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Film Room - Nuggets Switching Screens to Perfection Versus Suns

December 14, 2009
by Jeremy

The Denver Nuggets played tremendous half court defense against the Phoenix Suns in their 105-99 victory at the Pepsi Center. Below is what was originally supposed to be a few clips that turned into a mass quantity of clips documenting the Nuggets’ successful implementation of their switching scheme.

A couple of things I forgot to mention in the video was that switching defenses are usually employed to prevent a team from getting open perimeter shots. Give the coaching staff and players credit for having the guts to implement the switching scheme and stick with it. Secondly, I forgot to mention that Nene and Kenyon did a very good job of not reaching. It is easier to reach than move your feet and they both expended the additional energy to play defense with their legs and not their arms.

The one comment I will make is I was disappointed that George Karl fell off the wagon and chose to play Anthony Carter over Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo. The Nuggets won and Carter obviously did not make any crippling plays, but I thought Lawson was doing a good job of defending Nash and Afflalo was playing exceptionally well defensively. I would have greatly preferred to see Afflalo in the game down the stretch, but as the Nuggets did pull out the victory it does not make for a very convincing case.

Even so, as was pointed out during the Altitude broadcast, give Carter credit for answering the bell and playing solid basketball.

I also thought the Suns desire to push the pace probably contributed to their downfall. Coming off a tough home game the night before against the Magic, their breakneck pace probably contributed to the outcome in the Nuggets’ favor. The Suns ran Denver out of the gym in the second quarter, but in the second half the Nuggets were much quicker to loose balls and seemed to have a little more spunk to their movements. Plus we have seen the Nuggets settle for jumpers when they become fatigued and I think the Suns played into the Nuggets hands a little bit as they settled for jumpers for much of the second half.

Congratulations to Denver on a good win, but as I pointed out after the loss to the Pistons, the Nuggets do not prove their worth winning home games, but winning road games. Still, a loss to the Suns in that situation would have been devastating and Denver deserves credit for pulling out a hard fought win.

Featured Blogs: Valley of the Suns | Bright Side of the Sun

I thought it was interesting Michael at Valley of the Suns mentioned the game last January where Grant Hill lost his balance at the end of a game in Denver. I expected the no call against Nene at the end against Nash would bring back old memories of that finish for Suns fans and I guess it did.

Video Scouting Report Malik Allen

July 28, 2009
by Jeremy

In the aftermath of the Denver Nuggets acquisition of Malik Allen there was widespread disinterest. I decided to take advantage of that disinterest and throw together some actual footage of Allen playing NBA basketball. We are fortunate that Allen played the eighteenth most minutes of the season (for him at least) when Milwaukee came to the Pepsi Center so we have plenty of material to choose from. I have pieced together some of the most relevant clips I could find. If you find them boring, do not blame me, blame Allen.

It is pretty clear that Allen is not exceptionally fleet of foot. Sadly it is a matter of the spirit being willing and the flesh being weak. He certainly knows how to play and you can tell that he cares and tries to do his job. His physical limitations prevent him from getting to spots or rebounding out of his area. He is a sound player and certainly belongs on an NBA roster. However, at this stage of his career I would much rather see the Nuggets bring back Johan Petro over Allen for a cheap emergency big. At worst he is an expiring contract that could be paired with Steven Hunter and perhaps Renaldo Balkman whose rights could be renounced following the season making his contract a de facto expiring deal.

Looking at Allen’s advanced stats, he is an inefficient scorer due to his perimeter based game and his rebound rate is not what you would expect from a power forward/center. After his rookie season when he only played 161 minutes and he posted a somewhat respectable rebound rate of 13.8, he has never produced a rebound rate over 11.5 and he has not cracked 10.7 over the previous three seasons. As a point of reference Carmelo Anthony had rebound rates of 11.0 in 2007-08 and 11.5 in 2008-09.

To wrap things up according to John Hollinger’s player comparison model Allen is most like Peja Drobnjak (no longer appearing in this league).

Video Scouting Report - Walter Sharpe

July 16, 2009
by Jeremy

There were two questions most Denver Nuggets fans probably asked themselves when they heard about the Arron Afflalo trade. What did we give up and who is Walter Sharpe?

