Rapid Reaction: Denver Nuggets 103 Los Angeles Lakers 122

December 1, 2012
by Charlie
Denver Nuggets 103 Final
Recap | Box Score		 122 Los Angeles Lakers
Danilo Gallinari, SF 31 MIN | 6-13 FG | 3-3 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 19 PTS | -2

Gallo finally hit some threes and it was nice to see him come out determined to assert himself against the Lakers. He was a big factor offensively but it’s tough to give any Nuggets player a shining grade after that kind of defensive effort.
Kenneth Faried, SF 23 MIN | 4-6 FG | 0-2 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 8 PTS | -20

He was abused in just about every possible way by any Laker who wanted a piece. The good news is Faried will probably never play 23 minutes while grabbing just two rebounds ever again.
Kosta Koufos, C 9 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 6 PTS | +7

I’m not sure if it was injury or fatigue, but Koufos didn’t see any meaningful time after picking up two quick fouls to start the game. Howard got loose early and Karl must have seen enough to go in a different direction immediately. The decision appeared to backfire as Koufos actually looked much better on defense than all of his fellow bigs.
Ty Lawson, PG 36 MIN | 3-11 FG | 3-5 FT | 3 REB | 5 AST | 9 PTS | -12

Flashbacks to game one of last years playoff series, where Lawson just wilted in a moment the Nuggets were expecting big things out of him. Games like this simply can’t be afforded out of Lawson anymore. The really offensive thing is the complete lack of emotion and leadership on the floor.

Andre Iguodala, SG 33 MIN | 4-10 FG | 4-6 FT | 2 REB | 4 AST | 14 PTS | -12

An okay game, but it’s now obvious he can only do so much to mask Denver’s deep-seeded issues with perimeter defense. He has to have a great scoring night just to keep the Nuggets competitive and that’s nowhere near where Iguodala is at his best.
Jordan Hamilton, SF 20 MIN | 6-14 FG | 1-1 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 13 PTS | -7

It’s tempting to give Hamilton a solid grade for his near double-double in just 20 minutes of action, but he takes some bad shots and still looks a step slow on the defensive end. I understand some of his struggles because I thought he was taking great shots and really improving earlier in the year, when he couldn’t get on the court. He’s trying to stand out and get minutes, which just hasn’t been easy thus far.
Corey Brewer, SF 21 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-1 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 8 PTS | -14

Made some threes, but literally went for steals every single possession and still can’t dribble the ball whilst moving.

Timofey Mozgov, C 21 MIN | 2-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 6 PTS | -16

He didn’t get a chance to match up with Howard that much but Karl clearly made an effort to get Mozgov involved early and often. I wasn’t impressed with his defense around the rim but Mozgov managed to produce and showed he’s still got something to offer in a rotation role. I’m just not sure what the point is, we’ll likely go back to a non-Mozgov rotation in the very next game.
JaVale McGee, C 17 MIN | 4-6 FG | 2-2 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 10 PTS | -10

He started out nicely and as usual, was all over the place the rest of the way. In a laugher like this I was disappointed the Nuggets did not give him a little more run in the second half. 17 games into the season we still don’t even have a hint of how JaVale might respond to increased minutes.
Andre Miller, PG 26 MIN | 5-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 10 PTS | -6

The Nuggets got it to within seven in the second quarter, one of many opportunities to get back in a competitive game against a defense that was allowing them to shoot over 50% the entire night. Miller brought the ball up, literally crossed himself over and fumbled the ball while nearly tripping over his own feet — no player was within an arms length of him. It just perfectly summed up Andre Miller’s season so far.
Evan Fournier, SG 3 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | -3

Would have been nice to see him in a little earlier. The Nuggets never really threatened but didn’t formally concede until the last few minutes.

Three Things We Saw

  1. This loss aside, the Nuggets actually played decent basketball on this three game road trip and come up with nothing to show for it. As for this game, it was easy enough to predict a blowout with the Nuggets having played last night and the rested Lakers playing in front of a fired up crowd desperate for a victory.
  2. I was surprised Karl said he was asking for more ball pressure in a timeout, yet no real effort was made to change the way Denver was defending the pick and roll. The Nuggets continued to switch and go under no matter what. It did not seem like there were any adjustments made to pick and roll coverage from the opening tip to the final whistle.
  3. Chris Duhon played a lot in this game and Dwight Howard capped off the show with a three-pointer on the final play of regulation. This one was mostly a joke. I’ve said before Denver has played much better than 0-3 on this trip and arriving here is a result of many failures from top to bottom. Denver’s playing a tough schedule and still has plenty of time to get it together, but they’re now on the wrong side of .500 with another tough 5-game road trip following Monday’s home game against Toronto.
Posted on December 1, 2012 at 12:08 am | filed in Analysis, Game Recap, Rapid Reaction | 63 Comments
  • Andrew K

    Someone needs to remind every single Nuggets player individually of how good they really are. I swear….how could a team that has won basically every move they have made to make this roster play so inconsistently? I know, usually I am the one who is preaching to keep the season perspective intact. But at this moment, I want a prediction from this team, not just a general positive statement from this team to explain where they are headed. I want to force the Nuggets to commit to a goal. I don’t want any of this “We are improving everyday” crap. Please tell us where you should be, and where you are going to be. Give yourself a goal, an expectation, and play for it. Because right now, they look like they aren’t playing for anything…save not to lose.

