Rapid Reaction: Denver Nuggets 107 Los Angeles Clippers 92

March 8, 2013
by Charlie
Los Angeles Clippers 92 Final
Recap | Box Score		 107 Denver Nuggets
Danilo Gallinari, SF 35 MIN | 8-15 FG | 2-3 FT | 5 REB | 6 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 20 PTS | +13

More important than the numbers was the fact Gallo looked completely rehabilitated from his nagging injuries. Six assists is a good sign Gallo is figuring out how to make the most of his dynamic perimeter game. He scored from all over and once again looked spry doing it, busting out some of his most athletic plays of the season.
Kenneth Faried, SF 33 MIN | 4-6 FG | 3-4 FT | 10 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 4 BLK | 1 TO | 11 PTS | +20

The story hasn’t changed with Faried. He can get better defensively but it doesn’t really matter when he pumps out a nonchalant double-double with four blocks to boot. The Clippers were physical with Kenneth and it didn’t faze him. Faried’s energy was on another level and he looked like he could have kept going all night.
Kosta Koufos, C 19 MIN | 3-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +11

Not a great game out of Koufos. His first-half defense left a lot to be desired but he managed to finish strong with a great second half. Koufos continues to be a dependable guy but his production was lacking relative to his minutes.

Ty Lawson, PG 35 MIN | 9-15 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 11 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 21 PTS | +23

What else is there to say? That was a masterful performance and a prime example of what makes Lawson’s signature game so good. Ty showed he can be an efficient distributor and manage his scoring with the flow of the game. He’s been a lot better at recognizing when he needs to stretch his game out and hit a tough shot. He directed with Chris Paul-like precision and it’s safe to say outplayed his All-Star counterpart.

Andre Iguodala, SG 39 MIN | 5-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 7 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 14 PTS | +15

He did a great job moving the ball and not forcing shots. Iguodala is guaranteed to provide outstanding defense and playmaking every minute he’s on the floor, but his scoring has probably been the most inconsistent it’s ever been. His flaws as a scorer are evident as his natural tendency is to shoot too many jumpers, but he’s managed it so well in Denver and focused on playmaking instead. It’s just one example of the way he consistently leads the Nuggets on both ends of the floor.
Corey Brewer, SF 19 MIN | 5-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 11 PTS | -2

A pretty standard Brewer game with a lot of leakouts, gambling for steals and an airball or two thrown in for good measure. Brew scored and ran hard off the bench as usual but he didn’t have a particularly good night.
JaVale McGee, C 14 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 0 PTS | +4

There were the highlight blocks and then there were the four fouls and alarming number of missed block-outs for a 14 minute performance. I love Pierre but he got pretty well owned on the boards and two rebounds is just hard to comprehend.

Andre Miller, PG 20 MIN | 4-8 FG | 3-3 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | -1

He had his shot going early but really couldn’t get a hold of the pace all night. Miller scored and did what he could off the bench but I have to wonder how much of a role he might have in a playoff matchup against the Clippers, who will use a zone and and challenge Denver to put size and shooting on the floor. Miller was solid but didn’t have much of a role in this one.
Wilson Chandler, SG 26 MIN | 5-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | -8

He started rough and played some really poor interior defense throughout the first half. As the game wore on the physical play seem to fire up Wil and he exploded with one of his better all-around games of the season. He was key in helping the Nuggets close the first half strong when the game was still well within reach for the Clippers.
George Karl

The Nuggets didn’t seem to have the best energy tonight and credit Karl for motivating them to turn it up in the second half. This was not one of the Nuggets’ finer performances but a solid, efficient game and a business-like win they needed to have. Lawson shined directing the flow on his own so you also have to credit Karl for recognizing it and pulling back on using the Lawson-Miller tandem in the second half.
Posted on March 8, 2013 at 12:18 am | filed in Analysis, Game Recap, Rapid Reaction | 91 Comments
  • Trip

    Its nice to be the team with the better 3 point percentage for once. Without the last 2 shots to please the crowd for tacos they really went 11/21 for 52%.

    • gfleon

      Better FT% as well, good to see the nuggets hitting their stride

    • Evan Woodruff

      Lawson getting MVP recognition

      STATS FROM LAST WEEK (3/1-3/7): 18.5 ppg | 3.3 rpg | 8.3 apg | 1.8 spg

      The Nuggets have won seven straight games, the best active streak in the West and second only to the Miami Heat in the league. The man driving the the Nuggets’ train is Lawson, who continues to be overlooked whenever the conversation turns to the best point guards in the game (he went head-to-head with Chris Paul Thursday night and led his team to the win). Lawson is averaging 22.5 points on 50 percent shooting, 7.9 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals in the Nuggets’ past 10 games.

