when he is gimpy, and his 0 offensive rebounds show it.

    Then again, you can’t win them all. But our coaching problem will remain unresolved until we get rid of GK.

  • DH

    I can’t add much to what everyone else has said, particularly about the officiating. But if anyone is in the mood to try and look at a possible bright side to this loss (if there is such a thing), here you go…

    If we had beaten the Clippers, it would have made it very, very tough for them to claim the 3 seed from the Lakers. With the Clippers winning – even though the odds are still against them – it’s feasible that they could pass the Lakers, setting up a possible Nuggets-Clips first round matchup. I think most people would agree that’s the matchup we want.

    Of course, we would also have to pass Dallas again, to get the 6 seed. Most likely, we would need to win out (here’s hoping OKC has nothing to play for when we meet them) and hope Dallas drops one.

    I know it’s not much, but when Kenyon Martin comes back to haunt us like he did, I need to find a ray of sunshine wherever I can ;)

  • Ernie

    The Clips were just better last night. They made 9 more 3′s, part of that was defense and part of that was the Nugs shooting so poorly.

    I just read the McGee article in Sports Illustrated. I didn’t know nobody ever bothered to tell him the proper way to lineup for a free throw, or where go on the block to post up. He went to college for a year or two and his mom was a professional basketball player. How in the world was he so poorly coached on fundamentals to this point?

  • Aaron

    Ummm. . . no the Clips were not the better team. Everyone is right to keep talking about the double missed call on the Chris Paul inbounds fiasco. But, that wasn’t the half of it.
    Faried’s technical against Griffin was a travesty, . .completely a joke. You could also make a case that Kmart’s tip was over the back (since when can you put your forearm on the other guy’s shoulder as you jump. There were many more. . that was a one-sided, officiated game in the 4th quarter. No question.

    I feel good about the loss because, as Hastings said, Faried, Gallo, Brewer, etc. . had a valuable learning experience with this one. That’s a maturity game, right there. And, if we meet them again, Gallo will not shoot 0-7. I like our chances with that team any time, any place. Paul wants no part of Aaron Afflalo, and he doesn’t want to defend Ty either. Ty will kill him for an entire series. I hope we get them instead of the Lakers or Spurs.

    • Ernie

      What happened to the RoundBall Mining Company rule against whining about officiating?

      • TheWolfman

        There was a 24-hr abolishment of that rule the second that the refs legitimately gave the game to the Clippers with that phantom foul on Brewer’s fast break that would have tied it at 98.

        I don’t like complaining about the officiating either, but this is one of the few cases where it is completely warranted.

    • ryanvdonk

      you forgot the alley oop to faried where a clipper thought it was a good time to feel the manimal’s bicep, ref missed that as well, along with the countless plays driving to the rim with lots of contact and no foul.

  • Tank

    Favoritism!!
    You can’t even breath on Griffin when he goes up to dunk or you’ll get a blocking foul, yet you can knock Lawson into the fans and camra crew and it’s considered all-ball! The Martin block on Lawson should have been called! The Paul flop made me sick! Miller should have just stood his ground and droped little Paul in his tracks. at least it would have been an actual foul!

  • Ernie

    Which is a bigger deal, the 27 point differential in 3-point shooting or the 5 egregious foul calls people are complaining about?

  • john

    charlie you always fuck up the rapid reaction

    • DH

      Ummm…. Start your own blog? Sorry, but cut these guys some slack. They do a great job. And as far as I know, they don’t get a dime for it.

    • TheWolfman

      He’s probably waiting to cool down over the officiating before he writes it. I know I sure wouldn’t be able to write a breakdown of that game without mentioning the refs unless I took some time to chill.