    • googergieger

      For all that crap Gallo gets at least he TRIES. His shooting percentage would be up if he started playing it safe, but he goes for buzzer beaters and foul calls. Faried had no effort tonight but blame that on Karl and his insane rotation.

  • googergieger

    Outside of Gallo, everyone deserves a bad score. To be fair at least J-Ham and Mozgov tried. However this is the worst The Nuggets have looked defensively so far this season(nothing but open threes!) and the worst Karl has looked as far as substitutions go. Once again he is showing why this should be his last year. Lawson deserves a big F by the way. Every time we started to make a run he over dribbled or just turned the ball over with a lazy pass. I mean even if you take into account we had a back to back and the Lakers had three nights rested off, just terrible. This is the type of game that is an insult to Nuggets fans. I mean how long do we have to wait for to see a consistent EFFORT on both sides of the court for the full 48 minutes?

    Oh and eff Howard by the way. Total lack of respect.

  • San Diego Fan

    Despite size and ability, this is a terrible defensive team. The Lakers had so many wide open shots in the first half. And the half court game is spotty at best. I see another quick exit from the playoffs.

    • googergieger

      Not a terrible defensive team, just a no effort defensive team and a no defensive schemes, defensive team. Almost all Nugget players can defend. Our Half court game isn’t as bad as people make it out to be, just Lawson keeps effin it all up. No idea where his head is right now, but Karl needs to bring him off the bench to see if that will get to him.

      Also yay another Nuggets fan from Diego. Sup.

      • GK4Prez

        I don’t live in SD, but I still didn’t like the effort that the Nuggets gave tonight. I agree with googergieger, the Nuggets have some decent defenders on this team, but they are being asked/coached to do stupid things on D.

        • googergieger

          Hopefully we can get SVG next year. Great defensive coach that did wonders with a raw Dwight, maybe he could do wonders with McGee? Then he also holds players and the refs accountable. Not afraid of anyone and while he is overly critical, as a player I’d rather be coached by someone that wants to make me better, than someone who tells me to just go out there and wing it, and plays his veterans way too much that do the same mistakes I do without any of the upside, simply because they’ve played for a gajillion years.

    • John

      “IF” we make the Playoffs… this doesn’t look like a Playoff caliber team. There is a good chance we get fewer wins than last season… no not %, not adjusted… total. Can’t win games with 0 defense. Can’t finish supposedly inferior teams. Not a good recipe for the post season.

  • http://@j_phil96 Justin Phillips

    Terribly played game, all of Troubles are continuing.
    I’m getting very tired of theses losing streaks.
    I live In San Diego as well, so this Loss was esspecially embarrasing to me. #SDNuggetsfans

  • Ar15fan

    Just play Anthony Randolph he’s the best player on the team!

    • John

      Maybe not the “best” but he is a lot better than 13th on this roster… I understand he had a bum wheel for a few games, but he should be cracking the rotation, and getting regular minutes…

  • mike

    Trade terrible ty lawson for a REAL POINT guard,a REAL LEADER. When ty plays good we win, when he doesn’t we lose and this season hea played like dog sit most of the season. Trade him in a package to get Rose and stop blaming karl. GEORGE KARL DOESN’T PLAY THE GAME!

    • GK4Prez

      He doesn’t coach it very well either, he devoted the entire preseason to defense, and these are his results by the game of the oponents 3pt %:

      Lakers 51%, Warriors 47%, Jazz 36%,New Orleans 46%, Golden State 41%, TPups 35%,
      Grizzlies 35%, Spurs 59%, Heat 48%, Suns 58%, Warriors 36%, Jazz 17%, Rockets 24%, Pistons 50%,Heat 40%, Magic 33%,76ers 22%

      Some of these percentages and the volume of makes by the other team are mind boggling, the gimmick d isn’t working, an extra pass continually finds a wide open player against this d.

    • nugswin

      Rose? Be serious, Chicago wouldn’t take any combination of players on our roster for Rose. If Masai said, “You can have anybody or everybody on our roster,” the answer would still be, “Hell no!”

