Denver Nuggets Blog – Roundball Mining Company

There’s not much to explain here. Faried dominated the game and yet he only played 26 minutes! Offensively, he continues to get better and better as a legitimate post scorer as well as a guy who can chip in double-digit hustle points any given night. Faried had a great first half in which he still struggled to rebound and stay in front of the Phoenix bigs on pick and rolls, two problems he clearly addressed in the second half to finish with one of his finest performances all season.

Gallo was better than he has been, but let’s not keep kidding ourselves – Gallinari just isn’t the game-changing force he was earlier in the season. What I found particularly interesting was the fact Gallo missed a ton of easy shots and managed to throw in some lucky ones. It needs to be noted that Gallo was still great defensively, where he completely neutralized Jared Dudley and finished with two steals, two blocks and only one personal foul. With that kind of balance, the lack of scoring output isn’t so bad.

It wasn’t a big stats game for Koufos, but his play was brilliant in a crucial third quarter surge that essentially put the game away before Phoenix could get anything going. Koufos was a big part of a starting five that so thoroughly out played Phoenix, he finished the game a +16 in only 15 minutes of action. That’s giving your team high-quality minutes.

Afflalo started extremely slow, taking only two shots in a first half he only managed to score three points. Once he picked things up in the second half, Phoenix did not stand a chance as Afflalo made a play that summed up the game by attacking Nash in transition and smacking him in the face for the and-one layup that essentially became the dagger.

One of the finest games of Ty Lawson’s career, who could have easily had his first 30-point scoring game had he not decided to throw in in ten assists to only one turnover for good measure. Phoenix simply could not match up with him and Lawson torched the Suns’ defense from start to finish. When Lawson is aggressive and shoots the ball like he’s capable of, he’s nearly impossible to stop.

Harrington did his best to carry a bench rotation that just could not build on the momentum created by the starters. It wasn’t the bench’s finest performance despite Harrington’s respectable shooting and his admirable hustle on both sides of the ball, where Harrington gave much better effort than some of his bench counterparts. Big Al wasn’t bad, but expect him and the bench to bounce back in the final three games of the season and start looking a bit more like themselves.

The Nuggets were fighting Andre Miller just as much as they were the Phoenix Suns. The story of the game was the starters’ complete domination followed by Andre Miller’s lackadaisical efforts to give everything back. As esteemed reader TJ McBride pointed out to me earlier, Miller accounted for five of the Nuggets’ nine turnovers and needed his teammates to carry him through a game he could not manage an honest effort towards winning.

Any game in which Brewer scores double-digits while taking fewer than ten shots is a successful one. I loved Brewer’s defensive energy and his ability to pressure the ball, which only makes his extremely limited minutes more frustrating when the ineffective Andre Miller produces less in almost double the playing time. When Brewer has it going like he did against Phoenix, he’s a very disruptive force and someone the Nuggets should not be afraid to ride for longer stretches.

McGee had a very solid finish after a poor first half. One of the things he really struggled with was Phoenix’s pick and roll game with Nash, which is no doubt one of the reasons George Karl is reluctant to trust him with significant minutes. McGee’s post defense was solid and he made much better decisions in the second half, where his awareness in the pick and roll led to a much improved defensive performance in the deciding third quarter.

Even in a pretty forgettable overall performance, Faried still produced four or five of the most memorable highlight plays of the night. While you can make a case Faried’s outstanding hustle and energy swung the game’s momentum in several critical moments, much of his 22-minute stint consisted of uninspiring filler. Faried can no longer afford to fade into the background as the role-playing energy guy chipping in 4 points and 4 boards in limited minutes. He needs to stay on the court and produce what’s expected of him, especially on the defensive end where Faried needs to develop some consistency.

The numbers paint a very misleading picture of how valuable Gallo was, especially in the second and third quarters where the Nuggets found themselves dangerously close to letting the Rockets seize total control. He didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but Gallo’s passing, decision making, and excellent shot selection have had the Nuggets offense looking more and more like one of the most dangerous in the NBA.

Koufos has more or less been invisible since his move from the bench to the starting lineup. While Koufos has been far from bad, you can’t say he’s made the most of his new opportunity as his minutes have remained the same while his production has dipped across the board. I’ve noticed him struggling against the more physical bruisers down low and Sam Dalembert proved to be no exception.