  • bdmacl

    Yes, the officiating was horrible, especially in the final minutes. So what else is new. I want to create a poster for the Nuggets that has the entire NBA ref lineup picture, with the words “Life isn’t fair… and neither are we. Get over it!” emblazoned across their picture. We are the Nuggets. We never get good officiating. That is why the Nuggs should have never let the game get out of control and lose their lead so that several bonehead calls actually affected the outcome. That is part of coaching. You know you won’t get the call, so you adjust and make sure it won’t matter. There, slammed Karl and the refs in one post. And I disagree that Karl is using better lineups. If our guards will actually defend perimeter shooters, and leave the paint to the bigs, we could actually play our bigs instead of a small lineup. I believe the Clippers were having trouble with our interior, so why would we then go small?

    • Ben

      bdmacl,

      we outscored them in the paint all night, Karl did leave it up to our bigs…

      • bdmacl

        scoring more in the paint doesn’t mean we had our bigs in the middle. It means they couldn’t stop our penetration. Also, when we play small, the guards have to help more in the lane, which exposes the perimeter. Play big, allow the bigs to defend on their own, and leave the smalls to actually guard the perimeter.

  • Frontrange

    The officiating was bad both ways . . . CP3 is the best flopper but it is not like he was the only one. Gallo, bless his heart drew a phatom foul on drive and they called a wrap around foul on CP3 on the drive Farried.

    Farried’s three pt play didn’t look like a foul at all.

    Miller and CP3 just got flop of the night from ESPN True Hoop.

    Not sure what the NBA can do about Blake – they love his dunks and want to market it, so it makes it hard to call an over the back when he jumps from the FT line. That was most obvious one to me, but at least he missed the dunk and we got a fast break.

    The killer in my book was the dead spot to begin the fourth, and the long three on the prayer from Williams at the 3 min mark.

  • Andrew

    Well, Chris Paul didn’t win Most Floppy Player for nothing.

    http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/39096/the-2012-all-flop-teams

    • DH

      It takes a true Master to out-flop Manu. Congrats to CP3.

    • Ryan

      I say it’s a tie between Paul and Parker. Parker acts like a mortar shell just detonated beneath him whenever he drives to the rim. No one has more flailing and whining in his game than Tony…

  • Will

    CP3 has no shame.

  • Trip

    I have been one to criticize brewer in the past when he has been detrimental to the offense. He would just stand in the corner not moving and shoot horrible 3 point attempts. The last couple games he has been moving without the ball getting 10 foot and in shots and contributing to the offense in a major way. It has been a huge difference and I personally like to see him on the court again.

  • Trip

    Again Harrington is playing with a purpose, he sometimes tries to shoot himself back into rhythm and that was apparent last night when he kept shooting 3 balls instead of trying to drive and post up and get easy shots at the rim, with that being said it is great to see him run the court and get more involved in the fast break.

    I think Miller should have done everything he could to just get Faried alley oops to get the crowd involved. If we could have gotten that energy going especially with the way that Griffin was not performing very well would have been huge. I think the play of the night, even though we lost was Faried Blocking Griffin (even though he was whistled for a foul) on the easy fast break dunk. Hopefully Faried will make the highlight reel enough this year that he can start getting some of that Blake Griffin recognition and all those whistles start to go his way.

  • Trip

    Harrington is playing with a purpose, he sometimes tries to shoot himself back into rhythm and that was apparent last night when he kept shooting 3 balls instead of trying to drive and post up and get easy shots at the rim, with that being said it is great to see him run the court and get more involved in the fast break.

    I think Miller should have done everything he could to just get Faried alley oops to get the crowd involved. If we could have gotten that energy going especially with the way that Griffin was not performing very well would have been huge. I think the play of the night, even though we lost was Faried Blocking Griffin (even though he was whistled for a foul) on the easy fast break dunk. Hopefully Faried will make the highlight reel enough this year that he can start getting some of that Blake Griffin recognition and all those whistles start to go his way.

  • al68

    No se puede defender tan mal el tiro de 3, sinceramente creo que el mejor jugador del cambio del año pasado con NY es Chandler no Gallo que volvio a demostrar que es un mal tirador y los contrarios le estan cogiendo la medida a sus entradas y prefieren dejarle tirar saben que solo va ha meter el 30%.