  • theo

    Shoot 3’s and frees well and we’re contenders.

    Two games back of the Clips in the loss column with 19 to play. 3 v Memphis. We clearly have an easier home/road sked going forward than either team. We’re on another late season roll like this post Melo team has pulled off the last two years. I admit I was wrong. Never would have guessed we’d have a decent shot at a 3 seed, but we do.

    Related thought:

    Wondered if a team without at least one all star has ever advanced to the second round. Happened 3 times when the Nugs upset the Sonics back in 94, when the Warriors upset the Mavs in 2007 and when Memphis knocked out the Spurs in 2011. All were 8 seeds upsetting a 1 seed against prohibitively long odds.

    Not sure if a team has ever made it to the conference finals without at least one all star but doesn’t look like it in my short search—hard to find info on that kind of thing at a glance–so if the Nugs do it this year could be unprecedented. Anybody know whether a team has ever made it to the conference finals without an all star in the current playoff format?

    If we pull it off and get to the conference finals without an all star? Karl and Ujiri probably get anointed as genius box breakers that created a new model for mid market and small franchises that don’t literally win the lottery multiple times like San Antonio and OKC. Ujiri is already halfway there.

    • Tom

      Um, haha, the Nuggets didn’t have any all-stars the year they made the conference finals.

      • Shane

        Melo was an Olympian though.

        • gfleon

          So is Iggy

          • Shane

            Yeeeeeuh!

      • Scott

        Chauncey was.

        • Shane

          Sure ’nuff. I remember being livid melo didn’t make the cut, but billups makin it lightened the blow.

      • theo

        Sure, we get stiffed here re all star voting but Melo didn’t make it that year because there were better players up front in the west. Part of the reason he left for the eastern conference where making all star teams and being a contender is a lot easier and has been since the late 90′s.

        My point? This year none of our guys even came close to being all star candidates given last year’s performance and first half numbers. Those are usually the numbers voters and coaches look at.

        Has a team without a player that even came close to being an all star ever made it to the conference finals?

        • Shane

          well said.

      • theo

        Chauncey was an all star that year.

        • Tom

          Oh, you’re right! For some reason I thought he was merely an injury replacement.

          • theo

            Maybe he was an injury replacement on the all star team that year. I don’t know. Your point?

    • David dickerson

      The pistons took the title with no star. 3rd seed is a great possibility. I almost dare say 4th is a lock

      • theo

        Ben Wallace was defensive player of the year for the Pistons and started for the east in the all star game the year they won the title. But I agree the Pistons did it without conventional ‘superstars.’

  • Tom

    Only two losses back from 3rd-seed, and Clips play Memphis twice, @SA, and @Houston. Home-court is within reach.

    • Tom

      Not only that, other Tom, but Denver holds the tiebreaker over the Clips (2-1 head to head) and has a strong lead for the tiebreaker over the Grizz (2-1 head to head with one game remaining in Denver; second tiebreaker is record vs the West, where Denver has a 4 game lead.) And the Nuggets have more home games remaining.

      The 3 seed will be hard to reach, but it’s a possibility.

  • mitchell james

    LOVE IT. everyone played well.

    i really love that GK took miller out at the end when he wasn’t playing very effectively. only took him all season to figure that one out…

    • Shane

      Agreed! I almost dislike it more when miller makes those threes, ’cause it just means he’s gonna keep shootin em.

      • Dan

        Eh, he took them tonight because they were giving him too much space, you gotta take a few every now and then just to keep the defense honest. It helps if you can hit at least one.

        I loved how Ty used the 3-point line tonight, he made a couple early then after that used the pump fake to clear some space for the wide open 2.

        The three point shot might be making its comeback for the team right now, Chandler’s been shooting great recently and Gallo looks to be back to form. Brewer’s better than his percentage shows, his issue most of the year was shot selection and he’s reigned that in at least a little bit. Iggy can certainly hit them if given the space. I have a feeling we could see a lot more nights like tonight.