      However, we should be working to pry Eric Bledsoe from the Clippers. He’s a far, far better player than Lawson and probably could be had since The Clippers don’t really need him.

  • Traz

    Didn’t get to watch the game.. Did see Meeks 5 for 5 from the three line in the first who the hell was guarding him??? Or was suppose to be…

  • ckwizard

    The team defense was on par with the season so far… not good. I am not upset about this loss on the back end of a very emotional loss yeah the Nuggets were going to be a step slow. This game highlights why the last two were so important. Why did J-Ham get a run in the second half this game, but not the last one. J-Ham rebounds and scores which is always needed to close out games if you cant get stops, and this Nuggets team struggles to get stops. If this three game losing streak makes GK play Hamilton at least 7 minutes in the second half of every remaining game this season then these three losses will be worth it. 7 minutes of Hamilton means a little extra offensive punch and a little more rest for Gallo and Iggy which will allow them to close games more effectively and win more games. A little more Hamilton will also allow the team to play with the effort GK demands. Just my opinion.

  • SmokinNugs

    Only play I got to see from this game was McGee blowing that dunk and then just hanging on the rim like a moron

    #disappointing

  • John

    I swear, I’m gonna just start cutting and pasting my responses…

    Do you know how hard it is for me to watch this bilge, living in Hollywood, and being the only Nuggets fan for like 20 miles… As d.o.u.c.h.y and Lakers fans seem online, trust me they are 1 metric s.h.i.t.-ton d.o.u.c.h.y-er live.

    Karl seems totally ineffective. He has 0 presence on the floor. He is mismanaging almost every aspect of the game. Basically, he is making Vinnie Dell Negro look like Phil Jackson. The back office needs to put him on notice…. Fire

    I know Brewer tries hard… but he makes sooooo many mistakes, can’t dribble, can’t pass, can’t catch an inbounds, can’t protect the ball, and he cannot make a “contested” shot. Everyone talks about how “pesky” his D is, but about 90% of those 3′s tonight were his man that he sloughed off all the way into the paint. That’s too far. Give his minutes to Fournier…or JHam.

    Karl, if Faried is getting eaten alive by a 7 footer, here’s a thought, maybe play another 7 footer instead… like Randolph or Koufos…or even 6’10″ Gallo. The match ups tonight were crap.

    Let JHam “play.” I don’t think he was allowed to shoot until the 4th when the game was out of hand, and even then, he single handedly made a push. I counted 3 plays in a row where he had the ball, and Miller yelled at him to pass it, and they reset the non-existent offense late in the clock. The Nuggs ended up with 2 pts from those 3 possessions… Let the kid shoot.

    Miller is more a liability, than a benefit. He has had a number of heady veteran plays this year, and 1 sick block, but no one respects him beyond the arc, and his D is weak. Trade.

    Hopefully tonight Faried and McGee learned that they can’t out jump “everybody” in the NBA… so getting position and boxing out once in a while might be a good idea.

    And the last thing I am gonna rant about… what was that… 5 missed dunks… 6…12 if you included the missed layups. You shouldn’t see that many in a season, much less 1 game. Good lord that was pathetic.

    and play some f.r.i.g.g.i.n’ D already. OK, I’m done whining like a little girl.

    • John

      …on the upside… Mr. Most Improved Player – Kosta Koufos was once again the only Nugget with a +(+7) in the +/- rankings… keep it up big guy… I’m pulling for you.

      • will

        koufos was actually good last season – at least compared to our other centers – just no one seemed to notice

        • dynamo.joe

          I noticed.

  • googergieger

    Kofous was bullied by Howard which is why he didn’t see much time. Though to be fair nobody saw the time they should have, at least when they should have. Gallo wasn’t put in when the Nuggets needed him to carry on with his hot start. Lawson was played too much and not taken out when he was the sole reason two of our runs ended in Laker runs. Faried was played very randomly and you could see it affected him. Gallo honestly deserves an A, he is the only Nugget that came to play on both sides. His defense wasn’t the best but his effort was there. Outside of J-Ham, maybe McGee, and Iggy with a B-, and of course Gallo, everyone else deserves a C+ at best. You should also start grading coaching, or lack there of.

    Anywhoots, seeing as Ty doesn’t want to be the number one option, or an option. Gallo seems perfectly okay with it, and finally has some confidence to his shot, along with all the other positives he is bringing. So maybe it is time to revisit the Gallo being the number one option line of thinking?

  • Aaron

    Aside From Gallo And Hamilton, EVERYONE Deserves An F. I Was Embarrassed To Watch That Game..Nuggets Starting To Look Like The Detroit Lions, Great Year Last Year, Playing Emerging into Stars. But This Year Everyone Took a Step Back And Now Were Looking Like a Complete Joke.

