Denver Stiffs

It all played a part, that is for sure.

x

stat of the night. kosta kufos lead the team in + - with +6

that tells you everything you need to know about how effective small ball was today.

esPECIALLY agaisnt a long limbed agro team like that, you NEED two legit big men in there to rebound

or else… maybe don’t complain about the lack of rebounding g.k.

Especially when Moz, Kouf and Bird combined for 29 minutes

free7694 - January 31, 2012 reply

no doubt

it would have been fun watching Nene try to guard Gay down the stretch. The actual fact is that Memphis’s small ball beat ours. That to me is more disturbing.

Teekalong - January 31, 2012 reply

Moz got three blocks and 5 fouls in only 10 minutes??

This dude is getting zero respect from the refs or he’s just fouling like crazy.
To be able to pull off 3 blocks in 10 minutes shows he’s valuable to have in the game.
He needs to refine his game some,

I missed the first part of the game

But I’ve seen Moz be terrible with the fouling. It wouldn’t surprise me.

I made this point in the other thread, and I’m going to make it again:

Small ball isn’t the problem. The problem is Karl’s failure to abandon it to protect a lead.

Two games in a row the Nuggets lost with a double-digit lead in the forth quarter. That’s just inexcusable and bad coaching.

But some decent free throw shooing would help, too. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Andre.

… and yes, I get the fact that Andre otherwise played great and helped the Nuggets stay in at the end when the wheels were falling off. Just make FTs plz and I’m happy.

but that is where small ball IS THE problem

because he doesn’t use it as a change of pace. he uses it as “the pace”

We seem to have no problem gaining the lead in the first quarter when Moz is a factor q

Then in the fourth when we are giving up the lead we don’t go back to Moz and instead rely on an inconsistent outside game.

We don't disagree

The problem is not moving away from it when it isn’t working.

It is a stupid default. Karl’s been getting lucky sometimes. Law of averages is a bitch, though.

Someone disagrees

“I Won’t Play Centers Because It Makes Too Much Sense!”

I needed a good laugh after tonight....

As much as I bitch about small ball protecting a lead

I don’t want K2 or Moz out there during closing time.

I think Nene playing the 5 in the crunch is good. But he needs to play better and bigger than he played tonight.

He can do it.

i thought about this during todays game. not sure how much mereit there is in it,

but getting calls sadly is often about politics (whining) and i wonder if his folded book please in russian to the ref’s every time he gets a bogus call are hindering him. he needs to learn to argue in english. that was what turned the tide for nene getting calls.,

Someone teach the kid two syllables:

Bull. Shit.

фигня!

Nene gets calls?

georgekarl - February 2, 2012 reply

The whole thing for me about having Moz or Koufos in the game alongside Nene is ...

… by their height alone they CHANGE THE DYNAMIC THE GAME! You wouldn’t see 17 offensive rebounds and Memphis wouldn’t be dunking the ball and laying it in left and right down the stretch. Mozgov had shown he’ll protect the paint at all costs. Yes, tonight he got into heavy foul trouble and likely would have fouled out at some point, but toss him some 4th qtr time and let’s see what happens as the season wears on.

For some odd reason I think Karl will continue to work Moz into the ladder stages of the game.

it seems like karl, for all the good he's done as a coach

has difficulty recognizing defensive and rebounding merit.

I hope your right...

Karl just seemed to go totally tunnel tonight – it was like he was on the wagon of coaching sanity and had been clean for a day or two and then completely fell off the wagon :) And again, he needs to coach “lightly” with his players – Gallo isn’t a “thug” and Bird isn’t a “problem” – this team is full of guys that want to work hard – George can take off the leash and burn down the dog house – he needs to realize that he doesn’t need it with these guys – they need confidence, respect and trust and they will get it done for him….

Maybe Moz can close

In the latter stages of the game.

But he’s not ready right now. I agree, Moz needs to play more. And Koufus.

But in the last five minutes, I want Nene playing the 5.

I would think we'd have a better shot of creating mismatches if Nene was at the 4 and someone ELSE was at the 5.

Plus I’m feeling like we were sold a bill of goods with the whole “Nene is gonna come back and play the 4 more now…” comments. He’s clearly gonna do just want he’s always done instead.

I dunno

Most teams don’t play their defensive starting center in closing time, save obvious closing second defensive substitutions.

Timo has the skillset where he can develop into a closer. I don’t doubt this. But I think you put your five best players out there to close, and Moz isn’t even in the top eight.

Nene has a better chance at playing bigger than Moz does at realizing his endless potential.

Plea for Intelligence - February 1, 2012 reply

If the bigs don't play in meaningful minutes down the stretch

They will never develop. That means that even at times when they are not contributing or even demanding the ball – and that’s a lot of times – they need to play to develop.

I think Moz suffers from "half step syndrome"

Like Nene when he first came into the league, Moz plays about a half step slow and that is going to get you many fouls in the NBA. Nene finally learned (or is learning) to step up his game and pace and get in better position and the bad calls are less frequent. These guys think they are in position, but we who watch see that their footwork is just plain slow. The NBA is scary quick and new big men need to learn to adjust – I hope he does…

Never thought about that ... well, not exactly like that.

Fantastic point. I also think Moz is having issues with the speed of the game and trying to find his place on the floor. He’s looked good at certain points and he also can look clumsy a lot of times. He has a lot to learn, but I think he can improve quite a bit still.

i worry about his hands. a lot of that is the entry passes he gets, but

as far as i’m concerned anything he does on offense is gravy.

He’s got an above average jumper for a center, he doesn’t seem to have the pick and roll catches down or anything in traffic, but I’m also not sure he’s being set up for success on a lot of the passes he does receive. I dunno, I see some good in him, but also see the bad as well (out of position on D and on rebounds, shaky hands(?), playing a step slow).

He's got all the skills...

but hopefully just needs to keep adjusting – going from 0 to 50mph is very different than going from 50 to 100mph – it takes time – he looks like he’ll be tough in days ahead…

He needs more time on the floor

That will help with his problems. You got to have a trial by fire.

georgekarl - February 2, 2012 reply

he does not have good hands at all

and really struggles to score in traffic, which limits his effectiveness in the pick and roll and post plays. He scores off other playmakers, that’s about it.

Teekalong - January 31, 2012 reply

Agree with Nate and others that Moz has speed issues

But he can score on his own sometimes. And he needs minutes to develop. I’m gonna be harping on player development for the rest of this season. The FO has put together an excellent roster that can compete with most anyone—by next year or the next. It will take time, and that means minutes for, and full confidence in, the guys who are the future. ESPECIALLY TY LAWSON.

