Rapid Reaction: Denver Nuggets 93 Miami Heat 98

November 16, 2012
by Charlie
Miami Heat 98 FinalRecap | Box Score 93 Denver Nuggets
Danilo Gallinari, SF 31 MIN | 5-12 FG | 2-4 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 13 PTS | -9
Here’s a fun fact: Gallo’s only shot attempt in the fourth was a J.R. Smith-esque airball from three with the Nuggets down by one and only 1:05 left on the clock. It was a momentum-killing mistake that resulted in a dagger three at the other end. Gallo was the highest scoring starter and had one of his more efficient games thus far, but he was tentative the entire second half and essentially chucked away Denver’s best chance at a lead without playing much of a part in the comeback. It’s too tough to give him a pass.
Kenneth Faried, SF 36 MIN | 5-16 FG | 6-10 FT | 20 REB | 0 AST | 16 PTS | -8
Another beastly night from the Manimal, who notched a career high 20 boards despite a rough night shooting the ball. Faried was everywhere and looked like the only fresh player the Nuggets had in a totally flat first half performance. Faried seems to be graduating towards heavy starters minutes with the all-out effort he’s giving each night.
Kosta Koufos, C 14 MIN | 2-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | -10
Koufos turned in a so-so performance in the “14-minute starter” role Mozgov occupied last season. He did have a nice block on LeBron and seems to improving his defense around the rim, but Koufos wasn’t on the floor when this game was competitive.
Ty Lawson, PG 36 MIN | 0-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 8 AST | 0 PTS | -11
This isn’t fun for anyone, but I haven’t seen a worse game out of Lawson or any decent starting PG in recent memory for that matter. While he did have 8 assists to just 2 turnovers, Lawson went scoreless in 36 minutes which just shouldn’t ever happen to a capable starter in Denver’s system. The Nuggets did the right thing and stuck by Lawson to the bitter end, but this was nothing short of embarrassing. The Heat owned Lawson and he just wasn’t able to adjust or respond in time
Andre Iguodala, SG 36 MIN | 4-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 6 REB | 3 AST | 10 PTS | -11
He’s been playing well lately and just didn’t seem to have another big offensive night in him. Shot selection was good but Denver just looked slow and out-of-sync to start this game. I have to admit it’s a little upsetting Iguodala’s defense didn’t get a chance to be more of a factor after the Nuggets made one too many costly mistakes in the final minute
Jordan Hamilton, SF 21 MIN | 4-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 11 PTS | -2
A really solid performance from Hamilton, who was one of the Nuggets hardest workers in the offseason and has yet to see a real shot at keeping a role in the rotation. Once again, he gets out of control off the dribble a lot and gets a little too loose with his shooting, but he’s the best floor-spacer on the team and is almost guaranteed to put up points with more minutes. That’s something Denver’s having a lot of trouble finding consistently.
Corey Brewer, SF 19 MIN | 1-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | +6
A sub-par game, but one of the few Brewer’s had all season. While Brewer is not often going to hurt you in 19 minutes of play, you have to wonder if he’s being miscast as a sixth man scorer he’s really not. We saw some of the old Corey tonight – turnovers, ugly shooting, and overzealous defense galore.
JaVale McGee, C 21 MIN | 9-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 18 PTS | +14
You can’t expect a bench player to do much better in 21 minutes of action. McGee has had his struggles in training camp and early season games, but the Nuggets are playing a dangerous game by keeping a tight leash intact even after JaVale has started to settle down and improve. Bottom line, the Nuggets are sending the wrong message by sitting the hot hand down while the wholly ineffective Gallo and Lawson played the closing stretch.
Andre Miller, PG 26 MIN | 7-9 FG | 3-3 FT | 5 REB | 7 AST | 19 PTS | +6
He can be tough to watch, like the first half where Miller’s patented spin move to turnover made another early appearance. Then again, Miller has a way of delivering unbelievable efforts like this where he’ll basically spearhead a Nuggets run by himself. Miller played a lot in the second half where at times he looked like the best player on the floor at 36 years of age. The Nuggets made a lot of their comeback with LeBron James on the bench but Andre Miller was phenomenal regardless.