So who is Walter Sharpe? He is a 6’9” forward who will be entering his second year out of UAB (Alabama - Birmingham) who was drafted with the thirty-second pick of the 2008 NBA Draft. He did not have an easy route to the NBA, partly through self inflicted injuries (academic issues, being late for things like practices and team flights) and others inflicted by external sources (being shot in the abdomen back in April 2006).

Those issues appear to be behind Sharpe now. I do not recall hearing about any issues during his season in Detroit and after a half hearted scouring of the internet I did not find any record of problems at UAB. Because of that we can focus on what he can do on the court instead of his actions off of it.

I happen to have some vintage footage of a 2008 NBA Summer League game from Las Vegas that featured none other than Walter Sharpe suiting up for the Detroit Pistons. Yes, I actually have several 2008 summer league games on DVD (I say CD on the video below, but do not hold it against me). Let me know if you are hard up for hoops and want a copy of one.

As I point out repeatedly Sharpe played power forward in college, but Detroit was working on transforming him into a small forward. Based on watching him I think it was the correct decision. Even less than a month after he was drafted, he showed the ability to play perimeter defense. His ball handling and passing was also very solid for a guy trying to fit into a new position. Wait until you see him shoot a jumper before you get too excited.

Sharpe will clearly not be contributing to the Nuggets in 2009-10 and honestly, he may never be an NBA rotation player. However, he has shown that he can play one on one perimeter defense. If he can learn to handle pick and roll defense better and iron out his shot, he does have a chance to become a rotation player. Obviously this footage is a year old so it is likely he has made strides in both departments. At this point the Nuggets have not added Sharpe to their summer league roster so we will not get a chance to observe him until training camp in October.

Film Room: Denver Nuggets Offense - Fourth Quarter Western Conference Finals Game 5

May 29, 2009
by Jeremy

I am not sure if you can stomach this or not, but I put together some clips of the Denver Nuggets’ fourth quarter “offense” from game five. In my game recap I wrote about how their offense became very one-on-one oriented. There was practically no ball movement or attempt to force the defense to react to anything other than a quick pick and roll or a drive.

As you watch these clips take note of two things, how few passes were made and how aggressive Carmelo Anthony was.

As ugly as that was I really liked the way Melo went at the basket and tried to carry the team to victory, but he needs to be more patient and more willing to set up his teammates. Let the ball move from one side of the floor to the other to uproot the defense. As I mention in the video most of the time when Carmelo drove, no one was cutting and providing him with an option to pass, but there is one example of a drive where Melo takes a difficult shot even though Nene is available at the rim, but Carmelo takes the shot anyway.

I think this game represents another step in Carmelo’s playoff development. He wants to be a great player and has learned enough to drive and play tenacious, but he has not yet learned that even great players have to rely on their teammates.

LeBron James had that amazing finish against the Detroit Pistons in 2007 where he scored the final 25 points for the Cavs and we thought that was just the beginning of the amazing things he would do at the end of big games. I think there is a reason he has not done something like that since. He still has the ball in his hands during crunch time, but if a teammate is in a better position to score than he is, he makes the pass.

Of course I am disappointed in the results of game five, but I have a hard time being upset at Melo for how he played. He did what we have been asking him to do for years and that is to ignore the jumper and drive. It was another small step in his transformation from a playoff bust to a MVP caliber force who is capable of getting his team to the NBA Finals. At the age of 24 I think he is finally on that track.

Film Room - Bynum Making Pau Better and Carmelo vs the Laker Defense

May 19, 2009
by Jeremy

Two of the most important keys to this series are how much Andrew Bynum can play and how well Carmelo Anthony handles the Lakers’ defensive scheme that has given him fits in the past.

When I talk about Bynum being a key to this series I am not saying he is going to average 18 points and 11 rebounds. What I mean is his presence makes Pau Gasol a much better player. With Bynum in the game Gasol obviously plays power forward and that means Kenyon Martin has to cover him. Without Bynum on the floor Pau will play center and thus Denver can use Nene or Chris Andersen, who at both much closer to his length and weight than Kenyon is, to check him.

I have put together some video clips to show both how difficult Bynum and Gasol can make things on Denver and how much better the Nuggets matchup with Gasol with Bynum on the bench. It does not matter if it is due to ineffectiveness or foul trouble, Denver needs Bynum off the court.