He runs the floor

Incredibly well for a big man, handles the ball well coming down the lane on breaks and has a nice shooting touch – pretty good traits in your big guy…

He catches the lob pretty well, has done so in traffic a few times this season too.

Nate Timmons - February 1, 2012 reply

he does not handle the ball well in traffic at all

the fact that he has done so a few times this season notwithstanding. He does not have the kind of good hands that elite Cs have. This is not a skill that you develop at age 25 by getting rotation minutes. He’s a decent player, but he entirely relies on assists to score. I think he should play a fair amount, particularly against teams with size, but he is who he is.

Fair enough and I would agree he doesn’t have elite hands.

Nate Timmons - February 1, 2012 reply

Another perplexing coaching performance down the stretch by Karl

The lineup he had on the floor (Harrington, Nene, Miller, Ty, AAA) played over 30 minutes of real time action…probably closer to 40. A cold Brewer and Rudy were put in at the wrong moment.

Also, I’m ok with the benching of Gallo…but when you are having trouble shooting free throws…putting your best free throw shooter out there might be a good idea.

Just sayin’…hopefully Karl corrects himself in LA

Agree with all this.

He is running Miller ragged

and this small ball lineup is becoming a circus side show. It needs to end.

Well

It needs to end when the Nuggets have a lead.

I love small ball because I recognize the advantages of speed when playing the sort of style Karl wants. It’s cost Denver games, but it’s won Denver games, too. Small ball critics need to recognize.

HOWEVER: Small ball is totally stupid when it comes to protecting a lead. I can’t say this enough, least I get picked on. Because almost all of the small ball criticisms are spot on.

When you play your 36 year old back up point guard those many minutes

it’s a sign of a brain freeze or panic. My problem with small ball is it’s George’s favorite offense…and he wears it out like a fat man in a small suit. It’s not gonna hold forever.

I don't disagree.

It’s stupid for him to stick with it when he needs to protect leads.

Just saying it has its place.

nah. not when you have three good wings and one in brewer

who is a defensive pest. no one could ever say that about andre or that he speeds the pace. that is why i’ll never buy the small ball arguement on this team anyway. we have a 6’9 2 guard who increases pace.

You don't have to buy into the argument

Becuase it isn’t a matter of opinion. Look at aggregated lineup stats and the smaller Nuggets lineup has proven beyond a doubt that it can put points on the board.

you are right that it is not a matter of opinion.

yours being that smaller = faster, mine being that when you have a 6’9 guy that increases pace better than a 35 year old 6’2 guy, playing small ball is simply ridiculous and 100% SLOWER than a lineup that is larger.

Love the point Agaric is making about small ball not protecting a lead.

Would love to see Karl switch back to a traditional lineup for stretches and mix in some different lineups featuring Big Al at 4 and Brewer at 3. Not a fan of the extended stretches of small ball though.

Plea for Intelligence - February 1, 2012 reply

Brewer

He’s done some good things, particularly on defense. Loved when he stripped the PG and came down and slammed it. But Butterfingers has not found his place yet on offense. He doesn’t know how to use his speed advantage to get better shots. He’s still mentally in Minnesota where he chucked up a bunch of bad, off-balance 3s. The only guy I ever saw make those was J.R. Smith and then only one out of 10 nights.

the thing is this though.

we can play just as fast if not faster without rudy OR andre in there. i.e. ty, brewer, gallo timo and nene. we could have just as much offensive productivity/pace without the disadvantages on the boards. THIS is why small ball is not an option for anything but a change of pace in a game we are losing control of.

no one can tell me that andre increases pace better than brewer.

or that rudy has pg. skills.

Don't disagree

There seems to be a problem with nuance here.

The problem isn’t small ball. The problem is too much small ball.

or too small ball

There should never

EVER be a time when neither Kosta, Timofey or Nene is not anchoring the center spot.

I don’t have a problem with Ty, Andre and AAA / Rudy playing at the same time.

Its Al or Andersen playing the five that will have me bitching about small ball with the rest of you.

dude what are you talking about Burgers is GREAT at the Center Position!

He dribbles around and stuff… it’s awesome /sarcasm.

i really wish we'd play big more often for the purpose of utilizing galo as a VERY good perimeter defnder

where as he is below average as a post defender (aka playing the 4) which obviously only happens when we have three guards in there.

I saw that Utah game

You don’t need to remind me of the nightmare of Gallo playing the four.

But: all of this depends on match-ups. Every night is going to be different.

If you people think the rotations should be set in stone, you are crazy. Basketball is all about getting hot and going on runs and finding the right chemistry. And I think Karl is good at that to a point.

He’s clearly too slow to adjust when the momentum turns.

oh no, there is wiggle room, and i am not against small ball for say 5 minute spurts

and not with three guys under 6’5

It can work

It just needs to stop when it don’t.

it can work. it just isn't necessary when it can be done with guys of actual nba height ;)

Great points too!

Timo plays fast. Nene and everyone else you mention does too. Mozgov is very effective when he’s running the floor!

I think it simply needs to end...

It has cost us dearly for too long.

I can understand the benching of Gallo from a shooters standpoint, but he's a good rebounder and defender.

He had 7 boards tonight in just 25 minutes and was locking down Gay to a 2-8 shooting performance in the first half. If Gallo truly is the future of the franchise, you don’t bench him down the stretch … ever.

Frustrating game. I’m losing it over here! haha not really, but kind of.

again,

karl has trouble understanding defensive and or rebounding merit.

No one disagrees with this

Yeah....it was....a bizzare fourth quarter

I can understand him wanting to make a point with Gallo, but he cut off his nose to spite his face when he didn’t account for Gallo’s free throw shooting, his rebounding, and his defense on Gay.

So odd…but these recent coaching lapses have me very concerned.

They are also coaching lapses that we’ve been seeing here for years now. Something needs to change, not saying get rid of Karl, but as this season is wearing on … when will we see Karl shorten up the rotation like he likes to do? Who will be in? Lots of questions with this team. Still heading in a good direction overall, but some definite things need to change.

I don't understand you guys

SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE, not saying get rid of Karl. Most every thing has changed except GEORGE KARL. Every season has wore on and GEORGE KARL still has his D A rotation and the team gets lost. GEORGE KARL has been given a pass for years and you guys just settle for his BS and say it’s okay, we’ll do better next year. When are you going to get it, as long as George Karl is coaching the Denver Nuggets it’s going to be the same ole shi.

samdman - February 1, 2012 reply

Ya Jeff...

