Denver Stiffs

I had a dream last night that Karl immediately assigned him to the D-League

After the game and he said something like “much to everyone’s dismay, Kenneth Faried will be sent down to the D-League effective immediately”.

I think it was a subconscious reaction to the major problem I’m having with Karl’s lineups lately…

stiffy - February 21, 2012 reply

I love Faried right now.

He brings so much energy and aggressiveness and unselfishness to the team. It seems like he is also contagious as well.

I know your numbers say he improves dramatically when he gets over the 20 minutes mark, but if he can step in and average 15 minutes a game with 6 pts 6 boards 2-3 blocks and 2-3 standing ovations from the crowd as he stuffs someone or throws down a mad dunk he will be a valuable pick!

Yes, the Faried selection makes up for the blunder

when Denver’s FO failed to draft Dejuan Blair. Similar players, undersized a bit but extremely crafty rebounders. I love Faried…I think he needs to get consistent minutes. But I just don’t see it happening once everyone is healthy.

NugzJunkie - February 21, 2012 reply

I wanted Blair too.

I like Faried though. Plus he’s funny and you can’t teach that.

georgekarl - February 21, 2012 reply

I wanted Blair

But I think Faried is twice the player.

Doesn’t have the injury history, either. In the end, passing on Blair was a win for the Nuggets.

a win by accident, but still a win

Going into the 09-10 season, without knowing that GK was going to miss the last couple of months because of cancer, the Nuggets were relying on K-Mart, Birdman, and Nene to all stay healthy and keep the 4-5 spots covered. Blair could’ve been picked up cheaply in the 2nd round of the draft and would’ve helped tremendously after K-Mart went down.

It all turned out to be moot because of the cancer, but again, lacking the gift of clairvoyance, that wasn’t known at draft time. For the sake of the 09-10 season, which the Nuggets began as a legitimate contender, passing on Blair was an infuriatingly stupid decision, in my opinion.

But then there was the cancer, and I don’t think having Blair on the team would’ve put a stop to the total demoralization that followed.

So now, two years later, totally by accident, it turns out to be better that Blair wasn’t drafted.

Agree he is a game changer

He may not have an offensive game but he gives us needed energy and rebounding. Then again if they tried to have him post up I would be suprised. I’ve seen a few post moves from him and would like to see if that was a fluke or not.

My frustration with Karl is that he doesn’t identify the times to inset KF. Example are two losses that were lacking energy and rebounding against NO at home and Utah at home. I can’t see how he wouldn’t have given us a needed spark.

remyrems - February 21, 2012 reply

Faried was really raw..

Earlier in the season. He has gotten a lot more consistent especially on the offense. Last night was by far his best defensive game.

He still does some rookie stuff, but he is going to be a special rebounder.

I think his offensive game is coming along as well.

He had some bone-headed plays first couple of games but suddenly being in the NBA can do that to you.
My worry is when they play man to man and KF’s guy is outside the 3pt line and KF is under the net waiting for the board.

georgekarl - February 21, 2012 reply

That is a worry

but there are not that many PF’s who have range like Love does. He will learn.

NugzJunkie - February 21, 2012 reply

Maybe Ryan Anderson and Al Harrington

Are the others I can think of, luckily one of them is on our team.
I don’t count Rashard Lewis as he doesn’t really play that much, nor will we play against the Wizards anymore (unfortunately). Man it would be easy to weather injuries if you play in the East (i.e. the Heat without D Wade). Much harder to do in the West.

JR15 - February 21, 2012 via mobile reply

Frye comes to mind.

Also on PHX, Markeef Morris. Dirk too.

Faried developing..

Faried has answered the challenge and proven he can be the energy rebounder / blocker that the Nuggets need. His next step is to improve has offensive skills. He needs to study tapes of Millsap. He score a little like that. He will really take off..

GK and the coaching staff have brought him along well. He will be a rotation player now. He is still a tweener, unless he goes Karl Malone and gains 20-30 lbs of muscle in the next couple of years to be a starting PF. Don’t see him ever playing SF. Only think holding him back.

Some of Us Have Been Begging Karl to Tyrn The Manimal Loose!

