Rapid Reaction: Nuggets 117 vs Knicks 94

March 13, 2013
by Tom

The Nuggets spoiled Carmelo Anthony’s return to Denver with a blowout win.  ‘Melo left the game with a sore knee and spent some time in the locker room, inspiring chants of “where is Melo” from the crowd.

New York Knicks 94 Final

Recap | Box Score

 117 Denver Nuggets
Danilo Gallinari, SF 25 MIN | 4-13 FG | 7-7 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 16 PTS | +17

Gallinari looked really good when he went to the rim or got to the line, and really awful shooting jumpers. He played great defense on Carmelo Anthony for part of the first quarter, and later forced two turnovers by drawing offensive fouls away from the ball.
Kenneth Faried, SF 25 MIN | 4-10 FG | 3-6 FT | 10 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 11 PTS | +28

Faried started out the game taking several jump shots. He eventually settled down and started taking shots closer to the rim, but missed several tip tries. He outhustled the Knicks for several offensive rebounds, particularly after Tyson Chandler left the game.
Kosta Koufos, C 18 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-1 FT | 10 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +13

It seems like every game I grade, I end up writing something like “Koufos was quietly effective”. He continues to play fundamental basketball with good positioning, and make the most of his opportunities.
Ty Lawson, PG 26 MIN | 4-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 7 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 13 PTS | +11

Ty was aggressive getting into the paint all night, but had a bit of trouble finishing over Tyson Chandler. His shot was falling from the outside and his passing was crisp. He would likely have finished with a double double if Gallinari’s shot had been falling.
Andre Iguodala, SG 33 MIN | 5-7 FG | 2-6 FT | 6 REB | 6 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 14 PTS | +32

Igoudala has emerged as a solid secondary playmaker for the Nuggets, setting up a ton of easy scores. Tonight he tried to do a little too much and forced several passes into traffic. He was hitting his own shots from everywhere except the free throw line. He had a few spectacular defensive sequences in the second half.
Anthony Randolph, PF 3 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -1

Inconclusive.
Jordan Hamilton, SF 12 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -5

On one late sequence, Hamilton missed a jumper that led to a Knicks fast break off the long rebound, and then got downcourt in time to swat James White’s layup attempt into the stands. His shot wasn’t falling, but he was making good contributions in other parts of the game.
Corey Brewer, SF 21 MIN | 3-9 FG | 3-3 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 10 PTS | +6

Brewer usually provides the Nuggets with great energy, but tonight the starters had all the energy they needed, and he seemed a step slow by comparison. He did a little bit of everything, but nothing particularly well.
Timofey Mozgov, C 9 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PTS | -2

Mozgov was involved in two highlights tonight: a nice two handed dunk, and a Prigioni pass between his legs that led to a Knicks layup.
JaVale McGee, C 12 MIN | 3-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 8 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | -5

In a game where the Nuggets were completely dominant in the paint, and the Knicks’ only center left with an injury, the athletic seven footer decided to take a 16 foot jumper that missed everything. He also had one nice block and a layup from freakishly far away from the basket. It was a very inconsistent game overall.
Andre Miller, PG 25 MIN | 2-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | +13

Andre Miller surprised me by playing fantastic defense for most of his first half minutes. He was also on target with his passing.
Evan Fournier, SG 7 MIN | 1-2 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | -2

Fournier looks completely lost on the defensive end of the court, and too often gets caught needing to foul. He stepped up offensively when tacos seemed to be in doubt, setting up Chandler for a three point play and scoring five of his own to push the Nuggets over the 110 point mark.
Wilson Chandler, SG 25 MIN | 9-12 FG | 5-8 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 3 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 24 PTS | +10

Wilson Chandler spent most of the night taking advantage of the Knicks’ lack of shot blocking. On two occasions he grabbed a rebound, dribbled fullcourt, and got a lightly contested layup.
George Karl

The Nuggets came out ready to play, and they didn’t let up until the game was out of reach. His small lineups worked well against the Knicks’ small lineups.

Two Things We Saw

  1. That was anticlimactic: In Carmelo’s first game in Denver since the trade, the game was over before halftime, and he left for good less than three minutes into the second half.
  2. That was oddly familiar: Four former Nuggets played at least 20 minutes for the Knicks, and many of the Nuggets’ old habits were on display, both good and bad. There were times the Knicks seemed content to settle for long jumpers off of little ball movement, and times when J.R. Smith looked completely unguardable. This game definitely highlighted the change between the Carmelo era and the new Nuggets team era.
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 11:16 pm | filed in Analysis, Game Recap, Rapid Reaction | 58 Comments
  • Chris

    Close the book. Now let’s move on to Friday…our biggest game of the year.