I went on a rant in the “Second Half” comments and lost it as I watched that lineup in OT… and a shooter gets out of a slump by only one method… shooting…. Gallo, maybe, should have been worked back into the game… It just felt like the Nuggets were on the verge of blowing them out several times…

In principal I agree with the decision to bench Gallo

and I’m a Gallo fanboy…

But as Nate pointed out, Gallo really is the best player on the Nuggets because he can do so much without scoring. Without him in the game the Nuggets missed out…particularly with rebounding.

I can see why Gallo was benched too. He launched a fadeaway with both feet on the three point line and his next shot was an awkward fadeaway from inside the elbow that didn’t even hit the iron … looked like one of my shots. You can sit a guy for a bit, prove a point, go talk to him and tell him “stop shooting tonight, go to the rim, rebound, and defend.” If that doesn’t work, bench the guy. Maybe that happened? I don’t know.

Seems like benching Gallo in favor of AAA or Big Al was an odd choice. Tonight the hot hand lineup should have probably been: Lawson, Miller, Gallo, Big Al, and Nene. Still not a huge fan of Big Al at the 4, but Denver needed his offense tonight so bench AAA and let Gallo be a Mozgov … rebounder and defender and offensive decoy.

I disagree with benching Gallo

not only because of his boards and D, but NEVER tell a shooter to stop shooting. He could be cold all night, and hit the buzzer beater. And I really WANTED him on the floor in the last two minutes. That’s the horse we need to ride.

Namklak - February 1, 2012 reply

We'll be okay.

SDcat09 - January 31, 2012 reply

I agree with this, too

Because I never thought the Nuggets were going to be a dominant regular season team.

Just a team good enough to maybe be dangerous in the playoffs.

Not as confident as I was a few days ago, mind. But it’s all about the right set of circumstances when the playoffs start.

Really like the idea of Chandler starting at the 2 and AAA coming off the bench.

i like that too, but...

try convincing g.k. that chandler isn’t a center.

I see a trade in our future....I'm not sure what

but Chandler is the most valuable trade piece the Nuggets have….other than AAA. And quite frankly I’m not sure what the Nuggets will turn that in to.

AAA made his free throws tonight

I want to see him drive the lane more and get fouled.

He seems to not realize that since Melo is gone he can take over the game without hurting anyone’s feelings. Thats what the contact was for Afflalo! it was the keys to the ferrari bro! DRIVE MOFO!

the thing is he can't get by anyone

having not played live ball for risk of injury before signing. he is not out of shape, he just hadn’t played ball since april. that’s a LONG time off.

get a pick from Nene

drive the lane!

its that simple really.

that's true.

again his flow is off though. he’ll get better.

When he drives he needs to get above the rim to get fouls called. Layup blocks never get calls, ask Melo.

true but at the VERY least driving the lane allows a help defender to come off an outside shooter allowing the offensive lane driver to pass out quickly.

Bad losses can also have a funny way of lighting a fire under a team's ass too. "Nobody believes in us..."

The Simmons factor…

also this win is strangely not as biting to me as a fan after the supremely disappointing clippers loss.

hopefully they are focused in l.a. and then we don’t leave it in the hands of g.k. to mess up.

Patrick...

I wish I could say the same… but I just felt that tonight the Nuggets made several big runs that were borderline separation and then got reined back into a close game….

Chewed up and spit out...

Can talk rotations, Xs, Os, missed free throws, rebounding, defense, and turnovers all night long. But here is the deal for the Nuggets right now. They are a nice shiny pelt for teams. The Clips and the Grizzlies played like it was a playoff game. The Nuggets were just hanging on for dear life.

Nuggets need to get that edge back. And learn to play with it every possession and will themselves to wins. If the Nuggets can get over that hump, then the team will be special. If not, it is going to go as far as another team lets them.

Got chewed up and spit out be the grinder tonight. On to the Clip joint.

djyoung71 - January 31, 2012 reply

i think guys like kosta and faried might contribute that

since currently our energy guy is birdman who has about as much life in his play as a german silent film.

Nuggets are missing energy. Brewer and Rudy give Denver some, but not in the way Faried can.

I hope Faried doesn't get deeply resentful of Karl for not playing him while seeing other first round rookies get regular minutes.

That kinda thing can fester like a sore and lead one to want OUT when the chance is available.

Dare I say...

that the team reflects the personality of their leader… aren’t we sort of describing Karl here and not so much the team…

Thoughts and Trade Proposals

1) game sucked!

2) Trade Karl for Popovich!

Rockridge1 - January 31, 2012 reply

I wish!

Pop is the only current coach I like more than Karl.

If that happened

Guaranteed champ no doubt!!
Karl makes us look good, but Pop would take us over the top

JR15 - January 31, 2012 via mobile reply

this should be our closing lineup. (subject to matchups/hot hands)

ty, andre, brewer galo nene. however, if either ty or andre are not hitting their shots, it is a no brainer to replace them with kosta or timo. it’ll never happen though. g.k. is too in love with al.

for someone who talks about defense and rebounding so much, g.k. certainly does handicap his ability to do so

with his lineups.

I like this

But Al’s earned the right to be a possible hot-hand replacement.

He’s not the best defender, but we’ve seen him play big and get some key rebounds.

true. and he should get his minues.

just never as one of the two biggest players on the court.

Al was far and away the best offensive player tonight

second place (distant) was Miller. Then its a really long drop. Rotations fairly questioned, but Al needed to be out there in crunch time.

Teekalong - January 31, 2012 reply

disagree.

should have made the switch at start of ot. he and andre were both visibly exhausted.

i’d have been reluctant to take andre out with ty playing tentatively, but al needed to get out and gallo could have come in in a perfect redemptive moment, the way stars do.

I am still angry

Plz console me. Its early in the season and I would rather have growing pains now. Ty was not his self today.
Need the win vs the Clippers. One game at a time from now on

JR15 - January 31, 2012 via mobile reply

I'll feel much better if...

You Go Here!

With the way the nuggets are playing

I’ll be surprised if we’re above .500 by march 2nd. This febuary schedule is no joke.

tknuckle - January 31, 2012 via mobile reply

Karl's at it again; Nene Nono in crunch time

Benching Gallo tonight like he did in the later stages of the OKC playoff run is inexcusable. Yes, he had a horrible shooting night, but Gallo needs to at least see the court in overtime. What faith, Karl? Way to shake the guy’s confidence, George.