        • Shane

          I’m half with ya. But I don’t think Miller should EVER take more than one (wide open) 3 per game. 21% just doesn’t cut it. And there are so many other, more effective options. It’s preposterous how much his shot % increases just a foot or two within the 3pt line. Run a pick and roll. Or give the ball to someone m

        • Shane

          I’m half with ya. Gotta keep them a little honest. But in terms of offensive efficiency, I don’t think Miller should EVER take more than one (wide open) 3 per game. 21% is atrocious. His shot is a horizontal laser beam with a two inch of jump. Fortunately, our front line has bailed him out with an offensive board on many occasions. But there are so many other, more effective options on any given play. It’s preposterous how much his shot % increases just a foot or two within the 3pt line. I love him in the high post, so long as he doesn’t dribble into too much traffic (without dishing back out–a recipe for rapid-fire turnovers with little dre). Until he shoots 30%, I’d much rather see a pick and roll any day of the week.
          There have just been too many games in the past few weeks where miller turns the ball over, bricks a 3, hoists up a bad shot, or is a defensive liability for 2-4 consecutive possessions, then does something amazing right as I’m bitching about his mistakes. For that reason, I can’t give him the benefit of the doubt on threes.
          He has been more effective the last couple of games though, coming to terms with his role as the team continues to gel. In crunch times, he has the potential to drive and finish like a miniature, old, less-athletic, brilliantly crafty Lebron. And I’m certainly glad that we have him. But I was giddy to finally see him on the bench in the final minutes.
          My apologies for such excessive venting. Happy day, Dan! Nugget!

  • codizzle

    the fast break always starts with defense. always. awesome intensity tonight – a statement game.

  • John

    Good game tonight Nuggets. Ty continuing his growth which is good to see. Also nice to see the refs not give Griffin every call ( they really need to put an end to the clear-out he gives with his forearm though ). Next game at home against Wolves, should be a win, despite their two wins against us this year. Then we draw the suns, knicks, and ……. grizzlies. Hopefully, by then we can catch them for 4th seed. Also, grizzlies play clips next week which helps our cause. A 3 seed is now very possible.. keep it up.

  • Joel Dean

    This team is really clicking well now that we have our 9 man rotation all healthy. Everyone knows their roll and is on the same page and it is great to see how unselfish this team has become. I know that the league is driven by stars but the Nuggets have really become and incredible story in the league. It is always funny listening to the announcers be blown away at how the nuggets run when we play on national tv or I watch the game from the other teams broadcast. They just don’t believe that you can run on every play every night and for the nuggets the proof is in the pudding.

  • googergieger

    I was going to be a bit harsh on Karl if we lost this one. In the first half our starters were great and Karl decided to take most of them out and when the subs came in most were playing poorly and he stuck with them. But he corrected himself in the second half. Starters played great and he stuck with them. I don’t know I think The Clippers are just afraid of our team. We can do what they do but better. We’re physical and fast and we don’t need the whistle or the three ball to win.

    Saying that, thank Bob we made that many three’s tonight. Just makes the game so much easier for us, and so much easier to watch.

    Oh and Koufos was great tonight. Glad to see he dunked that shit finally! Wouldn’t have minded him getting more minutes tonight, but yeah, happy with the win. Can’t give another game away to the Wolves next one!

    • Dan

      Totally agree about the clippers having a similar team as the Nuggets, they have the depth and athleticism to play our game (and probably play it better), but they also have two superstars and try to focus the offense like them. If they played more of the unselfish team game the nuggets play they’d be a top 3 team.

      Anyway great night for the nuggets, shot the 3-ball well which is great, I hope these guys can keep that up. Ty is just incredible, I loved hearing that he’s the only player this season to get 10+ assists and no turnovers in a game, and that he’s done it 4 times. That’s an incredible achievement especially on a team that plays this kind of pace. Javale seemed to be a bit of a mess tonight fortunately it didn’t hurt us.

      This 1-2 punch of Lawson and Gallinari is looking great. If those two can keep playing like they have been recently they could beat anybody. I agree with whoever it was during the broadcast that said Gallinari needs to improve his post game, if he can develop that interior game he’s an all star plain and simple. Maybe the Nuggets should send him to work with Hakeem this offseason.

      • googergieger

        No team is even close to us when it comes to running.

        • Dan

          I agree with the running part, but with the size, athleticism, and shooting ability of the clips along with their depth, if they focused less on their stars and more on getting up and down the court, they’d be a nightmare to defend.

          • googergieger

            Really? Look at the depth on both teams. Who is longer, younger, and more athletic?

            Bledsoe, Griffin, Jordan, and who else is young and athletic on that team?