  • Bobby

    I hate how easy that game was. I was excited about this game, but it was boring. Big game on Friday, contrasting styles in play.

  • theo

    Let us know when you’re going to go with in game takes ahead of time.

    Looked like a college track team v the Washington Park Senior Men’s Lawn Bowling Association. Not even close re athleticism. Yet the Knicks play in the eastern conference so they got a shot. Nice move by Woodson to take out Melo and Chandler to save some face.

    Great to see boos rained on Melo on every possession. Mentioned this at the end of Kalen’s post re Melo’s return, but in my mind the whole Melo thing and comparisons between the two teams post trade is irrelevant. The important thing is that Denver hoops fans make the Can one of the most feared places to play in the NBA. No quarter to any opponent not named Chauncey. If anything, Nugs fans over the years have been too classy and too happy just to have an NBA team. Broncos fans get it. Looked like we got it tonight.

    No progress re Memphis. 3 games back in the loss column with just 16 to play. This was the week we needed to catch them. Needed some help from Portland. None. Clippers surprisingly none too. Even if we beat Grizz Friday we’re still 2 games back in the loss column with just 15 to go. Possible.

    More obvious way to the 4th seed? Just one game back in the loss column and one game back by record to the Clips. We have the tie breaker. Can’t worry about help from other teams now. Brutal Bulls OKC road trip coming up, but got to win out.

    • googergieger

      Well Memphis has one more with The Clips I think and one or two more with OKC as well. So hopefully we can beat them and tire them out enough for Utah. Again, we don’t want to face Clips in the first round even with homecourt. Refs are going to give them every call, and in a seven game series I don’t know if we can play close to perfect enough to overcome that.

    • Native Nugget

      When I look at the standings I see Memphis 4.5 games out of first and Nuggets 6 games out. Didn’t check to see if they play tonight, but since we just smoked the Nickels we should only be one game back.

      • John in LA

        They did play and they won… so we made no progress… kinda hard to move up in the ranks, when the team you are chasing has won 14 of their last 15….

        So even if we beat them on Fri., we’ll still be a half game back…. lose already Grizzlies…

    • Ckwizard

      We do not have the tie breaker with the Clippers due to the tie breaker rules… But we should catch them wih out right record.

      • Tom

        We do have the tiebreaker.

        The Clippers are guaranteed a top 4 seed, but NOT guaranteed home court. If the Nuggets and Clippers are tied at the end of the season, behind Memphis, the Clippers will be 4 and the Nuggets will be 5. But the Nuggets will have home court advantage.

        This is because home court is determined by record and tie breaker (and the first tiebreaker is head to head play, which is 2-1 Nuggets), with no attention paid to who won the division.

        • Ckwizard

          Maybe this link is better for you http://www.nba.com/standings/playoff_picture.html#tbb

          Your scenario doesn’t hold up under that link even for home court determination so you may be right about that but even this link says “(1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division” then goes on to say about Home Court ” d. Home Court Advantage:For purposes of home court advantage, ties will be broken pursuant to the procedures used for breaking two-team ties for playoff position.”

          Well back to “(1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division” but even if you are right about HOME COURT ADVANTAGE the Clippers still hold the TIE BREAKER for determining standings and seeding.

          • Ckwizard

            a. Two Teams Tied
            (1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division.
            (2) Better winning percentage in games against each other
            (3) Better winning percentage against teams in own division (only if tied teams are in same division).
            (4) Better winning percentage against teams in conference
            (5) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs in own conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position).
            (6) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs in opposite conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position).
            (7) Better net result of total points scored less total points allowed against all opponents (“point differential”).

            d. Home Court Advantage:For purposes of home court advantage, ties will be broken pursuant to the procedures used for breaking two-team ties for playoff position.

            If the two teams in the playoff series have same record the the winner of the “breaking two-team ties for playoff position” will have home court because in the scenario you are describing the Clippers will win the playoff position tie breaker because they are a division champion and the Nuggets are not and thus because the same criteria is used for Home Court the Clippers have already won the tie breaker for playoff position.