    Miller esta jugando bien ultimamente ¿estara buscando un buen contrato para 2013?.

    Pienso que un equipo de NBA necesita una super estrella porque los arbitros USA son vergonzosos favoreciendo a los all-star ayer fue Paul otro dia es Kobe, etc…, ayer los arbitros regalaron una posesion y dos faltas personales en los momentos decisivos.

    La forma de jugar de LA es un poco patetica solo P&R y 1×1, no entiendo como un equipo con tanta calidad no esta compitiendo con SA y OKC.

  • Irritated Fan

    Anyone else notice farieds cuts to the hoop for the alley oop with no one lobbing to him? Hes in the right spot, as well as McGee, for ooping a lot, they just need to be found.
    Ty-played just as well as cp3, leveled out, good game
    AAA-finally had a bit of an off game, but hes been consistent every night, it was bound to happen. Others have to step up
    Gallo-needs confidence, needs it now. He isn’t driving which is his best attribute. When he did, he got a call once, and a KK put back after.
    Faried-had lots of intensity at times on griffin, including block. Played him out of the game, but after he was dunked on he seemed to lose confidence…which is easy to do, but he can’t
    KK-solid game, best you can expect from him with his skillset
    Dre- had a lot a passion and fire guarding cp3 in the 3rd I believe, but even he lost his temper after a flop called charge. Good numbers tho
    Brewer-what George Karl needs to do is when brewer has games like this, relalize early on, try Hamilton.
    Harrington-got what’s expected, he plays with energy, puts up numbers consistantly
    McGee-I am completely confused. He played real well in his minutes, especially paired with Andre. He was in the spot for put backs (even if the shot went in), made deandre Jordan irrelevant when he was in(seemed to intimidate him), and has a easy time getting dunks and contesting shots. GK needs to play him more and see what McGee can do in extended minutes. Nothing against Koufos but he is going to be an average player for good, he’s fine, but not much upside. If McGee can play to his strengths and develop some, he could be a great defensive shot blocker, rebounder, and force down low.
    I was really impressed with how Ty came out at the gët go, and defended cp3, but lost a little fire he had going for him. This clipper team goes with cp3, due to his ability to find open players, aggravate the other team, and play amazing bball. Griffin is nothing but an amazing athlete who dunks hard. If we get the clippers we can easily win that series.
    Personally, I would take any team but the thunder.
    Clippers-we match up with well and can dominate down low. Gallo won’t play that bad, and afflalo will do better. If Ty can remain aggressive on Paul and we work on our 3 pt defense, our chances are good.
    Spurs-for some reason, I feel like we match up well here. As long as Parker is contained(he seems to be the only one to torch us) we can play them well. I like our bigs vs theirs, plus our bench would be key.
    Lakers-someone said it before and I completely agree. We match up better with a lakers team that has Kobe in the line up. Sounds odd, but true. AAA has played admirable defense on him in the past, and Kobe take a lot of shots per game. This directly takes away bynums shots, who is the nuggets killer on their team. As long as we play smart bball, and Ty is aggressive, showing he is the better pg in the match up, we could win.
    Thunder-not much to say here. The only way we could win is if Ty immensely steps up his game to westbrooks level, someone can play somewhat effective D on Durant ( no chandler :( ) our bigs outplay and out rebound theirs, and gallo returns to elite playing status. That’s a lot of starts to line up.
    It’s a lot, and I know it’s a venting post, but the nuggets have serious potential. They need to show it, and hopefully pull a clipper team in playoffs, and avoid thunder.

  • Thomas

    Can’t agree on the high criticism of Faried versus the praise for Al. Look, Faried had 4 offensive rebounds in 25 minutes, Al had 0 in 32 minutes. Al shot 4-12.