Four Things We Saw

  1. What happened to Denver’s vaunted top 3 offense? Gallo went to the line twice in first few minutes of the game and never again. Lawson finished with zero free throw attempts again. Denver piles up 50 points in the paint to Miami’s 24 and probably wins if their offense wakes up for more than a 9-minute stretch in the fourth. The Nuggets are getting better shots than their opposition and still managing to lose with poor shooting and total ineptitude at the free-throw line. It’s frustrating to say the least.
  2. The third winnable game Denver drops this season doesn’t come as surprise, but I was shocked at Denver’s low energy level the entire first half. The Miami Heat were clearly feeling the effects of a tough back-to-back but looked to have fresher legs throughout most of the game. Denver has to get off to better starts at home, where they have a chance to ride the energy in the building to fast-paced wins. The Nuggets just can’t play so poorly at home on two days rest.
  3. Jordan Hamilton saw some meaningful action late in the first quarter and showed why many think he should have a regular role. Hamilton’s super quick release is a handy skill to have in Denver’s offense which relies on split-second openings for scoring opportunities. Hamilton made three smooth spot-up threes to start the game and looks like one of the more accurate shooters on a team that currently can’t shoot straight.
  4. The Nuggets fall below .500 and face a tough game at San Antonio on Saturday night. What’s wildly frustrating is the fact Denver’s offense is pretty much working so long as their best players put up halfway decent performances and get to the line at least once in awhile or so. While Denver struggles to get a complete performance out of their team, the West keeps winning and the calendar is only kind for so much longer. The Nuggets can afford losses to good teams this early in the season, but can’t keep dropping winnable games while waiting for the schedule to lighten up.
Posted on November 16, 2012 at 12:26 am | filed in Analysis, Game Recap, Rapid Reaction | 102 Comments
  • Josh

    This game should have been a game we should have won. No D-Wade back to back, and didn’t get in till 4:45 this morning plus did I mention WE PLAY AT 5,280 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL. Come on. I thought Ty Lawson was finally about to turn the corner and realize as he goes we go, but I guess I was wrong. He has to be aggressive. 0 points in 36 minutes??? He should be a 20-10 guy every night. And I can’t even describe how I feel about Dino. Can we please package him and others for a true superstar? As much as I want to put all the blame on Dino and say its his fault we lost the game and blame him(even though it pretty much was) I can’t help to look at Ty again and just say “wow”. He needs to be the leader this team needs and step up!

    • Ty

      as much as danillo faginari lost us the game with that stupid 3 attempt….SERIOUSLY??
      and as much as ty couldnt do shit, (he couldnt get the step on…wait for it…NORRIS COLE!)
      GK is largely at fault for this loss, takes out mcgee with his 4 blocks and 19 points down the stretch??? WHY!!!!
      if ty keeps playin like this, i see masaij making a nene-esque move and shipping him before the rest of the league figures out that the rest of the league has figured him out….
      not to mention if they keep going like this, theres no chance iggy opts in, he’ll go for nothing…
      i sayif the nugs are at .500 at the all star break or worse, they blow it up, trade ty, trade iggy, trade gallo and wilson….build around hamilton, faried (BEAST!) and mcgee….fire GK (never thought id say that!) and move on….
      im not losing love for this team, its just that they do jafail mcgee type stuff too often from too many different people…. i.e mcgee sits with 4 min to go, ummmmmmm
      faried had played 24 min of a possible 36 after 3, and had 16 boards and 14 points, while iggy had played 30 for 6 and 5
      gallos shot ….well he should be shot for taking that shot
      miller is a gun, so under rated, TRADE HIM! not because we dont want him, but because were not gona win a championship with this roster, EVER, so mcgee would be good to go to a contender for some youth with mad skills….

      • Ty

        so miller*

      • Misty

        Really? Faginari? Try passing puberty before you post next time.

      • Your father

        Very disappointed in you, son. Now go to your room.

      • Charliemyboy

        Poorly written; poor insight.

      • pgwarner

        I think this jackass’ post is offensive from the start and should be removed.

  • Denver4ever

    If Lawson keeps playing like this…. Time to get John Wall!

    • Woobly o Balls

      I wish

  • Grant

    Absolutely stunning that with the momentum that the Nuggets had, Karl took McGee out and never put him back in. He was blocking shots. When he wasn’t blocking them he was altering them. He was scoring, he was rebounding, he was running the floor. What more does Karl want from him?

    I don’t know what he was doing at the end of the game. Faried is agile enough to defend on the perimeter. The lineup at the end should’ve been: McGee, Faried, Hamilton, Miller, and Iggy. What good does it do you to have a deep team if you don’t go with the guys that are feeling it on any given night? This one’s on Karl.

  • GK4Prez

    Once again, the Nuggets play small ball to close out the game, why?

    • Jason

      Because Ty was playing so amazing. We definitely needed him out there finishing the game. Especially over McGee.

  • haliborange

    wow …………. just wow, I don’t know why George Karl bother to coach…….. his rotations were terrible. He kept Brewer in when he couldn’t do anything. Javale and J-Ham played awesome but come on give em some minutes.. 21 minutes for the best two players on the floor ? I was so disgusted. Lawson simply suck since he signed his deal. He is the one who is supposed to lead this team but he was invisible he can’t have any excuse to, look at the way Jrue Holiday plays … I don’t know whats up with Nuggets there are like a different team out there

    • Charliemyboy

      Sadly, I’m not so sure Ty can compete that well when opponents bead on him. They double team him and eliminate his drive, or are prepared to block his shot. His confidence is down. But he’s smart, and will look to use his attributes to his advantage soon, I pray. Gallo is off balance and has the capacity to hit 30 (e.g., NY, 37); he needs to quit forcing if off and let his shots come to him. Jordan should look to pass, screen, defend… his offense is already there, if he wants time. Same with McGee.