Moving on to Carmelo, everyone knows by now what a difficult time he has had scoring against the Lakers. Despite the fact he has been guarded by players like Luke Walton and Vladimir Radmanovic he has been taken out of his game. The reason is the Lakers’ scheme.

Carmelo has almost exclusively received the ball on the left or right wing. Whoever is defending Melo will crowd him and wall off the middle and force him to drive to the baseline. As soon as Carmelo catches the ball they pre-rotate help over to the ball side block. This defense takes away Melo’s jumper because the on the ball defender is not worried about the drive. He knows he already has help. The help defender does not worry about Carmelo’s ability to shoot, he is only concerned about keeping Melo from getting to the rim.

In the past Carmelo has either forced a contested jumper, dribbled away from the pressure or driven into the teeth of the defense. Looking at the clips from game 80 we can see he might have figured out how to combat this scheme.

During this game Carmelo began getting the ball closer to the middle of the floor making the pre-rotated helper less of a factor. That allowed him to get to the rim and finish. Also, he used his passing ability to earn his teammates better shots. The way Carmelo has played so far this postseason leads me to believe he will continue to use his ability to pass as frequently as his ability to score. When he does so he is a much more dangerous player and the Nuggets are a much better team.

I also recommend looking back at my Film Room segment on how the Nuggets defended the Lakers in their game 59 victory.

Nuggets/Hornets Game 2 Adjustments

April 22, 2009
by Jeremy

We all know that once the first punch is thrown the battle of wits begins. Playoff series are made up of a series of adjustments and counterpunches to address you own weaknesses and to exploit the short comings of your opponent. The question is what adjustments will the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Hornets make heading into game two? The Hornets’ ability to run the pick and roll and the need for the Nuggets to stop it was the number one issue heading into this series and much of my attention has been directed at that matchup.

Before we get to that there are a couple of adjustments I would like to see made by the Nuggets. Chauncey Billups was incredible in game one and it is certainly possible that either Carmelo or J.R. Smith go off for 36, or more, most likely the Nuggets will have to be more diverse on offense.

Specifically Melo will have to do a better job of scoring. The Hornets were clearly focused on two goals. One was keeping Melo out of the paint and two was keeping J.R. out of the paint. Byron Scott was criticized for saying that he thought the Hornets did a good job on defense, but I agree with him. New Orleans successfully implemented those two goals and Chauncey made them pay. The Nuggets are too talented to take away every offensive option. If someone other than Carmelo or J.R. has a huge scoring night at least four times in this series then New Orleans will accept it and go on their summer vacation.

I think the Nuggets need to get Melo the ball at the top of the circle more as that gives him more options to drive as he has the whole floor to work with. Whenever he tried driving from the wing he was quickly pinched. I also like seeing him with the ball in the post as the Hornets consistently brought an immediate double team. That opens the floor up for his teammates and is an advantage the Nuggets should exploit.

I would also like to see them use fewer screens to spring J.R. The Hornets did a good job of trapping him off the screen. J.R. is a good ball handler, but he is not a point guard and he struggled with the traps. If Denver were to run more of an iso set for him without a screen he would have a better chance of getting open looks.

Denver would also benefit from getting the ball to Nene more in the post as he has a quickness or strength advantage on anyone who will be guarding him.

Defensively the Nuggets did a great job. They played more of a contain style defense against Chris Paul on the pick and roll than an aggressive trapping style. It seemed like they tried to trap along the sideline, but contain in the middle of the floor. The Nuggets’ biggest issue was when Chris Paul would penetrate their shield around the lane because at that point no one was really responsible for him and he could simply circle around and get an open look in the paint. The guards need to do a better job of sticking with the play and recovering to cover Paul.

Denver displayed adequate rotations, but there is plenty of room for improvement there as well as on a couple of occasions they had two players rotating to the same shooter. I am also worried about the Hornets’ or more specifically Paul’s ability to get to the rim in transition and I think the Hornets should try to take advantage of the Nuggets’ poor transition defense, but more on that in a second.

I have put together a video detailing the Nuggets’ pick and roll schemes along with some examples of what they need to do better.