  • Ty

    nuggets are sucking balls more than travolta… seriously, we need to do something, i dont care what it is, keep the same roster but change coach, or keep karl and trade some pieces, or damn, even start a brawl that gets our starting 5 suspended so we at least have an excuse for why were losing all these games… lal should always have won that, but utah? gSW?? is this team fo feckin real??!!!!

  • Dubz

    To me there are MANY recurring themes with these Nuggets losses. The most disturbing are:
    A: Seemingly every game the opposing team has a guy who scores his “season high” in points
    B: Ty Lawson looks out of shape, disinterested, lost, and afraid to make mistakes(On nights like tonight this is the most detrimental to the teams success in my eyes)
    C: Karl has lost this team. As long as he’s coached the Nuggets he’s been an awful and I mean awful IN GAME coach (rotations, minute allocation, half court sets, defense, etc). He could make up for it with his out of game development of players but that strategy is no longer working. I hope they “force” him to resign.
    D: In my eyes this ties into C as do the other 2, but we don’t have a Center that Karl trusts. One part of me understands why with what I’m seeing on the court (didley poo) and another part of me thinks these guys are afraid to make mistakes like Lawson at times because they’ll get pulled.

    Man this team is frustrating to watch right now.

    • Dubz

      P.S.

      Stop it with this trade for all-star talk people. Seriously. We’re not getting Derick Rose or anyone of his caliber through a trade. The only way this team gets a true “star” is if we draft one, or trade for a guy with potential and develop him into one. We no longer have the number of cap friendly contracts that we used to and this isn’t fantasy where to good players equals a great player. Stop it.

      • John

        As long as GK is coach we will never draft a star… well, we might “draft” one, but we won’t benefit. Kobe’s first 1 1/2 – 2 years were very JR Smith like… he didn’t shoot terribly well, and cranked up every ball that touched his hands. No matter where he was. and who was guarding him. Karl would have buried him behind Randolph on the bench.

  • Ty

    cant trade for a star straight up… however a disgruntled star?? i.e. deron williams last year? or the year before? when ever it was… a dhow that forces himself out of a situation, we have the pieces to trade for one of those :)

    • Dubz

      I would have agreed right after the Melo trade, but not now. We have paid (overpaid?) all of those promising 1st round picks we have(McGee, Gallo, Chandler, and Lawson) who would have been the trade bait. There’s a reason why teams want picks or guys on rookie deals (like NO, Orl, and OKC) rather than guys who’ve already received second deals. I love Faried and Hamilton, but they’re not fetching D. Williams anytime. I actually still like the road this team has taken, all of these deals are trade-able if need be, just not for stars.

      • Dubz

        Not that I’m advocating for Tyreke Evans, but he’s the type of guy I have in mind. Someone who obviously has loads of talent but has had a rough go of it with his first team. Monta Ellis was another example. Guys like that…

        • gfacekillah8

          the last thing this team needs is another wing player who can’t defend. which is all evans is. his offense has gone down tremendously too.

  • googergieger

    We would probably be in the hunt for Josh Smith, who is wildly inconsistent as is. Maybe Rudy Gay or Pau Gasol. Though Gasol doesn’t fit on this team and the altitude would kill that eighty year old. Rudy Gay would be a great fit but is he that huge an upgrade over Gallo? I don’t think so myself, but a lot of people do because Gay gets more points. I think we need to trade for defense and three point shooting right now. Reddick, Dunleavy, Varejao, etc…

    Problem is to get something really good, you’d have to give up Faried more than likely in a three to four team trade.

  • googergieger

    Something like this could work.

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

    With Cleveland sending picks to Memphis(who probably wouldn’t want to rock the boat considering how well they are doing)

    Or just us and Cleveland for Gallo and Kofous and/or Mozgov. Cleveland would probably send a pick or two our way.

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

    Hell we could even be in the running for Aldridge if we were willing to give up Faried, Chandler, Kofous and some picks.

    http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=cvufgj2

    Again I’d hate to give up Gallo and/or Faried, but outside of us giving up one or both of them, we ain’t getting much.

    • John

      There is no way we can afford what Cleveland would ask for Andy… and Daniel Gibson is the only b.o.o.b.i.e. I don’t like…

      • googergieger

        Well clearly they are going to want to ship him out before he just walks for free. Lakers could make a play for him and some of their youth for Gasol. Cleveland clearly needs a solid second scoring option behind Kyrie. A consistent one. We need three point shooting(Gibson) and a solid defensive anchor. I mean I like our team as is, just not the effort or the coaching. At least so far. Still we could make a play for Varejao. I mean how many other teams could be in the running where Varejao could realistically re-sign? I mean he’d probably be happy coming to a play off team that likes playing together. He could be a good influence on Faried. Teach him how to box out and play smart and such. Teach our bigs how to pass and such.