  • Wally

    JHAM finally freed. Give him more time and he will be more seasoned.. Reasons we lost. Didnt play Mcgee down the stretch… WTF? and Ty Lawson and Gallo just played like crap. Especially Ty. They both are not living up for their contracts. Seeing what happened to nene should motivate them not to suck or Masai will ship them to a NBA wasteland (ex. Washington) in return for salvageable young assets.

  • Dan Dan

    Well at least the defense looked pretty good in the fourth.

  • Irritated Fan

    Trade danilo and chandler. Let jHam start. Corey off bench. Start McGee. Ty get out of funk. Igoudala keep doing what he is doing. Miller have more games like tonight.

    Okay crazy idea over here but if the nuggets had any chance of getting amare stoudimire, would that not be a killer offensive accusation? Javale could still come off the bench, or have faried slide in at the 3 if we jettisoned gallo and chandler in the deal. We need a focal talent in the team, and amare can provide that. Than just add in a shooter and this team is golden

    Ty-Andre
    Iggy-brewer/3 pt shooter
    Faried-jHam/3 pt shooter
    Amare-Randolph
    McGee-KK/moz

    Now I would love that line up. More size. Better offense.

    • Irritated Fan

      Accusition**

      • Slugdugg

        **acquisition

    • Ty

      stats contract is fucked…. i say ship gallo and chandler for rudy gay, swap ty for john wall
      and if mcgee doesnt start soon ill personally fly to denver and shoot GK myself

      • Irritated Fan

        I was saying the same thing earlier. But honestly if the grizzlies keep it up, Rudy is going no where.

      • Misty

        While we’re making stuff up that will never happen, why don’t we trade Quincy Miller for LeBron? Gotta say. This is the second most ignorant post I’ve seen on this site. Funny. The other one was yours, too.

    • Zack

      This team (with Amare and with Faried playing the three) wouldn’t be able to space the floor at all. Now, Gallo sucks this season so the current team can’t really space the floor but this team would be even worse. Also, the Knicks couldn’t even get Amare’s contract insured because his knees are so bad. He’s a great player when he’s healthy, but he’s not healthy too often. I don’t like this idea, but I guess we need to swing for the fences if we want to aquire a superstar.

      • Irritated Fan

        If he could get some of his mojo back he would be a killer add on. Or even a player such as Danny granger who can shoot, monta Ellis sliding iggy to the 3, either of Utah bigs Jefferson or millsap. A package for tyreke and jimmer and pray jimmer gets back to his BYU shooting form. Maybe a josh smith, but that presents line up problems also. Some sort of package for Gasol in LA. I’m throwing names out from everywhere but it would be nice to see somethin

  • Boda

    Fire George Karl. I attended the game and there was no reason to pull McGee. Heat fans behind me mentioned all night he was the one undefendible force on the Nuggets, but Karl plays the ego card and benches him. Fire George Karl.

  • Fire GK

    Just Fire him already..

    FIRE GK

  • CJP32

    Wow, our starting backcourt had 10 pts on 4/17 FGs in 72 mins of playing time combined. Ty hesitated on every shot in the first half then looked completely lost in the 2nd. How can he not score a single point???

    Gallo was just disgusting in the 4th. The air ball three with 18 seconds left on the shot clock, down 1 point??? Then he watched Cole hit a wide open three?? Then he watched Ty’s deflection go out of bounds?? The guys head was not in this game. He is not a leader and we would be better without him in the clutch.

    The true leader of this team is Faried, but he cannot carry this team offensively and should not be taking 17 FGAs. But his rebounding is out of this world, he is playing like a 5 year pro.

    CBrew’s shot was not falling which was disappointing, but he is the best player on the court moving without the ball – why more cuts are not drawn up for him, I don’t know, and he was instrumental in the 18-6 Nuggets run in the 4th defending LeBron.

    McGee had his best game yet, but GK left him off at the end. Yes he looked tired, but surely he could of played the last 2 mins of the game and helped block shots.

    It was great to see JHam get buckets, but he’s gotta do more than jack up threes, he has better moves then CBrew but doesn’t utilise them enough.

    Andre Miller kept us in this game and was phenomenal.

    Ty needs to take a good look in the mirror and slap himself. There are 4 guys getting paid 7 million plus this year, yet Faried is the one leading the way in energy, emotion, hustle and commitment.

    I’m not on the fire GK bandwagon, because the guys on the court are the ones that should be playing hard every minute, yet we let Miami shoot 13/27 on threes.