            Your scenario doesn’t work out for home court advantage unless the Nuggets have a better record then the Clippers and both these teams have worse records than Memphis.

            • Tom

              I read that exact page a week ago, and at that time “(1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division” was not listed in the rules. It read “(1) Better winning percentage in games against each other”. Thanks for pointing out the way it currently reads.

              Maybe it changed with the new CBA, and the league didn’t update the page until people started asking about a possible Clippers-Nuggets or Clippers-Grizzlies tie.

    • BroncNuggAvRock

      We do have the tiebreaker, we won the season series 2-1. That comes first before any other rules.

      • Ckwizard

        Call out to the RMC staff please educate and settle this debate because one of us probably not this rabbid passionate NBA fan who knows the tie breaker rules because he know how to google but doesn’t like to do the link postage for lazy fans… oh what the hell I like being right so you can be lazy http://www.nba.com/news/features/playoff.tiebreakers/index.html

        LAC will be a division winner…. ponder that because the Nuggets wont be…. so who get the tie breaker the division winner or the team with the better record? I must be stupid or something

        • dman

          They way I understand the rules is that the clippers would win the higher seed BUT the nuggets would have home-court advantage in the series due to having a better record

          • Tom2

            I believe that’s correct. It used to be that the division winners all had home-court in the first round, but that rule was changed and now the team with the better record gets home-court even though they have a lower seeding.

            • al68

              Colocar a los campeones de division primero es una cuestion de numeracion, se mira 1º las W-L, 2º enfrentamientos, y despues resultados contra equipos de su conferencia (creo).

        • Evan Woodruff

          This just happened last year guys..
          Celtics VS hawks.
          Celtics were 4th seed but ATL had home court.
          I was like .. uh why?? and my dad explained it to me.
          You guys gotta just remember back to… one year ago.

          • Ckwizard

            Here is a link for you Evan http://espn.go.com/nba/standings/_/year/2012

            Please notice that the Celtics and Hawks didn’t have the same record and therefor the home court wasn’t decided by tie breaking procedure but instead by actual overall record. Kinda the same but not really. Boston was a division winner but Alanta got home court because of a better record.

            I think we are talking Tie Breaker and weather or not the Nuggets hold the tie breaker against the clippers.

            • Evan Woodruff

              Oh I see. My memory failed me.

          • http://soundcloud.com/maculate Maculate

            Then they’re not the 4th seed. Such weird BS. It is just to have a token reward for winning the division, even though there is literally no benefit from it, other than a number by your team’s name. Seems really odd to me.

            • Trip

              Winning the division is a guarantee to make the playoffs. But its the same reason the wild card was created for baseball. If only division winners made the playoffs, then the playoffs do not contain the best teams in the league. Divisions are not always equal in quality teams. So why should a team be punished for playing in a harder division, and still ending up with one of the best records in the conference?

    • mike

      Memphis is looking strong. Should be a fun game. I think 57 wins gets you the 3rd seed which is the upper limit for the nuggets.

      I don’t really like the booing of melo. He was a decent guy and teammate and obviously a very good player. He left the city in a respectful manner. He wanted to go to NYC and probably partially for his wife. Effort on Defense and ability to develop his game to compliment and create for teammates was disappointing but nothing to be angry about. The only thing to be upset about is that he semi sabotaged the 2010-11 season, but he had made it clear to ownership in that offseason prior. He made it possible for them to get numerous strong assets that led to obtaining two young and talented combo forwards, an averagey starting center, a very good backup wing, a good back up PG, and potentially 3 draft picks (Jordan Hamilton). And he saved them from being stuck in mediocrity with a player that wasn’t worth 20 million a year. There are only 6-10 guys in the league that giving them 20 million a year makes sense if you have to adhere to a salary cap within 5 million of the luxury tax. Melo is not one of them.

      The only real loss out of that scenario was that it may have soured the relationship with Chauncey who may become one of the better coaches in the league in 4-5 years. Too bad they didn’t bid on him when he was amnestied assuming that was legal. Hopefully he will come back in another year or so and assistant coach before george retires. in 2-4 years

      • theo

        You seem to give Melo credit for many of the positive changes we’ve seen here recently. Can you break that down and make sense of it?

        So Melo intentionally saved us from paying 20 million to Melo? He miraculously envisioned all the pieces the Nugs got and made sure we got them?

        I’d guess the credit for those changes might go to Ujiri and Karl.

