Unfortunately for the Nuggets, despite a victory in Game 5, doing those things may not be possible together. One of the important parts of the Nuggets playing with two bigs is Kenneth Faried playing Harrison Barnes on the defensive end. But Faried has struggled a bit in that role as his unfamiliarity of defensive rotations has allowed Barnes to get a lot of open shot attempts, some he has knocked down and some he hasn’t. The following are four examples of the problems Faried has had, three makes and a miss, from Game 5 when Barnes had 23 points.

Barnes 1st 3:

As you can see on Barnes first made three he caught the ball with Faried way too far away. There is just no way for Faried to get to Barnes in time to make any difference on his shot. Get used to this type of distance, it happens a lot.

Barnes 2nd 3:

This picture comes from before Barnes catches the ball. Before the picture Faried was randomly wandering the lane before jumping over to double Klay Thompson. The problem? As you can see by the arrow Harrison Barnes is nowhere close to Faried. And as the next picture will show that is a pretty big problem.

Barnes caught it and no Nugget was close enough to make a difference. And he drilled it.

Barnes 5th 3:

Another pre-catch photo for this one. Faried is too far into the lane on this play. With most defensive systems it is Lawson’s responsibly to drop down and bump Bogut, slowing him down enough that a big can recover. After all, if Bogut catches on the move where Faried is now is too deep into the lane to help anyway. Faried has his head turned to Barnes, a cardinal sin of defense, and the result after a deflection is the following.

There is the catch. Again no Nugget that close as Barnes enters into his shot. Again he drilled it.

The problems are not just on the makes though. Barnes has missed some open looks, keeping the numbers lower than they could be, which should scare Denver. An example of a Barnes miss that came off a perfectly clean look.

Faried lost Barnes in transition and was dropping too far in the lane to be able to recover once the pass was caught. Barnes missed but it was a wide open miss.

The Nuggets biggest problem is that the matchup is not one they can really exploit because Faried does not possess a post-up game and he has not been all that effective on the offensive glass where he is averaging just two offensive rebounds a game. If the Nuggets are essentially willing to punt on the Curry matchup in order to limit the rest of the Warriors they cannot afford to lose individual matchups. And if Faried continues to be lost defending Barnes they have the potential to not just lose it, but get blown out in it. If Barnes goes for 20 plus points again in Oracle Arena the Nuggets may be in a lot of trouble when the fourth quarter rolls around.

The  pictures are from video on the NBA media site. Please follow me on Twitter.

Saying the Golden State Warriors are hot and there’s nothing anybody can do about it is lazy and incorrect. The Nuggets won 10 more games than the Warriors in the regular season. They defeated the Warriors 3-1 when they met throughout the course of the year. And three of those games came in the early part of the season when the Nuggets were struggling to stay above .500 and had 22 of their first 32 games on the road. Granted, the Warriors were a totally different team then too. They had a healthy David Lee.

Fastforward to the end of April. The Nuggets dropped only three games in a two-month span leading up to the playoffs. (To put things into perspective, the Nuggets have lost three games in a row since the playoffs started.) Meanwhile, the Warriors dropped 12 games in that same amount of time, including three of their last six. But somehow, someway, when the playoffs began the Warriors suddenly transformed into The Best Team Ever.

The problem? Average NBA teams don’t suddenly go all superhero on you just because they felt like it, just because they wanted to, because they secretly held that metamorphic power all along and were only waiting for the right time to unleash it. The Hulk doesn’t turn into the Hulk unless prompted. Superman doesn’t start sawing boulders in half with his eyes unless he has a damn good reason to. For most of their lives Superman and Hulk are nothing more than the mundane Clark Kent and Bruce Banner. And they’re perfectly content with that. But what you absolutely, positively must keep in mind at all times when in the presence of Clark Kent and Bruce Banner is that they’re still capable of doing incredible things — just like every NBA team (sans the Bobcats, maybe) and many players throughout the league.

For those with innate superhero powers (i.e. Steph Curry) the playoffs are a robbery, a kidnapping, an injustice which must be rectified. Their game will always climax when the season is on the line and the lights shine brightest. As an opponent your mindset should be to shut them down, but in reality your goal must be to mitigate what predetermined damage is bound to occur. That goal, however, cannot be compromised. When in a battle with a superhero what will ultimately get you killed is pushing their buttons. Or in NBA terms: letting them do what they want.