    I say its time to change the starting 5 – Ty, Iggy, Brewer, Faried, McGee and let Gallo work his way back into the rotation.

    Either that or trade his ass.

  • Junior

    Ty lawson is my favorite player but dam!!!! ever since he got his new contract he has regressed into a bench player… Then there is Galinari who is beyond garbage…There was no reason for him to shoot that three pointer (which he air balled) in transition especially since it was a close game. I give Faried, Miller, Hamilton and especially Mcgee with his post-up offense that was unstoppable up until Karl pulled him out. I think we should bench Galinari and Lawson and give other players who are actually progressing the chance to start…. 1. Miller 2. Hamilton 3. Iguadala 4.Faried 5. Mcgee

  • michael

    Im sick of people WHINING ABOUT GEORGE KARL. If gk wasnt are coach the nuggets would have lost BY 30 POINTS TONIGHT . People need to concentrate ON THE REAL problem with the nuggets and that IS TY LAWSON .He tried to lose us the golden state game UNTIL GALLO SAVED US . He lost us the phoenix game and lost us this game.If your point guard who plays 35 +minutes a night and scores ZERO points you are going to win .And in phoenix he scored 12 and played just as PATHETIC as he did tonight.

    • Andrew K

      Thank you for being levelheaded. George Karl is seldom the problem.

      • michael

        its getting ridiculous. FIRST its OOOOHHH why you playing andre miller (whos played great this season and way better than ty lawson) then its OOOOHHHHHHHH why isnt mcgee getting more minutes.In case people didnt know mcgee has serious asthma and is playing at altitude he cant be as effective playing extended minutes. Then its OOOOHHHH WHAT ABOUT HAMILTON who stunk it up in pre season and is TERRIBLE AT DEFENSE. People need to start blaming the ACTUAL PLAYERS THAT PLAY THE GAME!!!!!!!!!!!

        • Aaron

          Are You Kidding Me? Hamilton Looked Like The Best Player On This Team In Preseason. Everything Else Tho, Right On Target

    • ryanvdonk

      ty has lost all his confidence, you can see it, he’s afraid to shoot in the lane right now because he’s been getting blocked. the past game and a half it’s been to the point where he starts curling off his drives at the free throw line, looking to get rid of the ball…

      • ryanvdonk

        didn’t finish…
        george is not blameless, the whole run was based on javale and dre, when the big dude came out the team lost it’s push. the funny thing is the run kept going when ty subbed for brewer (who might have been even worse than ty tonight), actually created some more opportunities in transition. then that atrocious charged got called then the 3…gallo comes in and momentum gone.

        but really when javale came out, we stopped getting easy buckets, it was that simple. having him back there allows the whole team to play tighter defense as teams are afraid to go to the cup. hamilton was a little shot happy tonight, but it was half expected after being glued to the pine for a week.

      • Buster Brown

        Exactly right. I love Ty, and it is painful to watch him flinch from the lane. No more confidence.

        The only thing I can say in his defense is that there were more than a few transitions where he was trying to push the ball but nobody was keeping up, and he had to sink back or hit a wall. If the wings had been faster, he could run up and split or kick.

    • Chris

      George Karl and his arrogant is always the first problem. How many times out of time outs does Denver get dominated? How about when they come out to start game or second do they have to call a timeout cause they are not ready to play? How many times do they fail in late game situations?
      Those are all situations that shows coaching is not being done. Add on top of that his horrible roster selections to start games and his questionable rotation off the bench. his decisions to play small ball every. Denver has one of the largest teams size wise in the league and Miami is very thin inside but instead of playing the right way, we are going to play the opponents way. And if you are going to play small ball at least play the proper players. Karl should have been fired 2 years ago. What has he done since Melo, nothing. Any coach could get this team to the playoffs, the talent has always been here. Fans are totally feed up with his arrogant ways. Its time to go

      • Charliemyboy

        I am a coach Karl fan since his character was shown during his recovery. But what really bothers me is the previous Nuggets, Carmelo, JR and Felton, are on top. That is coaching. Karl needs to get in the psychies of his men to have them respond and cultivate team play. He leaves it up to them too much. They jell at the end of the year usually, but the suffering is not necessary. He needs to be more proactive and not afraid to let his depth play a bit.

  • rog

    Igoudala looks lost out there. I cringe everytime he touches the ball. There’s no leadership. We suck!

  • Ty

    honestly, why doesnt george karl start this line up….
    miller
    fournier
    hamilton
    randolph
    mozgov

    i mean thats basically the trak hes on by not starting mcgee….dude is a BEAST… i dont get why there is ANY excuse not to start your best player at each position….

