Brewer wants to re-sign; also, no Rapid Reaction tonight, please leave comments below

December 9, 2012
by Kalen

Unfortunately the entire Roundball Mining Company crew is tied up with prior engagements this evening, therefore no immediate Rapid Reaction will be posted. There may be some notes left by one of our writers later on, but in the meantime please leave all your comments below. RMC heavily relies on its insightful reader comments which we feel you can get nowhere else but here. If everyone simply writes the intelligent, thoughtful type of commentary they usually do, we figure outsiders will have a pretty good idea of what direction this game went in.

In other news, Lang Greene of HOOPSWORLD recently wrote an article on Corey Brewer’s impressive start to the 2012-13 season. In it Greene manages to obtain some pretty interesting comments from Brewer regarding his future with the Nuggets. Here is a short clip from the article:

Brewer will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and figures to be one of the more coveted wings due to his strong ability to defend the perimeter. However, Brewer’s first choice is to sign a multi-year deal with the Nuggets and remain with the franchise long-term.

“You know I’d love to be here,” Brewer said to HOOPSWORLD. “But you never know what’s going to happen, because it’s the NBA. I just take it day by day and hopefully this will be home.”

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Posted on December 9, 2012 at 2:30 pm | filed in Analysis, Game Preview, Game Recap, News | 68 Comments
  • CJP32

    As much as I would also love for Brewer to stay in Denver, I actually feel that some other team will throw more money at him than Masai is prepared to spend next offseason. If thats the case, Masai may be tempted to trade him instead of losing him for nothing. Brewer fits in perfectly with this system, it would be a shame to lose him.

  • fluffhead

    if it opens up time for JHam, trade him but only with another player for a difference maker. I still want Tyreke Evans!

  • OriginalJakeSauce

    Core Brewer and Ty for Rondo??

    • toluene_hawk

      Yes, two bench players for the best PG in the nba.

      • Jacob

        As good as Rondo is, he really wouldn’t fit here.

  • googergieger

    I like him, but Karl uses him way too much. He hurts as much as he helps, and if Karl were willing to limit him when he was hurting us, then yeah keep him. Unfortunately, he’ll give him plenty of minutes regardless if he is helping us or not.

  • googergieger

    Refs going to make sure we don’t win tonight. Awful rookie ref. Awful refs all around. Though really Karl is showing why we need a new coach to bring stability and discipline to this team. We are switching way too much to be any sort of good on defense, and once again our rotations make absolutely no sense. For those who will say McGee made too many mistakes in this first half, Kofous has made more.

    • allAround

      Speaking about mistakes his names is Koufos :)

  • Ban Johnson

    Where was this Ray Felton and this J.R. Smith and this Melo in Denver? Have to hand it to them: Knicks are playing tough, scrappy, smart basketball

    Reminds me of the @Utah game. Refs are rewarding the more physical team — the Knicks — on both ends.
    Melo gets the benefit of the doubt on every damn call — it’s frustrating. Superstar calls are the single most nauseating aspect of the NBA.

    Iguodala and Gallinari need to step up their aggressiveness.

  • googergieger

    Call a fucking time out Karl! And once again we get boned by the refs!

  • Peter

    I love Andre Miller, but… Karl plays him way too much, hurting Ty and honestly, everyone else. Though, it’s easy to point fingers. Right now, we’re a mess.

  • googergieger

    Another line up that doesn’t make sense from Karl. Lawson had a brilliant first half and disappeared the second. Karl needs to decide to either keep Miller or Lawson out there but not both. I really hope we get a new coach next year. No idea what Karl brings to the table anymore.

  • Aaron

    Iggy is terrible tonight. And, I think if he has 8 points or so. . we win. But, he couldn’t hit any jumpers and Faried wasn’t much better. Dissappointing loss, I think we had a shot at this one.

    • CJP32

      I agree about Iggy – something is clearly wrong with this guy, his last 5 games have been really bad to watch. He averages more Turnovers than Field Goals made!!! Last 5 games are 32% FG, 26% 3PT and 9.6 pts in 36 mins???

      For someone that makes over 14 million, I expected a lot more leadership. He complains a lot, he yells at his teammates, he turns it over, he forces shots/passes and has not been playing great defense at all. I think a 6th Man role would really help him get some confidence back.