Through four games this series, George Karl has let Steph Curry and the rest of the Golden State Warriors do exactly what they want. The Warriors like to shoot, so Karl abides by designing a defense that provides them open shots. Mark Jackson likes to give fiery sermons, so George Karl counters by preaching calmly as if nothing is wrong when his team’s actually on the brink of a meltdown. Worst of all, Golden State has a player with superhero powers, and knowing this, Karl decides to do the last thing on earth you’re supposed to do when facing a superhero, which is give them a reason to transform. That reason is Andre Miller.

Steph Curry is dangerous for essentially two intrinsic reasons: (A) his quick release, and (B) his accuracy. If you give Steph Curry a smidgeon of daylight, he’s gonna make you pay. Knowing this, you’d think Karl would chose to guard Curry with one of his two best perimeter defenders, either Andre Iguodala or Corey Brewer. These players understand the nuances of defense and what it means to guard a jump shooter with proximity. Instead, Karl chose to guard Curry for large part of Game 4 with his worst individual defender (one of the worst in the league) who’s clueless about the value of spacing when defending a shooter with a quick release, as can be seen below.

1. The following screenshots unfold in a few seconds time. Curry dribbles up the floor with Miller guarding him, executes a simple crossover dribble and gets past Miller with minimum effort. By the time he reaches the top of the key (which is about 10 feet from when he started his crossover), Miller isn’t even close to being able to contest his shot. And once in the key, Curry draws the Nuggets help defenders his way which leaves other men wide open, whereupon he makes an easy pass to an open man for an uncontested shot or takes a fairly open shot himself. Easy as pie.

2. The following is virtually the exact same play as the one seen above. Curry starts off at the top of the arc with Miller guarding him one-on-one. There’s movement down below but nothing to impede on Curry’s sole focus, which is to take Miller to the rack. After a few dribble crossovers, Miller is spent. He then lazily shifts his feet straight forward, placing his body weight on his heels, which allows Curry to score a routine, uncontested teardrop in the lane.

3. For the third time in just a few minutes span in the third quarter, Curry yet again finds himself guarded one-on-one by Miller at the top of the arc. And for the third time, Curry routinely crosses over Miller, drives left and penetrates the lane with ease. This time Curry even marches all the way in for a scoop layup as his teammates have confused the Nuggets big men with trivial shuffling down below.

4. Of all the times Miller was schooled in the third quarter, this might be my favorite. Here we see Curry bring the ball up with three Nuggets defenders in front of him. Realizing he’s screwed, Miller raises his hand up and begs in a pantomime fashion for help from somebody, ANYBODY!!! With the baseline ripe for penetration, Curry fakes that way and instead hesitates with a behind-the-back dribble that nearly sends Miller into another dimension. By the time Miller is able to stand fully upright again Curry is already in shooting motion. And instead of at least getting a hand up, Miller puts both in his pockets, cocks his head back and waits for the sweet splash he’s become all too familiar with over the course of the season.

Throughout the game seven of Curry’s 10 field goals came by way of isolation. In only two of those instances was a pick even set and in those situations Curry didn’t use the pick to explode towards the basket or shake his defender for an open shot. In fact, he didn’t even use the pick at all. Instead, Curry dribbled until he was once again face to face with his defender, almost as if he preferred to humiliate them all by himself. And aside from two of those isolation baskets, all were defended by none other than matador maestro, Andre Miller.

Nuggets fans are in quite a state of disbelief right now. There looks to be no light at the end of the tunnel. They’re frustrated with George Karl, and rightly so. But this series is not over yet. Until the Warriors advance, the Nuggets will continue to remain the better team in the eyes of many. But if things are to change, it starts with George Karl. He did an incredible job of coaching this team to 57 wins and a three seed in the regular season; there’s absolutely no reason why he can’t turn this sinking ship around and dispel the stigmas about superstars and uptempo offenses he’s been talking about all year. But if he’s to find himself on the good side of history (instead of the bad, which is where he usually resides this time of year), then things have to change. Karl has to change. No more Andre Miller on Steph Curry. No more playing roulette with the lineup. No more lackadaisical defense. No more letting Golden State do exactly what they want!

As the great Jim Croce once said: You don’t tug on Superman’s cape.

If Karl tugs any harder, he’ll get what’s coming to him.

Follow me on Twitter

For all the good the Nuggets did in game 3, they still can’t defend the Golden State Warriors, whose offense sure came back down to earth – all the way from 74.3% eFG in game 2 to 57.5% in game 3. That just won’t get it done in the playoffs. Obviously there’s a lot to worry about but as bad as the Nuggets’ issues have been, they still have a chance to essentially hit the reset button on the series with a win tonight.