    • Aaron

      Varied Should Start Over Randolph Anyday Tho. But Yeah Ive Been More impressed With Fournier Small Playing Time Then iggy, Miller is By Far Better Then Lawson Right Now, And Actually Tries Late in Games. And Yes Hamilton Should Start Over Gallo, NO MATTER WHAT.

      • Ty

        its funny you agreed, i was pretty much kidding, but i do agree with the points you made

      • Ty

        for me the starting line up should be this

        Ty -the real ty, not this space jam esque type dude we have now who seems like his talents have been jacked by some aliens
        Iggy – cos hes playing well regardless of his stats
        gallo – cos, well, unless we chandler and mozzy for rudy or another small fwd, who else?
        faried – nuff said
        mcgee – no excuse not to

        bench:

        miller – showed tonight he is worthy of the minutes he plays
        brewer – the d on lebron was pretty awesome and he had an off night shooting, ah well… he’s lit it up every other game
        kofus – cos although he shouldnt be starting, hes playing really well
        jHam – he proved tonight he has a touch from deep that seemingly no other nugget has
        randolph – give the guy a chance

        trade:

        Chandler – has sucked balls since he came back from china
        Mosgov – good, but were not using him anyway and as a 7″er hes valuable trade chip

        • DJ

          I would love a trade for Rudy but i think the Grizzlies are doing to good right now to trade.

    • Chris

      Cause Fournier is the worst player on the roster. Can’t play D, doesn’t work without the ball and is too slow to guard anybody

  • Woobly o Balls

    This team needs to make a trade before the deadline. Faried is the only untouchable. If Faried got 35 minutes a night he could put up all star numbers

  • Woobly o Balls

    Everyday I check Hoopshype in the hope that one day I will see Denver has made a big trade.

    • https://twitter.com/PrincePickaxe Kalen

      Me too! :)

  • Woobly o Balls

    Trade Gallo please! I’m so sick of waiting for him to become something he’ll never be. I’d rather watch Marcus Buckets Thornton jack up 30 shots a game and play Iggy at the 3

  • Stephen Hernandez

    Screw George Karl like he screwed the nugs and the fans twice now he has cost us the game. Next game I’m taking my “George must go” sign.

  • Woobly o Balls

    Never thought I’d say this but…I wish we had JR Smith back

  • Woobly o Balls

    GK’s rotations will begin to alienate the players, if they haven’t already. McGee and Hamilton were playing really well and he decides to go with Lawson and Gallo???

    We needed McGee’s offense (yup) and his shot blocking late

    • Thomas

      Seems to me that GK may have lost this group, one way or another. If that’s the case, expect major changes soon.

      It seems that we have a problem here. We have a small forward rebounding machine flanked by a power forward who supposedly specializes in the long ball – but his stats show you that he is not really a good shooter (career 41%).

      We should either (1) pair Faried with a legit power forward who is a good finisher around the basket (50% FG) or (2) make Faried the power forward and try JHam at SF and see if he can hold his own and shoot at least 45%, more or less like Danny Green is doing in San Antonio (of course, he has one of the best coaches in basketball).

      • ryanvdonk

        since when is faried not a power forward? that’s the position he starts at, and who he usually guards on defense…

      • Woobly o Balls

        faried is a power forward…..

  • Josh

    This team was on the brink of the finals with Melo, Chauncey and JR.. now we just suck…bunch of overpaid lousy players with exception of Faried, who is our only great player, I’ll be amazed if this team even finishes .500. and NO points from your starting point guard who played over 30 mins are you kidding me? This team is a joke.

    • Chris

      The players are not lousy, its the coach who is a moron who does not know how to use them.

    • nugswin

      If by “brink” you mean easily handled by a Laker team that probably isn’t as good as 3 or 4 of the teams in the west right now, I agree.

  • Chris

    The reason I assume that GK plays small ball at the end of games (and especially against the Heat) Is so that they will have a chance to switch on screens. All those times that Manimal ended up on Lebron Could have been Mcgee if he was in the game.
    Another Great game By Faried, Would love to see Ty be more assertive. Gallo was knocking down a couple shots but Dumbass fired up an airball with about 20 left on the shot clock. Hopefully JHam starts to earn the trust of GK Now. Mcgee has been playing Great. Great shot selection, efficiency, and Production. The single complaint I have is his rebounding, Which is good. But he should be getting more that he is given his size, length and athleticism. And Dre Miller has been great for the most part. Everyone needs to back off of George. Bottom Line, The players need to perform.

  • Stephen Hernandez

    George sucks he chooses who plays and closes simple so get him gone and get the nugs a new coach any coach

  • allAround

    A lot of critics for Karl .

    It is the start of the season , cool down Gallo will remember how to shoot and Ty will become aggressive.

