K-Mart's Blue Light Special Leads Denver Nuggets to 5th Straight

Man, what a roller coaster ride.. Just when you think that our favorite team had already given up they decide to show up and show signs of life.

Again, I refuse to get my hopes up as much as possible because we still have a lot of tough games left to play beginning with 2 against the surging Suns.

I think this would be the biggest streak we've had this season of 5 straight including 3 on the road.

The Bottom-Line is that our Denver Nuggets are finally showing us what they are capable of. They are doing what we expected them to do all season, and for some reason they always seem to perform better with their backs against the wall.

What's been most impressive as of late has been the play of K-Mart and the Nugget's bench. This team is finally showing it's depth, whether it is because coach Karl is just now realizing what he has on the bench is the reason, or if it is the bench themselves that don't want to be watching the playoffs from home, it doesn't matter.
All that matters is that our team is going to get through this adversity and come out on top, and in the playoffs.

About K-Mart, I've always been wondering about when he was going to be more aggressive. Whenever he dunks the ball it is very fast and he has his elbows above the rim which would make it hard for anyone to contest and he has a pretty decent jumper as well.

This shows that we have at least:

5 Players that can score at least 30,
4 Players that can score at least 35,
3 Players that can score at least 40,
2 Players that can score at least 45, and
1 Player that can score at least 50.

Now that is some pretty impressive Offense, although it is the other side of the equation that we are yet to see any type of consistency on which is the Defensive end.

Our Denver Nuggets are responsible for putting themselves in this position, so it is only proper that they come out and take care of business. If they won a lot of games that they were supposed to, we would probably be in the top 4 or 5 of the west.

For now, let's hope that our Denver Nuggets Continue on their winning ways.

Honestly I think if AI didn't get his broken finger hit that early and had made his shots this last game would have been a blowout. Oh well, like I said, we have a lot of options of offense.

Let's hope Shaq doesn't bully Camby in these next 2 games too much, he's got a couple of hundred pounds on him.

NuggSter

If I Were Coach of the Denver Nuggets

I by no means am an expert at basketball nor do I claim to be good at it or anything of the sort. I do though understand the game and have a passion and love for the game probably only matched by the likes of MJ or AI.

If I were the coach of the Denver Nuggets, these are the immediate changes that I would make:

1. AI would start as Point Guard. - He is still the most effective assist machine on the team because defenders all expect him to shoot. also the team's record is something like 24-4 when he get's a double-double in Points & Assists.
2. AC as backup Point Guard. - He would get his minutes by giving AI a rest, at least 3 minutes per half, so AI is fresh to finish off the 4th.
3. JR would start as Shooting Guard. - He brings more height, offense AND defense to the perimeter. High risk, high reward. He has been playing smarter lately, he is worth the risk.
4. We can blow any team out of the court with AI and JR in the Back Court. AI and JR are too proud to let the other back court get the better of them, and can you imagine the speed? Woohoo! This doesn't even have to be every game, but at least when playing teams with taller more athletic shooting guards like Kobe or T-Mac.
5. Use Diawara more as the "Bowen" of the team and have him lock down the luck offensive player of the other team.
6. ANY Player that is 0 for 5, will come out of the game to sit down and think about it. ANY PLAYER. It doesn't have to be 5, it could just be too many jump shots. The "Sit Down" rule should be if you miss 3 jumpers, you need to TAKE IT TO THE HOLE.
7. I would have the team practice EXTRA hard on THREE POINTERS & FREE THROWS. If we make these we lessen the chance of any close games that translate to losses.
8. Improve perimeter Defense, see AI and JR above for taller shooting guards above.
9. Have Melo, AI, Camby work on go-to set plays like PICK-&-ROLL a la Stockton & Malone, these could be very potent, but NOOOOOO>>>... I'm just a fan, who's gonna listen to me?
10. Convince AI and Melo that they need to work on other facets of their game and prove doubters that they are not One-Dimensional Players. AI could easily get a dub-dub in Points & Assists every night and Melo could work a little harder and get a dub-dub in Points & Rebounds every night. It's a lot of pressure on them yeah but they are the most consistent players on the court most of the time, and that is why they are called the Dynamic Duo.
11. Talk to Nene and decide on whether he is coming back this season or not. Make it clear to the team as well so they know where they stand and what they need to do with what.
12. Coach Carl has been doing this lately, well, somewhat but, I'd try to give more playing time to JR, LK43, Najera, Diawara & Atkins. See the "Sit Down" rule above for application.