        • mike

          All of those things did actually happen. I just went through the list of WHAT DID HAPPEN. I didn’t Say he was some deity like figure who ordained them. But, they did occur either as a direct result of the trade or subsequent trades using those pieces. And he did “save” the team from signing him to a 5 year 100 million dollar deal. If he says Im going to stay that is what he gets. The intent of the comment is that the team is better off without him at that price (which was very clear in my statement but if you choose to pretend otherwise that is your deal). Me:”He made it possible” equals You:”He miraculously envisioned all the pieces the Nugs got and made sure we got them?” OOOOKAAYYY. (PS I suspect you are not a player, coach, administrator or owner of the Nuggets so “WE” is not a part of your equation).

          The whining sounds like some jilted lover. 2 years later seems a little long to be so angry because he decided to move somewhere else. The nuggets are at worst break even and possibly in a better position if Masai can make one more upgrade in the frontcourt. Like I said he didn’t do it stupidly like Lebron or disrespectfully. If the fans were smarter and chanted something accurate like Overpaid or overrated or First round exit OK. But booing? yawn.

          • Troll

            This is why saying putting each other down and not insulting each other is a bad idea…how can I be nice to an idiot like mike who seems to believe melo was responsible for the return on his trade, not Masai. Get real. I mean this is exactly why I am not “nice” to some people on this site. I mean really, pull your face out of melo’s lap for a second (that is lala’s job after all), and learn something before you make such an idiotic statement. Melo didn’t choose to be drafted by the nuggets, we chose to draft him. Then he demanded out and the front office (specifically Masai), swung a great trade. How the hell does melo get any credit for what he did for us? Chauncey took us to the western conference finals, not melo. Melo did nothing for Denver basketball. You should be thanking the great nuggets front office, not melo. Moron.

            • dynamo.joe

              You are right. Masai was putting up 30 pts a night and convincing the league Melo was a star.

              Melo whatever his motives (and none of us REALLY knows) could have behaved in a way much more detrimental to the Nuggets. He could have demanded a max extension, which he would have received, then refused to play (or played offense with the same enthusiasm with which he plays D), which would have dramatically reduced his trade value.

              At the very least Melo gave Masai the material he needed to make that trade.

              Some once wrote; “given apples, flour, and sugar a skilled chef can craft a pastry worth much more than the initial ingredients, while a poor chef can create an inedible mess, value zero”. Masai maybe a master chef but without an “all-star” he wouldn’t have crafted that particular pastry.

          • theo

            Whining? Jilted lover? Oh, jeez. Thought we were rising above it here :^)

            I just pointed out that Melo had nothing to do with the positive outcomes for us. Nothing. Let me repeat, nothing.

            He made a biz decision that turned out well for us because of other people. I’m glad we rained him with boos not because of Melo–I made that point pretty clearly earlier–but because Nugs fans need to get as serious as Broncos fans are about making the Can a very hostile place to play. Melo is irrelevant.

            Delighted that our fans are finally waking up and getting beyond ‘classy.’ Our models should be western cities like Seattle (oops, don’t have a team) and Portland that make their buildings very difficult places to play. Watch the Knicks/Blazers game tonight? Portland fans eviscerated Felton every time he touched the ball. Let me repeat, Raymond Felton. Figure it out.

            • Troll

              Thank you. I couldn’t agree more. Nuggets fans are a sad bunch compared to other fan bases in the NBA. Sometimes our fans are truly embarassing. I am glad to see that someone else sees this too!

      • Mark

        Mike, I couldn’t agree more. He was a decent guy, a great player, represented the city well, and when he decided it was time to move on, he left us in a good position. Look at all parties now – Melo is happy, Denver has a better team, Nuggets saved money. I would have cheered my head off for Melo if I had been at the game.

        • LBJ

          Melo didn’t leave the Nuggets in a better position – Ujiri did. Melo whined his overrated, ball hogging ass out of town, which was the best thing that has happened to the Nuggets.

          • Native Nugget

            I already commented below (#7) and I was a bit hyped up after the game. The Melo controversy interests me because of the simultaneously valid perspectives on both sides.

            Yes Melo helped out denver big time – he played with consistency, had few injuries, scored heaps, brought some legitimacy to the team, was a key piece of our getting to the playoffs over the years and he didn’t walk away leaving us empty handed (gave us time to make a trade).