  • Ty

    denver has trade pieces…. ill shoot myself for saying it, but iggy if absolutley nothing else, simply cos he can walk anyway if we have a shit season…. that said, we have a surplus of 7″ers who are good to trade, especially KK with his 3 year $9 milly contract, chandler anyone? never, ever, EVER, trade faried

    • nugswin

      Why would we not trade Faried? Seems like he’s the perfect trade chip — a guy who’ll never be more than the 3rd best player on a championship team but is young and cheap. He’s the perfect chip to throw in to get exactly what we really need to take the next step.

      I’m not saying we should trade him, just that he would probably have to go if the right deal came around. “Never trade Faried” is a ticket to mediocrity.

  • googergieger

    Knowing Mark Cuban, he’d probably give up Mayo for one of our seven footers and Gallo. Hell knowing Cuban, he’d probably give up Brand and Collison for Ty, if you guys are adamant about it. Personally I think Ty will pull it together, but his level of play right now is unacceptable. I wouldn’t mind getting Crowder and Faried playing together on this Nuggets team however. Of course there is the great wall of Karl he’d run into for being a rookie…

    Houston isn’t above making stupid deals. Maybe we could get White to live up to the potential everyone is talking about.

    Personally I like the team as is. They just aren’t playing up to their potential, and the infuriating part is that it is clearly just about putting forth the effort for 48 minutes from everyone playing. Well Karl and his mad science at the helm isn’t helping, but still.

  • CJP32

    I’m going to give my assessment for the players and team seeing as we are 20% through the season. And because we are 8-9, I’m going to be brutally honest:

    Ty – This is not the Ty we saw last year, and not the Ty we just gave 40+ million to. This Ty we are watching has sucked big time. Something in his personal life is really messing with his basketball frame of mind. He is shooting career lows across the board and most games is invisible for 3 quarters. Yes his assists are up but this guy is paid to be a leader and a scorer – 2 areas he has not displayed. He has scored 15+ points in just 8 games.

    Iggy – He does it all – rebounds, passes, defends, scores and his shooting is getting better. But can he carry this team night in and night out? Clearly not. He doesn’t have that ‘take over’ mentality and sometimes is too passive. I expected more out of the All Star and Olympian, but maybe this system is not right for him and maybe he still doesn’t know where he fits in?

    Gallo – Probably the most disappointing Nugget so far – there is something clearly wrong, injuries, confidence, health….again, overpaid and not delivering. Shooting terribly from the field and three point arc, and has managed to score 20+ just 5 times. This guy has the ball in his hands alot and in some games he vanishes for a whole half. His 5.6 Three attempts and 4.4 FT attempts should be reversed.

    Koufos – Has been consistent, but I don’t think he should be our starting centre much longer. Whilst he gives us 6 & 6, he gets overplayed by the bigger centres in the league and is sometimes way too soft. He would be a great backup centre and I think that will happen soon.

    Faried – Don’t get me wrong, Faried is the heart & soul of this team. He is energetic, he rebounds like a monster, he dunks like crazy, he blocks shots, he wants to win. But he is an under-sized PF who gets abused by other PFs in the league. Thats not his fault though, thats the position he has been put in. He isn’t a great passer, he is a terrible FT shooter and he sometimes wants to run a fast break when he shouldn’t. But he is a guy we want in a Nuggets uniform for years to come

    McGee – this is a hard one because his ceiling is still so high, but some games he leaves you scratching your head. Super efficient, but also frustrating. I think he should be the starting centre now but he still doesn’t have GKs trust. If he learns how to not fall for fakes and doesn’t goal tend, then he will get 25-30 mins.

    Miller – he is clearly still not 100% healthy and game fit and its showing lately (last 5 games has scored above 10 once). He still is a great backup PG but is for some reason taking shots he should not be. I’m not sure if having him for 3 more years was the best FO move.

    Brewer – for a guy who doesn’t have any plays called for him, and was asked by GK to shoot more threes (when he was a career 30% shooter), Brewer has done an admirable job. Yes he still gambles and sometimes gets trigger happy, but he is also one of the more energetic and consistent players. He is shooting a respectable 37% from three (43% from the corner) and is providing 10 ppg. He is perfect for 18-22 mpg.

    Hamilton – lately he is getting his chance to play and he is making the most of it, but sometimes still makes rookie mistakes both on offense and defense. The kid has scoring potential, but maybe just not here in Denver. He could be a great shooter in the league but needs to realise that every shot doesn’t have to be a three and he can pass the ball. Today vs LA he did display more moves and it was encouraging.

    Mozzy – not sure how to rate this guy, pretty inconsistent and I think will be traded by the deadline.

    Fournier/AR – havent seen enough of them to bother writing about.