And we finally got a glimpse of what he can do last night. How cool was it seeing Manimal beating Love to rebounds. And, his offensive game is so raw but will get better. The kid has no ceiling right now…

ACEIII - February 21, 2012 via mobile reply

Once we get rid of birdman and maybe Al though he has a good year,

im not a huge fan, our rotation would be nene/manimal and mozgov/K2 which will we a great rebounding lineup and defensively as everyone develops

Kenchingy - February 21, 2012 reply

I can agree with this....

…the only thing I believe we would be missing is a big that can hit the outside shot which helps draw the big defenders out of the paint.

bonaire - February 21, 2012 reply

I think still keep Big Al in the line-up...

I've actually been pleasantly surprised with his offense

we all knew he could dunk, but he’s shown a bit of a jumpshot and some nice post moves.

most of his mistakes have been mental. defensive breakdowns, not boxing out, etc. all things that can be easily fixed

skithebert - February 21, 2012 reply

yes, yes

he has a short jumper, a baby jump hook. Kids got tools.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

Offense is just icing on the cake, IMO

Like I keep saying, all he has to do is bring his energy, defense and rebounding and we’re way better off than we were with KMart taking terrible shots.

His offense and the fact that he only takes good shots makes him super valuable to our team. If it were me, I’d start him next to Nene instead of Mozzy, move Moz and Kouf to the 2nd team with Andre running the point and good floor spacing and we’d have a devastatingly good team. I don’t know of too many 2nd units that can deal with that much size.

chantech - February 21, 2012 reply

to be clear

where would Faried line up on defense in that rotation? A ben wallace style undersized center, or are you playing Nene at 5?

Sounds like Nene at the 5

CombatChuk - February 21, 2012 reply

I agree with chantech

But only sort of. There are some match ups where Moz and Nene ought to play the 5 and 4 respectively.

But in terms of putting your five most talented players out there, Faried certainly looks to be a solid big. Don’t expect him to get many starts this season with a healthy roster. But certainly next season.

Also:

Not keen on having two slow, clumsy 7-footers on the court at the same time with the second unit.

i am

i love watching moz and kouf play together. even if they cant score in bunches having them in there to protect the paint is a sight for sore eyes

Yeah

And here is where I break from most Stiffs. I actually like scoring points.

Defense is great. But having two players with the same skillset — and Moz and Koufos have very similar play styles, with Moz being the more athletic of the two — just seems redundant.

I agree

Moz will never get better though if Karl keeps playing him the way he has so far

i just want them all to play

whether is nene/moz subbed by kf/kouf, i just want them out there. but minutes is becoming a big issue now with all of our bigs getting better. i think that we need to sell high on bird and al. as sad as it would be to see both of them go, there just isnt enough pt and we need to focus on the future. sadly, i dont think that either of them will have a place here in the future

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

Did you see the twin towers the other night

when Al got into foul trouble?

Ivory towers*

Army of Nugs - February 21, 2012 reply

No

How did that go?

Since Moz has returned, his impact has been negligible at best.

K2 has had some good games here and there. And sometimes he disappears. He’s like Gallo that way. Remember that guy?

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

You really missed it?

It was fantastic, the two of them together. Seemed to get every rebound. Then Karl didn’t play kouf again until late into overtime.

Yeah

I’m out of town most weekends right now. I try to catch games when I can, doesn’t always work out.

I heard K2 was pretty solid in the OKC game. Not much impressed me on Moz’s stat line. I barely noticed him playing last night. But with the T-Wolves missing two of their big men, it actually made sense for Karl to play small for once and let the athletic but short Faried gobble boards.

I have to stick up for Moz

It’s hard for the guy to produce when Karl only plays him 4 minutes each half

and he's coming off ankle injury

he was coming on right before injury.

But, these glitches in Moz’s career should not always lead to a whole “start-over” like when he got traded, then sat for awhile etc.

Moz has to learn how to pick back up on progress he usually makes before the glitches. That’s on him.

And something has to be done about his dropsies. I am a supporter of Moz but I cant support much longer if he constantly fumbles the ball

And yes, Karl does play him in these 2 blocks you mention and you cant develop any rythymn on that schedule.

Moz's first 8 minutes against the wolves

were some of the worst 8 minutes I’ve ever seen anyone play.

Yeah, those two buckets he made were just ATROCIOUS!
I do agree though, the fumbled passes were bad, but his teammates need to stop trying to feed him the ball in heavy traffic. I blame a lot of his miscues on bad passing. It’d be nice to see him play with Steve Nash or Chris Paul for a few games …

But I can't say that Moz has good hands either ...

did he really score in those first 8 minutes?