      Ty again started great, and then fades in the 4th – 1/3 FGs for 4 pts and a critical turnover.

      Faried – last 7 games has only grabbed 10 boards once – whats up with him lately?

      Gallo had another solid all around game but Melo killed him in the 4th.

      Brewer had another solid effort off the bench (minus the 0/4 on threes) thats 18.2ppg and 56% FG shooting in his last 4 games.

      We need to beat DET and MIN or this road trip will end badly, followed by some trades and/or firings.

      • googergieger

        Well Iguodala’s problem is he is coming to a team that doesn’t care about defense. Karl lets them switch on everything which makes Iguodala useless. Makes everyone useless. As for Faried, well Karl keeps taking him out and putting him in at random times. I mean I think we know why Karl relies on veterans. Because they are better at winging it, but young players like Faried need some stability and you know, coaching. Karl these past few games took Faried out because of foul trouble, then let him sit on the bench for ten plus minutes, then puts him back in randomly and tells him to play basketball.

        Seriously guys we need a new coach. Nothing against Karl but I’ve seen more coaching from the coach I had when I was ten and played in a local league for kids, where all he taught you was one play, and that was literally it.

        • Ckwizard

          The defense in the 3 prior games did not switch every thing and the nuggets dense has gotten better over the last 10 games. There were some breakdowns in this game but the biggest problem this team has is not defense. The biggest problem is lack of offensive execution in the half court leading to turnovers. I don’t like GK much either but this is the best defensive team he has had in the last 4 years and if they can stop turning the ball over so much they will be a force to reckon with.

          • googergieger

            Actually we did switch on everything. Sometimes that works when the switching is Gallo/Iguodala. Even Faried sometimes. However when the switching that happens is McGee or Lawson or Miller? We get boned like tonight. Our defense is better than last year because Gallo improves every year, Iguodala is still who he is, and McGee does intimidate in the paint. Also Faried has become a good shot blocker. However look at the defense from this team compared to the Bulls. They are all on a string on defense. Seriously all we do is switch. Get lucky sometimes. Play the passing lanes alright. Not much else.

        • Thomas

          Totally agree. Any NBA coach (other than GK) would just leave Faried in every game for at least 35 minutes and let him learn the game while still dominating the boards.

          I tell you, if we had no GK and our starting five played together for 30 minutes per game at least, we would have a dangerous team by the end of the season. Instead, we are left with endless rotations and combinations that do more harm than good.

  • Aaron

    And, Ty with an unforced turnover.

    I’m optimistic that all of this frustration is really going to serve us well later this year when we actually have some home games. (NBA, hello???). I think we’ll be better suited for these situations.

    The bad part is that these games where we have a shot to win might be the difference between a 6 and a 5 seed.

  • Ban Johnson

    Right now, the Knicks are more than the sum of their parts. The Nuggets are less.

    Something is wrong with Iguodala. He’s in a funk, at a minimum.

    I love Andre Miller, but he shouldn’t be playing every 4th quarter. It’s ridiculous.

    10-11.

    The Nuggets played hard, but they don’t always play smart, and they don’t always play tough. And every single Nugget seems to be fragile mentally. Whatever Karl is doing so far this season with his head games isn’t working.

    Carmelo looks great. I’ve never seen him so focused and confident. Good for him.

    • Jeff

      I think Iguodala’s hand is messing up his shot which is causing him frustration. Also I can tell he’s frustrated by McGee’s Mcgeeness.

  • googergieger

    Loss is about seventy percent refs, thirty percent Karl, I’d say. We need a new coach and we need some consistent and fair refs. We keep doing plenty to win games and then end up losing them because we have no set rotations, no defensive schemes or identity, no offensive plays, no defined roles, and clearly no motivation coming from our coach. Sure we can blame the refs letting teams molest us and us getting called for double digit fouls all the time, but after a while when we keep being in situations where we can win and are even up with all the momentum behind us. Karl needs to show EVERYBODY he can get us the win. That he knows what he is doing. That he still cares about his job, this team, and the fans. Cause right now it is very effin hard to be a Nugget fan.