            On the other hand he never ‘grew up’ as a ball player (very Allen Iverson), was a poor/inconsistent passer and defender, and he left in a way that was semi-petulant. I would have preferred he not pretend that the issue was our inability to go for a title and then go to a much less title ready team. When I rag on Melo it’s a bit unfair because it’s largely because of what he represents. He not a bad person or a bad baller, just overrated over-paid and sets a terrible example on any team trying to play team ball. I would be SHOCKED if any team he is on ever wins a title with him in a central role.

            • LBJ

              I couldn’t agree more.

              If he had any interest in winning a title, he wouldn’t have demanded to be traded to the Knicks. But for Melo (and several of the other ex-Nuggets on display last night) – winning is a secondary consideration. Fortunately, they are the Knicks problem now.

              Ujiri has put together a roster of players who want to win!

        • Tony

          So from Melo’s standpoint, he needed to get traded in that season in order to be able to sign a contract extension to get paid what he does. Had he played out his contract, he would have been subject to the new cba which would have cost him big bucks. He soured that season for months, as we all waited for the news that we knew was coming. Instead of excitement of winning games and looking towards the playoffs, we wondered when would the trade happen. And in the process, the nuggets lost chauncey. The nuggets bounced back and the trade worked out amazingly for the Nugs, but I boo melo for what should have been a great season for the nuggets that year. I dislike the whole “decision” junk from Lebron, but at least prior to all that, he gave it his all for Cleveland the season of his last contract. You can’t tell me that Melo was looking out for the nuggets and wanted to get traded so that the nuggets would get good players to take his place either. He only wanted the money. He didn’t care how the nuggets were after the trade.

  • LBJ

    Nice beatdown. Shows how bad Ujiri fleeced the knunkleheads. If they played in the West, they would be watching the playoffs on TV!

    • theo

      Truth

    • Henry

      No one gets fleeced in the NBA. Knicks owner Dolan knew exactly what he was doing and got exactly what he wanted. It wasn’t about making the best trade and putting together the best roster, which is why Donnie Walsh bailed.

      One more time: No team gets fleeced in trade negotiations. Organizations make decisions for good reasons. Ujiri is not a miracle worker; he’s another excellent GM, and we’re very fortunate to have him.

      • Dubz

        Umm.. Whaa? Team’s get fleeced in trade negotiations all the time. Often times there are interior motives that might not be known at the time, but there have been plenty of examples of team’s getting “fleeced” through trades. The Laker’s getting Gasol, the Mavs getting Nowitzki, NJ getting Wallace in exchange for their lottery pick which ended up being Lillard? Happens all the time. I just wouldn’t necessarily put the Melo trade in that category. That trade actually made a TOOON of sense for both teams looking back.

      • LBJ

        Dolan wanted an alleged superstar – whether it made his team better or not. Which is why is BB experts quit. The knuckleheads will never win with the pieces they have put in place.

      • http://yahoo.com prospector

        Organizations are run by people.. And people are capable of making stupid decisions… The NBA is littered with poorly run teams… MASAI punked the Knicks due to the NETS giving us an offer that forced the KNICKS to up it’s anty… NETS got a better player in Williams and forced the KNICKS to gut it’s team… And MASAI played it perfectly…

  • Dubz

    I was at the game tonight. You could tell two things. A: Melo was definitely laboring and B: He wanted to be anywhere on earth besides the Pepsi Center tonight. I booed him every time he touched the ball not out of spite, but because he represents everything that’s wrong with “superstar” athletes in today’s age IMO.
    I loved the team’s energy tonight. They had great enthusiasm but it was complimented by this very strong sense of confidence that was very noticeable. Especially from Chandler and Gallo, they both played with a sense of “we belong here” which they obviously should but I was glad to see it against the guy they were traded for.
    Final observation… It was interesting to glance at the two benches as the game wore on. The Knicks bench seemed to be more quiet and less involved in the game (definitely had something to do with a 30 point deficit but I’m not sure if the chemistry is there) while everyone on the Nuggets bench is engaged and cheering on the players on the floor. Every bench should be like that, but the Nuggets seem to have a little extra flavor and IMO it’s transcends its way onto the court in a very good way.