Another solid all-around effort out of Afflalo, who flat out carried the Nuggets through a trying first half. Afflalo was the one player who I thought embraced the challenge of winning this game and was completely unfazed by the pressure. It was business as usual for Arron, who has turned a rough start to the season into the best campaign of his young career.

Lawson really controlled the game down the stretch. It was far from pretty, but Ty got it done when it mattered most. We saw a much more balanced scoring attack out of Lawson along with a more aggressive attitude and an Afflalo-like approach in terms of effort. Lawson hit a huge three pointer down the stretch and also helped carry the offense with his penetration and ability to get to the line.

After a quiet start to his night, Harrington came alive during a crucial third quarter stretch that culminated in the Nuggets taking their first honest lead of the game and eventually closing it out with a win. Torn menisucs and all, Harrington is proving he can still be a dangerous offensive threat off the bench. In many ways, Harrington’s shooting and scoring is what opens things up the Nuggets offense, which is heavily reliant on the bench.

Lethargic is the only word to describe Andre Miller’s first-half performance. It was almost surreal seeing him carelessly throw away possessions and casually jog back up the floor in a game with so much at stake for both teams. Eventually, Miller got this act together and provided a steady hand of leadership down the stretch, but it has to be noted that Miller only showed up for the second half and was nowhere to be seen in the first.

It’s been tough for Brewer to find an appropriate role, as he was starting a good portion of the season for the injured Gallinari and never worked himself into a comfortable groove with the rest of his teammates. Brewer basically found the perfect role backing up Gallo, and turned in the finest 18 minutes of his Nuggets career,. Offensively, Brewer took a good balance of inside and outside shots and showed much better focus in terms of defending the perimeter.

The Nuggets were struggling to find answers for Sam Dalembert and Mozgov got a brief 4-minute opportunity in the second half. There wasn’t a lot to judge his performance by in four minutes, but it’s safe to say Mozgov didn’t particularly stand out.

McGee once again stayed solid for the duration of his limited time on the floor. Without Marcus Camby available for much of the past two contests, Denver was able to get away playing heavy amounts of small ball and McGee hasn’t been relied on for much. JaVale continues to be a hard worker who shows flashes of tremendous athletic ability. It should be interesting to see how he is brought along as the playoffs draw near and the Nuggets face tougher competition inside.

Faried’s second consecutive double-double earns him a solid grade, but it’s worth mentioning he had 14 and 10 at halftime and shot 0-2 while grabbing only two rebounds in 17 second-half minutes. It’s nitpicking when your rookie power forward has a game like this, but Faried can work on being a steadier player for all 48 minutes. Thankfully, when rewarded with appropriate playing time like the 36 minutes he received tonight, there’s no way Faried doesn’t improve. Even when struggling, his effort never wavers and he finds a way to make winning plays.

Gallo made the biggest shots of the night, but took some poor ones and understandably struggled to find his rhythm only a few weeks removed from breaking his left thumb. Gallo’s playmaking and passing ability were superb, but he also had 5 fouls and really drifted in and out of the game defensively (to be fair, so did the rest of his teammates)

Koufos struggled defending Pekovic, but still managed another perfectly adequate performance in limited minutes. Koufos has improved his defense over the course of the season, but can be foul-prone and erratic in terms of his rebounding.

Afflalo was the one player who was consistently good on offense. Without his timely shot-making in the third quarter, Denver might have fallen apart altogether. This was far from Afflalo’s best game defensively, but he’s been a steady contributor in one way or another just about every night.

This was a much more complete effort from Ty Lawson on both ends. He was aggressive and physical throughout. More importantly, he finally took advantage of a favorable matchup against Jose Barea and Malcolm Lee. Ty played with a lot of energy but also had a hand in allowing the offense to go stagnant and ultimately give up a 24-point lead to a Timberwolves team without any of their best players on the floor.

Harrington just didn’t have it tonight and was visibly struggling to keep up with the younger, more athletic Minnesota forwards. For the first time in very many games this season, Harrington sat out the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter. Big Al did make his threes in the first half and it is tough to evaluate him knowing he’s playing with a torn meniscus, even admitting it’s affecting his ability to defend and rebound.