BASICALLY I WOULD HAVE AN OVERALL SMARTER APPROACH TO EACH AND EVERY GAME. IT'S ALL ABOUT MATCH-UPS, RECOGNIZE THEM AND PLAY THEM ACCORDINGLY, LIKE A GAME OF CHESS. If this means that your starting 5 changes once in awhile depending on who we are playing then so be it.

Oh well all I can do with all this is blog about it and use it when I play NBA 2K8 on my playstation. =P'

NuggSter

Dynamic Duo torches Toronto with 69 Points

In another game that the Nuggets were merely supposed to win, at least we won. Although, again, Golden State won as well so, we did not make any ground on the 8th spot in the playoffs. Also, this has been what the Nuggets have been doing, winning 2 or 3 games before losing to any random team, whether they are good or bad.

Aside from AI and Melo's Defense, I would like to give props to Marcus for coming back and getting 15 Rebounds on the Road, and to K-Mart for his excellent Defense on Chris Bosh.

I've got to say, K-mart has been stepping up lately, if only everybody on the team picks up from this new sense of urgency. Also I really wish that Coach Carl starts to do his job a little better.

NuggSter

Nuggets still inconsistent, lose to Pistons and Philly.

Well folks, I think I hit rock-bottom with this last lass to the Sixers. Without being able to watch the game, the problems were obvious. Marcus didn't show up today (wassup Marcus?) & we missed a lot of free throws, enough to have won us the game.

I just can't get over how inconsistent our team can be. From winning by an average of 35 pts per game to getting blown out, then losing to a sub .500 team. In these past 2 games why is it that the 3rd quarter is the only one we do a good job?

What is that I smell? Oh that is the smell of De-Feat, and it stinks..

Unfortunately at this rate we will not be seeing our Denver Nuggets in the Playoffs this year. It seems as though our team just does not have the desire and toughness that the likes of the Houston Rockets have to make a run.

What's left? I'm gonna have to decide on who I'll be rooting for in the playoffs..

I feel bad for AI because:

1. his new team is not likely to make the playoffs, his old team is,
2. his old team beat his new team, again.

Oh well, at the end of the day we are just fans and they are still superstar millionaires that get to play ball for a living. So I imagine that I feel worse than they do because my passion for basketball is my escape from the real world where I continue to struggle with and now I have nothing to root for.

To the Denver Nuggets, sorry, I've lost hope for this season, until further notice.

To my fellow Denver Nuggets Fans, I'm not quitting on the team, I am merely being realistic.

Go Nuggets for Next Year!

NuggSter

AI hurt, Melo struggled, Nuggets still blow out Grizzlies

I didn't post anything on the loss in San Antonio because it was disappointing and positive at the same time. It was a game that went back and forth, neither team played exceptionally well and it came down to San Antonio's experience as it all fell apart for the Nuggets in the last 2 minutes of the game. All I could really say about the Nugget's stats are that there weren't a lot of assists so I imagine there was a lot of 1 on 1 action as opposed to team basketball. Good thing the rest of the Nuggets were more than enough to handle the Memphis Grizzlies who I think are dee-dee-dees for trading Gasol. ;)

With this win the Nuggets officially got their best 64-Game start in 20 years. So let's for a moment appreciate that they have improved significantly since AI arrived in Denver. Let's also appreciate that the WEST is crazy this year. Everybody improved, and there are a lot of improved teams in the west. Even with their best start in 20 years, the Nuggets are STILL on the outside looking in,... WHAT??

To put it into perspective, in the East, AI's old team the Sixers are still 3 games below .500 and they would still make the playoffs if they were to play today! That is how lopsided the EAST and WEST are this year. Frankly I don't think it is fair that the Sixers would make the Playoffs and the Nuggets wouldn't. I think the playoffs should have the top 16 teams, period.

Anyway, this win was a given, a supposed to win, but didn't mean too much because again, the Warriors and the Jazz won too so we didn't gain any ground.

Let's not get our hopes up but the Nuggets NEED to win ALL OF THEIR UPCOMING GAMES especially the ones that are supposed to be easy to have a chance. Otherwise they will be spectators come playoff time too.

I don't think a team with that much talend and pride would want that to happen so we should see some better effort, I hope.

NuggSter

Nuggets Finally Eclipse Suns at the Pepsi Center

This is what we have been waiting for, well, more like, wins like these for more than 3 in a row. Basically more than a 1 or 2 game winning streak. =P'

Melo and AI showed us why they are All-Stars with their showing for this game. AI was, well AI, what can I say, the player with the most Heart and Talent per inch in the world I would say. If he were as tall as Kobe or McGrady, then you might as well just throw the towel in when you play against him. Melo, Wow. He just showed us what he is capable of when he puts his mind to it. He is scary good when he plays like that, attacking the rim and crashing the boards like there is no tomorrow.