            • Dan

              I didn’t say anything about young, but they have length and athleticism going pretty deep, Odom, Butler, and you can add in BLedsoe for speed, Crawford for scoring. Odom and Butler are also really flexibile and could play multiple positions which is very nice. Really they are just an older version of the Nuggets, with addition of proven go to stars. They just don’t play that way, if they did, I think they would be much better.

              • googergieger

                Who exactly is athletic on that team beyond, Bledsoe, Jordan, and Griffin?

        • Tom

          Houston

          • googergieger

            Yes? I’m sorry, please continue your story.

            • Tom

              Well, empirically they play at the fastest pace in the league. They’re the youngest team in the league by a wide margin, and younger than the Nuggets (4th youngest team) by a full year on average. They not only score more than the Nuggets per game, they also are more efficient offensively. And if we’re going by “eye test”, looking up and down their roster, they are clearly loaded with long and athletic players, and they also have one of the top 10 players in the league. They routinely blow-out opponents, and the main difference between them and the Nuggets (record-wise) is that they don’t have quite as large of a home-court advantage.

              But if we’re going by homer bias here, then yes, nobody can run with the Nuggets…

              • googergieger

                No, yeah, sure.

                Remind me what have our games against them looked like?

              • http://shanedesignshealthy.com Shane

                Houston runs more. But we do it better than any team I’ve ever seen. I suppose it’s all defense.

              • Trip

                Please tell me you mean Paul as the top 10 player…

            • Tom

              Well, if you’re going to use “games against” as your standard, then Washington can clearly run with the Nuggets *rolls eyes*

      • SmokinNugs

        The Clips are too old to “play it better” in regards to our pace and style. We run the run.

    • theo

      We do need the 3 ball to win. We won because we made shots tonight.

      • Dan

        We probably still would have pulled out the win even if the shots weren’t falling, but they certainly made the win much easier tonight.

      • googergieger

        Yup, I know every time we win a game it’s because of how well we shoot the three ball.

        Not because we dominate the paint, dominate the fast break, and our great on the offensive glass.

        • theo

          We do those things almost every game. Karl’s system and Ujiri’s roster. When we get beyond the roster and play great we make our perimeter shots and free throws. Not a personal opinion. Stats. Look it up.

          • googergieger

            The stats say we win because of the three ball?

            Okay.

            • mike

              I think the idea is that hitting the 3 ball is what differentiates this team from being below Average to top 5 in the league. The half court offense is mediocre because they have average talent overall in the half court. Hitting threes allows them to have above average half court offense. Obviously on offense the rebounding and open court efficiency and volume are what makes this team tough. But when they hit under 30% from three they have a tough time beating any top 10 team in the league. When they hit between 30-40% they are even money. When they hit 40+% they are the favorites against anybody (with possible exception of OKC/MIA/SAS)

              • Ryan

                If you think the 3-ball determines whether the Nuggets are elite vs. below average, you must be living in a parallel universe or something…

              • mike

                did you read my post ryan. You can’t contend they are anything other than an Average team on defense. Its the differentiating stat for this team. I said clearly they score on the break and offensive rebound well in practically every game they show up for. They shoot HORRIFICALLY from the FT line and get about an average number of FT per FG attempt. They defensive rebound poorly. These are the consistencies. When they attack the rim well and Hit threes in the half court they are VERY good. When they don’t they are very beatable. I don’t have the ability to disaggregate the losses vs. wins numbers but just an example in their last 10 losses they shot from 3 over 35% 3 times (including the Raptors and Nets losses with a depleted team). They shot under 25% 6 times. They’ve lost to teams like Minnesota, Portland, Wizards in that run. Below average to POOR teams can beat them when they shoot poorly from 3 pt line and it is VERY difficult for them to beat top 10 teams if they hit less than 30%. It’s not that hard to grasp. Im wondering if you either missed that I said the differentiating stat or maybe you are unaware of what that word means. :-)

              • mike

                just to be clear There are 3 statistical elements of offense that lead to an effecient offense. Many Shots within 5 feet of the rim, FT shots (and percentage at least average) and 3 pt ability (assuming average + attempts). The nuggets are Great overall at getting shots near the rim because of their open court game, decent at getting to them rim in the half court and Great offensive rebounding. FT shooting they are great at getting attempts but Atrocious at hitting them and they shoot an average rate of 3 pt shots at a poor percentage. They obviously have an average defense so they need elite offense to win games against top tier teams. they are elite at shots at the rim, slightly above average on FT (when you take into account %) and the element that tends to vary the greatest is 3 pt percentage (as do most teams). When they hit 40+% they can be an elite offense. When they hit below 30% they are an average offense. And they often hit below 25% which makes them below average on offense and BELOW AVERAGE overall. Difference between an Elite team and BELOW AVERAGE.