  • Dalton

    Beyond frustrated with the Nuggets at this point in the season, their lack of execution is astounding. I don’t think this all can be attributed to Karl, although clearly he isn’t getting guys like Ty in the right mindset to play night in and night out.
    Ty has got to figure out who he wants to be as a basketball player, is he going to be the all-star he appeared to be in the first half? Or a career backup like he looked like in the second half? His lack of assertiveness leaves the Nuggets lost when the game gets close, which is only compounded when guys like Iguodala force the issue and turn the ball over.

  • eolson

    Agree with the comment above. Why play Andre Miller, who was erratic and ineffective pretty much the entire game, over Brewer who’s shown a hot hand and a lot of poise recently and this game??

    Also, Faried on Chandler????? COME ON GEORGE

    • Thomas

      Hate to cut the suspense, but with George you will keep getting that until the bitter end.

  • Tyler

    Well watching the nuggets for the past few games there is a reoccurring thing that seems to keep us from winning. The ability to close games. Were missing that go to guy, Andre Iggy seems to to show some hints that he could possibly be a close out guy, but he is still to inconsistent to me to be our close out guy. Either this team needs to go get a close out guy, or Ty Lawson and Andre Iggy need to step up

    • dynamo.joe

      I think yer missing the forest cuz all them trees is in yer way.

  • googergieger

    Go to guy is a useless term that means nothing. Super stars/celebrities like Melo will get calls. That is what we are missing. I mean look at the Lakers. They have a go to guy and are struggling because they have real issues. Our issues are no defensive identity or schemes. No plays on offense. No set rotation. Clearly no defined roles. Clearly no motivation from the coach. We need some consistency, and it is clearl Karl isn’t bringing it. I want SVG personally, but any coach who will COACH will do.

    The thing is as a fan, I wouldn’t mind getting beat by the better team. But we aren’t. We are losing games, instead of other teams winning them. I mean yes the awful schedule, yes the referee bias, but after a while that stops being an acceptable excuse, when Karl clearly doesn’t seem to know what he is doing, or at least doesn’t seem to care to try to do anything and is just out there winging it and telling his players to wing it too.

    • Jeff

      Go to guy is NOT a useless term. Down the stretch the Knicks would try to look for easy shots and when the clock got below 10 seconds, they would dump it to Melo and he hit some big shots.

      • googergieger

        Great, Gallo can clearly do that for this team. Difference between him and Melo would be, Melo would get a foul call to bail him out more often than not, and wouldn’t be criticized for holding the ball and taking a bad shot that might go in. That is what a go to guy is. Dude that gets bailed out by the res and gets a free pass for taking bad shots.

        • Jeff

          I’d agree with you if we were talking about Kobe. Sure Melo gets to the line but I think he has more to his game than Gallinari besides getting free throws.

          • googergieger

            He is a better all around scorer. Gallo is a better defender and passer. Also I think Melo is a very overrated rebounder. But I’d say that is a wash with him and Melo. Still go to guy is meaningless. It is a team sport. Lakers are losing despite them having a go to guy. Utah is doing better than us despite having no go to guy. Though granted easier schedule than us. Still the coaching there clearly exists where as for us, I’m still wondering what Karl brings to the table.

        • Tyler

          So there really is no such thing as a go to guy? Because they all just through up bad shots a get bailed out? What about Lebron? Kevin Durant? Paul Pierce? Kobe Bryant? CP3? Derrick Rose? Michael Jordan? Please elaborate on why there is no such thing as a go to guy.

          • googergieger

            It is a team sport and honestly Kobe has lost more games than won being that “go to guy”. Shooting fade aways over three opponents instead of passing it and all. I mean look at that L.A./Utah game right now. They are losing and Kobe goes to the line on a touch foul called that could be called on every team every possession. That is what a “go to guy” is. He just got another bail out call as I’m typing this. It is a team sport. Teams win games. Super stars get you calls.

            • Tyler

              I agree with you that superstars get more calls, but when I say go to guy I don’t just mean a guy who can just score alot, but im talking about a leader. Someone who can lead the nuggets to a charge for a comeback, someone who can stop the other team from cutting into their lead. It seems like every once in a while one of them will step up, but some nights, nights like tonight, no one steps up and the nuggets end up with yet another disappointing loss

              • googergieger

                Well that is entirely on Karl and most coaches really. Coaches need to decide what the identity of the team is going to be, both offensively and defensively and decide who on the team best illustrates that identity. I mean how can we stop teams from scoring when our defense is switch on everything?