The Hornets also must make some changes and it is always easier for the losing team to locate and address their errors. As I said before, I really think the Hornets defense was acceptable and nearly all of my adjustments I would make if I were Byron Scott are offensive and most of those revolve around the pick and roll.

Basically everything revolves around Chris Paul and how he needs to be more aggressive. I really think the Hornets are missing a big opportunity to gouge the Nuggets in transition. Paul can thread his way through retreating defenders better than anyone. By playing slowly and allowing the Nuggets to set up their defense it lets the Nuggets off the hook. Paul also has to be more aggressive in attacking the Nuggets big men, especially on switches. I think the Hornets also need to get David West in space as far away from Kenyon Martin and that means fewer post up plays and more pick and roll with Tyson Chandler.

As with the Nuggets here is some video documentation explaining these adjustments and more with video evidence.

Oh by the way, I would also make sure Devin Brown gets approximately zero minutes. When he is on the floor whichever Nugget he is guarding cannot wait to blow past him.

Video Scouting Report - Defending Chris Paul and the Pick and Roll

April 19, 2009
by Jeremy

There is no doubt that the Denver Nuggets are going to have to defend the pick and roll at least competently in order to have a chance in this series. The Denver bigs are all capable of playing good to great pick and roll defense. Nene, Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen all move their feet well for their size and should be very useful in slowing Chris Paul down.

The Nuggets seemed to get better and better at defending Chris Paul as the season wore on. In the final meeting between the two teams Denver forced Paul into six turnovers thanks to an aggressive trapping scheme. However, it is important to note that the Hornets were playing without Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler. Trapping Paul will not be as easy with Chandler diving down the lane and Peja spotted up on the weak side.

Denver will need to employ more than one scheme as Paul will be able to solve anything they throw at him eventually. Look for the Nuggets to trap, to surround Paul with a soft umbrella of help designed to keep him out of the lane and even to switch. In an interview on Friday with 1510 AM George Karl said the coaching staff had considered starting Melo or Kenyon on Paul. By starting with a mismatch they can then switch and then have everyone matched up correctly. Of course, in that situation my response would be to skip the pick and roll and exploit the mismatch. I imagine someone like Chris Paul would figure that out as well. However, in watching film from the previous matchups whenever the Nuggets switched Paul would almost exclusively pass off to the screener. I wonder if he will be so passive in the playoffs.

Once again I have put together some clips of the Nuggets pick and roll defense looking at both successes and failures. It should come as no surprise that the Hornets were able to take advantage of the slightest breakdown or belated rotation by earning a quality shot. As I point out in the video instead of Julian Wright taking open jumpers, in the playoffs it will be Peja.

Chris Paul showed last season that he is capable of raising his game to incredible levels in the playoffs and Denver will have to deal with a determined, supremely talented and aggressive player. The one thing that really frightens me is Paul’s ability to draw fouls. Look for him to drive into the body of the Nuggets’ bigs in an attempt to draw fouls. If he can get two out of the threesome of Nene, Kenyon and Birdman into foul trouble it will be a big advantage for New Orleans.

Paul is going to play like a man possessed and Denver better be ready to match his desire and intensity.

Video Scouting Report - Kenyon Martin Defending David West

April 19, 2009
by Jeremy

One of the key matchups in the upcoming series between the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Hornets will be the battle between big men David West and Kenyon Martin. The good news for Nuggets fans is that we do not have to hope and pray that Kenyon can outscore West, because the chances of that are similar to the chances that the Celtics, Spurs and Blazers all lose at home on the first day of the 2009 NBA playoffs. Well, maybe that is not the best analogy, but you get the idea.

Kenyon is a superb defender, especially when he puts his mind to it and I think he will have a much greater chance for success than the previous postseason when George Karl chose to have him cover the NBA MVP Kobe Bryant.

He can move laterally as well as any power forward in the NBA yet can still hold his own in the post. Kenyon is far from an infallible defensive player, but a player like David West is right in his wheel house. The players Kenyon struggles with are ones who are either heavier or taller than him. Size wise both players are listed at 6’ 9” and 240 pounds and Kenyon is certainly capable of dealing with anything West can bring to the table.