    • Ty

      mcgee was the best player not named faried or miller tonight, yet he sat down the stretch…. lets see how many times a popovich or a rivers or well, fuck….any other coach ever, has done something that dumb

      • allAround

        McGee is with asthma it means he can not have energy all the way … I do not see how you mix up Popovich and McGee in the same setence . Popovich would not even try playing McGee … Anyway we were playing with champs and we had a close game other coaches would loose big time.

        • ryanvdonk

          he looked fully energized when he was pulled out with 7 minutes to go…and never came back in. even if he was sucking wind, he would have been good to go after just 2 or 3 minutes on the bench

    • Woobly o Balls

      I’m not so sure about Gallo remembering to shoot and Lawson becoming agressive.

      • allAround

        Right now Gallo is 10 and more % down in every career shooting category . I do think that he will climb up . It is still the start.

        Regarding Ty If I am not mistaken Karl has given the keys to him , lets see it takes time to start feel comfortable with a role.

    • Thomas

      Remember, Gallo shoots 41% for his career. He will improve on his current shooting funk, but it’s still too low a percentage for a PF. He is neither Dirk nor Skita, that’s the problem.

      • allAround

        This is true this is the roof of Gallo regarding shooting . But everyone in this Nuggets has a roof ( which is bellow the Top All star players ). ….

        In bottom line this the strategy of the Nuggets can we do something with this kind of players ?? For me this is a good strategy since Denver is difficult to attract players like DH, Kobe , Durant etc . they need big market ….

        In any case I had in mind the current bad stats of Gallo and based on those I said be patient

    • James

      I totally agree with you, allAround. People have got to cool down. We’re 9 games in – Gallo and Lawson will get ALOT better. These boards are brutal – a couple bad games from anyone and its “trade him now!” “he sucks”, “play this guy,” blah, blah. Yeah, last night was ugly, but they have too much talent not to get better. Gallo will shoot better, Lawson will play better, and they will start winning.

      And more trading isn’t going to help. I think that’s one of the problems they have right now – it takes some teams a while to click. As much as I like what Ujiri has done, he’s had (good) players in and out of here like crazy. Shipped Nene off, and then they got into a good groove with Afflalo and Harrington, and they’re gone, too. Ultimately I think it’s for the better, but it may take a while. Patience, people. Shipping Gallo out or firing Karl now won’t help.

  • http://yahoo mile high

    Ty with 0 point after playing 30+ minutes, what’s more to say? If he can even get a few points, the Nuggets would have won. It seemed that every time a Nugget gets a fat contract, the production rate will fall off!

  • GZ

    Andre Miller is the old man schooling the youngbloods and he gets BUCKETS. He doesn’t fool around with all that rappity hippity hop and flashy shoes. Can we start calling him “Uncle Dre”?

  • http://www.chazkemp.com Avarra

    Yes… it’s only one game but I’m starting to see some patterns. I think it MAY be a situation where GK has lost his players… They may be tuning him out. I used to be a huge GK fan but I think the man has lost a step or two and it just looks like his heart isn’t in coaching anymore. He seems to be a tremendous person and I absolutely applaud him for fighting through the cancer, but it might just be about that time…

    Now may be a perfect time to get Phil Jackson or Jerry Sloan. Just sayin’…

    It may also be time to let Faried be the leader. Sometimes you need the one guy on your team with the most passion and heart to lead and I think Kenneth is that guy.

    • Chris

      I doubt Sloan would want to come to Denver especially with his history with Utah. Phil Jackson does not want to come to Denver for two basic reasons : Denver is a mid market team and only goes to large markets. And the other reason is he only coaches superstar teams, Denver has none. A bonus reason is cause Denver will never play 12 million a season to a coach

  • Josh

    So, in the end, we really didnt get get much out of the Melo trade. Galo is weak, Cant shoot a lick and is not a good defender. Chandler is just pathetic… no mental toughness at all. Moz… well… mozy is just Mozy. If we had Melo with our current roster aside from Galo and Wilson… MAN!

    Ty/DRE
    Iggy/Brewer
    Melo/Hamilton
    Farried/Farried since Randolph gets no burn
    Javalee/Kuf Kuf

    Hate all you want but Melo is the MAN! At least he can put numbers up and play at least the same level of D as Galo and Chandler.

    I wish i could go back to 08/09… THUGGETS BABY!

    • Chris

      Melo is horrible. I would not take him back in a million years. The ego bigger than his is George karl’s. Melo is far from an elite player. He will never will a NBA championship.

      • Chris

        Also, if Melo was not here you wouldn’t have Iggy or McGee or Kuf kuf (part of trade)as you put it.

        So it would be
        Ty/Dre
        Hamilton/Fournier
        Melo/Brewer
        Faried/fill in the blank
        Nene/fill in blank

        That team is clearly worse than current one

        • GK4Prez

          Hamilton and Dre were brought in from trading Felton, so they wouldn’t be here either.