While we wait to see if the Nuggets can seize that opportunity in a pivotal game four, which is obviously huge, here are some bullet point thoughts on what worked and what didn’t in game three.

• One of the biggest stories of the game was Harrison Barnes getting 43 minutes, the most out of any Warrior in game three. Mark Jackson is committed to going small with him but also shifted him to the three at times with Bogut and Landry manning the four and five. That is a slower, less explosive bench unit that Denver should be able to take advantage of. They haven’t done so because the Nuggets can’t guard Barnes. He’s shooting 57.6% as the Warriors’ fourth-leading scorer in the playoffs.
• The Nuggets are having Chandler help off Barnes and will stick Andre Miller on him when the benches are in. Denver can live with offense going through Harrison Barnes but they’ve given him way too much confidence early in this series. He cannot be allowed to see the volume of wide open threes he’s getting, which is why his efficiency is through the roof. We’ll have to see if Denver makes an adjustment here. The Nuggets put Chandler on him at the end of the game and Stephen Curry was able to get Barnes switched onto Andre Miller. Barnes drilled the cold-blooded pull-up right over him. The fact Golden State got him the switch and let him attack that matchup at the end of a close playoff game shows the kind of confidence they have in Harrison Barnes right now.
• The Nuggets were able to test Kenneth Faried’s stamina and he held up pretty well. He played almost the whole fourth quarter and just having a productive big in the game seemed to reinvigorate the Nuggets’ attack. If Kenneth can give the Nuggets 35 minutes a night for the rest of the series it would be huge.
• I was surprised to see Kosta Koufos come in off the bench late in the first quarter. The Nuggets put him on Carl Landry with mixed results, Landry finished with 19 points on 17 shots. He has played limited minutes but Koufos still can’t produce. He’s gone scoreless for two straight games and recorded only one legitimate rebound in that stretch.
• I’m not sure what the Nuggets are hoping for out of Koufos. They imagine him as a defensive minded big but he is not exactly physical and doesn’t have a skill set suited to this series.  When both teams go small he looks way out of place. There was a particularly bad sequence where Jarrett Jack ran into a soft trap from Koufos on the perimeter and Jack put him on a leash all the way to the rim for a layup. It just seems like Denver should go with one of their more active bigs when they are small.
• That being said, if the Nuggets are going to stick with Koufos it makes sense to start him. He and Faried started 80 games together this season and Koufos is going to play limited minutes whether he starts or comes off the bench. He was just pulled out of the starting lineup in game 3 though. Will Karl make another big adjustment or try to make it work with Koufos off the bench? As I said before, going small with Koufos is something Denver did not experiment with during the regular season. They are getting poor results with it now.
• Anyone who’s closely followed Nuggets games for the last two years saw that second half collapse being set up in the first. Andre Miller had a rough start, getting to the spots he wanted but missing a couple of easy finishes at the rim. You wonder if Miller does not miss those layups perhaps he doesn’t keep forcing the issue in the second half. Karl knew he didn’t have it going and still put him out there in crunch time hoping for a change. Denver clearly had another option with Corey Brewer but I think we have to accept the fact Karl isn’t willing to consider sitting a cold Andre Miller in the playoffs under any circumstances.
• The problem with playing Brewer over Andre Miller is the offense. Miller has been really good in isolation and can create his own shot against the Warriors if need be. Brewer on the other hand is prone to chucking, especially when the Warriors are daring him to shoot this much. Golden State is on top of this matchup, Jarrett Jack in particular. When Jack guards Brewer they are giving him tons of room on the wings and daring him to take that three off the first pass. Denver doesn’t want to get into a quick shooting contest with Golden State, especially not with Brewer. However if you are Corey Brewer, what can you do? If they leave you that open, you have to take the shot.
• It may just come down to rebounding. We’ve mentioned it before but Denver was the top offensive rebounding team in the league during the regular season. They have lost the rebounding battle three straight times and the Warriors are beating them at their own game on the crucial offensive boards. If that does not start trending the other way, Denver cannot win this series. They were elite in that area and simply aren’t good enough at everything else to make up for the sudden, shocking deficiency there.

As a look ahead for Game 2, I went back to Game 1 and took a look at all of Steph Curry’s shots to see if what the Nuggets did was replicable or if it was more of a matter of Curry just missing open shots. Below is a short breakdown of each shot.

Shot 1: Missed Off Balance Runner from outside paint

The Nuggets trapped a high pick-and-roll on this play forcing the shot clock down a bit and Curry into a tough shot. Good Job by Denver.