    • Greco21

      Loved Koufos dunking! Replied to you last night. It was a bug that he did not dunk when given the opportunity.

      Plus i believe critisizing Koufos for his productivity on the rapid reaction is a bit unfair. 3 touches – 3 field goals. His job is to play the weak side. I would debate productivity if he had 10 FG… On the defensive end he did set the tone….

      BUT…

      Faried and Koufos did a bad job double teaming Blake Griffin in the second half. De Andre Jordan stretched the floor well wich lead to 3 Blake Griffin FG over Faried, 1 3 second violation to Koufos… one time they managed to double team Blake and got in the fast break and another time they hacked a high low. On the other hand it was the first time Kenneth took the assigment of stopping Blake… and during the first half he had only 2 FGA.

      Now the most possible scenario is that Denver will play Memphis.

      Do you double team them? (they are good passing big men)

      Do you play Deny ball to the weak side man while one of two gets a low post position?

      Do you send a guard double team (not that good of a three point shooting team) ?

      P.S. WC did great when Gallo was injured or played not in full condition. Now that they are both back Denver plays even greater

  • magster
  • Ckwizard

    Thought I fell a sleep and missed something clippers only scored 92. The team goes where Lawson takes them and wow he is starting to outshine his contract, I hope Iggy stays next year and Ty give us a full year of play like this last month because if those two thing happen then Next year Nuggets should be competing for the Best Record in the NBA! Ty is what he is and right now he is an elite allstar point gaurd that plays for our Denver Nuggets… Nuggets are not a team with out an all star just one that was hampered by an ailing Achilles that gets no respect from the refs or help from the media. 19 games left and the Nuggets can still get better.

  • Nathan

    Ty outplayed Paul. Nice to see Billups is back in action- one of my all time favorite Nuggets.

    • magster

      Sadly, Billups stagnant offense was the beginning of the end for the Clippers in the second half. If he can’t get healthy, he should consider calling it a career. He was bad tonight.

  • Dubz

    Holy shat Chandler is getting his hops back I just about spewed my beer when I saw that… the team’s reaction was priceless too, you can tell they really feed off each others energy. Ridiculous

    • Dan

      No kidding, that would have been a pretty awesome dunk contest dunk and he did it over somebody. That should be number 1 on the top 10 but it probably won’t be.

  • Stephen H

    Brewer deserved a c too wit miller

  • Tom

    Nuggets have the 3rd best record in the league against playoff teams behind SA and Miami.

  • dynamo.joe

    My 1st attempt to grade coaching by using the 5 man lineup I’ve been looking at.

    cap sum ___ team
    348.89 ___ lac
    343.74 ___ cle
    299.54 ___ ind
    297.12 ___ chi
    290.52 ___ mia
    283.08 ___ gsw
    254.23 ___ okc
    250.41 ___ mem
    241.37 ___ pho
    229.93 ___ por
    228.05 ___ hou
    227.29 ___ det
    217.09 ___ mil
    216.98 ___ den
    211.79 ___ nyk
    207.49 ___ sac
    201.49 ___ tor
    195.96 ___ phi
    195.81 ___ Brk
    193.03 ___ noh
    192.72 ___ min
    192.31 ___ uta
    190.78 ___ orl
    187.16 ___ dal
    185.55 ___ lal
    185.35 ___ atl
    184.99 ___ Bos
    175.22 ___ was
    163.79 ___ san
    157.43 ___ cha

    300+ = A
    250-300 = B
    200-250 = C
    150-200 = D
    100-150 = F

    We gradin’ on a curve boys and girls. Avg = 225, stdev = 50.

    • dynamo.joe

      hrmmmm. Vinnie DelNegro is the best coach in the league (I didn’t see that coming). GK is a solid C.

      That doesn’t exactly matchup with tonights results.

      Poor Charlotte, not only do they have the least talent, they have the worst coaching too.

      Here coaching is only defined by your ability to put your best lineup on the floor. Not player development, not x’s and o’s, not pre-game, half-time speechifying, just how frequently you put your best lineups on the floor.