Nene needs to start proving that he is worth his contract in the second half, and more specifically, crunchtime. Looked like Amar’e out there from the Nuggs-Knicks game… Passing rather than being the dominant player he could be.

timoptic - January 31, 2012 reply

Gallo was awful tonight.

I don’t think benching him for OT was such an inexcusable error.

neumdaddy - January 31, 2012 reply

I have to agree...

Gallo is a young guy on the cusp of very good and great and the tiniest nudges can determine where he lands – the coach has to be aware of these nuances….

Again, this is nonsense.

Gallo was chucking it tonight, and badly. The coach doesn’t keep him in there because “he has to be aware of the nuances” because Gallo is “on the cusp” and could have his confidence hurt. Are you joking me? Gallo played himself to the bench on a deep team (though GK should be using more of the bench, but that’s not relevant here).

neumdaddy - January 31, 2012 reply

And Kobe has some nights of chucking...

and Melo has night chucking but you don’t see the coach dumping their butts on the bench, do you? The guy is young and is being asked to step up and fill some big shoes – I guess you enjoyed watching Karl bench Ray Allen, Melo, JR and his other goto guys who grew to resent him, eventually performed poorly and either left or had him fired. I don’t like Karl’s methods of discipline. Occasionally a star needs someone in their face, but Karl plays his players in the press, benches them, doesn’t talk to them and on and on – We don’t need another Melo – Karl relationship with Gallo. Maybe you think that militaristic methods work with these guys, but it doesn’t – time after time that has been proven.

Gallo has to be on the floor at crunch time

He was far from “chucking it” tonight. How many attempts did he have? He’s supposed to shoot the ball. And we need a better half-court offense to get him to the hole more often. He’s amazingly effective there, but the Memphis defense shut down the paint pretty well tonight.

This just in: Gallo =/= Melo or Kobe

He’s not there yet. He just isn’t. Even if we want him there, these bad nights need to more productivity in other phases of the game, which just wasn’t happening.

neumdaddy - February 1, 2012 reply

I agree if Karl doesn't get over the two guard line up

This team is in trouble!

Free Moz!!!!!!

SD_Nugget_Fan - February 1, 2012 reply

Saw this loss coming from the 87-77 lead.

Denver is a worse team than their record indicates, and much of it has to do with coaching. Karl’s lineups tonight were ATROCIOUS, and once again, the Nuggets have no clue how to execute in late game situations. Harrington is regressing to his good old “Al Chuckets” self, Lawson is starting to look like a backup again, and I have no clue what happened with Gallinari tonight.

Make no mistake about it, this loss rests squarely on Karl and his rotations which were absolutely inexcusable. The Nuggets are far, far off from being a contender until they get a player who can score in crunch time situations and have a head coach who won’t be an absolute IDIOT with lineups in the 4th. Make no mistake about it, we’re one and done again this year unless there’s a drastic change in our execution down the stretch.

I agree with some of what you say...

and not other parts. I think the anger and frustration I (we?) felt tonight is that we are starting to realize that this IS a contending team. I didn’t think so early on in the season, but now, I’m seeing all these little pieces and abilities and we have so many weapons and different talents on this squad and I just feel like the right person would be able to utilize all these pieces and go VERY far – but it just seems like we are getting about 40% performance out of 100% capability – and it just doesn’t sit well. We have bigs, littles, speed, height, strength, defense, offense – all the pieces – but no one to put them together….

You're right, we have all those things. We just don't have a coach who knows how to do it.

I am done with Karl. Something in me snapped tonight. The man just refuses to change his ways for matching up with the opposing team and it costs us games and costs us playoff runs. He is the worst coach in the league adjusting to the opposing team and we win in spite of him, not because of him.

We were directly matched with Memphis down the stretch

and/or they changed to match us. Nene/Gasol, Al/Gay, AAA/Allen, Mayo/Miller, Conley/Ty. There’s no size disadvantage there. For the second game in a row, however, the guards couldn’t make the plays down the stretch.

I agree with this

there’s a knee jerk reaction to get overly frustrated and let it affect the way you view the team. Every team has off nights…

However, this rotation issue rests squarely on Karl’s shoulders, and it’s becoming a refrain. His crunch time lineups have been laughable. While Gallo was having an off night I have to point out (first pointed out by Nate) that Gallo does so many other things that taking him for a quarter and a half really hurt the Nuggets

like i keep saying, he refuses to allow his ego to be reactionary

even when it is glaringly obvious that it is necessary.

pop and phil jackson are/were never too proud to react to othere teams moves.

they both have won ’ships. so i hear.

rec,

If Bird is going to get only 7 minutes, why do you play him instead of oh, I dunno, Faried or even Stone (if you’re too busy jerking off over 2 PG lineups), who would have matched up very well against the lengthy Rudy Gay and Mike Conley?

Bird is just being toyed with and it’s unfair to expect consistent production from him. They need to play him more or work in other players.

Mike Conley is lengthy?

They're rookies. They wilt in real action in crunch time.

I have no problem with the organisation’s idea (and I have no doubt that it runs higher than GK, or he’d be being ordered to play the new meat anyway) that rookies don’t see the floor except in blowouts.

Chrysicat - February 1, 2012 reply

Agree with this

And until tonight, Karl has stuck with Gallo no matter what

And that’s the right call, for so many reasons. Ugh!

Gallo didn't play down the stretch in Philly

If I recall correctly. And that was another off-shooting night for him.

Had to miss that game

and didn’t look at a thorough recap. But am I mostly right that Gallo is on the floor most of the time when it matters?

Yes

And most of the time, Gallo is being productive.

Look: Gallo was still playing solid perimeter defense tonight and rebounding and moving the ball even if his shot wasn’t falling. I don’t think any one would be too upset if he was out there. But the fact is, Al was shooting way better tonight, and that’s why he took some big shots at the end. Alas, he missed them and we can only wonder what if Gallo had played in the 4th / OT.

I don’t know. Right now, since Denver lost, it is real easy to make the point that he should have been in. He could have been getting to the line and making free throws, something Miller and Nene weren’t doing.

Ugh. Losing sucks.

My concern is much larger than this loss

I want player development. I want trust built. I want sensible rotations. Losses are fine, just not like this.

player development seems to be

one of GK’s best attributes, see eg Gallo, Brewer, Koufos, AAA.

Meh, on to Lob Angeles.

Kevin L - January 31, 2012 reply

Where we'll get rocked again, because Karl will play this lineup

Stone
Afflalo
Fernandez
Gallinari
Nene

That lineup would be fine

Except for Stone.

i don't ever want gallo at the 4. it is not necessary

and yet we see him there often

i know i know. much to my chagrin.