    I think at 8-9, with 10 of our next 15 games on the road, changes need to be made. Ty and Gallo need their heads checked and a wake up call. Demote them, make them earn their starting spots back. Start Miller along with Iggy, JHam, Faried and McGee. Have a 2nd unit of Ty, Brewer, Gallo, Koufos and Mozzy. Try something, anything because right now our ‘stars’ are not playing like they should. We cannot blame GK for the way the guys are playing. Yes its his job at the end of the day, but each of these players need to hold themselves accountable for the pathetic efforts they have been displaying night in and night out.

    Im done.

  • googergieger

    Apparently some people need Gallo to score thirty points a game with the random substitution patterns of George Karl in order for him to be appreciated…

    Dude has been one of our more consistent players for the past number of games. Even when his shot isn’t falling(which these past few games show it is coming back to form) he is doing everything else right. I mean he is the only Nugget not afraid to get to the line from the opening, he’ll take on any defensive assignment you give him, he is being a play maker and getting the assist or hockey assist when no one else wants to do anything. What else do you all want from him?! He ain’t going to be Lebron James.

    Clearly people like CJP32 are just not watching the games and just reading the stat sheets, or following the gospel of Skip Bayless and you know, talking out of their ass.

    • CJP32

      Hey man, I never singled out Gallo as the only player on this team not playing up to par – I gave my thoughts on all players. But since 99% of your posts are about Gallo and only Gallo, look at the last 3 losses and Gallo’s play during the 4th qtrs:

      vs Jazz – 10 mins, 1/6 FGs, 0/1 FTs, for 3 pts
      vs Warriors – 12 mins, 0/3 FGs, 0/2 FTs, for 0 pts
      vs Lakers – 7 mins, 1/3 FGs, 1/1 FTs, for 3 pts

      He has vanished during the 4th qtrs of each of the losses, and this is a guy who has we look to for leadership and a scoring mentality. Yes his shot has slowly come back, but there are times when Gallo just looks dazed and confused, or tries too much, looks for the fancy pass instead of the fundamental play. He isn’t getting to the FT line as much as he could be and again as I stated in my original post, there is clearly something wrong – is he playing injured, is he not 100% healthy and is his confidence down? Only Gallo knows that.

      PS – I watch every Nugget game, sometimes twice, I don’t think my assessments on the players are way out unrealistic.

      • googergieger

        Jazz and Warriors asked to guard bigger power forwards. Jazz game he had the stomach flu, by the by, but whatever.

        Tonight? Alright ignoring the fact that he was the only starter doing anything early on, when Karl took him out by the way. When brought in the fourth quarter what happened? He had to take two horrible shots because of bad passes, one of those being cause of the shot clock. He also drove twice to the basket where a foul should have been called, but refs said eff it. Game is over anyways. Gallo was originally meant to be our go to guy but it then went to Lawson. Who played the most minutes tonight despite killing two of our runs? Lawson. Who is given the ball the majority of the time and told to attack and create something? Lawson. You can’t blame Gallo for not having the ball as much as Lawson. You can’t blame him for being forced to take bad shots. I mean I could understand if it were like early on and him missing wide open shots and free throws(where I and others got on him for it), but tonight and Golden State he was one our better players. Again for someone watching the games supposedly, you do seem rather clue less. What is he supposed to do? Bust out a Carlton Banks and grab the ball from Lawson and do something? Tell Karl it isn’t a good idea to make him defend guys that can easily over power him?

        • CJP32

          I wasn’t blaming anyone, I was just making observations and giving my thoughts. No big deal really, because 10 of the next 15 games are on the road, and I’m hoping that Gallo, Ty and Iggy get it together and lead this team. If not, we are in deeper trouble.

          • googergieger

            “Gallo – Probably the most disappointing Nugget so far”

            “This guy has the ball in his hands alot and in some games he vanishes for a whole half.”

            I think Miller, McGee, and Lawson are top three when it comes to player usage on the Nuggets. At least they were last I checked. Karl is in charge of the minutes and rotations and much like tonight, he takes Gallo and puts him in at rather asinine times. Game was clearly over and he brings him back in for garbage time to see if they can make another run? He keeps sticking with Lawson all game who is useless tonight, but Gallo who had a great start is kept on the bench when Lakers are piling up the points.

            In any case, Denver will make the play offs. If they are a first round exit again, hopefully this means Karl will do the merciful and honorable thing and bow out and let someone else take over. Someone that can bring stability and logic to this team.

            Seriously right now Ty, Karl, the refs, and the schedule are to blame. Not in that order but flip Ty and Karl and that would be the order.

            • nugswin

              Just so you know you’re not the only one out there, I agree with pretty much everything you’re saying. Gallo has a higher effort rate than anybody, including Iggy. Over the balance of the season that’s going to pay off.