    • dynamo.joe

      Oh, methodology. I’m sure there are better ways to do this, but…

      I took minutes played for each lineup and divided by its team rank in terms of +/- per 48 minutes. Then I summed over all lineups. So, you get full credit for the minutes you played your best lineup, half credit for minutes you played your second best lineup……1/20th credit for minutes you played your 20th best lineup.

      • Charliemyboy

        Do you need to include matchup significance as a factor which would be difficult to do but affects rotation?

        • dynamo.joe

          Sort of, these lineups that aren’t getting many minutes, 25 minutes in 80% of the season probably only get 2 or 3 minutes a game which means they have been up against as many as 10 different teams, so there is some variation in opponent built in. The lineups with lots of minutes, 500+ have basically played against every team in the association, so no problem there.

          But there are the usual small sample size limitations. Just to give 1 example; if 2 lineups had 24 minutes and 1 was +4 and the other was +6, just one more basket, when converted to per 48 minutes, 1 lineup is +8 and the other is +12. Basically went from a good team to a great team just because of one basket.

          Another thing I have noticed is some teams seem to be actively looking for their best line up. By which I mean they have several lineups with 150-200 minutes. Other teams are basically saying ‘we know who we are’ and only really play one lineup. OKC has a line that played 800+ minutes, but it is their 11th best lineup. They think they know who they are, but really they haven’t a clue. Denver is on that ‘we think we know who we are’ end of the spectrum, giving 666minutes to their 12th best line up.

    • dynamo.joe

      Teams getting A’s and B’s for coaching are basically your playoff teams.

      Somehow San Antonio and Boston are getting D’s in coaching. I’ll have to look into that.

    • dynamo.joe

      An alternate way of ranking coaches, by what lineup (in terms of productivity ranking) gets most minutes.

      team lineup team rank
      dal ___________ 4
      orl ___________ 5
      ind ___________ 6
      san ___________ 6
      chi ___________ 7
      mem ___________ 7
      mil ___________ 7
      min ___________ 7
      tor ___________ 7
      mia ___________ 8
      phi ___________ 8
      por ___________ 8
      cha ___________ 9
      cle ___________ 9
      det ___________ 9
      lac ___________ 9
      atl ___________ 10
      Bos ___________ 10
      sac ___________ 10
      gsw ___________ 11
      okc ___________ 11
      den ___________ 12
      nyk ___________ 12
      pho ___________ 12
      lal ___________ 13
      uta ___________ 14
      Brk ___________ 15
      hou ___________ 15
      was ___________ 16
      noh ___________ 18

  • http://yahoo.com prospector

    Faried has had two games in a row of +20….. Faried gets 33 minutes and MILLER was on the bench during crunch time, and GUESS WHAT???? We win big….. All us HATERS want, is for KARL to dump the two point guard game in the toilet… TY is a big boy now… He doesn’t need MILLER on the floor with him… I would much rather have IGGY as the number two ball handler (on the floor behind TY)…. TY is the only player in the NBA with multiple 10plus assists and zero turnover games (he has had 4 of those)… We can cut MILLER’s and BREWERS minutes down… Give those to FARIED, and Chandler…. Use Chandler to rotate in for GALLO/IGGY/FARIED…
    It is clear that MILLER slows the pace down… More TY less MILLER = WINS…

    I give KARL an A+++ for fighting the urge to go small in the fourth.. I give you mad props, cause like a smoker I know it’s hard for you to give up on that two point guard addiction that you have… Will KARL learn from this game??? THAT is to be determined… I pray that he does… THANK YOU KARL for making the last 6 minutes of the game enjoyable… KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

    KARL fight your two point guard urges.. You can do it…

    • Trip

      Do you suggest we start a Support group to help Karl with his Addiction? I have heard it is always easiest to break these habits if you have help.

      • Charliemyboy

        I think the support group is to tell him to quit winning games. He knows what he is doing.

      • http://yahoo.com prospector

        Definitely, I just don’t know who should run the support group.. Dr. DREW and Dr. PHIL bug the hell out of me.. Maybe we can drag out DR. RUTH WESINHEIMER (the sexually speaking show host from back in the day)..

        Maybe Karl has some hidden urges he needs to release?