Well

Rudy and AAA at the same time is silly, too.

I don’t think Gallo, who can rebound and block shots decently at 6’10" is the end of the world playing the 4.

Just depends on the mach up. Killed us when he was there against Millsap.

You guys are so absolutist. It cracks me up. Basketball is entirely situational.

that is my whole point man

basketball is situational. karl does not play to situations.

I don't disagree with that criticism of Karl

I just want someone other than me to show a little nuance with their criticism of going small and admit that sometimes it can help.

But, yeah, I agree that Karl needs to make adjustments when Gallo is getting killed playing the four.

I'm with you

I thought he should have subbed more down the stretch, but not for Moz/Kouf. Size was not the problem.

Well...

I’m making a lot of posts tonight defending Karl’s playing small.

But I do think a big reason Denver lost tonight was its failure to protect the lead, and that happened, in part, because of lack of size and rebounders.

Playing small is fine. I just think when Denver has a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter that Karl should be a bit more conservative. And here I agree with everyone who is critical of small ball.

I don't agree

if the argument is that Moz/Kouf would have protected the lead. Memphis went small too, which means one of those guys (or Nene) would have been guarding Gay, which is a wild mismatch that does not favor us given that Moz/Kouf are not threats to exploit Gay on the other end. Maybe it would have worked, but I think our lineup wins the game with fewer turnovers and someone other than Al making some shots.

In the first half Karl resisted his temptations

For most of the first half he played a point guard, a shooting guard, a three, a power forward and a center. Result? 12 point halftime lead. Memphis makes a mini run to start the 2nd half and Karl panics and plays 3 guards an 4 who plays like a 3 and a 5 who plays like a 4. Karl outsmarted again…by himself

gonugs - February 1, 2012 reply

whole heartedly agree on rudy and aaa

on galo however it hurts us twofold on both offense and d. on o he can get around 3’s so it isn’t necessary to use any sort of obvious speed advantage playing him against a 4, and more obviusly on d, he is a superb perimeter defender, and a below average post defender. why jeopardize foul trouble by putting him at a position that doesn’t exploit his ability? if i were coah he would ALWAYS play three. there are players that should play multiple positions. he is not one.

and unfortunately for g.k., aaa and rudy should also never play 3 unless we have mega injuries or foul trouble.

our only wing that should play both 2 and 3 is brewer.

it is all about putting your players in their best position to succeed with this type of depth

and it frustrates me to no end that g.k. doesn’t see it.

Disagree

AAA and Rudy can and should play three when going to a smaller, faster lineup help the team put points on the board.

You win basketball games by scoring more than the other team. And a great way to score is to play fast. Fact.

why when we have cory brewer and gallo?

it makes zero sense! aaa and rudy are not faster pace players than these larger guys!

fact!

you also win games by stopping the other team from scoring

a great way to do this is by having guys that aren’t playing out of position so they can actually have a chance at rebounding.

Which is why you make adjustments

When going small and fast doesn’t work.

Do you disagree when I saw that basketball is a game of runs and matchups and on-court chemistry?

Small ball works sometimes. And sometimes it doesn’t.

It’s like in football, blitzing can give you a huge advantages. But sometimes the defense ends up burned. Exactly why coaches don’t blitz all the time.

How many times do I need to say this? I don’t want Karl to play small all the time.

I just want it acknowledged that it does work and his failure is making the adjustment.

i will aknowledge that it can work, if you will aknowledge that it is asanine to use small ball to speed up the pace, when the same thing could be accomplished

by using bigger players

Who? Moz?

With his clumsy hands? Brewer? He’s a good sport up shooter and I love his energy on defense, but he’s pretty lackadaisical with the ball. Who else?

brewer and ty are the ONLY players who create a faster pace.

you don’t need to put yourself at any disadvantage by surrounding them with munchkins relatively speaking

Miller

Isn’t fast. But he can create speed by leading other players up the court with long passes. A team can play fast without literally running up the court like Ty does.

The ball can be passed faster than any player can dribble it.

if you play miller and ty together

it is imperative to have size at the three position. either galo, brewer or al. very simple theory.

Who said not to play Gallo?

He plays the four!

And Nene the five!

Again: I’m not advocating doing this all game.

Not an opinion.

And, I’m happy to have Brewer play here and there, too. I worry about his handles on offense. For every steal he gets, he has about as many TOs.

i already clearly stated why it makes no sense to play galo anywhere but the three

if what you are trying to achieve by playing small is speed, and you can do so without actually playing small why… in a world, would you STILL play the small guys despute them not speeding up the pace any more? ALL we need to speed up the game is brewer and ty on the court at the same time. there is never any need whatsoever to play small to have these two in the game at the same time.

And I stated why I think Gallo can play the four

He can rebound and block shots.

Obviously, he’s out-of-his element there. Then he should be bumped down to the three.

But to say he should never play the four is silly.

I’d rather have him and Nene than Nene and Moz.

he shouldn't. he is a bad post defender and a superiour perimeter defender

if he can easilly get by threes and have a height advantage as well on offense, why on earth would you negate said height advantage an guild the lilley in the speed dept. by playing him at the 4?

This is all true

But not every team has a four who is Paul Millsap who will kill an undersized PF. It’s all about the situation, which is exactly my criticism of Karl.

And where we disagree is that you and a lot of other small-ball haters think Karl should never take advantage of speed. And that’s just silly.

you are refusing to aknowlege that small ball doesn't create any more speed

than a lineup of ty brewer gallo timo and nene does!

That is a fast line up

But the point of going small and fast is to score.

Did I mention that the point of basketball is to score more than the other team? I think you overvalue Brewer and Moz as offensive weapons.

I like them both, mind. But both turn the ball over when playing at a fast pace.

AAA and Rudy...

are not consistant scorers – Rudy has had …2? maybe 3? good games shooting – he’s much more inconsistant than JR was, yet gets a pass – these 2 guys aren’t putting points on the board… and Rudy is not fast… I am willing to back off the 2 PG’s in together, but it’s that 3rd guard that kills us… example tonight when the Griz got 3 offensive boards and finally hitting the 3 pointer to put them ahead for good – I’m saying that with 1 big guy in there instead of AAA, he gets one of those 3 boards… we’ll just have to see if the 3 guard lineups succeed or fail or if Karl changes up….

mtnmagic22 - February 1, 2012 reply

flop angeles.

If CP3, Billups, and Griffin all flop at the same time...

Does Donaghy blow the whistle?

depends on the books.