  • Cephus

    It’s games like this I think back fondly on Birdman,Chris Andersen & what he brought to the team. He struck a lot of poses but hapless & discouraged wasn’t one of them. Was he past his prime ? Yes, probably but we need a grinder like him who ‘ just doesn’t care ‘ about blowing their cool by giving every last iota of effort for every second their on the floor. Someone who reminds his teamates that it’s a privilege to be in the NBA.

    We have good guys on the team, don’t get me wrong, but collectively they hang their heads when things don’t go their way.

  • GIANLUCA

    Gallo is the ONLY Nuggets that play Basket…
    do you see the game ?
    CPJ statics of Gallo in 4qt and OT vs MEMPHIS MINNESOTA and WARRIORS ?
    and yesterday ? with Gallo is -1 plus/minus ..
    if Gallo 38% 3 point is ALL STAR

  • http://www.yahoo.com prospector

    Even if faried is getting punked let him play his minutes. He is a grinder that will keep fighting.. You can’t take that off the floor…. Karl is destroying Jham’s confidence and I am getting sick of it…… Karl’s rotations flat out suck and all he does is kill a players momentem… Gallo is playing well and he gets benched… Oh my gosh faried starts off slow, better bench his rear-end until we are 15 points down… Miller is a slow slacker. The reason he always plays 82 games is because he doesn’t play hard enough to get hurt.. Always just cruising…… TY is a back up point guard.. Thanks Karl for ditching Felton for andre miller.. Great move!!! I heat to beat a dead Karl, but can you imagine how short Faried’s leash will be when Chandler comes back???? I guarantee he will play like 22 mins while our losses stack up and Karl looks confused….. This sucks and it is getting harder and harder to watch these games without losing my mind!!!

  • emie

    You don’t know how McGee would respond to increased minutes?

    From watching how winded he is even after a few minutes of play, I’m pretty sure he’d pass out.

  • ENK

    i dont quite what is goin on with the nuggies but i can tell you it will get better. in a game like yesterday we just werent supposed to win. the lakers hit 17 ,3′s with jamison and meeks combining for 54 poitns off the bench. when that happens we’re gonna lose. as ugly and frustsating it was to watch that game i think this one will (hopefully) serve as wake up call to our players.

    ty lawson as we all know can be unstoppable and he has shown flashes of that, this season even. Its just a matter of him finding his groove, and i think once he hits it the nuggs will be a real tough team to beat. for all those ppl saying ty shouldn’t be our starting PG, get real. this offense goes as he goes, its built around him. we’ve seen how good he can be, and hes only 24.

    As for gallo, i think as a fan i can commend gallo for his play this season, he started off in a slump probably due to his ankle and steadily shot his way out of it. he’s conisstently over the past ten nine or ten games done a variety good stuff on the court and at times been our go-to-guy, but mostly i think this year he has played with a lot of noticeable passion and desire to win the game. the same cannot be said for lawson who sometimes looks lethargic.

    Faried. that is all that needs to be said.

    Mcgee. isn’t he such a multi-faceted character? i love mcgee, i love what he brings to the table, freak athleticism who could be great but still does knuckleheaded shit. the problem here is GK has him on a tight leash. and i think its messing with mcgee’s psyche, which is psyche that i tihnk needs some coddling. last year when mcgee was given a featured role in the playoffs, at times, he was flatout dominant. he can be that player, but he’s just not ging to learn to be getting 18-22 off the bench. straight up. free javale.

    also fre J-ham. we need three point shooting and he can be that instant offense guy. he played well last night and im happy to see karl starting to give him minutes. i would like to see an uptick in those minutes. and wilson chandler is the forgotten man, he been like a ghost these past two years, his presence lingers but he’s not quite there.

    i think the goin will get better for the nuggs, and i for one have not given up hope. we’ve had a tough schedule and our players will find their groove.

  • Aaron

    Awesome, awesome BALANCED review. Thanks Charlie. Here’s hoping Kalen and Joel read this one. People forget, on this blog, how difficult our schedule is. I wish George would’ve pulled a Popovich like 3 times this year already! Our schedule has been that bad. Whoever heard of playing the same team 3 times in 3 weeks??!!(GS) and who ever heard of 17-23 on the road to start a season??? This is insanity. I’m proud of our guys to be .500. I think in mid-Jan-Feb you’ll see us start to roll and get a top 5 seed in the west. Let’s be patient people. Even the Lakers are just .500.

  • Trevor

    What do the Nuggets practice? It’s not defensive or shooting. So do they just run the court and do layup drills?