Even so West will get his points. Despite not being blessed with explosive athleticism West is still a very good scorer. He is not a player you think of as taking you down to the block and abuse you, but if you do not respect his touch around the rim he can embarrass you. West is also a capable driver and will utilize spin moves and pump fakes to get a clear shot at the rim. However, his most effective weapon is his jumper. West can kill you without ever setting foot in the lane and that makes him a difficult cover.

Once again I have put together some video to see how these two matchup and I think the video shows what an even matchup it will be.

You will notice that all of those clips were of Kenyon covering West. It is vital that Kenyon keeps West from posting big scoring nights it is also important that this does not become a matchup that is only worth watching at one end of the floor. Kenyon is a capable scorer as well and he has the talent to put some points up on West himself. It seems to me that since his back and rib troubles Kenyon has not been going to the rim nether as frequently nor as effectively as he did earlier in the season. We have not seen much of his spin move and push shot from the lane and I think it is important that Kenyon make West work at both ends of the court.

The Hornets supporting cast is not good enough to afford a down series from West. Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler look to be less than 100% and if West is held in check it will be virtually impossible for the Hornets to win. Over the previous two seasons against the Nuggets West has played in six games and only made 44 of 106 field goal attempts. That is only 42.3% and it is more than 5% lower than he shot over those two seasons.

If West only hits 42% of his shots over the next couple of weeks I think the Nuggets are a shoe in for the conference semifinals.

Video Scouting Report - Tyson Chandler

April 18, 2009
by Jeremy

Two big questions we all face heading into the Nuggets/Hornets series is how healthy is Tyson Chandler and what kind of impact will he have? Chandler himself claims to only be about 70% healthy so what that means we will have to wait and see. Chandler did not play in any of the four contests between the two teams this season, but we can look back to previous matchups to see what his presence means for the Hornets.

I have compiled some clips from game 44 of last season. Chandler had ten points on four for five shooting and 16 rebounds as the Hornets defeated the Carmelo-less Nuggets 117-93 in New Orleans. However, Chandler only had one block and played somewhat passively on the defensive end.

I do my typically sterling job narrating the eight clips, but watch for the timing he and Paul have on the pick and roll. The duo combines to execute on plays where Chandler cuts to the rim immediately, when he makes a delayed cut and even in transition. You have to wonder with Chandler missing so much time if they will still possess that sense of timing and chemistry.

Defensively I thought it was interesting how Chandler was content to watch the action. He moves well and generally is in the right position, but his lack of big shot blocking numbers can be attributed to the fact he is content to let his opponent score largely unchallenged. We see the opposite end of that spectrum in Birdman who launches himself at shots that he has no business attacking, but we have also seen Birdman have a larger impact through forcing altered shots than Chandler does in the clips to follow.

Again these clips are from last season when Chandler was healthy. Who knows how much of this performance he can duplicate. According to Ryan and Niall at Hornets 24/7 Chandler had four throw downs of the pick and roll in the last game against the Spurs. However, if he is feeling any discomfort I would expect him to play ever more passively on defense and hopefully Nene can take advantage of that.

Denver Nuggets Pick and Roll Defense Against the New Jersey Nets

March 20, 2009
by Jeremy

I mentioned in my game recap of the Denver Nuggets 121-96 victory over the New Jersey Nets that Denver played very strong pick and roll defense. I purposely left the details out because I was planning on putting together some video evidence so here you go. Take note of how the Nuggets defended as a group and every movement was done deliberately with a purpose behind it.

The frustrating thing is watching them defend the pick and roll correctly it really is not that difficult. No one is doing anything superhuman or spectacular. To be fair, defending the pick and roll against Keyon Dooling is slightly easier than when Devin Harris has the ball, but the same principles apply no matter who is dribbling the ball.

Record	43 - 21
Pythagorean Record	45.7 - 18.3
Projected Pyth Rec	58.5 - 23.5
Defensive Efficiency	108.2
Offensive Efficiency	114.8
Pace Factor	93.8
Field Goal %	47.2%
Opp Field Goal %	45.6%
Effective FG%	51.4%
Opp Effective FG%	49.4%
True Shooting %	56.7%
Opp True Shooting %	53.2%
Def Rebound Rate	72.5%
Off Rebound Rate	25.9%
Total Rebound Rate	49.5%

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