Now there’s the Miller I know. While I gave Andre a ton of credit for his improved energy and effort over the past few weeks, you can’t help but notice he’s a guy who coasts through games and doesn’t play hard all the time. If you want an example, watch the entire fourth quarter. Defensively, he was Andre Miller. Offensively, his own ill-advised decision making led to string of frustrating plays that culminated in him moping around the court in all too familiar fashion.

Brewer continues to be one of the most frustrating players on the team. He’s constantly fighting the urge to get up 15 shots every game and on defense, where Brewer’s supposed to make his mark, all he does is wildly hawk the ball or flop in hopes of causing a turnover. Hopefully, someone can remind Brewer that a stop and a defensive rebound can be just as good as a forced turnover.

McGee didn’t get a lot of rebounds, but he made all sorts of hustle plays that netted the Nuggets several extra possessions. In fact, McGee was playing with Manimal-like energy his entire 17-minute stint. He continues to be a big time presence in the paint and a promising team defender who can’t help but throw in two or three boneheaded mistakes every game. In terms of pure talent, I think he is one of the better players on the team and a potential game changer if he can find a way to settle down and fit in.

Complete and utter domination. Faried set new career highs in points, rebounds, field goals made, and field goals attempted in just 24 minutes. He was outstanding in transition and a beast in the paint on both ends. Defensively, it was by far his finest performance to date. I get the sense Faried is seen as purely an energy guy by the coaching staff, but games like this are a reminder he’s a much more complete player than he’s given credit for.

Gallo’s welcome return was well-received by the Nuggets new starting five. For the first time in weeks, the Nuggets started a lineup with chemistry and cohesion on both ends of the court. A lot of the credit must go to Gallo, who clearly isn’t in game shape yet managed to get the Nuggets playing the best team basketball we’ve seen in weeks.

Koufos is capable of putting up better numbers, but still played a fantastically solid game that helped the Nuggets open up with perhaps their best start all season. Nothing was wrong with Koufos’ game, but he was somewhat overshadowed by the stellar play of McGee and Faried.

I supposed this is now what a poor game out of Afflalo looks like. It’s a shame this season feels so short because if this is what we can expect when Afflalo doesn’t have it, he’s well on his way to becoming a special player. His leadership and team-oriented play were a welcome sight on a night he could not carry the offense like he has in the past couple of games.

I hate to be harsh, but once again I did not like the timid, passive style of play we saw out of Lawson against the Warriors. Lawson did not do anything wrong, but he should play better against a sad Warriors back court full of no-names. Ty has it in him to take over these games if he wants to and it’s personally disappointing that he doesn’t show more of a killer instinct or a drive to assert himself against lesser competition.

Harrington didn’t play much, but he did his job admirably when he did. Al was once again flame throwing triples from long range and wasn’t needed for more than a few minutes after the bench essentially put the game away in the second quarter. Bad news just came out that Al has a torn meniscus and has been trying to play through it the past few games.

Once again, I just really like the maturity and professionalism Andre is now showing on a nightly basis. Why this was missing for first 80% of the season I have no idea, but in the past month or so Andre has been one of the steadiest guys on the team outside of Afflalo.

Brewer still has a place in the Nuggets’ rotation and he found that niche tonight. Corey was solid in transition and at the very least, less of a black hole on offense. I think his leash with George Karl had gotten a little too long and Brewer became too content to step outside of what he’s supposed to do best. He did a lot of good things in garbage time, but questions remain about his decision making on offense.

Mozgov got an extended garbage time stint after playing himself out of the rotation entirely on the Nuggets’ recent east coast trip. He was part of a twin towers lineup with McGee and hopefully, the dose of playing time will light a fire under him to make himself a more useful option should the Nuggets need him down the line.

Patience is the key with McGee. Admittedly I was not a fan and frankly, never believed the Nene trade had anything to do with the merits of acquiring him. Honestly, after getting an extended glimpse at JaVale and everything that comes with him, I’m impressed. Sure, he can be frustrating on a team that can’t afford any more inconsistency. Even so, the physical tools and multi-faceted skills he shows warrant a more patient attitude. This is a work in progress that likely won’t be complete by the end of this season, and there’s still plenty of good to be found in that.