There were many good things about this game. A couple of other brighter spots were JR Smith's awesome shooting (START HIM AS SG WITH AI AS PG), AC's excellent D and double double, Marcus and K-mart are their usual efficient selves and everybody's contributions off the bench were crucial too.

I'd have to say that the only NEGATIVE for the Nuggets this game was the Free Throw Shooting. I mean c'mon?? 9 missed free throws? What if it was a close game? That's 9 points that could have won or lost it for us! There is a reason why they call them FREE THROWS guys, you are professionals, get them down please.

MAY I POINT OUT THAT AI HAD ANOTHER DUB-DUB IN POINTS & ASSISTS = WIN. (23-3??)

THE BIGGER QUESTION IS: Can the NUGGET's pull it together for this stretch and continue to WIN SOME GAMES so our season doesn't get cut short? It remains to be seen. DO THEY WANT IT AS MUCH AS WE THE FANS DO? HOPEFULLY, WE'LL SEE.

TOMORROW WE GET A CHANCE TO BEAT THE TEAM THAT HAS ELIMINATED US IN THE FIRST ROUND MORE THAN ONCE. KEEP THAT IN MIND GUYS. OFFENSIVELY THEY HAVE NOTHING ON US EXCEPT THEIR OCCASIONAL LUCK FROM THE 3 POINT LINE WHICH WE NEED TO DEFEND. PLEASE? PUT SOMEONE ON GINOBILI!

LET'S DO THIS NUGGETS!

NuggSter

All Stars AI and Melo Lead Nuggets to Ugly Win over Clippers

Things are not looking good for our Denver Nuggets. In a game that they should have won easily, they looked slow and off target, especially from the 3 point line. They gave up individual career highs again and almost lost to a severely depleted Clippers team that is one of the worst offensive teams in the league.

Like I have said before, the Denver Nuggets are the buffet line of career and team highs for their opponents.. =P'

This is a first time in awhile that I have been able to watch them on TV and let's just say AI was the only one who truly impressed me, and Melo at specially at the very end of the game. Camby was quietly getting his double double on but that was pretty much it.

I WAS MORE EMOTIONAL THAN MOST OF THE PLAYERS, ESPECIALLY MORE THAN COACH KARL. I'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND THAT. I'D BE SCREAMING AT THEM ONCE THE LESSER TEAM STARTS TO COME BACK. BUT NO,.. IT WAS UP TO AI AND MELO TO DECIDE THAT THEY WANTED TO WIN THE GAME AT THE VERY END. WHEN THEY GET THE LEAD THEY SHOULD NEVER WANT TO RELINQUISH IT. AI, MELO and MARCUS SHOULD BE SCREAMING AT WHOEVER IS NOT DOING THEIR JOB DEFENSIVELY EVEN IF IT IS ONE OF THEM, ESPECIALLY SINCE KARL ISN'T.

This week we play the best teams and we will truly see if the rest of the Nuggets want it as bad as AI does, simple as that.

I say put AI on point, and start JR Smith as shooting guard. This would be my starting 5:

SF Melo / PF K-Mart / C MC / PG AI / SG JR

This will do a couple of things:

1. Increase our height around the perimeter,


2. Be able to match the height of taller shooting guards,


3. Improve perimeter D with better height and athleticism,


4. Give AI an opportunity to get over 10 Assists with his points, {22-3? with those stats}


5. Keeps opponents guessing, everyone knows that AC wants to pass and doesn't like to score, so ultimately it would improve our offense even MORE.

Not to mention that a fast break with AI and JR would be much more potent than AI and AC because all of the players would already know that AI will be taking the shot. The only disclaimer is that the 10-10 rule would need to apply to JR too. He will need to take it to the hole 10 times and get 10 free throws before he takes a three, unless he is really open, .. or he's got the HOT HAND.

Bottom-Line: We as fans can only do or say too much. With this tough week coming up with all the top teams that we will be playing, all we can do is hope for the best but expect the worst, unfortunately. If their last game was any indication of their heart and desire to win, I'll have to be pessimistic. We hardly beat the Clippers and the Pistons beat them by 30 today.

If we don't keep winning, we won't even make the playoffs, and AI's old team the Sixers will, how sad is that? =P'

Hopeful Nugget Fan,

NuggSter