Round 1, Game 5 Nuggetz

While I don't think it's going to crack my top 5 all time sporting events attended list, it was still great to be a part of such a rockin' crowd at the Pepsi Center. Everything's kind of a blur, but I'll do my best to piece together some Game Nuggetz from last night's series clinching win.

• The energy of the crowd was great, but the sophistication seemed to ebb and flow throughout the game. I was particularly impressed when you could hear the crowd buzz get louder and louder as the shot-clock wound down on a New Orleans possesion in the first half. It's one thing to cheer after the shot-clock violation, but even the crowd is finding this team's defensive intensity as exciting as the alley-oops and 3's at the other end.

• In my Game 4 recap, I mentioned that I thought this game could go one of two ways, either a close, back-and-forth affair, or a Nuggets rout. It turns out it went both ways.

• The Nuggets D kept them in the game in the first half, which is particularly impressive considering how poorly they were shooting the ball early on. It was only a matter of time before they warmed up, and when they did about halfway through the third quarter, it was over.

• More than just the team defense, Kenyon Martin's overall play kept the game close in the first half. Without his smothering defense and above-the-rim antics, the Hornets may have been able to give themselves a bit of a cushion heading into the second half.

• It took 5 games, but Carmelo finally realized that Peja "To do more than shoot" Stojakovic was guarding him in this series and proceeded to dribble around him for some easy buckets.

• It was neat the first time somebody started a "We Want Dallas" chant halfway through the 4th quarter, but a little unnecessary to continue to try to start it every 45 seconds for the rest of the game. The last thing we need to do as fans is get this team looking ahead. They've done a great job of focusing on every posession, so let's try to keep it that way.

• People were happy after the game, but I think the bar has been raised. While winning in the first round was an important landmark, it seems like everyone around this franchise knows what this team is capable of, and is excited for the challenges that lay ahead in these playoffs.

• I'm hoping that Mark Cuban will see my recent Mustache May post and take it as a Blogger's challenge. Let's see what you got Cubeman!

That's it for now. Just wanted to get a few of my thoughts out there early in the day. More to come...