How I feel when the Nuggets give up leads

someone on this team needs to be firin' their lazer

georgekarl - February 2, 2012 reply

Wow Nate, you got me steamed with your recap

Haven’t read any comments in this thread yet. Nate, place re-read these quotes from the end of your recap…

“At some point the Nuggets young guns must step up and make the old veteran not take on such a big role with the team. Until the younger guys start proving they can win games, the Nuggets must lean on Miller and Harrington. […] Lawson needs to return to his All-Star hype status ASAP.”

…and then tell us how on earth Lawson and the younguns can step up with the bizarre line-ups Karl is tossing out onto the floor like fucking garbage?! Ty Lawson needs the keys to the goddamned car! Playing him with Miller so much of the time may be working from a stats POV, but it’s far from an effective way to develop Lawson’s game. I’d much rather lose with more traditional rotations than see this CRAP one more game! Lawson needs to be out there more PERIOD—and out there more without Miller taking over the leadership duties. Player development has to be job one right now.

And how could Gallo step up with his ass over there glued to the bench?! No, he hadn’t been effective in this game, but heretofore he’s been given the benefit of the doubt no matter what, which is 100% the CORRECT CALL. What the hell happened tonight?!

I’m sick of seeing unintelligible nonsense where a basketball rotation should be. I am one disgusted fan right now.

Karl lost the game.

Do you think I'm blaming Nate?

Nah, I just didn’t agree with his summary at the end of the recap. But maybe we should blame Nate. After all, this was his game on DS!

I hear exactly what you are saying. Writing a piece as we speak on this very topic of player development. I’m totally in agreement with you that Lawson needs the keys to the car, but he also needs to start being more demanding when Miller is on the floor with him. There’s a quote from Ty saying he’d defer to Miller when they’re on the floor together. He needs to change that attitude and be more demanding.

Karl also is the one handicapping the growth of the young guys and I honestly don’t know how to fix it to where Karl will develop the young guys in favor of winning now.

Nate Timmons - February 1, 2012 reply

My suggestion

For developing the young guys is this: Get a big lead and let the young players earn their minutes by protecting it.

I’m tired, so that’s a pretty sloppy / brief way of putting it. But for the most part I agree that winning teams can’t often afford to “develop” players by investing heavy minutes in them.

I don’t think for a second that practicing with rotation players and having great seats to NBA games but not playing often is going to stunt Faried and Hamilton and Stone too much.

No substitute for playing, though. But that’s on the rotation players to get that lead.

I disagree with letting rookies play only with big leads

the pressure of the game is different. I would like to see Faried get into the game in the 2nd qtr when the game still matters. let him play with some starters so he can develop faster and more efficiently…

LEEDS - February 1, 2012 reply

In support of your Ty point...

It was bizarre in OT to see Ty cutting through and parking himself in the corner while Andre ran point – what good is Ty Lawson buried in the corner standing there without the ball? Too many guards on the floor!

precisely! especially when brewer slashes on offense

and wreaks havoc on defense. there is zero advantage to a 2 pg lineup against good teams.

Hmm

5+4+3+2+1 = 11

CloudBurst - January 31, 2012 reply

play to your strengths

Walking the ball up the court, a turnover every other minute and taking no account of the youth/athleticism/energy of your opponent at crunch time is a recipe for failure. Unless Ty could not run, he should have been bringing the ball up when the tide turned (if not before), Gallo clearly was needed for rebounding and defense in overtime (if not before) and putting all your marbles on Miller/Harrington after they had played 30+ minutes each is just plain dumb. This is the second straight game given away by stubborn reliance on the older guys who probably won’t even be here next season.
If we don’t see primary reliance on Ty, Gallo and our players for the future against the Clippers Thursday, we will know Karl is in a dangerous brain lock!

rhaustin - January 31, 2012 reply

Yes please, the future!

We must focus on player development! This team is not a candidate to win a championship this season, but it will be soon if Karl can see fit to 1) give the young players the keys to the car and 2) establish a rotation that makes some fucking sense, one the players can rely on.

The front office has worked a near-miracle over the last year. It’s time to make sure it pans out. That won’t mean winning 50-something games this season. It has to mean that the players of the future get the time they need to develop.

Japheth:the.other.kind.of.asian. - January 31, 2012 reply

THE WHOLE TEAM LOST THE GAME

I see people here all piling on Karl, well fair enough he’s made some mistakes tonight. But you guys have got to call out the players too- They made some boneheaded mistakes, unforced errors and bad shots. They lost to a team who shot below 40%. They got out hustled. period. No lineup change could make up for the lack of desire they showed there tonight.

I'm usually on the side of spreading the blame around

Blaming the players just as much as the coach.

But I totally agree with the consensus tonight that Karl cost Denver this game. Of course, I have a mild quibble about the merits of small ball.

Japheth:the.other.kind.of.asian. - January 31, 2012 reply

playing small ball doesnt have to mean that you give up offensive rebounds

what annoyed me there was this: Yeah we could all say that there are players that are out of their element but being small doesnt mean you cant grab a rebound. There were too many instances there where the nuggets couldve easily gotten a rebound until one nugget forgets to box out his man. I mean come on, they still teach basketball players to box out nowadays right?

Exactly

everyone seems to ignore that Memphis was playing small too. This game was lost largely because Gallo was booty and Ty seems slowed still. Miller and Harrington carried the ship tonight on offense. AAA needs to do something. Fernandez can’t go 0-4 from 3 and otherwise not score. We are not an elite team that wins despite bad games from everybody.

unless they are both underneath the bucket ...

and the ball comes off and the little guy is simply outrebounded in spite of height….

mtnmagic22 - February 1, 2012 reply

Lineup changes will win games over the long haul

We have to stick with a more traditional rotation. Small ball is stupendous in stretches—it gets points on the board in bunches as it takes advantage of the other team’s lack of quickness. But it cannot nearly always maintain the lead it can get you. Plus, players must have rotations that make some sense, that they can count on, that can develop their games and their confidence.

I am one disgusted hothead right now. Sorry.

my final thought before bed

playing small ball, even if just for a minute is with the intention of out running and out scoring an opponent, but with the understanding that you may give up points in the half court due to the lack of size/rebounding.

what if you can increase the pace just as much by having a 6’9 steal machine in brewer who runs like a deer at the two, ty at the one, galo at the three nene at the 4 and timo at the 5? i refuse to believe this team would play at a slower pace than one consisting of three guards and two power forwards (g.k.’s normal small ball unit of choicefor 75% of most games).

my proposed lineup is in fact likely playing at a faster pace than the small ball lineup g.k. uses, and we may even get a rebound or two by not only not having each of our players being smaller than his oponent, but likely much taller.

it is a no brainer!

if you can do this it is silly to ever use a smaller lineup. it is like paying $5 for a $2 item 75% of the time you buy it.

