I came into this game excited to see the Nuggets get their first real test in a really long time. It was not to be. Despite some extremely sloppy offensive play, the Nugs willed themselves to another blowout victory with opportunistic defense and smart 3 point shooting. The jumpers didn't fall often, but the 3's that they did make were wide open and very timely. It's late and it's hard to think of much to say after yet another 4th Quarter comprised entirely of garbage time, so I'll get straight to the Game Nuggetz:
- I was watching the TNT broadcast, but early on, I'm pretty sure I heard Scott Hastings yelling something about "boxing out."
- Arron Afflalo continues to impress. D Wade never looked comfortable in this game and holding him to two made shots in the 1st half went a long way towards setting the tone.
- I don't think i've ever seen the Nuggets with a double digit lead going into the half when they're shooting less than 40%
- This is probably the first game I've seen the Nugs shoot poorly from the outside in a blowout win. Hopefully they realize they can still dominate teams even when the jumpers are missing the mark.
- For the second straight game, the Nuggets bigs dominated the paint. Nene went with the soft lay-ins more than I would like to see (and missed a handful of them), but overall, Nene, K Mart and Birdman absolutely owned the area under both hoops.
- Birdman turned in his second impressive performance in as many games, so hopefully his health issues are behind him and he can get back to his form from last year.
- Chauncey's shot wasn't falling, but he still managed to get to the free throw line, get Chalmers in foul trouble and distribute the ball in a way that helped the O more than hurt it.
- He had to play a few extra minutes to get it, but Melo continues to be the only player in the NBA to score at least 20 points in every game this season, and he got it on a dagger 3 pointer early in the 4th.
- One way to save up your energy for the playoffs is apparently to play well enough to rest your starters every 4th Quarter.
- Lawson seems to be adapting his game more and more as the season goes on. He's not forcing as many shots and getting stuck in the paint as often as he was a few weeks ago. It's hard to imagine just how good he may turn out to be, especially considering the extended learning curve for most point guards entering the league.
- The end-of-the-bench players looked a whole lot more organized during garbage time tonight. Maybe it was the opponent, or the fact that it was the second time in two games they've played an entire quarter, but they looked like they were willing to be patient offensively and let the scoring chances come to them instead of forcing things.
- They're defense, on the other hand, looked terrible.
It was another boooooooring win, but every win counts the same in the standings, and it's especially rewarding in that it came against a team that had just gone into Portland and knocked off probably our biggest division rival. None of the backcourt players played particularly well tonight and i'm hoping that these defensively induced blowouts become a trend. Nene, K Mart and Birdman are beginning to look and play like a much more formidable frontcourt than anyone expected as they make up for being somewhat undersized with their unparalleled athleticism. It was a nice, unexpected easy win tonight and i hope it provides the Nugs with enough momentum to start off this coming road trip the right way. There's no question the incentive will be there as their next stop is in San Antonio to play a Spurs team that just gave Boston all they could handle tonight and will be hungry for a win back on their home-court. The opportunities to prove that they're for real have been few and far between for this Nuggets team since the Lakers game, so I'm very excited to see what's in store on Saturday.
Until next time, good night and Go Nugz!
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