I guess memory tends to skew things. I remember him getting dominated by Pekovic and turning over the ball a number of times. Hey I love the guy, I’m just saying those 8 minutes were BAD (as I remember them)

I think Rudy + Andre

With a bunch of ORebs would be fine for our 2nd unit scoring

chantech - February 21, 2012 reply

I disagree that Moz is the better of the 2. K2 has already gotten about 4 double doubles

Moz has gotten 2 yet?

newsman35 - February 21, 2012 reply

I love his offense in the half court every now and then

but really my favorite Manimal offensive play is the block on D turned into a fastbreak where he is the trailer for a monster dunk.

THIS THIS THIS

Nene/Faried is the perfect combo of post defense and help defense. Sadly I don’t see it happening with George Karl.

But I’m stoked that KF is starting to get minutes.

rxmart2 - February 21, 2012 reply

I hope Faried still gets minutes when everybody is back

he better

he’s earned them

I'm not so sure

Mozgov and Kosta haven’t been anything special and more importantly, haven’t developed any consistency. I can see GK experiment with more Nene at the 5 and Al/Faried combo at the 4. If it pans out, the minutes will eventually be there for Faried.

RedHopeful - February 21, 2012 reply

and another good thing about his offense

is that he’s shooting free throws pretty well. Quite a pleasant surprise, as they keep saying he averaged less than 60% in college.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

Small sample size

unless the nuggets fixed something that he was doing incorrectly with his shot, he’ll likely revert to his college averages over the long term.

you're probably right

but his shooting motion looks pretty decent, they’re swishing through with a nice arc on them.

I love watching Faried play

On another note…I haven’t seen much of Kevin Love but I’m shocked at how soft he is defensively. Every time someone drove the lane, he would just back away and turn his shoulder. The guy puts up big numbers but might be softer than Nene…might be.

Pusherman - February 21, 2012 reply

Right now playing exhausted players it really is perfect time for him to shine

The test will be the playoffs when it gets physical and everyone get bigger. I also really like Brewer but the guy is gonna have to make some threes.

NugzD - February 21, 2012 reply

Brewer will come around

Where are all those AAA haterz btw? Didn’t I tell you the guy would come to play?
Some people wanted to get rid of AAA for Eric Gordon or something like that. I saw no thank you to that. Can someone explain why Gordon hasn’t played for the Hornets in forever? He has attitude issues and won’t be as good a team player as AAA is.

JR15 - February 21, 2012 via mobile reply

AAA

is a warrior, no doubts here

AAA

is a great team player. But we need far more consistency from his outside shooting. He’s really not quick enough to be a consistent driving threat.

RoxWS2014 - February 21, 2012 reply

I'm a solid supporter

of AAA but down the stretch against MIN he was the go to guy to get shots and win the game (the last 1:30 or so) and he doesn’t quite have that skill set, yet.

He got a nice runner in OT

But it would have been nice if he could have got that 15-footer at the buzzer.

Still, he made a lot of big free throws. I want him on the floor during closing time.

I like him cause he is smart usually

but I think he is a second scoring option, ideally have Gallo or Ty driving to the rim and kicking to AAA if that gets shut down.

Yes to Gallo taking that shot

But I’ve seen nothing from Ty to indicate he is clutch.

the problem is that refs tend to swallow whistles in the closing seconds, and undersized Ty is liable to get his shot blocked by a more aggressive defender.

Mind, I <3 Ty. But I’ve seen more from Triple A to warrant him shooting the ball at the buzzer over Ty. Heck, even Gallo.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

Whoever is taking the last shot needs a better play design than we have seen

I think Karl got used to Pass it to melo and let him create a shot offense to end games. Doesn’t work as well with the current players. Got to design a play to get an open shot, like that inbounds play that got the wolves a wide open layup last night.

Yup

Plays...

And thats why Rick Adleman is a good coach.

you're crazy if you wouldn't take eric gordon over AAA

skithebert - February 21, 2012 reply

Thats not crazy

Gordon is Kenyon Martin for whoever signs him. Yeah, he is better than AAA, but he is SUPER INJURY PRONE and undersized.

That said we need a SG who can create his own shot.