          It would probably be something more like:

          Ty/Billups
          Billups/AA
          Melo/Brew
          Faried/???
          Nene/KK

          • EvanDWoodruff

            Now I like that line-up.

            • EvanDWoodruff

              Except we would have iggy instead of aaa. J/S. and Mcgee would be there not nene. it’d be.

  • http://espn.com mirage99

    Its now officially a joke that George karl is still coaching this team. This is worse than Norv Turner @ San Diego. he doesn’t know how to use the talent he has and his failure to motivate the team to show up again is just not a cooincidence anymore.
    I’ve long beleived that Westbrook is the most overrated player in the league and he still is, but Ty Lawson might take that spot now, which is saying a lot cos Ty is not that highly rated to begin with. I don’t think he has it in him to be a consistent big game PG in this league. You don’t have to continuously wait for elite players to show up…they just perform. As much as am not a fan of Miller’s old ball hogging ways, think the best thing right now may be just to hand the starters role. Ty can come off the bench and provide that spark in spurts and that’s probably all he’s good for.
    Iggy might have been the worse move by Ujjiri thus far. All this talk about him fitting right into the fast paced transition style of the Nuggets is/was BS. he can’t run, can’t lob the ball forward on breaks, his D is average and he can’t shoot to save his life.
    Said it before, sayin it again…cut ties with GK and have the nuts to build round the young guard of Faried, McGee, Hamilton and the like. Enought of this spinnin your wheels round with the retreads, ending the 6-8th seed and geeting your face punched in the first round of the playoffs.
    Kroenke has to authorize fullscale rebuild on this mess.

  • Will the NC Nugget

    Ok so Ty definitely needs to step it up….but let’s not forget he had 8 assists on only 2 TURNOVERS …1 of which was caused by a missed call when Ray hacked the shit out of him n knocked it out of bounds….I can live w my PG having an off night here n there but Gallo has filled JR’s gap with wreckless shooting ….only person who has shot more long 2s this season has to be Josh Smith …sure GK shit the bed with his subbing last night but I don’t think trading Ty of firing Karl will be effective….I liked the idea someone had earlier …Gallo n Chandler for RUDY GAY ….but we gotta keep Ty n Coach be better in the long term without Gallo than without Ty

    • Ryan

      One of two things would happen if you offered Memphis that trade: they would either laugh for a solid 5 minutes straight or they would angrily slam down the phone and be pissed that you wasted their time. Depends on what kind of mood the Memphis FO was in that day I guess…

  • Nugfanbrazil

    Start miller over Lawson please, as well as McGee over koufus. Use Lawson off the bench to run all over the opponents bench. Our best playoff were with Chauncey at the helm not Lawson. Ty is just not a leader and he doesn’t want to be apparently so put in the guy who’s a starting caliber pg, Andre Miller. Nothing crazy just a way to mix things up a bit and see what the results could be.

  • Roundball Bill

    I can’t believe how disappointing Lawson and Gallinari have been this year. I really thought they were going to take that step to become All-Stars, instead they have regressed big time. The worst part is they don’t even look like they care. They show no signs of frustration on their faces, Ty just keeps dumping the ball off to his teammates because he’s afraid of the pressure and Gallo keeps jacking up awful shots with no remorse.

  • Ckwizard

    Its game management period! The heat built a lead with good shooting and Denver mistakes. Then “time out heat” everytime something started to roll in the nuggets direction ” time out heat”. The problem is GK got out coached the first 3 quarters and the Heat got tired the final quarter. If the nuggets played with the same intensity the first three quarters as they did the fourth then there would have been foul trouble and our “depth” would be needed and tested. That is GK problem he doesn’t use, or test this teams depth and he never has used depth effectively. This team lacks focus and leadership both of which start at the head coach position!

  • nugswin

    Ty has been terrible. Masai needs to engineer a trade for Eric Bledsoe.

    • Woobly o Balls

      amen

  • eddi0

    Let’s not jump to conclusions yet guys, there is still a lot of games to play. Yes, Ty and Gallo are underperforming and yes, the team appears to lack cohesion but let’s not be hasty (yet). Also, as with any simple supply/demand economics the players you are recommending to be traded (Mozzy, Chandler, Ty, Gallo) are not neccessarily valuable right now based off their performances so far. If*** a trade happens we will need some players to improve performance so we can make equitable trades.

    If after several more weeks/months of poor performance I would like to see a trade of Gallo/Mozzy for a bigger/stronger/taller PF who can finish around the rim(backup Faried) or a SF that can flat-out shoot the ball/space the floor. I don’t want to give up on Chandler yet because the sample size is so small and with injuries we have yet to really see him play up to his abilities. I think our biggest problems right now lie in floor spacing and perimeter defense. Defenses don’t respect our outside shooting (because our outside FG% is so low) so they pack the paint even though our strength is in the paint. Iguodala cannot solve our porous perimeter defense alone, that is solved through proper coaching and/or getting the right players to engage that type of defense.