Shot 2: Missed Runner from the middle of the lane

The Nuggets switched a dribble handoff between Curry and Jarrett Jack leaving Andre Miller a step behind Curry. But Wilson Chandler was in the area and rotated properly contesting the runner Curry attempted.  Good Job for Denver.

Shot 3: Missed 3 from right wing

Curry shook away from Ty Lawson off the ball and caught a pass on the right wing. Kosta Koufos rotated off his man who threw the pass and semi contested the shot. Ok Job by Denver.

Shot 4: Missed 3 from right wing.

Andre Miller was trailing Curry through a screen and thanks to a bit of a bad pass was able to give a decent contest to the shot that missed long. Ok Job by Denver.

Shot 5: Missed jumper from left elbow

Curry caught the ball after coming off a Bogut screen and immediately used a screen from Carl Landry. But Anthony Randolph was there to contest the shot. Good job by the Nuggets.

Shot 6: Missed stepback jumper from left wing

Lawson stayed with Curry well inside the arc, forcing Curry to try a stepback jumper that he missed. Good Job by Denver.  

Shot 7: Miss 3 from the left corner

Curry caught the ball in the left corner free in transition. After a pump fake sent Corey Brewer flying by, Curry got off a wide open three. Denver got lucky.

Shot 8: Stepback 3 from top of the key

Curry caught Lawson leaning and pulled a nice through the legs stepback but Lawson was able to recover and contest the shot. Good job by Denver.

Shot 9: Missed runner from right side of lane.

Curry tried to use a pick from David Lee and was hounded by Lawson. He eventually got by Ty but Chandler stepped in and helped, forcing Curry to take the runner over his outstretched arms. Good job by Denver.

Shot 10: Made 3 from left corner

The Nuggets got hit with the elevator screen play and Curry got wide open in the left corner. Corey Brewer made an effort to contest but it was way too late. Bad Job by Denver.

Shot 11: Made 3 from left corner

Curry started the play with the ball before giving it up and going to set a screen for Klay Thompson in the corner. Ty Lawson switched the screen and trailed Thompson to the block but Evan Fournier stayed with Thompson leaving Curry wide open for the three.  Bad Job by Denver.

Shot 12: Made 3 from right wing.

Curry dribbled around for a while in transition before launching a jumper over the outstretched arms of Iguodala, who picked him up mid play. Good Job by Denver.

Shot 13: Made floater from in front of rim

Lawson let Curry catch the ball in the left corner after penetration from Jack and closed out a bit too hard. Curry took advantage driving to the middle of the floor and beating Wilson Chandler before lofting a floater that he swished. Bad Job by Denver.

Shot 14: Made 3 from right wing

Curry broke down Corey Brewer after a gorgeous behind the back dribble and nailed the wide open three. Bad Job by Denver.

Shot 15: Missed floater in middle of lane

Curry got Lawson on a switched pick-and-roll and broke him down into the paint. But Kosta Koufos rotated up and contested the Curry floater. Good Job by Denver.

Shot 16: Made layup

After a missed Brewer three Curry ran out and got a wide open transition layup when Denver didn’t balance the floor. Bad Job by Denver.

Shot 17: Missed floater from right side of lane coming middle

Curry got Chandler on him after a switch and was able to beat him but Koufos came over in time to make Curry have to settle for a tough floater.Good Job by Denver.

Shot 18: Pull-up jumper in transition.

Curry pulled-up and shot a three over Wilson Chandler in transition. Chandler did well to not get caught backing up and was able to contest the shot. Good Job by Denver.

Shot 19: Missed 3 from right wing.

Curry came off a double screen and got a pretty good look on the three. The Nuggets switched the initial screen leaving Chandler on Curry and tried to switch the second to have Iguodala pick him up. But Iggy got stuck in the screens and Curry got a semi-clean look. Ok Job by Denver.

Shot 20: Made 3 from left corner

The Warriors tried the elevator doors screen again and Lawson did a good job to get through it. But when Jarrett Jack penetrated the middle Lawson got caught in no man’s land allowing the pass to Curry. He then compounded the issue by biting on the pump fake and gave up the made three. Bad Job by Denver.

The final numbers based on what I saw came in this way:

Good Job: 10

Ok Job: 3

Bad Job: 6

Lucky: 1

So the Nuggets did a pretty good job of making Curry’s life difficult in Game 1. Curry will eventually hit some contested jumpers but the Nuggets must make as many of his shots as possible contested. Their Game 1 effort is definitely replicable and they actually should improve a bit. Now that the Nuggets second toughest matchup in Lee is gone the series may very well come down to how Curry shoots.

