The Nuggets were unsurprisingly sluggish coming out of the gate on the back end of their 5th set of back to back games, but a gutty, strong effort in the second half turned this into a rout once Chicago's shooters went cold from the outside. On to the Game Nuggetz:
- 10 of the Nuggets first 13 games have been part of a back-to-back set. I'm not sure what the league norm is, but that seems totally unreasonable. It's speaks a lot to their effort that they've managed to win 9 games already with that brutal scheduling.
- Early on, it seemed like the Nuggets were trying to play hard, but just didn't have it. They'd run out on shooters, but not really in time to actually challenge the shots.
- He still looked lost at times, but Birdman looked to be back to his old form. Getting good results from that MRI must have done wonders for his confidence, which is key for a player that relies almost entirely on his jumping ability to be effective.
- Nene, with mixed but mostly positive results, took it upon himself to keep the Nuggets in the game early on. He's looked soft for much of the early part of this season, and still had his moments of weak finishes tonight, but looked strong on the boards and driving to the rim right from the tip tonight.
- He looked tired doing it, but when Melo's shot missed the mark a few times early, he drove straight to the hoop and it looked like there was nobody on the Bulls who could do anything about it.
- It wasn't until Melo hit a jumper with about 9 minutes left in the 2nd quarter that momentum started to shift. Shortly after, Chauncey knocked down a 3, which thankfully led to his best shooting performance since opening night.
- They didn't look to being playing very sharp, but the fact that they started to knock down open shots, and the Bulls went cold, allowed the Nugz to get back in the game heading into halftime.
- Keeping with the end of the first half, the Nuggets, with the exception of Melo's passing, didn't do anything to showcase their skills in the second half, but swung the game on pure effort.
- The energy expended defensively allowed the Nuggets to run, move the ball on the fast break and get easy buckets.
- Teams are starting to figure out Ty Lawson a bit, and it seems like more of his shots are getting blocked, but he's still a very effective point guard when he comes into the game.
- Probably the biggest factor in this game becoming a blow out was Big Earl Smith the Third catching fire. You never know when it's gonna happen, you can't count on it, but when ES3 gets it going, it's an immediate 20 point swing in the game.
- Mentioned earlier, Carmelo showcased some unbelievable passing tonight. He'll show flashes of this ability in any given game, but the second half tonight seemed to be the longest sustained effort by Melo to get his teammates involved.
- Despite how they looked in the 1st quarter, Denver ended up shooting almost 49% from the field which is a minor miracle. Sure ES3 caught fire and Melo and Chauncey hit some shots, but I think the main reason is that their defense and passing led to a whole lot of dunks.
- Dunking isn't as easy as it looks in the NBA. I promise.
This game, after the ominous opening, proved that this Nuggets team is not afraid to get down and dirty, fight for rebounds and lose balls, and do what it takes to get the easy points. Defensively, the Bulls just broke down in the second half and allowed the Nuggets to play exactly how they want to play, and the Nuggets' effort on the defensive end, especially Kenyon Martin, remained remarkably consistent with the Bulls scoring 27, 25, 19 and 22 in each quarter.
Nothing happened tonight that makes me think this team is at the top of the championship contender list, but it was a character-proving game with plenty of opportunities to lay down and make excuses, but instead they managed to put their heads down, get to work, and turn this game into a laugher.
Good night, and Go Nugz!
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