He’s an exciting player, but all of his minutes came against the Warriors reserves with the Nuggets up by 30. Still, Julyan played with a lot of intensity and displayed a keen sense for utilizing his length and athleticism on defense.

Jordan was another guy who saw garbage minutes and ran up the score on a team that had already given up. It was nice seeing him sky high for a dunk and have success after a a sub-par game as a starter in his previous outing.

Gone, but not forgotten. Obviously this grade is N/A because he didn’t sniff the court yet again. I don’t think this is it for Birdman in a Nuggets uniform, but it’s probably a sign he will not play for the rest of the year. It has to be frustrating for Bird to be cast aside and given the Renaldo Balkman treatment, but it’s also a strong indication this team is moving in a new direction and making tough sacrifices for the sake of developing talent.

I’m still trying to figure out why Faried didn’t see any meaningful time past the start of the game. He’s suffered through slow starts before and usually still finds a way to make things happen. Faried’s rebounding performance was very poor, but I’m confident he would have made a difference if given the chance. This likely wouldn’t have ended up as one of Faried’s better games, but after all he’s been through this season I am shocked George Karl continues to have so little confidence in one of his better players.

Hamilton followed up his brilliant start last night with a dud. Considering he’s only seen meaningful minutes in about five games so far, his struggles are understandable. I liked the fact Hamilton played with confidence but he looked like a guy doing his best not to screw up instead of a high energy difference maker. He needs more time, and unfortunately the Nuggets don’t have that as they’re fighting for their playoff lives on a nightly basis.

Koufos also struggled on the boards quite a bit, where the Nuggets were thoroughly dominated by Golden State. His production was solid, but much of it came in garbage time. Like Faried, he was another guy who never got going because he didn’t play a significant role. Even so, Koufos could have a more immediate impact in the starting lineup and he’s just been blending in.

Afflalo did all of his damage in the first quarter and subsequently disappeared for the rest of the game. I find it hard to put much blame on him after watching him carry the starters with a tremendous effort last night. Afflalo doesn’t excel at creating offense, but he’s been forced into taking a higher volume of increasingly difficult shots. At some point, the Nuggets must make an effort to get him some help and run an actual offense that does not depend on Afflalo going one-on-one so much.

You might not be able to tell from the box score, but this was a half-hearted effort from Ty Lawson. Going against the Warriors’ point-guard duo of Charles Jenkins and Nate Robinson, Lawson did all he could to take a backseat and coast through the game. He was clearly Denver’s most favorable matchup and just didn’t step up. You have to wonder if he’s started to lose confidence and defer after a couple of bad games and the resurgence of Andre Miller.

The highlight of Al Harrington’s night was getting into it with Warriors fans after starting the game on fire from deep. The raucous home crowd was giving him the full-on Joe Lacob treatment by the end of the night. I appreciate the show of emotion and competitive fire, but showboating against opposing fans during a blowout loss is just quintessential Al Harrington.

After an apathetic, indifferent, and just flat-out bad start to the season, Andre Miller seems to have finally turned things around. He’s been consistent for the first time all season and his change in attitude has been admirable. Defensively, Andre’s play leaves a lot to be desired even against B-list NBA talent. The team needs to play at a high level defensively to get the most out of Andre Miller, and it’s safe to say that hasn’t been happening.

Brewer was once again a mess. While he finally upped his production, it came at the cost of high volume shooting and low efficiency. He just runs around the court without rhyme or reason and against the Warriors, he did not make a positive impact on defense. If he’s not going to hang his hat on perimeter defense anymore, Brewer just needs to play smarter. Ten shots and five three point attempts is not acceptable for a player with such limited offensive talents.

McGee’s been pretty bad since his move back to the bench. The issue appears to be mental more than anything, as his confidence is currently so low he’s focused purely on avoiding mistakes more than anything. McGee showed some good things tonight, like the fact he can be an imposing defensive presence at the rim. Unfortunately, he also showed the lack of discipline and maturity that’s earned him his reputation. McGee can still be a fantastic player for the Nuggets if he can put it all together, but with only a handful of games left and JaVale struggling, there may not be enough time.

Stone played a few garbage minutes, shot a midrange airball and recorded a foul. His performance was short and basically meaningless, but more importantly a sign of a how non-competitive the Nuggets were against the lottery-bound Warriors.