  • dwilliams

    get rid of GK, please!!! There is an identity issue on this team and its hard to define a team when the lineups change every single night. Lawson clearly has confidence issues and it doesnt help when he has to differ to miller half of the time. Lawson is not a shooting guard so stop making him stay on the wing while miller brings it up. There is no consistency on this team and we are back to the point where everyone is asking who will show up tonight?

  • googergieger

    Oh and as much as I always said we shouldn’t trade Gallo and other pieces to get a big name, Gallo deserves better than this team and coach. He is the only dude that is fighting all game. Even if he gets burnt by a player when he plays defense, he still tries to make them work for it, and on offense he’ll keep taking shots even if they aren’t falling all night, or keep taking it to the rim even if he isn’t getting the calls. I mean he is the only guy on the team finding ways to help the team win besides just focusing on scoring.

  • michael

    everyone knows miller refuses to/cant get out to guard the 3 pointer…everyone knows the knicks shoot alot of 3 pinters…surely miller wont play very many minutes, especially in the fourth quarter…

  • googergieger

    If we lose to Detroit, Karl better be effin fired on the spot, by the way.

    • Trevor

      We should get rid of Karl and hire Nate McMillen, he coaches defense with the best of them and would slow the game down which in turn would make our offense more efficient, I think the days of the Nuggets out scoring every team they face is long behind us. We need to evolve with the players we have and I think a new defensive minded coach is the way to do that most effectively.

      • googergieger

        I think we are built to be a fast break team, but it is hard to be a fast break team when your defense relies on switching and hoping that results in something. Only reason I’d rather have SVG than Nate is, SVG will stand up to the refs/league and hold players accountable. I mean we saw what he did with Dwight. Think he could do that with Javale. Also Orlando had no defensive players besides Dwight and managed to build a defense and offense around the guy. I think he could do that with Denver while also embracing the fast break first mentality this team is built to have, but also having something to fall back on if the fast break isn’t there. But again I wouldn’t mind any coach that isn’t Karl. We need coaching. We need something besides, “go out there and wing it”.

  • Trevor

    Brewer deserves a good contract, he has really worked hard on his game and is one of the few Nuggets that brings energy every night. The only problem for him is the fact that J-Ham is really the future at that position and we have yet to have Wilson really contribute anything this year because of his injury. I just don’t think there is such a need for him that we will out pay a number of teams that could really use a guy like Brewer to solidify their bench.

    • Poz_303

      What is Brewer’s worth? He has been a spark to the Nuggets and seems to like it in Denver. But what happens when Ill Will comes back? Chandler is supposed to be our 6th man. I would expect Brewer’s minutes to drop significantly when Chandler is back.

      Would love to keep Brewer in Denver but his contract would have to remain along the same price as it is now )around 3 million/yr). But he might be worth more than that to other teams.

      • CJP32

        I don’t think Brewers minutes would be effected when Wilson returns, it will be Faried that loses time. GK loves Brewers play and Wilson can play 3 positions. Personally, I don’t want Chandler back as it could make things worse.

        I think Brewer is worth 3-4 million for 3 years. But I think a team will throw 4-5 million at him and he will take the most cash he can get. It’s a business and it may be the biggest contract he can lock in before he turns 30. Masai is best trading him rather than watch him walk and get nothing in return. Maybe Denver FO are showcasing Brewer just to see what offers become available.

  • Poz_303

    The refs certainly bailed the Knicks out plenty tonight, however the Nuggets were still able to be 88-80 with 11 minutes left.

    I listened to some of GK’s post game press conference and he made some comments which suggests the players didnt follow the game plan.

    Out of the timeout, up 88-80, Novak hits two 3 pointers. As much as Brewer had a good game, he gave Novak way too much room. Novak has one trick in his bag. Brewer should have been in his face, Novak cant beat Brewer off the dribble. Deny him the ball. GK told the players to err on the side of protecting the 3. Obviously this did not happen.