AAA

I hated on him because he wasn’t living up to his contract. He seems like he is turning the corner but I still have some doubts. I do hope he can play tomorrow because we need him on CP3

AAA has been terrible all year and recently he has been medicore.

He takes too many shots and they are all bad, contested looks. He doesnt have the athleticism nor the crafty instinct to get his own shot off. He is the worst passer on the team aside from maybe Kosta and Faried. I CRINGE, literally cringe when AAA is leading the break. His shot is off this year, but I think that his SET JUMP SHOT will be back where it is supposed to be by the end of the year. Same with his D. Clearly G.K. is asking way too much from AAA. If I am masai I would trade him straight up for Monta Ellis. W’s get extra cap space to fritter away on McGee or Hibbert and we get a 2 who can get his own shot with decent efficiency and also make some decent passes. I’d start Brewer and have Ellis balance the lineup.

I would say he's been playing pretty good

some of his shots have been questionable, but he’s playing both ends of the floor pretty well the past few games IMO. I also believe he’s trying a little too hard to make up for the scoring lost with Nene and Gallo out of the lineup

Absolutely he is trying too hard

And I dont think its his fault. Its just that Karl puts him out there with 4 offensively inept player and expects him to create.

He's been pretty good lately...

Sure he has been trying a little too hard also but who else is going to step up.. corey brewer? afflalo has shown a much improved mid range game and post-up

Brewer has the highest 3pt percentage on the team

except for Jordan Hamilton. But he doesn’t count since he’s only played in 8 games for nearly no minutes. But basically, Brewer is the only one on the team that CAN hit 3s semi-consistently, just had an off night.

DeezNuggs - February 21, 2012 reply

I love Brewer right now

He takes it to the rim so hard. He is quick. I like him as JR’s replacement only with much, much better D and rebounding and not quite as many bad shots.

JR can create his own shot...

Corey Brewer really cant do much on his own. Brewer is so incredibly wild, dude is a turnover machine.

0 turnovers in 41 minutes against the wolves...

Faried is playing so well that I'm questioning the value of Nene and his 13.5 million dollar contract

Faried doesn’t score as much as Nene but is (as we know) a monster rebounder.

I tend to value rebounds more than points. Did you notice when Faried was in the game (With one of the 7 footers), we weren’t getting killed on the offensive glass?

CombatChuk - February 21, 2012 reply

THIS

I was saying that last night. Better watch out Nene, you may lose your job

Minnesota played Love at center..

For the most of the 2nd half. Much easier to rebound against that. Ibaka at us alive. And Memphis.. ughh.. don’t want to even think about that game.

Nene for all his warts is missed. Can’t teach that size. And he is actually rebound the ball well this year.

what's more

nene is getting paid 13.5 mil to be our 4th leading scorer. that doesn’t cut it for me.

NugNugz - February 21, 2012 reply

That's unfortunately the market for big men these days.

RoxWS2014 - February 21, 2012 reply

i guess my issue is that Nene doesn't really play like a big man if you know what i mean.

NugNugz - February 21, 2012 reply

Very!

Can you smell trade bait? At the start of next season package him, Harrington, and Moz, for a blockbuster trade.

newsman35 - February 21, 2012 reply

Yay for Faried!

I need to eat some crow, as some Stiff said Kenneth would crack the starting lineup by the All Star Break and I rolled my eyes and wrote snarky replies.

Now look! He is starting and putting up solid numbers.

Granted, this guy was saying he was going to replace Nene and Kenneth’s starts have everything to do with injury to Denver’s fantastic big man.

I love Faried. I coveted him before the draft and was giddy like a schoolgirl when he was drafted. But I have no hate for Nene. When Nene is back, he needs to start. But Faried needs to continue to play meaningful minutes off the bench. His energy is far too important.

I agree...

Faried makes Birdman expendable.. not Nene. Nene has been consistent since he came back from cancer. I get frustrated that he doesn’t have the killer instinct to go with the talent too, but it is what it is.

Not every player is going to have the ultra competitive streak.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

Not Birdman, Mozzy and KK have done that

but he might be making Harrington moveable, combined with the potential signing of Chandler.