 Follow me on Twitter.

Looking back, it’s probably a good thing Melo didn’t visit the Pepsi Center last year. Good for him, and good for the fans. The lockout allowed Melo to avoid having to revisit one of the uglier periods in his life and insured Nuggets fans kept their humility intact for at least another nine months or so. It allowed him to settle into New York more and get used to his new life; it allowed us to breath and recuperate. He’ll no doubt feel the wrath of thousands of spurned fans, but that hostility will largely be mitigated by a confidence and belief in our new team.

Because at this point, we’ve moved on. We’re our own person (rather, fanbase) and the funny thing is: We’re better than we were with him. That’s what makes this whole returning-to-Denver thing feel somewhat futile. At this point, we just don’t care. We really, really don’t care. As the saying goes, time cures all, and after an entire season passed and another one nears its end, fans have simply lost interest in caring about a player not on the current roster — no matter how good he may have been. As we speak, the Nuggets are currently in the midst of their longest winning streak since 2005 and are playing the best basketball we’ve seen since the team made its historical run to the Western Conference Finals in 2009. Furthermore, since Melo left Denver the Nuggets have compiled an 81-50 record as apposed to the Knicks’ tally of 74-53. Put simply: Nuggets fans just don’t have a reason to hate Melo anymore.

Of course, this isn’t to say Melo won’t be receiving his fare share of jeers tonight — and rightly so. The Boo Birds will undoubtedly be out this evening in the frigid Mile High temperatures; however, their song won’t be too heartfelt. It can’t be, really. If you boo Melo tonight, you’re doing it because it’s fun — not because you genuinely despise the guy like you may have a year or two ago.

What I will admit is this: I don’t necessarily hold Melo in high regard. What he did to the Nuggets was a pretty crappy thing, not so much to the organization as a whole, but to his teammates and the fans. It was incredibly selfish and myopic. It wasted an entire year of basketball, tore apart a championship-caliber squad that took years to assemble and made watching the Nuggets essentially miserable. It exemplified everything that is wrong about pro sports and greed, and ultimately set the precedent for future generations of supremely talented yet egocentric basketball players to leave franchises in shambles on their way to collecting the biggest checks in the biggest cities with the most amount of star talent.

But what’s done is done. And while I don’t exactly praise Carmelo Anthony for his life decisions I also know they’re not my own, therefore they are not mine to judge. Life is incredibly short. The constant pursuit of true happiness and satisfaction are an elusive treasure that many people spend their entire existence in search of. If Melo was not happy in Denver, then I sure hope he is in New York. I have a suspicion he is.

Tonight, the final chapter of Melo’s career in Denver will be written. He’ll return to Pepsi Center in the future and the Nuggets will visit Madison Square Garden as they have already done several times since the trade; but whatever sour taste was left in our mouths can only exist for so long. Both squads appear to have extremely bright futures. Everyone appears to be happy. Life goes on.

But no matter how many days pass, no matter how many games are played, no matter how many games are won… we will always be left to wonder: What if?

What if Melo teamed up with Masai? What if Chauncey, our hometown hero, never left? What if George Karl reconnected with that old coach in Seattle and decided to embrace defense and value winning on the road again? What if Ujiri worked his magic on several unfortunate GMs and hit on his draft picks like he has his entire tenure in Denver? And what if this all happened together? Would the Nuggets have made their first ever trip to the NBA Finals? Would they have even gone so far as to win on the NBA’s biggest stage?

In the end, I guess it doesn’t matter too much, because whether Melo’s on the Nuggets roster or not this is still a team well on its way to winning an NBA championship someday thanks to a different superstar.

His name is Masai Ujiri.

Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post reports that Ty Lawson will miss tonight’s game:

Lawson is day-to-day with a strain in his left Achilles tendon and won’t play against Chris Paul and the Clippers. Andre Miller will likely start for Denver and Evan Fournier could get some time at backup point guard.

Lawson said from the locker room that he will get an MRI on Wednesday. He has experienced tightness in his foot for the past week, and it tightens up when he jumps.

Andre Miller defending Chris Paul all night is a somewhat frightening concept. It would be nice to see George Karl start Andre Iguodala on CP3 to see if he could reproduce some of the suffocating D that Dahntay Jones displayed in the 2009 playoffs.

Unfortunately, it appears that none of our Roundball Mining Company contributors will be available to do the Rapid Reaction grades for this game, so please use this thread to post your comments.