    On the other hand, GK rotations at the end were poor. Playing Ty and Miller just seems to fail more than work. Especially when you need a three or need to protect the perimeter. Miller is not proficient at either. And McGee only played just under 16 min tonight.

  • Ogi

    FIRE GK, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

  • Ckwizard

    turnovers 16 turnovers!!!! Makes the team look like they are bad defensively. Perspective? People want a better defensive coach? The nuggets are not a good half court team when they have the ball. There was breakdowns this game on the defensive side but the lack of execution on the offensive end is the biggest red flag I see. The only reason the nuggets are not getting blown out of games and the even have a chance to win is because they have improved defensively. Brewer McGee and Faried are not fundamentally sound on the defensive side of the ball. Igoudala turned the ball over 5 times. Then on top of everything the nuggets were playing a team with very good shooters on the road. The last quarter the shooters made shots and Melo did what Melo does. Nuggets were lucky they didn’t get smoked.

    • Poz_303

      Come on. It’s all about defense. Knicks scored 112. If you let a team score 112 its going to be hard to beat them.

      Nuggets scored 106. That should win most nights as long as you play good D.

      We beat Indiana because we held them to 89.

      We lost to ATL because we let them score 108.

      Also, if Nuggets play good D it help their offense as it is much easier to start a break from a defensive rebound than from inbounding after a basket.

      • Ckwizard

        Against the hawks we Had 20 turnovers against the Pacers we had 8. Your perspective is our defense is to blame? It isn’t all defense the nuggets won the game were they turned the ball over the least. Take away only 5 turnovers against the hawks we win because they don’t score 108. Turn the ball over less and the other team scores less and the nuggets probably score more! Of course the defense looks bad when the score is high but c’mon you think turnovers don’t lead to easy buckets witch run up the score?

        • Poz_303

          You make a good point. Turnovers certainly lead to easy buckets for the other team. With the Nuggets pushing the tempo we will always be more turnover prone. However, we managed to keep those to 8 (from memory) against Indiana.

          Still think D can be improved but so can protecting the ball. What’s scary is that our guards are seem to be more turnover prone than our forwards. Ty, Miller and Iggy have way too many turnover between them. At times Miller seems to just lose the handle all by himself. For a veteran it’s a little concerning, especially since GK likes to use him and Ty down the stretch of most games.

  • Josh

    I agree with a lot of people here. The Nuggets switching off picks is so horrible and they always go under screens. Even on screens away from the ball in a non-pressure moment they fail to stay on their man. I saw Mcgee guarding so many different perimeter players because of this. I remember when Kurt Thomas had Ty Lawson on the low block and Mcgee was outside ‘guarding’ Kidd…
    I love Brewer and wouldn’t mind having him back. I don’t think he’d flourish as well as he has on another team.

    Meanwhile, our bigs are so frustrating to watch. Someone needs to trade Mozgov, Koufus, Mcgee, or Randolph for a decent post player. Could we get Enes Kanter or something? And possibly a better perimeter threat. I know trades don’t solve everything but I don’t see Mcgee developing into an all-star anytime soon

    • Jacob

      Good idea on the trade in theory, but problem is nobody wants McGee at his salary. If they do, they won’t give much it would have to be pure salary dump. Also, Mozgov isn’t a good enough player to attract any interest and same probably goes for Randolph. I think whatever we get for Kouf wouldn’t be enough because he may not fill the stat sheet, but is probably our most physical player when he is in and brings a different attitude and consistency than all of our other bigs. I think a package of Mozgov, Gallinari, and picks or Wilson Chandler could net us an upgrade at wing and capable backup C. Would also free up minutes for JHam.

  • nuggz2

    To me it seems like everybody is trying to do to much trying to be “The Guy”. Forcing bad passes, dribbling too much, taking bad shots. Turnovers killed them tonight. They need to get a go to scorer who worries only about scoring. When other teams get going, they don’t have that guy who can knock down a tough shot to stop the other teams moment. Or hit the tough shot to keep momentum going. I think Jordan Hamilton can be that scorer but he never gets enough minutes to prove it. They should give him a shot or trade for a guy that’s a proven scorer so everybody can fill in as role guys who can pick up his slack on the occasional off night.