But I thought we weren't allowed to like Nene and Faried?

bonaire - February 21, 2012 reply

Agree on the post, but you got the title wrong

Kenneth Farried is the Sony Playstation Vita Lexus Taco Bell Taco Changer of the game.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

Tiddy, have you ever read Naomi Klein's "No Logo"?

It is the anti-corporate manifesto of our day, a scathing attack on the increased corporate presence in the public sphere.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

I have not heard of her

but I might have to take a look. Thanks for the idea. Though, I own a corporation, it being a person, it might object. It has already threatened to sue for it’s freedom under the 14th amendment which prohibits the ownership of people.

It's pretty much "Adbusters: The Novel"

Still a fun read.

LongWindedHank - February 22, 2012 reply

I love adbusters

That “Thinner than ever” ipad advertisement was genius.

georgekarl - February 21, 2012 reply

Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine is also worth reading

if a slight stretch at certain points. And it is pertinent to the Nuggs’ situation, because it deals with the idea that only in a crisis can real change happen. (In Klein’s view, powerful countries manufacture “crises” in weaker countries in order to impose the changes they want).
The Nuggets’ injury crisis is leading to change, that IMO will lead to the departure of Bird, Rudy and Dre, the rise of Manimal and Stone and the return of Will.

slader - February 22, 2012 reply

One more Naomi Klein recommendation

This relatively recent piece from the Nation was a shot heard ’round the world. I highly recommend it.

Capitalism vs. the Climate
http://www.thenation.com/article/164497/capitalism-vs-climate

speaking of no logos

anybody remember when mahmoud abdul rauf started covering up his nike logo with masking tape after getting an endorsement from them? I miss Rauf!!!

not_karl - February 21, 2012 reply

you and me both.

this message

brought to you by hail to the V

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

To be clear, if I ever get the chance to sell-out … I’m taking it!

Nate Timmons - February 21, 2012 reply

If you ever listen to NFL radio

one of the regular callers nicknamed Adam Schein “The Plug” because he is always plugging someone’s product.

I love what he brings to the table...

He’s like a KMart without the poor shot selection, a higher motor, and crazy athleticism – which can only be good for our team.

I’m not sure why we’d want to trade Birdman but I’m pretty sure Faried showing up in practice and looking good has a lot to do with it.

The Unitary Executives - February 21, 2012 reply

Or the poorly time technicals, terrible contract, and knees made of glass

Since there are two of you, I read all your posts in “Borg voice”.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

I'd

like to see Manimal dunk on Kmarts head this week……shut your mouth Kmart, it’s over!

look at how crowded our front-court is

Bird is the odd man out when everyone’s healthy, and not part of the future of this team. Makes sense to get something for him if possible.

AL should be the odd man out

But maybe they just amnesty him this summer. Imo Al Harrington’s role should be completely handed over to chandler. I think he would make a great stretch 4 off the bench ala Thad Young… except Chandler is not as big and he has more of an outside game than Thaddeus Young.

As I said below

if you replace Al with Chandler, you lose a lot of vocal leadership, which is an area of weakness on this team IMO. Chandler may be a better player than AL, but he’s not going to get the rest of the guys fired up the way Al can

I can see why Denver would want to trade Birdman

But for what? I just don’t think he has much in the way of trade value and is worth more to this franchise as a 13th man who sells a lot of merchandise.

The Unitary Executives - February 21, 2012 reply

He'd be a huge net positive for a lot of teams

I think our lineups have performed generally better with him for awhile.

Also, I think it’s funny that Biyombo got drafted so high when you could have had Faried, who is basically the same type of player, has the same type of upside, and is more proven.

Please help me explain this

to the people around here who want him amnestied or think that they only way to trade him is to package other assets to get people to take on his supposedly onerous contract.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

First, subjectively, if you watch a lot of Nuggets games, we tend to play better when he’s in there. We opened up our largest lead when he was in the game.

Objectively, he was a +17 while Mozgov was a -18, AAA was a -17, and Brewer was a -10. Anytime you play Brewer too many minutes your team is in trouble – and he’s getting 30 minutes of playing time. Most of our positive lineups with any sort of sample have him in them and the ones are constructed in a mind baffling way where it’s 3 guards, Bird, and Big Al where the unit is a net positive, but gets killed because of inability to rebound.