    Al is not instrumental to how this team does in the playoffs, at least not in a positive way. Over a long-series, he will be exposed defensively and will shoot in the low 40%, not to mention he will grab no offensive boards. You can take that to the bank. Sure, he will score 20+ once and maybe contribute to one win, but through his shortcomings he will make the team fare worse in a series.

    Not trying to burn the guy, he is playing hurt and gives his best effort. It’s just that his best effort is not what this team needs.

    One of the things this team needs to compete come playoffs is rebounding and intensity – we have that with Faried and KK. KK is playing very well and should get 30 minutes a game to be effective. He is not a great talent, but he plays intelligently.

    The other thing we need is perimeter defense. Two guard line-up is killing us, AAA and Gallo are not playing good team defense. Looks like we need more Brewer minutes guarding shooting guards – even Stone could be used.

    Then again, this is all hypothetical as GK will do what he does – and we all know what that is and what it will bring.

    • Wally

      Also, on the tip in by Kenyon Martin, many people will be quick to blame Faried, If you look at it again though Faried was giving it all he had on that box out because he was trying to box out 2 people, because big Al didnt effectively box out his guy. I think Faried came up clutch, hitting his free throws and getting that and one. I personally like Al I just disagree with the notion that Al played so much better that game.

  • evan

    Its sad that the diffrence in this game was mo williams luck half court 3.

  • al68

    El palmeo de Martin no es culpa de Faried sino de Harrington y del buen hacer Kenyon.

    Lo que ocurre es que es demasiado bajo para los PF de la liga.

    Para mi es una broma que califique a Faried con C- y a Gallo con D, supongo que Gallo sea su favorito.

  • TJ McBride

    Sorry Charlie but i bed to differ about your grade on Faried. For a rookie to not only back down from one of the most powerful players in the NBA, but to face him and hold him to 12 points is something that should be recognized. In the final 2 minutes of the game, Faried played with is typical energy also hit 2 FTs followed by an and 1 layup and sank that FT as well. His play kept us in the game and Blake Griffin did not like his presence when he was on the court. He didnt play superb but he did keep us in this game and played with passion and fire to win the game.

  • DH

    Charlie, I just want to point out that if the Nuggets win 3 out of 4 like you mentioned, then Dallas would need to lose 2 out of 3 for the Nugs to grab the 6 seed. That’s a lot to hope for. We need to win out, in my opinion, and I hope GK is looking at it like that.

  • Andrew

    Pretty much agree with Charlie’s assessment, though I thought he was too harsh on Faried, Gallo and Brewer. I do think Gallo is still gimpy, but what is he supposed to do? He’s supposed to suck it up and play…as he has been.

    The bottom line for this game: I think they could have won if they had a) trusted their bigs and guarded their perimeter better, b) played Koufos and McGee more minutes, and/or c) had Karl taken a technical early on to stop the bleeding by the refs.

  • Charles Murray

    They never defend the 3′s, right. But they kill on defending points under the paint. It’s a calculated trade-off the Karl has surmised can win more games for us with our talent. We get the def board and run. Sometimes it doesn’t work. All the grades and stats are only 50% accurate. Please indicate how many times a player is scored on when it is his responsibility to have a stop. Then you will see more clearly who the players are. K-mart didn’t do anything until he had to. Men vs. boys; can’t wait for ours to get some more experience..

  • Aaron

    I won’t let the officiating go! When do you think LAC will hit 14 three’s again? That right there is an anomaly.

    makes me so mad. . .

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsfQostzMAU

  • Ryan

    As for the Faried vs Harrington grades, I think Charlie is trying to say how much more athletic Faried is than Harrington. Based on his athleticism/energy, Faried should average 10pts/rebs per game at this stage of his career. Al, on the other hand, is at the tail end of his career and playing hurt, so I think Charlie is giving him brownie points for that. Objectively, I would give both a B for last night’s game

  • NuggFan forLife

    Yes, they did concede a lot of threes but the Nuggets have resisted those things but still working hard in crunch time. It is favoritism! The refs are making bull$h!t calls just because we are the Nuggets and the opposing team has a prima donna bitch star. C’mon now! Please Stern, fix this!