Same amount of speed, not enough offense

Miller and Harrington lead the Nuggets tonight when Gallo and Ty struggled. I don’t see the advantage in forgetting about them.

Not to mention my other points above about Moz and Brewer.

Ty was struggling long before his injury

part of me is worried that this could be one of Ty’s “swoons” that he’s been having the last couple of seasons

Jeffrey Morton - February 1, 2012 reply

He deserves a pass right now because of the ankle

but he’s strung together about 4 sub par games in a row. Something to watch.

Jeffrey Morton - February 1, 2012 reply

you don't have to forget about them, just don't play al withought either nene,kk or moz,

and don’t play 2 pg’s without having either brewer or galo playing three. pretty simple really

So absolutist it's ridiculous

You are as stubborn as Karl.

But...

For the most part I agree about Al not being the biggest player on the court ever.

But I’m happy to disagree about certain circumstances warranting Gallo playing the 4 or AAA playing the 3 or Ty and Andre playing at the same time.

ty and andre can play at the same time

just not with rudy or aaa at the three, or with al playing alongside someone his size or smaller in the paint. tp call it absolutist my friend is absolutist. there are countless options that can be played within the perimeters i described.

peramiters

Parameters?

Absolutist!

That said, I’d like to see less of Ty and Andre at the same time, because usually Andre has the ball and it takes away Ty’s ability to create off the dribble.

here’s one:
ty
andre
brewer
al
nene

here’s another
andre
rudy
aaa
nene kk

here’s another
ty
brewer
galo
al
mozgov

here’s another

andre
ty
galo
nene
kk

need i go on or do you understand that there are (more options than i care to calculate) that can be used without playing three guards and or 2 pf’s?

also brewer leads the nuggets in scoring per minute played. don't tell me he is not as much of an offensive threat as ty or rudy

You are missing the point

If you think I have a problem with this. Some of those are good line ups. Some I think even you’d have a problem with.

My point is that I it is silly to handicap one’s self with silly rules or parameters when what a coach should do is put the best lineup on the floor in any given situation.

We both agree that Karl didn’t do that tonight. The only quibble we have that is taking up a lot of post is that I am happy to give credit to the small ball line up where it works, and you act like it is an aberration and a slight to the basketball gods.

It works sometimes. Sometimes it doesn’t.

it is silly to over complicate an essentially simple game

by not setting calculated PARameters.

it is paying $5 for a $2 item 75% of the time.

the game moves too fast to not have a plan.

actually i wouldn't have a problem wih any of them so long as they are working

that is where the situational play comes in. NOT with playing small ball as g.k. does and you advocate him playing for stretches.

i'm not missing that point, i'm saying that you are wrong

setting certain strict rules for operation based on common sense is not handicapping, allowing yourself to play a lineup that is illogical is a handicap.

it is possible to operate so much in the grey that you become black and white

i realize that it is your nature to be up and down, but chaos doesn’t get it done in organized basketball and especially at crunch time or in the playoffs. it is 100% imperative to have some rules you refuse to break philosophically, and playing with three players on the court at any given time, that are smaller than their opponent when it is 100% unnecessary given our depth and versatility should be one of these pillars of team philosophy with the team as it is currently constituted.

what is ridiculous is not playing %'s

i know you love your grey area’s and think everything is situational, but not putting yourself at an unnecessary disadvantage, that is how basketball games are won. ask pop and phill.

Phil and Pop play the line up that is going to win the game

Not the percentages or a generic rule of thumb that no one under 6’5" should ever under no circumstances play the 3.

Always about adjustments.

that is so untrue. only under the rare occasion of a blowout

will pop go outside of his perameters AND he doesn’t have the luzury of depth we do

I dunno

SA is looking pretty deep. But I’m not going to pretend to know the ins and outs of San Antonio’s rotations because I don’t.

That is crap

Pop would’ve played five bench players together in the fourth. Sat the vets that sucked together. Sit the big contracts and play the energy guys for five minutes. Karl has caused four losses this year and won twice. He is a minus 2!

Rockridge1 - February 1, 2012 reply

i.e. a blowout?

The problem with that lineup

is that you have 2 halfcourt offensive liabilities in Brewer and Moz. Its not a bad lineup to play, but it is not as effective offensively as replacing those two guys with Miller and Harrington, arguably the two best halfcourt players on the team.

brewer is a 2 way player (witness my above comment)

and the game is played on both ends of the court.

Brewer is a good defender

And a better shooter than advertised. I am definitely a fan of his game.

But he’s not a better offensive player than Miller or Harrington. His speed is great on defense, but on offense he gets sloppy with the ball. Let me point out his not top 10 not dunk / blown lay up last week. Ugh.

he's not a better play maker than andre or harrington, but he is just as good an offensive player

and scorer as either due to his running ability 3 ball and defense. and he’s not a midget.

how do you explain his points per minute otherwise?

leaps and bounds ahead of andre.

Andre plays more minutes

You know as well as I do that per minute stats even out the more you play and are kinda worthless.

But, seeing how you think they are helping you make a point here, go for it.

if he player the same minutes as andre he would create just as much offense

in calculable and incalculable ways because he has a nevere ending motor and gets easy buckets because of it. andre debatably even runs on an engine, but admittedly sets up people for easy buckets. my point is that brewer is not an offensive liablity because of the easy hoops he creates, and i don’t want to ever see anyone other than him galo or al play the three because WE HAVE THE LUXURY OF DEPTH! why play a smaller man there?

Ha ha

Again, I like Brewer. And I agree about using depth.

That said, just because it is fun, I am going to deconstruct this argument.

No. 1, he wouldn’t create as much offense as Andre because his assist numbers wouldn’t come close and he’d turn the ball over more.

No. 2, no one has a never ending motor. Brewer is able to play fast and quick precisely because his minutes are limited.

and to counter

a)the offense brewer creates is not all traced to his steal numbers cause more often than not he plays great d and someone else gets the steal
b) it is not as though andre doesn’t have his share of t.o.’s and clock wasting (not a feature of speeding up pace)
c) it is silly that it has become a comparison of two players i would like to see get lots of minutes and who easily could under the plan i stated which is no where near as restrictive as it seems to be in your head.

pretty simple. if you are trying to create a faster pace, and two guys do so equally, go with the taller and or better defensive player of the two 5000 times out of 10.

you are dead wrong if you think it is possible to coach a team to victory consistently without setting some logic based unwavering parameters. the percentages play out.

there is a reason i always suck at playing video game football

it’s cause i go for it on 4th and 20 every time.