Finally, if you look at his regularized +/-(RAPM) – he’s very clearly positive, which is a lot more than you can say for most of the guys playing in our lineups. In fact, this stat is very valid for him since there is a significant sample size. If you’re more interested, go here – http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/A4PM/A4PMvs_RAPM

Birdman rates very highly in most forms of +/-.

chantech - February 21, 2012 reply

Thank you for the link

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

thanks chantech

but I have to admit that I dont know what A4PM or RAPM stand for.

Also, the slight hint I have for what they suggest, is this correct? Does Moz have a better A4PM/RAPM than Kouf does? And, again, what does that exactly mean?

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

I was actually going to throw Biyombo into the comparison above, but Love fit in pretty well since he's a known product.

Biyombo “per 48” averages just 13 rebounds compared to Faried’s 17. Nuggets easily got the same value of a player for less money (draft pick wise) and I think Faried has a brighter future than the Bobcat Cat.

Nate Timmons - February 21, 2012 reply

But the marketing opportunies are better for Biyombo

Can you imagine the posters and the Tshirts with a picture of a monster block and “You just got Bismacked!” in bold letters?

Biyombo is an elite shotblocker already

I love Faried and his energy is awesome, but he will never be the shotblocker that Biyombo already is.

i think id rather have someone who can score and rebound than block

Bismack can rebound pretty well too.

IMO a shot blocker like that completely changes the defense of a team. Ibaka stifled lawson and I think Bismak is already at serge’s level. I havent seen Faried impact the Interior D quite like that.

he gets 4 rebounds per game

i agree that a shot blocker can affect a game, but he needs to learn how to score and rebound a lot better.

And Faried gets 6 rpg, I dont see your point

Biyombo is already a good rebounder. His offense needs tons of work, but the kid is 19yo. Faried is 22, I love the kid, but he spent 4 years in college were not getting huge development from him. To say that Faried is a better pick than Biyombo is easy to say now, but 3-4 years from now I dont think thats the case.

Biyombo gets more playing time than faried

Look at farieds numbers when he gets 20+ minutes 12 points and 9 boards… what are biyombos numbers?

Both play 16.2 mpg although Faried has only played in 13 games to Biyombo's 30

And Biyombo actually gets 4.4 RPG to K.Faried’s 5.9 RPG

Biyombo

16.6 min/game
3.6 points
4.4 rebounds
1.5 blocks

Faried
16:16 min game
7.1 points
5.9 rebounds
1.2 blocks

Manimal wins with essentially same playing time

Army of Nugs - February 21, 2012 reply

compare the other bigs on both teams as well

faried has nene, moz, kouf, bird, and big al to compete with for boards, etc… charlotte has boris diaw and tyrus thomas

and diaw is their leading rebounder with 5.4 per game

Ouch.

Clearly he is a better player now, but you must read between the lines a bit.

Faried is 22, Biyombo is 19. Not the better blocker. Biyombo is as good as anyone at swatting. Look at what an elite blocker can do to the opposing team, Ibaka completely sapped Ty’s mojo.

i agree that he could become a better blocker in the future

especially since he’s only 19. but when hes getting consistent significant minutes on a team that has very few rebounders available, only averaging 4.4 speaks that he has a lot of work to do

congratulations, he can block but cant rebound or score

Just to clarify

Faried is the better player now and maybe the future. I dont think my above comment reads that way.

Biyombo is averaging 1.5 blocks to 1.2 for Faried ... he's not a clearly better shot blocker.

And Manimal's blocks on Jason Thompson (Kings) and Russel Westbrook looks as good as anything Ibaka or anyone else has done.

Faried blocking Westbrook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3pVwH1AppM

Faried blocking Enes Kanter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp-6zN-x-co

Watch the end of this one on the fastbreak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMcxAlEGMHI

Faried vs. Thompson 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eABMX6J2Kt4

Faried vs. Rubio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqKMIq5Kmog

Can’t find video on the Thompson dunk attempt.

not saying either is a bust at the moment

unfortunately, i dont think biyombo is in a good situation in charlotte to develop, which makes a huge difference in how he is looked at 3-4 years down the road.

Being in Charlotte

is doing him no favors, that’s for sure

I just don't get how this guy fell to us

A freakishly athletic rebounding machine is an asset to any team and a guy that can contribute right away. Between KF and Lin, I’m really starting to doubt the worth of NBA scouts.