    • Kyle Obergfell

      This is but one of the many reasons that Stern is by far, the worst commissioner in sports… maybe in sports history. Flopping has been going on five years. I’m not saying it would have made the difference in the outcome…

      But it makes a mockery out of the game and the players and teams that do it suck.. they make me sick.

      Stern sucks. Big time. What does he do?? He waited forever to work on the lockout.. which is the abbreviated season we have now..

      Look at this ESPN article FOUR YEARS AGO.

      http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3416579

      Stern sucks. Really bad.

  • Trip

    I really do not agree with Brewers grade. I would have been one of the hardest on him about a week or two ago, his energy was low and all he did was wait in the corner and jack up threes. (That is an acceptable style of offense if you are Bruce Bowen who would make many of those shots, but Brewer just hasnt been hitting from range lately) He started off the season tremendous from downtown, but lately has airballed more than he has made, with that being said his last couple games he has made more0 of a conscious effort to move without the ball and get better closer looks at the basket, in this offense he will be found and in my opinion he is one of the better nuggets at finishing close to the hoop. Also his defensive intensity was spectacular, he is one of the only nuggets who fights through screens, it disrupts the pick and roll and in this case drew a couple fouls (I didnt see the clips set a legal screen all night, but it wont be called if we are too timid and go under and around screens.)

    I think Faried’s play did warrant the grade, he played very good defense on Griffin, and pounded the offensive glass, the block shot/foul on Griffin was huge, it was a shame to see that dunk of Griffin “over” manimal on the NBA top 10 because he was weak side help on that play, but there are still times that Faried proves that he is still a rookie. Some people are saying that he was trying to block out Martin and Griffin on that Tip in by Kmart but he should have grabbed the closest guy and bodied him up. Harrington had griffin and Faried gets caught trying to partially body up 2 guys. If he has position on Martin that would have been an over the back call and 2 free throws for Faried. Just so where you know how I personally feel about Manimal, I love his energy and am on the edge of my seat anytime he is in the game, i cant wait until he matures as a basketball player. When he develops an offense and a different post up move other than rolling to his right side, with his energy and athleticism he is going to be deadly and will hopefully be an All Star! but for right now he is a very talented rookie making some verteran plays and a lot of rookie plays.

  • Joey

    How are you going to give corey a d and Javale an a+? That doesn’t make any sense to me. Mcgee is very talented and I agree he should get more playing time, but he had no impact last night and should have been given an incomplete “c” at best

  • Andrew

    Unless Dallas falters and loses its last two away games, I do not see Denver getting the 6th seed. Possible but not likely.

    If the Nuggets do not win at Phoenix tomorrow night, though, they are looking at 8th seed and possibly out of the playoffs, right? They have the tiebreaker against Houston and Phoenix and Utah have to play each other, but if the Nuggs lose to Phoenix, they are only a game up on Phoenix and Utah. Even with a win against the Howard-less Orlando, the Nuggets could find themselves out if they then lose at OKC and at Minny…which is very possible even though Minny is pretty out of it.

  • Connor P.

    This season has me convinced that George Karl needs to be fired. Forget that he’s only taken the Nuggets out of the first round of the playoffs once during his time here. He’s been consistently mis-using players all year and it’s getting to the point where it seems like he is holding grudges against players he doesn’t like for whatever reason. How many times this year has Faried been playing great, only to get pulled from the game and receive only minimal minutes for the rest of the game? We can all see that anyone with a brain would be starting Javale McGee at center, but that doesn’t stop George from using him like a scrub that doesn’t deserve to be on the floor. This team needs a real coach that’s actually involved enough and cares enough to make the right choices with this team.


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