Happy New Year!

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

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

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

Follow me on Twitter

To get a better informed insight about what to expect from the Lakers, Roundball Mining Company has exchanged questions and answers with Andy Kamenetzky (follow the Kamenetzky Brothers here on twitter) of the ESPN Los Angeles Lakers Index. If you’d like to see my replies to Andy’s questions, you can read them here. And without further ado, the following are his answers to our questions about the Lakers.

1. Nobody would have predicted, even taking Steve Nash’s injury into acount, that after acquiring Dwight Howard the Lakers would have a losing record 15 games into the season. Is this slow start something that will shake itself out after they adjust to Mike D’Antoni’s system, or do the problems run deeper than that?

Andy Kamenetzky: A little of both, I think. There’s no question the Lakers have flaws. The starting five is out of a video game, but is collectively old and in the case of Nash and Howard, dealing with the effects of recent injuries. The bench hasn’t rounded into reliable form. It wouldn’t kill them to add another shooter. But there’s also no question these struggles are also due in rather sizable part to the early season chaos (training camp injuries, the coaching carousel), a myriad of new faces, and Nash’s absence. It’s been extremely difficult for the Lakers to consistently form a cohesive unit on either side of the ball. Obviously, they’re not the first team in NBA history to deal with injuries and/or drama. There’s an onus on the Lakers to figure it out as best they can with the cards they’ve been dealt. Still, I figured it would take this process would take a couple of months under the best possible circumstances, and these have flirted with “worst possible” status.

2. Pau Gasol took a lot of heat after his performance in the Lakers’ loss to the Pacers, but D’Antoni came to his defense saying ” he’s a big part of what [the Lakers are] going to do.” How realistic is the prospect that he’ll be able to run in D’Antoni’s system and establish good chemistry with Dwight?

Andy Kamenetzky: I think it’s possible. Gasol isn’t a Utopian fit for D’Antoni — the coach has admitted as much — but we’re talking about one of the most creative offensive minds in basketball joining forces with one of the most multi-skilled players of his generation. I’d like to think the two can develop a positive, productive working relationship. I’ve often wondered if the template might be Boris Diaw’s role in Phoenix: A play-making big man who can create for others, work mismatches off the dribble, run the break off a rebound, etc. It’s not a true apples-to-apples comparison, as Diaw is a better outside shooter and was younger, but I do think there are legitimate commonalities. Plus, Howard is mobile enough to begin sequences in the high post, which will allow Gasol to at least begin some possessions in the mid or low post.

Then again, it’s not a perfect setup, which means Pau bears the responsibility to aggressively seek out a comfort zone, rather than wait for his coach to create it for him. Unfortunately, that kind of assertiveness isn’t Gasol’s strong suit. There’s also always a chance that with Kobe, Howard and eventually Nash alongside him, Pau simply won’t be given enough to do to truly flourish. But for the time being, I’m remaining positive that time, plus Nash’s presence, will eventually create a niche for Pau.

3. After landing  three-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard, the Lakers are surprisingly just 18th in defensive efficiency. What do they need to do to improve defensively in general, and what approach should we expect to see them taking in defending the Nuggets in this game?

Andy Kamenetzky: Mostly, cohesion. It’s been a nutty two months, which has impeded the team’s ability to get on the same page defensively. This problem is only heightened by Dwight remaining a step or two slow. By his own admission, Howard’s not fully recovered from the back surgery, which prevents him from being the ultimate last line of defense we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. In the latest loss to Indiana, George Hill floated a game-winner off the backboard over Howard, who’d arrived a hair late to either successfully alter the shot or block it. Before the back injury, I’d have bet the house on Howard in that situation. He’s slowly rounding into form, but not yet “Dwight Howard” as we’ve come to know him.

As for the strategy against Denver, I think the first key is containing Ty Lawson as much as possible, which begins with the defense on ball (Darius Morris or Chris Duhon, unless D’Antoni opts for a defensive cross-match involving Kobe or Metta World Peace over stretches) and ends with Gasol and Howard protecting the rim against inevitable penetration from the speedster. The Lakers will also need to be diligent about getting back in transition, especially as a team that now looks to increase tempo. From there, I think it’s all about keeping Denver, and in particular, Kenneth Faried off the glass to prevent garbage buckets and second chance opportunities. JaVale McGee and Kosta Koufos are no slouches on the offensive glass, but Faried is just plain ridiculous (and very entertaining to watch play.) Gasol has struggled at times to keep a body on the Manimal, but needs to find a way to prevent the kid from running roughshod in the paint.