Everyone will say it was because he was in a Divison II school

Yet he put up I believe at least 13+ rebounds in every game against the top schools in college with a good front court. I think many teams see him as a liability offensively but he isn’t a bad free thrower, which could translate to a decent jumper eventually and you know he will get a few tip-ins and lob passes.

CloudBurst - February 21, 2012 reply

we've already seen hints of a very nice post game

mainly vs. memphis. And we never, repeat never run plays for him, so there may be more offensive game there than we realize.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

FIFY

And we never, repeat never run plays ~~for him~~

thanks

I guess I meant we never pass to him in the post.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Morehead State is a Division 1 school: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morehead_State_University#Athletics Faried has the Division 1 rebounding record over Tim Duncan … not DII.

Nate Timmons - February 21, 2012 reply

P. sure you are right

I was going to make the same point, but as you all know, I am terribly lazy when it comes to actually looking stuff up.

They played in the NCAA tourney last year

in Denver

Phil H. - February 21, 2012 reply

I was actually at Pepsi Center when the Morehead bus pulled up and the team got off. Saw Faried, had no clue who he was – just saw his dreads … watched that game later that day and found out who he was quickly.

He is exactly the type of big man that Karl likes to use

George Karl has always favored smaller, more athletic big men like Kenyon Martin, Shawn Kemp etc. because it fits well with his small lineup, but it is an added bonus if he is good at rebounding. Faried fits in the mold of a proto-typical George Karl big man, yes Faried is 6’7 but he is good at rebounding positioning and boxing his man out, and a long jumping ability to crash the boards.

CloudBurst - February 21, 2012 reply

Would Like to See Nuggs Add a Big Man Coach

The team has 3 talented, young, raw bigs in Mozzie. KK and Manimal, but they need a former NBA big man that teach them how to play the 4-5 position in the NBA. All the Nuggets assistants are under 6 feet tall. Personally, I think Issel would be great, but know he has his detractors. How about Laimbeer, Walton or Malone?

ACEIII - February 21, 2012 via mobile reply

I don't know if you count him but we do have Ryan Bowen 6'9" video operations/player development

Ha ha

That guy could work with Brewer, Rudy and Gallo.

But he’s too skinny to coach Faried, Nene, Moz and K2.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

Isn't it mandatory

to bring in Hakeem when you have a big guy who needs to work on some offense? I’m pretty sure it is in the rules.

Off topic

Did anyone see when KF hit the floor last night and then tried to get the ref and/or the Minny players to help him up…they all ignored him and left him sitting on the floor. Pretty funny.

Pusherman - February 21, 2012 reply

Refs

weren’t helping Nuggs on the court and they sure weren’t going to help them off the court….that was horrible last night, almost forgot it was a home game.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

That was pretty unsportinglike

SDcat09 - February 21, 2012 reply

Pretty standard

Players usually only help up their own teammates. Occasionally you will a guy help the other team up if he knocked him down, but not often. Emmit Smith was famous for asking the opposing team for help up. Felt like it saved him energy and took energy from the defender.

Bird helps people up from the other team

while plays are still going on.

mmm...

Rony Turiaf did that while on the Knicks and me and my friends got an immediate crush on RT. Sometimes athletes lose their minds and do the humane thing, reflexively

Yeah RT is a good guy. I love the Bird for sure. Good dude as well.

Just fueled my anger for the refs

I didnt notice any mention of KF's block on Rubio's breakaway layup

I know one play is one play, but that is a play that only a handful of NBAers could make, a play that LBJ makes occasionally. I didnt even see any replay of that block on major media.

And I’m not even going to get into that block on the dunk attempt.

When KF is on the court, the opposition has to kind of look around to check where he is because he is so damn dynamic.

Was at the game last night

Faried really impreseed me. He did a solid job on Love and got into his head a little. Love was a little off last night. Faried gives us great energy.He is one of the few people on the team that will always fight for the offensive rebound. I wish we could combine Nene’s skill set and Faried’s hustle into one. We would have one helluva big man

That big dunk

Right after that big block, was AWESOME. Loved how The Can was rocking and I love how quick Nuggets nation has been to become smitten with Faried. Saw lots of No. 35 Nuggets jerseys last night.

I was one of those

fans in a No. 35 jersey. He is beginning to become my favorite Nugget

Faried was the steal of the draft in a weak draft

Masai Ujiri-you magnificent bastard. Can’t wait to see Manimal in Denver for years to come! Best thing is that he can be intimidating with his play and not his antics, he is no knucklehead!