    • ENK

      i love everything about the nuggets chemistry and comradery right now

  • Tonia01

    Almost a disappointing win: way too easy. The difference in speed and athleticism between the two teams was embarassing. Have to say that the Knicks do not look like a team in a good shape at this moment. The run for the 4th seed though, is becoming tougher and tougher, as Memphis keeps winning. I just watched the schedule ahead for both Grizzlies and Clippers and it seems to me that their schedule is a little bit better than the Nuggets one; so it will really be a difficult final part of the year. Next game is fundamental.

  • Native Nugget

    I fricking loved beating up on Melo and company! It was not boring for me at all. Much as I appreciate what Melo did for Denver I despise prima-donna-ball. Feels like with every passing year more players come into the league looking to get on highlight reals and unwilling to play D, learn the fundamentals or think about team play. Melo symbolizes a talented me-first player without grit or ability to make those around him better. New York has done a lot to grow him up; rough crowd, but he still isn’t a two way player. Same for JR. Those two have more scoring talent than anyone on the Nuggets roster but little willingness to work on BOTH ends of the floor. I absolutely loved watching a disciplined unselfish team with no all-stars DESTROY the Nicks!

    Not to mention that the Nicks are what fame-seeker-boy wanted. He wanted to leave our town for more attention and a bigger stage. The Nuggets have the better record in a harder conference (Nicks would be 6th in the West) yet they play less nationally televised games and get far less run in the national media. Melo got what he wanted in terms of attention and we got a better team, guess everybody wins. Bring your six all-star appearances and all the fame you can choke on to Denver, but respect us enough to come ready to play.

  • Ckwizard

    16 to go and I love the fact that this team Knows they can get better, the hunger they have should be feeding the fans passion making the Nuggets home court advantage even greater.

    Nuggets are not the same team as they were at the beginning of the year in that their road record was a result of the schedule which made it difficult for them to get quality practice time to develop the defensive chemistry needed to execute George Karl’s switching system. Nuggets are still a better defensive team then most posters on this sight give them credit for at all tie his year. The Nuggets continue to get Better defensively which will allow them to win on the road in the playoffs. Only thing that will kill this team is officiating but officiating can be overcome if the team hits free throws and open jump shots both of which the Nuggets struggle with. Nuggets Vs the NBA officials is about to be our Playoff series because these Nuggets are able to compete with any Elite team in the NBA!

  • Tom2

    The most impressive thing about the Nuggets is their consistent, game-after-game, points-in-the-paint dominance. The Nuggets average 58 points in the paint. The next closest team is Sacramento at 46 points in the paint. The Nuggets only allow 40 points in the paint. That’s a +18 difference!

    Denver also leads the league in fast break points per game at 20, and they only allow 12 on average. That’s a +8 difference!

    I think the Nuggets are on pace to set a modern-day NBA record for paint and transition dominance. Remember that game against Sacramento last year when the Nuggets scored 92 points in the paint? Sacto only had 93 points total in that game, haha!

  • theo

    Sorry, but got to make another take after reading the most recent bs ESPN and ESPN NY takes after the game. I can’t imagine any intelligent NY fan really believes this team has any chance to contend or would do any better than a 7th or 8th seed in the west where real basketball has been played since the late 90′s. Yeah, sure, it’s all about Melo and Chandler leaving the game when the Knicks trailed by 25.

  • Cephus

    Like kicking a three legged dog when he’s down. They treated Melo pretty rough as others have said. The truth is that Denver used Melo & vice-versa. His isolation style of play doesn’t fit here. Likewise he & wife wanted a showcase city so his star could shine all the brighter

    All previously mentioned downsides to his play are all true but before he came , things were grim. Carmelo’s ok – he just had misfortune to be in LeBron’s shadow. For the first 3-4 years it was debatable if Carmelo was in LeBron’s class – that ain’t too shabby.

  • Evan Woodruff

    Props to carmelo tonight. He probably shoulden’t have even played, given his performace in the previous game he was still quite clearly injured. He was man enough to not shy away from the game and play through the pain for the Denver fans. He knew they payed to see him there that day. He got up for that game for 2 reasons. That^ being a big one. Props to carmelo, he is a great leader, great guy, and great basketball player. No hard feelings for moving on. I run D1 track in college and made the decision it was best for me to transfer, I had my reasons for doing so, and it was one of the hardest things to do in my life, but I can say I understand his situation. Carmelo is, and always will be one of my favorite players. Even though he left, he did it with class. He let everyone know ahead of time, he played his heart out that season trying to win every game they played, knowing it would mean nothing in the end for him because he would be gone anyway, but did his job, honorably.