I don't ever disagree with the math

Ever. Which is why I have spent so much time defending small ball tonight but acknowledging its faults.

Definitely pretty silly to quibble about two good players. Glad we agree. And I agree that Andre has his downside, I refer you to my posts re: his playing with Ty.

I disagree about how to play at faster pace that one should go with the taller and better defensive player, which in this discussion I concede is Brewer. My point remains that the point of playing fast is to create offense and, despite the misleading points per minute stat, Brewer is not a better offensive player than Andre.

He’s good. I like him a lot and I’m glad he’s in the rotation. And I also think he can and he has excelled playing fast with the Nuggets.

This hair is gone done split.

not to mention faster player/better defender/better rebounder.

Not to mention...

Andre has an entirely different offensive game as a PG and a facilitator. He passes the ball to create offense. Brewer has 10 assist this season. Andre puts that up each game.

No comparison, really. But, yeah. Brewer is taller therefor he is better. Gotcha.

hehe talk about over simplifying

none of my arguments are about taller = better, they are about when = ALWAYS go with height

and that smaller does not = faster.

I agree that smaller ≠ faster

It just happens that Denver’s best offensive players are smaller: Nene, Gallo, Andre, Ty and whoever is hot or helping the team most is my favorite line up.

Could be Al. Could be Corey. Could be Moz. Could be anyone. The difference is I play the situation rather than hold to a rigid parameter.

And...

Obviously, any one of those four could be having a bad game or be in foul trouble. I’d really like to see AAA get better so he can close.

I DO NOT LIKE having Andre and Ty out there at the same time to close out games. One or the other. But so long as AAA is struggling, it is hard to keep one of those guys on the bench.

I like his defense

But it is worth pointing out that he has more turnovers this season than steals.

that is a fair point. it isn't however as impactful as the fact that when all five of our guys are smaller than their adversary,

rebounds don’t happen.

I agree mightily about lack of rebounding

Being the foremost liability of small ball.

Patrick...

Agree and hope we see some of what you suggest….

mtnmagic22 - February 1, 2012 reply

Bring back FireCoachKarl.com

That’s 3 games where the Nuggets haven’t finished off the other team—I’m counting Toronto even tough they won!

SD_Nugget_Fan - February 1, 2012 reply

i don;t want to fire him. i want to change him. i'm like a pretty girl who likes vampires

he is a great coach stubbornness aside.

Karl reminds me of Marty schottenheimer of the NFL

Great regular season coaches but still thinks Gary Payton & Shawn Kemp suiting up for him! Great coaches make adjustments!!!!

SD_Nugget_Fan - February 1, 2012 reply

I just posted he's the Norv Turner

samdman - February 1, 2012 reply

i like the shottenheimer comparison

what i dislike is it is foreboding come playoff time even if true.

Plea for Intelligence - February 1, 2012 reply

I wonder if Faried secretly is a disapointingly poor player

And that’s why Karl doesn’t play him…

InboundingLobPass - February 1, 2012 via mobile reply

I was able to watch the whole game via NBAtv

what a disappointment. We looked like crap. Lineups were sketchy, decisions were sketchy, effort was sketchy, a lot of things were sketchy tonight

waterboy31321 - February 1, 2012 reply

They fell for it

The Slow Ball, the hacking and clamping down while the refs swallowed the whistle. As the Memphis blogger pointed out in his pre-game take, the only chance they had to counter the Nugs bench was to slow them down with physical defense. It’s just what teams have always done against Denver teams in the playoffs. This game was a test of the Nuggets ability to either maintain their movement game, or show that they can be taken out of it. Too much is made out of this team’s lack of a one-on-one player, the so-called "closer." The only difference between a so-called clutch player and the others is that he seeks the ball and doesn’t mind when he misses, because those players have as many big-time misses as they do makes. I am much more concerned about the timidity our team showed in Winning Time, the last 5 minutes of a game when the outcome is in question. On offense, they reverted back to the Waiting For a Bus scheme, looking to Andre. In my mind, I can hear Doug Moe shouting at them to move.

So Denver flunked the test. They will get many more chances to pass. Andre Miller showed last night that he is a master of this slow-down, funky, defensive-minded slugfest. Unfortunately, he was the only one who could adjust and that’s because he is a smart veteran. In my mind, Ty Lawson was deferring more to his sore ankle than to Miller.

Other takes:
I agree with the earlier posts on Small Ball being worn out on this team. It’s a great change of pace and a way to punch the hyper-drive to light speed. I’ve played a little and always known that earlier in the game, smaller guys who are quicker can get rebounds, usually more than bigger guys because they are faster to the ball, especially if you just block out. But when it turns into a shoving match, you need size. Size late in the game doesn’t get tired; it just gets the rebound.

Nene needs to develop another move besides, fake right, spin and left hand hook or shovel shot.

More concerned about Trip A. He not only seems lost, he seems injured. He is not helping us.

The Griz guards and small forwards were more aggressive defensively and on the boards and we didn’t match their aggression. That’s why the refs allowed them to foul us and create all those turnovers.

Kenneth Faried: Sorry Bounce fans, had he entered that game, he would turned the ball over 100 times.

Hochman’s take – and I’m not a Hochman fan because I think he’s just not a hoops junkie and is more interested in entertainment – was a good one in today’s coverage. This team is in a growth phase and needs to learn about itself, especially it’s starting line-up and use of big men. Use it to grow Nuggets, here’s your chance for Denver to be talking about you instead of a crappy quarterback.

Great post sir

Russscot - February 1, 2012 reply

Thanks for this plea, Plea

Agree with much of it, especially your summary, and the gist, of Hochman’s take. Growth. Development. Line-ups. BIG MEN TO GET SOME FUCKING REBOUNDS.

I wonder if you get some of us wrong about the need for what you term a “closer.” I love the roster Ujiri has built on the back of the Melo trade. I just believe it is one player shy of near-perfection. That player isn’t a Rudy Gay or Kobe Bryant or, gulp, Melo. Far from it. It’s a blue collar guy who can score in a variety of ways then the going gets tough, a la Millsap or Brandon Bass.

You describe “when the going gets tough” extremely well in your long opening paragraph. The Memphis defense knew what to do to win the game: exploit the Nuggets’ timidity. When your very best half-court offense (hah!) isn’t getting you a great shot, you need that guy who will get it for you. Period.