Phil H. - February 21, 2012 reply

you know, there are lots of nicknames I wish people called me, but frankly I most wish that people would refer to me as

“Magnificent Bastard”

Like I said when we drafted him

This kid is going to be a star in this league. He’s got a motor like none other, and you can’t teach that, all his weaknesses can be improved on, but his drive and desire are top notch. We got ourselves a keeper!

looks like we will be "healthy" after the ASB

Knock on wood, plus the addition of Chandler, will make for some interesting decisions before the trade deadline. The worst of the schedule in terms of the b2b2b’s are over but there is still injury potential down the stretch. Do we move guys like Bird and/or Rudy if they are not being used if we can get picks or something? I don’t think we should trade Al as he is a veteran scoring presence that can be valuable as long as he isn’t playing as much as he has been, and there is also the Dre question which i’m totally on the fence.

jd80229 - February 21, 2012 via mobile reply

I think Al is pretty important to us right now

He seems to be able to motivate the young guys pretty well. I like Dre a lot but I wouldn’t mind letting him go if the price was right, as I’m tired of Ty always deferring to him when they’re on the court together.

There's got to be some sort of trade in the works

But I don’t think it would be too major.

I’m OK with keeping Miller through the season, but he’s easily the most marketable asset the Nuggets have and as such, I’m not averse to trading him.

If Denver can get value for Andersen, trade him. But as I said earlier, I don’t think teams will give up much for him straight up, so it would have to be some sort of package deal.

I like Rudy and hope he sticks around. Sure, I wish he’d be a bit more consistent, but he has good rapport with Gallo. That said, I can see Chandler eating up some of his minutes if he returns.

Al Harrington, who is putting up solid offensive numbers, is an immediate trade piece that springs to mind. That said, I’m loath to part with him, since some nights, he’s the only offense Denver has. If Chandler can score like Al, then it is no question, as Chandler is younger and a much better defender. But I still am haunted by the playoffs last year and Chandler not playing well at all.

Gulp.

AL

he seems to give a shit about the outcome of the game. Chandler, while a solid player, never gave me that impression.

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

They told that story during the game last night

of Al standing up during the timeout and calling on the team to play better. Definitely a leader last night.

i think we make too much of Chandler's playoff performance

The trade (and all the drama leading up to it), his ankles, not sure about his future, plus the pressure of being the playoffs for the first time with a team/coach he had less than a college season to jell with had to factor in and shouldn’t bury forever in Nuggets lore. Lot of guys didn’t bring it in that series, including Coach Karl.

jd80229 - February 21, 2012 via mobile reply

regardless of his playoffs performance

he just never struck me as a guy who plays with a lot of fire, nothing wrong with that but it seems Al, AAA and maybe Gallo are the only guys on our team who play that way. Either way I’m alright with having a cool, calm guy on our team as long as he can hit his shots!

1 year anniversary of the trade

wow time flies

whoa

is that today? dang

just looking back at all these trade updates on melo.. pretty crazy

that celtics game was great

one of the best games I've ever been to

crowd was awesome that night

wish i could watch that game right now

too bad theres no sites to see it

remember trade day and Celtic game so well

5 minutes after trade was confirmed, I was on tele asking my cable company to add NBA League Pass so I could see my new team.

And, in 42 years of watching the Knicks, I’s only enjoyed 3 Knick teams more than I enjoyed watching last years post trade Nuggets.

Thank you Nuggets for an exhilirating 3 months even with the loss to OKC

and I still miss A.C.

and crime stopper.

Balkman hasn't played much in NY....

He must be in D’antoni’s dog house…
If JR pisses off coach they can be together again

InboundingLobPass - February 21, 2012 via mobile reply

he was released

to make room for JR

ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - February 21, 2012 reply

You are a sick individual.

I miss Balkman

Army of Nugs - February 21, 2012 reply

I am watching a replay of yesterdays game

I am amazed at something that has been noted about Faried, his amazing energy, his motor.

Just saw that block on Rubio’s breakaway and then on a drive and dunk.

What I notice is that even after the great exertion of a block and/or tomahawk or tough rebound, faried has enough in his tank to pogo up and down, clap, sprint, high five. What a gift