  • Poz_303

    Since there is no “Official” Rapid Reaction… here goes my take

    Danilo Gallinari – SF – 38 MIN | 7-11 FG| 6-9 FT | 9 REB | 3 AST | 21 PTS | 1 STL | +6

    Gallo was not very aggressive in the first half but made a big impact in the 3rd qtr scoring 14 pts. He had the difficult assignment of trying to stop Melo. While he didnt do a great job he certainly put in the effort. [A]

    Kenneth Faried – PF – 30 MIN | 5-7 FG| 0-2 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 10 PTS | 1 STL | -10

    Another fairly quiet night from the Manimal. He had moments but for the most part was lost on D (again). Only two free throw attempts. [C]

    Kosta Koufos – C – 29 MIN | 4-5 FG| 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 8 PTS | 0 STL | +6

    Solid fundamental play but did lose Chandler a few times on the pick and roll play by NYKs. [B]

    Ty Lawson – PG – 40 MIN | 7-15 FG| 7-8 FT | 4 REB | 6 AST | 23 PTS | 0 STL | -9

    Is there a way to give rapid reaction based on halves? Ty was the best player on the court in the first half, scoring 19 of his 23 in the first, being aggressive, driving past a much slower NYKs. The second half he played slower, deferring to other players and made a critical TO with less than a minute in the game. [B]

    Andre Iguodala – SG – 38 MIN | 5-12 FG| 3-4 FT | 7 REB | 3 AST | 15 PTS | 1 STL | +5

    One stat line that hurts Iguodala is the 5 TOs. He had a decent game but, again was not an impact player which is something you would expect from an all-star caliber player. I would have to say he would have every right to be unhappy with the officiating. He seemed to get fouled a few times and there was a critical call go against him on the defensive end when he seemed to have position and Melo ran into him along the sideline. His wrist may be bothering him but does seem in a bit of a funk right now. [B]

    Corey Brewer – SF – 22 MIN | 7-13 FG| 1-2 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 15 PTS | 1 STL | -7

    Corey certainly had some energy and played some solid minutes. He played some good basketball on the offensive side, not taking bad shots for the most part. However, he did make some defensive errors. In particular when Novak was on the court after a time-out with Denver up 88-80. Novak hit two threes to cut the lead to 88-86 and gave NYKs momentum. Novak was Brewer’s man. He also didnt manage to grab a defensive rebound when he got a hand to the ball only to have the ball fall to Kidd who promptly based it under the basket for an assist. Hard to give Brewer a tough grade based on a couple of plays but they were at a critical juncture of the game and would have to say hurt the Nuggets almost as much as his energy helped them on the offensive side. [B]

    Javale McGee – C – 16 MIN | 2-3 FG| 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 4 PTS | 1 STL | -12

    Not sure we saw enough of McGee this game. He did have 3 blocks in his 16 minutes but also had two turnovers. He took a poor shot with time running down on the shot clock, must have been a 17ft shot and that may have been one of the reasons GK didnt use him much. A little disappointing after a great game against Indiana. [C]

    Andre Miller – PG – 29 MIN | 3-6 FG| 4-4 FT | 1 REB | 4 AST | 10 PTS | 0 STL | -9

    Andre certainly did not have the same impact down the stretch in this game as he did against Indiana. He still made some crafty plays. Not sure which GK had him on the court with Ty down the stretch, especially when we needed a 3 pointer on the last plays. But that’s nothing against Miller except for the fact that his perimeter shooting is no threat. [C]

    • Jacob

      Actually agree with a lot of what you said there. Probably a little to high on Gallinari and Iggy, because they are supposed to be our big dogs who step it up in games like these and clearly didn’t. McGee probably did need to come out when he did though. Multiple bonehead plays to start the 4th required it. Other than that I think that is a pretty good analysis.

    • Poz_303

      This not as in depth as the RMC guys, was going off memory (except for the stats).

  • Aaron

    Lawson Turns it Over in A Clutch Situation…AGAIN.

    • Poz_303

      I think this one was worse, why was he trying to pick up the ball while dribbling past half court? Miller was to his right so he could have just past it to Miller. I know they needed to push the ball to try to cut the lead quickly, but poor play and really took away any chance for a comeback.

      • rxmart2

        No that wasn’t worse… Faried was open up court and he was trying to get the ball to him.