        Funny thing with KARL half full folks is that when the haters strategies work on the floor, they chalk it up to KARL good coaching… TWO point guards and small ball lead to less boards and more open threes for the opposing team.. On the road this strategy leads to loses cause teams shot better at home.. Always.. You do not want to give up the three on the road… You want to rebound on the road because you need the extra possessions because you shoot a lower percentage on the road… It is simple mathematics…
        KARL thinks by going with the 2 point guard lineup it makes his team faster… However, Miller is a 100 years old and he is as slow as SHAG was in his last 2 years in the league….. Defense wins championships in every sport…. TWO point guard lineups = NO DEFENSE
        One more thing, “oh where, oh where ,has my Julian Stone gone??? oh where, oh where, oh where has he gone?” JHAM and Stone playing LESS Minutes in their 2nd year.. That is hilarious…. Why the hell does KARL get credit for developing young talent??? What KARL does is take scrub young VET’s from other teams that can run and allow them to grow on the court… He doesn’t let HIS rookies grow on the court unless forced to by injury or trade… I am hard on KARL because I think we have some young talent with a shot of developing into good players if allowed the opportunity to grow..
        I am pumped for the next game, and I hope we see no MILLER on the court the last 5 minutes (which will lead double digit win..)

    • Thomas

      Agree. In order to advance in the playoffs, we will need those extra minutes going to the starters, particularly Faried and a center.

      This was a tired Clippers team – the first half is more indicative of our current shape. We need to show that we can do this on the road in the playoffs. So far, the evidence isn’t there.

      We only go as far as Ty can take us – he needs to hold his own against Westbrook or Paul – and with Faried and Gallo playing at a high level.

  • CPJ32

    Im loving the fact that CBrew has cut down his 3PT attempts, averaging only 1.8 over his last 5 games and his overall FG% is at 52%, along with 83% FT, 2.8 rebs, 2.0 asts, 2.2 stls and 12 pts. This kid is playing better now that Chandler is almost back to 100% (maybe an incentive to take better shots and gamble less).

    The team is clicking so well now that 4th or even 3rd seed is within reach.

  • Giovanni

    I remember when early in season only few defends Lawson from struggling..
    Now all jump in the badwagon…
    Very proud if Ty…

    And the story of Pistons of 2004 repetita iuvant the had Rasheed and Billups teo superstars…
    Ben Wallace one of best defende of decade..
    Player like Hamilton(borderline superstar)and Prince very fuctionally for the team..
    Plus one of best coach of nba,..

    • Thomas

      Ty is playing well despite of GK.

      • Charliemyboy

        Ty is playing well because of GK. He rests him right and has developed him with mentors and insistance on agressiveness over the years; now what do we have? If he can do the same with Faried and MaGee, sky is the limit.

  • GIANLUCA

    Gallinari :
    in 2013 when scoring 17+ points Denver is :
    16 win , 1 lose ( vs Boston in 3 ot )
    in PEPSI CENTER when DANILO scoring 20+ points , in this 2 years the Nuggers have 16 WIN and 0 LOSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Tonia01

    Before the game everybody said that this was an important test. Well I think we passed it. We wanted Ty and Gallo to show their leadership, they both had a very solid game. We wanted to test our depth against one of the most talented teams in the NBA, we had seven guys in double figures. If we doubted about Iggy role in this team… well yesterday everybody understood it: before he became exausted because GK left him on the court too much, he practically took out of the game Chris Paul, one of the top three PG in the NBA. I think the Clippers were probably a bit tired due to the back to back, but that’s the NBA. On the negative side, I had the impression that everytime we had Miller on the court he slowed the Nuggets down too much, and that is probably the reason why our second unit is all negative in the +/- statistic.

  • Trip

    Im not going to say it was a huge injustice snubbing Ty from the All Star game, because of the way he was playing at the time there were other point guards that were better than him. If there was a vote today (and if it was actually decided by people who know basketball, not anybody with a cell phone) Ty would probably be starting. They compared him to Tony Parker last night, and the positive to that is that Ty is still getting better, and Tony is probably leveling out maybe approaching the downfall of his career.

  • Aaron

    Tonight should make all of us grateful for Karl. VDN was awful.

    No one’s saying it, but the reason we were so good from 3 is that the Clips totally disrespected us and zoned it up for like the entire 2nd half. They should’ve got out of that and tried to run with us a bit more and get some steals, etc. . We’re an NBA team, this isn’t the High School boys state tourney, you can’t zone up on Gallo, Iggy and even Brewer for that long. He can make wide open shots in the gym by himself :) I understand the zone against us for a while to slow us down,. . . but that was too much, and they’re zone was awful too. Here’s hoping they do that again if we meet in the playoffs.

  • Cephus

    As others have said previously, when Lawson, Gallo and Iggy are clicking at the same time, it’s just over. The role players are freed up to perform within their specialties & it’s like watching a drag racing car shift into overdrive leaving the competition choking on fumes.