4. Steve Nash’s injury has obviously been a major disappointment and setback for the Lakers after assembling their four future Hall of Famers lineup. How big of an impact will he have in improving the team once he returns from injury?

Andy Kamenetzky: Assuming there aren’t any noticeable effects from the injury, I think Nash will have a pretty big impact. He knows D’Antoni’s system as well as the coach, and no player has ever run it more successfully. With Nash in the fold, the Lakers gain a true floor general, an outside shooting threat, and a player with an unbelievable ability to find teammates in the right spot in the right time. That can only help matters. He’s obviously not a magic bullet, and work will remain at hand after his return. Everyone, Nash included, will have to adjust for the umpeenth time this season. But I do think Nash can make a serious difference. Remember, he was imported from Phoenix well before D’Antoni was in the picture. There were holes to fix, regardless of the coach, and Nash theoretically addresses a lot of those gaps.

5. It seems that many in Lakers Nation are calling for a Gasol trade. But even if — contrary to D’Antoni’s statement — the Lakers did decide to put him on the block, could they get enough talent back in return that on the balance it would improve the team’s chances for a championship?

Andy Kamenetzky: Maybe. Even if Gasol’s trade value has plummeted to the point where he won’t fetch a player close to his caliber of talent — and unless Pau picks up his play, I suspect that will be the case — it’s debatable whether the Lakers even need another A-Lister. One could reasonably argue “Star Player X” swapped for Pau would in turn find himself similarly lacking opportunities, and therefore would be an equally uncomfortable fit. Thus, two or three role players (at least one of which can shoot) to bolster the bench and add depth might actually benefit the Lakers in a more tangible way. And that may be a realistic haul for Pau, even during a down season. The guy’s still a very good player, and we’re not far removed from the London games where he flourished as “el hombre” for Spain.

Follow me on Twitter

Update:  Check out the 5-on-5 previewing the game on ESPN.com.

Most analysts have predicted a fairly dismal season for this rebuilding Orlando team. But this is not a game the Nuggets can afford to take lightly. Through its preseason games and opener, Denver has not shown any noticeable improvement in perimeter defense despite the addition of Andre Iguodala. Weak defense of the arc could prove to be an Achilles heel against the Magic, whose (arguably) three best players – Afflalo, J.J. Reddick and Jameer Nelson – and those who they’ll be relying most heavily on for offensive production, are all very capable 3-point shooters.

One of the most intriguing – and frustrating for many fans – storylines from Denver’s first game against the Philadelphia 76ers is the fact that George Karl pulled Kenneth Faried out of the game less than two minutes into the second half, never to see the court again. In explaining the benching, Karl made what on its face is a pretty flimsy excuse about Faried not being the “best option” in catch-up situations. (Note to self: Research Faried’s +/- in stretches of games where Denver came back from deficits… Hypothesis: Plus). The fact that 6 foot 9 Glen Davis starts at power forward and can no longer take cover in Dwight’s imposing shadow presents Faried with a potentially favorable matchup.

Nuggets fans have been waiting for Iguodala to have his first big impact game with the Nuggets. Rookie Moe Harkless is unlikely to play due to a hip injury, meaning that Hedo Turkoglu and Afflalo will probably play most of Orlando’s minutes at the 3, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some Karl-style small ball action from the Magic. Iguodala should be able to use his athleticism to get to the rim at will against his less athletic and/or smaller defenders.

Benjamin Hochman tweeted that Danilo Gallinari should be back from his ankle injury. Hopefully his return can bring a semblance of order to the slopfest the Nuggets were putting on display against Philly.

Overall, facing an opponent with a recently dismantled roster who themselves are far yet from knowing their identity as a team, this game is a really great chance for the Nuggets to whip into shape some of the areas they’ve been struggling to pull together – team defense, limiting turnovers, team chemistry in general. And realistically, given that the following game is in Miami, it’s their best chance to ensure they don’t go back to Denver having opened the season with three goose eggs.

The game is at 5pm/MT at Amway Center, Orlando, FL, on Altitude.

Follow me on Twitter

1. How open is the battle for backup shooting guard minutes?

Many Nuggets fans were surprised and somewhat irked that Jordan Hamilton was given no playing time in last Friday’s game in San Antonio, especially considering he was coming off the heels of an impressive 17 points in 19 minutes performance in the preseason opener. Evan Fournier, who had played just 7 minutes in that previous game, was the benefactor of J-Ham riding the pine. He played with more confidence and competence than he had in the first game, and took a meaningful step towards demonstrating he deserves to play in the NBA. And, as DenverPost.com‘s Benjamin Hochman recently wrote about, Karl thinks highly of him: “He has a mental focus. He wants to be good, and he’s committed… He’ll get some opportunity to play in the next couple games for us.”