  • JetLife82

    The nuggets bigs need to go get a hand massage or something. Never have I seen such stiff hands take to a basketball court

  • will

    Mozgov and McGee have (almost) always had terrible plus/minus. This season they are playing a lot and they still have bad plus/minus. Koufos has the best plus/minus on our team because he is good center and Mozgov and McGee aren’t on the court when he is. Am I missing something?? Mozgov and McGee are killing us – not Ty and Gallo and Faried.

    • ENK

      i agree. mozgov proved to me the other night he doesnt deserve minutes. can u say Trade bait? i think we should be giving whtever minutes mozgov has been getting to anthony randolph. i wanna see what he can do…

      • googergieger

        The problem is more Kofous gets the most time to be able to create chemistry with his team mates and the most leniency as far as making mistakes go. McGee is played sporadically and is yanked out the second he makes a mistake. Mozgov is barely coming back from injury and when he is in full shape, I hope the Nuggets find a way to get him back into the form he was in when we started last season. He is a big physical body that is a perfect one two punch with McGee. Kofous may not make mistakes, but he gets easily over powered and out played on the nights he goes up against even the most slightly above average bigs. He tries to finesse his shots around the rim too much often times as well. Resulting in a missed basket because he didn’t just dunk the ball. I think Mozgov is expendable but Mozgov’s best is better than Kofous’s(?) best. That is to say at Kofous’s best he can be a guy like Collison. At Mozgov’s best he can be a guy like Pekovic.

        • steve

          Mozgov’s biggest problem is he can’t hold onto the ball. He can’t dribble well, he can’t hold onto the ball well when he receives it…alot of times when he accepts a pass he’s bobbling it. He’s a turnover machine. Yes he can play well at times but he’s just never a guy that is going to get more than 20 min a game IMO.

          • googergieger

            We talking about this year or career? Cause again, time, chemistry, etc.

            Anyways, I’d rather get Varejao or a big that can defend and run with this team. No point in getting a Dalembert if he can’t run with the team and if he is going to get thirty minutes a game because Karl needs his veterans to lose us a game the right way!

            Duhon isn’t a leader either, and Lawson and Miller aren’t losing their minutes anytime soon. He shouldn’t be in late game situations but Lawson should(we do need to give him time to return to form and all). As far as leaders go, we need a defensive minded big that can anchor our defense. I mean Iggy can’t do it alone with his perimeter defense. I don’t know, Josh Smith is awfully inconsistent and does rely on his athleticism a bit too much for my liking, but he could be that emotional leader we need? I mean Faried brings energy and emotion to the games but only his second year, so I doubt he commands the respect from Karl or his team mates a veteran would. Problem is the only way we can get Smith is to probably give up Faried, which I think would be a huge mistake.

    • John

      People seem to forget that Koufos is also the starter… which means… so are his opponents… McGee and Mozzy are getting their inferior +/- ratings while playing a higher percentage of lesser quality centers… Kosta had very similar #s last year, but he started only 1/3 of the games, not every single one.

      Lets be honest… Dwight is gonna Beast everybody, but right now Kosta is the best option…

  • steve

    I think we need to make a move to sure up our rim defense. Mcgee and koufos are both getting knocked around quite a bit down low. Samuel Dalembert is basically out of the rotation in Milwaukee already due to how well Larry Sanders is playing. They need a guard and signed Marquis Daniels recently. What if we moved Corey Brewer, Mozgov and a future 2nd to Milwaukee for Dalembert and Doron Lamb or Daniels, whichever they want to let go? This would give us another defensive big on the last year of deal. it would also open up playing time for hamilton.

  • JetLife82

    What about going after a Mozgov for Duhon trade with the lakers. They have like 4 point guards and it’d be nice for us to have another floor general who can actually shoot. Mozzy’s contract is expiring so we may be able to get a draft pick in this scenario.

    In terms of value on the court I think the key difference is leadership and that’s what the team needs. Lawson is not a leader but he can shoot it. Miller is a leader but I hate when he’s in late game situations because that’s one less shooting option from behind the arc. Duhon can more or less be a leader, make plays and shoot. Julyan Stone also cannot shoot. Do you see my point here?

    Mozgov is big but I doubt he says or does much on the court in terms of getting the team going. Randolph can handle any minutes that slip past Koufos and McGee.

    • nugswin

      Mozzy has a ton more trade value than Chris Duhon. Many were speculating that Duhon would be cut after being traded to the Lakers and he was slated for exactly zero PT until injuries to both Nash and Blake came around (he’s still the backup behind a rookie, to boot). Just because he hit a few threes last night doesn’t mean he’s a worthwhile NBA player and certainly not for a young, capable 7-footer.

  • gfacekillah8

    this upcoming road trip is going to be brutal. games at hotlanta, NYK, indiana and minny. it could really give us a boost or kill us. here’s to hoping the guys understand how important it is and play with some urgency.


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