    I loved the TNT doubleheader spotlighting Carmelo’s past and present teams. He was out with injury of course which makes it confusing as to root against the Knicks because their Melo’s team or root for them to do well in his absence. C.A.’s an overall good person albeit with a petulent edge but textbook example of a ‘ ball stopper ‘.

    His lassez faire leadership skills lead to disengaged teammates on defense. J.R. Smith almost pulled it out for them. I should say something snarky about him too, but for some ineffable reason he’s fun to watch.

    J.R. ‘s has a minuscule contract as well so there’s a whole different set of expectations. It was a good day. A good day to be Nugg fan & watch karma and the best game / athletes in the world at play.

    • Nathan

      I was rooting for them because they were playing the Thunder who are ahead of Denver in the standings. I know the probably won’t catch them, but it isn’t out of reach yet.

  • Zack

    I am a long time reader of this blog, and felt I should begin to contribute to the material I so often refer to.

    One thing I’ve noticed about this nuggets team is how much of a factor their youth is. With our two Andres as our oldest players, Iggy being only 29, the run and gun style of GK fits the players. However the youth is one of the reasons there is such a disparity between our home and away games. We feed on energy, whether it comes from the crowd, a crazy dunk, or a big block. Without that energy our playing style sees a large drop off. This has the potential to hurt us in the second round when we meet up with likely OKC or SA.
    Hopefully the other factor that comes with youth, unpredictability, will swing in the nuggets favor against a tough matchup that will allow us to steal one on the road.

    Overall great game tonight, I enjoyed seeing the nuggets turn up the defense, I would love to see a whole game of that kind of effort we saw in the 4th. Gallo and Lawson will need to produce consistently if we want that 3 seed, but there is a chance.

    Also, Javale’s interview with TNT’s crew was so uncomfortable, you could tell how much he disliked Shaq. Shaq has shown to be a prick at times, so I can’t really blame him.

  • http://espn garyG

    If we just hit league average frm behind the arc and the charity stripe we are a top 3 team in the league. Give the starters some more minutes as we get into playoff prep. time, specially in the second half and please start docking Miller his pay everytime he attempts a jumper. In the same instance start docking Karl his ties everytime he leaves Miller out there for more than a 3 min stretch.

  • Charliemyboy

    I just can’t believe ESPN and other ‘power rankers’. Here we beat everyone but Miami and they say it is just home court. I hope they are proven wrong. Beat everyone (NY is coming).

  • Gorillabuddy

    Don’t look now, but the Nuggets’ record against .500 or better teams is 24-13, which is the same as the Clippers and better than OKC and Memphis. This is definitely a dangerous team come postseason.

  • D-Bag

    I am always a fan of the play-to-win regardless philosophy, but are we sure the Nuggets should want the 3rd seed in the West? Sure, it makes for an easier 1st round, but do we really want OKC in round 2?

    I think the ideal scenario is Nuggets get 4th seed, take down Memphis in a tough battle and then take on an old, possibly injured Spurs team. With a new sense of confidence after nabbing their first playoff series and knowing that Memphis took out the Spurs last season, they would have a real shot at the conference finals.

  • Ryan

    I wouldn’t have accepted that interview if I were JaVale. Interviews clearly aren’t his strong-suit and the TNT crew just wanted to lob loaded questions like “What’s your favorite part of Shaqtin a fool?” at him. McGee reminds me a little bit of the late former Nugget Brian Williams (aka Bison Dele). Not quite as eccentric as BW, but definitely seems like he’s in his own world and doesn’t really care what anyone thinks…
    Oh, and not to be a curmudgeon, but booing Gallo because he ran out the clock instead of shooting a 3 was really dumb. I know Denver is always going to be a football-first city, but I wish there was a little more team-oriented passion from the majority of the Pepsi Center crowd. Your team just annihilated a very good team, be proud and cheer! Who cares if you don’t get crappy cheap tacos from Taco Hell… smh

  • Cephus

    Aye, Aye concerning points made by Nathan & Ryan. I should have seen connection with Nuggets seeding but reflexively rooting against New York teams is forty years ingrained in me by now. Likewise Taco Bell product lost me when they switched to canned beans as opposed to making them from scratch.

    Nice point bringing up parallel between Brian Williams & Javale. Two talented tall individuals in a hard game who reveal at the odd moment their inner child. B.W, scrapped for rebounds like a man though, in time maybe Javale will too.


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