    Relax, give it some more time and if by late January we are still having these types of conversations then let’s really whip up some trade scenarios.

    • ryanvdonk

      going small compounds our problems on D. with KK or especially McGee in the middle the perimeter guys funnel to the big and the ball usually goes back out of the paint, so help from the wings is not usually needed. then when no center is in the game, the wings tend to play off so they can help on drives, which has left LOTS of open shooters.

  • Jazz

    Didn’t Ty Lawson just get paid. For those who say calm down it will get better. When other so call stars received their money, are we say calm down and just wait? NO! Bottom Line Lawson has been awful. 17.0 pts 8 ast 2 stl should be his stat line. Now Gallo is anohter story, can we say overated!!!!!!!!! Lawson and Gallo need to make it happen, if not, I hear Josh Smith and the Vending folks!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Nuggets.

  • al68

    We played as bad as the last 3 games, we were very lucky and won a GS, but a team with so little quality in attack is difficult to do more.
    Lawson is lost, I never really liked his game but other teams now know it and can close in defense thanks to our infamous outside shot but still noticeable shortcomings.
    Regarding Gallo, I dont understand he plays so many minutes since it is very bad for the attack, and doesnt cause many fouls and he maintains for long time ball, and their defense is not bad but not a specialist, I think it should play more 25 min p / g.
    Iggy is good but nothing gives us that qualitative leap that is spoken both in USA.
    The Cs are municos that are for me better than expected da KK safety and soundness but should not play more than 20 minutes and although it is a nullity Mcgee on defense has made great minute attack on several games.
    We complained last year defending the 3 shots and I think it is a problem of conception defensive players but if we do so many defensive changes and steal the ball we always have more opportunities open to players dajar three-point shooting .
    This year with the strength we have in the rebound I think we should find fewer turnovers and more solid defense
    For me the main problem is that WE PLAY TOO FAST FOR THE QUALITY AND PHYSICAL conditions OF OUR PLAYERS. GK IS A GOOD coach BUT only understands one way to play, this year we will suffer a lot.

  • Ryan

    The same, tired reasons the Nuggets lose were on full display (poor FT shooting, terrible 3-PT defense), but those are reasons I’m accustomed to and can live with.
    What Gallo did, however, left me fuming long after the game was over. With a gutsy, though ugly, team effort, the Nuggets had closed within 1 point of the Heat with possession of the ball and less than 2 minutes to play. For some ungodly reason, Gallo decides to jack up a 3 with 20 seconds still on the shot clock and promptly airballs it. Never mind that he’s shooting 3s at a horrific 22% this season, the game situation did not dictate a quick shot of any kind. What’s worse, trailing by one, you don’t even need a 3! J.R. Smith wouldn’t have taken that shot.
    What Gallo did, to borrow parlance from Bill Simmons, is take a dump on all of the hard work and effort his teammates used to get back into the game. Throw in not going after a tipped ball that could have saved a possession for his team, I have one word for Gallo: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

    • al68

      you re right

  • JetLife82

    http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=d3mew9g

    What about this trade? For the Nuggets it’s essentially just Wilson Chandler for Josh McRoberts who is actually pretty decent, would fit better with this team IMO, and is on the last year of a 3m contract compared to Chandler’s 6m for the next 4 years.

    This trade would hopefully mean more minutes for the likes of Hamilton, Fournier and Randolph. It would also allow for more financial flexibility moving forward.

  • Z

    yes trade Chandler who didnt play lol Ty scoreless tonight that hurt Gallo’s airball in the clutch it happens remember he’s the best player the nuggets have right? J Ham is the future of the Nuggets on the wing huh? Faried is an animal he will always feast on small teams like the Heat this Blog is funny after a Nuggets L

  • Z

    and the Josh McRoberts post yeah he will help the Nuggets lol

    • JetLife82

      Not sure if sarcasm…

  • JetLife82

    If I had to take a guess I’d say Shane Battier sits down to piss.

  • DJ
    • Ryan

      People need to let this pipe dream go. Memphis is the hottest team in the league right now, why would they want to trade Rudy Gay and mess up what they have going just two acquire two schmucks like Gallo and Chandler? Their COMBINED PERs, as the trade machine points out, don’t equal Gay’s. If Masai pulled that trade off, I would be thoroughly convinced that he is an omnipotent alien, or something like that…

  • Mark from Charlotte

    Good point James……………….

  • EvanDWoodruff

    Expect Lawson to have a breakout performance tomorrow against the spurs. He always bounces back. Tough start, but he’ll bounce back. And he had a great game against the spurs late last year. I think this next game will be the turning point of his season, he’ll become the all-star we expected after tomorrow.

  • Woobly o Balls

    John Wall or Eric Bledsoe. Get me one of those guys


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