        People need to chill. We are supposed to lose against playoff teams on the road. When you win it’s great, when it’s close it’s good.

        The Nuggets are probably the most underrated team in the NBA right now, particularly by their fans who aren’t understanding how difficult their schedule has been.

        • Tom

          I agree. For evenly matched teams, the home team should usually win. The Knicks are perfect at home, so nobody has had success against them there. Ripping on the Nuggets for not being the first team to beat them at home is a bit silly. It would be nice, however, if the Nuggets did win a few more of these road games, but at this point, we should not expect them to finish .500 on the road. Maybe .400 is more realistic.

          I expected them to be 12-11 after the first 23 games, so if they win the next two road games, they should be right on schedule. Even if they finish 11-12, it’s not the end of the world because the rest of the schedule is home-game heavy. They haven’t looked very good on the road so far, but I think they’re still on pace for over 50 wins and probably a 4 or 5 seed.

  • Giovanni

    For a young teams as the Nuggets,,
    Lawson,Faried and Mcgee must be play minimun 30 35 min a games..
    Error and bad games make part of the increase of growth(sorry for granmar)..
    But every error you benched each player but Brewer,Miller e co must make every horror and rimaned in game so e is wrong,,,

    Karl has a story(life and sports)one wfc (waste away) and brutal exit first round..

    Time for new coach..,

    Go Nuggets from Italy(i’m supporter of nuggets not for Gallo but for Melo in his prime)..
    Melo i miss you!!!

  • allAround

    Trade Farried , Moz , Brewer , and Chandler with P. Gasol or something like that .

    • dynamo.joe

      Well, when you can get a washed up former all-star for $20M you got to do it.

      • allAround

        I am not a fun of Pau, but I consider him as one of or as the smartest ( him and Dancan ) tall at NBA right now. I do not think that he is washed up and I do think that he has 2 more years of top level basketball. You know that kind of basketball that only one player ( Gallo ) in Nuggets could potentially reach there.

        With Gasol I think we have our solid chances for division finals . The Spanish has the experience that our team lucks. On the other I am affraid that Farried is always going to be the undersized player that others will post for easy buckets.

  • Ryan

    It’s not that they’re losing to the Knicks in New York that’s the problem, it’s how they’re losing. The turnovers, silly mistakes, and lack of defense make it so painful to watch. Make a few more free throws (though they actually shot fairly well by their standards this game), get a few more defensive rebounds, and chase the Knicks off the 3 point line and this is a comfortable win for the Nuggets. Knicks killed them with offensive rebounds. GK was his usual terrible self as well, not calling a timeout during a 12-0 run, keeping the dreaded 2 guard lineup out in the 4th quarter, having Faried guarding Chandler at one point. Enough is enough, this ridiculous coaching must stop. Lawson could have spun circles around Kidd all night, but instead he stands around the 3 point line while Miller fumbles and bumbles the ball away. I just can’t take watching this anymore!!

  • park hill

    We continually lose coming out of timeouts, and when teams game plan for Lawson and Faried we have no answer.

    Gallo and Iggy can’t seem to contribute with any kind of consistency. Something has Iggy confused, he seemed to turn the corner and then digressed. He needs to think of his career cuz he’s doing it no favors at the moment.

    Gallo should get the criticism Ty gets concerning aggressiveness. Gallo is 6″10″, has the support of the org and fans and gets calls like he’s done something. The refs continually punish Ty due to his speed and treat him how they used to treat JR at times.

    Ty is doing alright, he is trying to find the balance of when to take over as a PG that usually only five year and plus vets have. Plus, he has no system to function as a PG from.

    All the criticisms of Karl are on point and. He has minimal hopes for the first 1/3 of the year and it is showing and running downhill with the team. We’ll see if they turn it around post All-Star break.

  • FstbrkJM

    I also think Brewer is a nice fit for GK’s system but I think his system is outdated. We switch all screens, players aren’t taught (or they don’t remember) how to defend the Pick & Roll, and we don’t have a low post scoring presence. Denver’s run & gun style won’t take you very deep into the playoffs; they need a solid half court game w/ solid defense and have neither.

    Why not let Brian Shaw have a go at it next year?


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