At the beginning of the preseason, all signs generally pointed to Hamilton getting the nod as the regular backup shooting guard in the rotation once the regular season gets underway. But it’s clear that Karl and the coaching staff have taken a keen interest in seeing what Fournier can deliver, so this question remains open, and there will now be a fair amount of pressure on J-Ham to earn his minutes. They clearly won’t fall to him by default. That said, Denver needs a player with natural range, and Hamilton is really the only guy who fits that description. The decision to sit him was surely due to giving Fournier a look and Brewer heating up, and I expect we’ll be seeing plenty more of J-Ham as the preseason progresses.

2. Can JaVale McGee find his groove?

In the first two preseason games, McGee has looked pretty discombobulated out there. He did manage to get things on track a little better in the second half against the Spurs, but for the most part his play has been forced, sloppy and uncontrolled. Or in other words, basically the opposite of what one might expect after training for three weeks with Hakeem Olajuwon. Those sessions and the hype around them, as well as his two superlative playoff games, may have disproportionately raised expectations beyond the real pace of his development regarding “what kind of JaVale” we’d be seeing. But so far, it has been somewhat disappointing to watch.

He did exceed expectations last season after being traded, however, and showed an aptitude for improving his control, reducing the “knucklehead” factor and boosting his overall level of play. A lot of what he needs to learn now still involves unlearning bad habits that got entrenched over his first three and a half seasons, and as such it would be unrealistic to expect him to change overnight. Patience will be necessary, but let’s hope that he can show us some encouraging signs with a few solid preseason performances.

3. Can the starters play like starters?

This is one of those questions where “It’s only the preseason, don’t worry about it” might seem to be the most appropriate response. But don’t forget about Denver’s regular season schedule. With 17 of their first 23 games on the road, they will really need to hit the ground running. And to a man, the starters were all pretty much duds against the Spurs, combining for 18 of 48 shooting (.375) with four of the five players in the minus column (to McGee’s credit, he was the one in the plus).

These guys aren’t going to stop being great basketball players, and it’s easy to see how dudes who aren’t competing for minutes could phone it in a little bit during the preseason. But there should be some valid concern that if they don’t establish good chemistry by the time the regular season starts, that wicked schedule could make it a lot harder to adjust midstream. Hopefully getting back to the Pepsi Center will help on the energy front and serve as an antidote to the last game’s lackluster showing.

4. Will Andre Miller or Wilson Chandler see any preseason action?

George Karl said that Chandler would not be playing against the Spurs or Warriors. The flip side implication of this would seem to be that there’s a chance that rehabilitation from his injury is finally far enough along that he’s close to returning. Of course the Nuggets shouldn’t prematurely rush him back and risk further injury, but if he’s really ready to go and can get in some games, it will be just one more helpful addition to preparing for the regular season.

It would be good, in my opinion, to sit Anthony Carter in a few of these games and let Andre Miller come in to back up Ty Lawson. According to Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com, Miller is expected to play in three or four of Denver’s last preseason games, but was playing with a separated shoulder at the end of last season, and is sitting out a few games to ensure he’ll be healthy when the season starts. His return could help cure some of JaVale’s woes, and also help towards getting the team’s chemistry to gel more quickly.

5. Kosta Koufos, Timofey Mozgov and Anthony Randolph: Will any of them be able to separate themselves from the pack?

Like Hamilton, Randolph also did not play any minutes against San Antonio after playing well in the first preseason game. It appeared that Karl really wanted to give Mozgov and Koufos a lot of run (including significant stretches together) in order to answer this very question of who might be able to put some daylight between himself and the other bigs. In this game, the edge went to Mozgov, who had a pretty nice all-around game, although Koufos did display his rebounding prowess.

I do hope we’ll see more of Randolph going forward, since, unlike Kosta and Timo, how he fits into this team is still a new and largely unanswered question. But for now this contest for frontcourt minutes is wide open, and all of these guys have the opportunity to make their case.

• An additional note on the Warriors game: The Nuggets will get their first look at GSW’s top draft pick Harrison Barnes (7^th overall), who has been extremely impressive in Summer League and the preseason. Their other rookie, center Festus Ezeli (30^th overall), has also been making some noise, starting in the absence of the injured Andris Biedrins.

Follow me on Twitter