    It’s late and I’m rambling. I was just upset with all the boos, thought Denver would be a little more classy for a guy that really turned the franchise around and made them fun to watch for so many years.

    Great win,
    Lets get 3 seed.
    Good Night.

    • Nathan

      The team went from one of the worst in the league to a playoff team in one year. Melo was good for the Nuggets when he was here. No hard feelings, however it was nice to beat him in his first game back in Denver. I wish Melo the best unless he plays the Nuggets.

      3 seed baby.

    • Dubz

      One part of me agrees but, ahhh what am I saying I don’t agree at all. He played because he knew he’s get a ton of grief if he didn’t. He has a legit injury so he wouldn’t have heard any from me, but plenty of people would have said he was too much of a wuss if you know what I mean. It really would have just delayed the inevitable because he would have had to deal with another “homecoming” next season if he didn’t play tonight. For Melo’s sake and for Denver’s sake, this game needed to get buried for it’s time to move on.
      Also, when I think of “class”, Carmelo Anthony doesn’t really come to mind. Am I glad he gave the Nuggets an opportunity to trade him before he could have walked as a FA? Abso-friggin-lutely. But you are truly kidding yourself if you think he did it for any reasons besides those for her personal benefit. At the time, the only way for him to receive max money was to re-up with your current team before your current contract was up. If he waited for FA, he would have lost a lot of money and he knew it. That’s why he wanted to get traded and he was willing to play for a gutted team to get that max money. Sorry buddy.

  • googergieger

    Part of the theater of it all folks. Reason a round of applause and encouragement went towards Chandler when he was hurt. Denver fans do have class. The booing of Melo was just part of the theater of it all. More or less the same reason Kobe always gets booed. Aside from the other reason.

  • ChuckinJapan

    I’m kind of amazed not to see this point of view on here, although not surprised the ESPN coverage didn’t mention it, but Carmelo quit. He just quit the game entirely. Walked off the court when it got tough.

    I know he has some legitimate knee issues going on, but he played the GSW game a couple nights before in worse shape, and from his own mouth it doesn’t hurt, it’s just uncomfortable. He quit.

    I’m of the opinion that he did not do Denver dirty when he wanted to leave town. He did them a favor by laying out what he wanted and where he wanted to go in plenty of time for Denver to work out the best deal possible. He gave us seven good years and half a season of turmoil that turned into what we have now, so no hard feelings, but tonight he quit.

    The boos got to him. The Nuggs got to him. Everything about this game seemed to big for him and he walked out. I can’t understand how he can be getting such a free pass on this on every outlet I look at. Not only did he pull himself out of the game but he wen’t out of sight into the locker room. He gets paid big bucks to be there and when it is your turn to get booed, you take the boos.

    Didn’t always love Carmelo in Denver, but I don’t recall him quitting. He was great to watch and is a second tier superstar in the league, but this diminishes my respect for him. We pay to treat him any way we want (within reason) and he gets paid to take it. Take it like a man, Melo.

    • LBJ

      Melo got tired of chasing his man back on defense…

  • Giovanni

    Memphis is amazing…

    And if we play vs Clippers?

    One loss away…

    High exptation for the game but what a delusion…
    No contest..

    I fell bad for Melo…
    He play on a leg…

  • chronicnugs

    best quote of the night comes from a knicks blog…

    “If there was any good, it was the sharp performance of Iman Shumpert, who scored 20 points on 10 shots (4-5 from downtown)… Of course, this probably ends with the Nuggets taking him from us somehow.”

    • dynamo.joe

      I don’t think I would give up anyone on the Nuggets roster for Shumpert.

  • ny nugs fan

    ok now that the fans got their booing melo out, let’s hopefully move on from the whole thing… and hopefully next time he’s in denver it’s not such a dramatic thing; the players didn’t seem to be as into it as the fans did… gotta give the players credit for just playing

    and hopefully this doesn’t turn into something like the kobe thing, where he gets booed every time they play at pepsi center for the next decade

    nugs still not shooting well from the ft line; it’s interesting that mcgee may have the best & most consistent form and touch from the free throw line than any other nugs player; perhaps he could give the rest of the team some ft shooting lessons? (seriously)

  • http://espn herpderpnuggets

    i think you guys are too harsh on fournier, a lot of bs fouls are called on him….anyways at least his offense is almost completely professional


Array