A Dream Fulfilled and A Game 3 Preview/Prediction Posted

I don't have much time to post a preview today as I'm DJ'ing a wedding today in an hour and 15 minutes under the alias "DJ JD aka The Palindrome", but I wanted to throw up a quick post for a couple reasons.

One is that this could be the #1 game in the history of Nuggets' hoops.  I realize we throw around superlatives like crazy these days, in fact, this might be the most superlativest time in history, but I still think that with all the elements involved, this could be the most exciting NBA game ever played in Denver.  I had to switch out my ticket for tonight's game thanks to my DJ gig, but I can't even imagine what it's going to be like in the Can this evening.  I feel confident that the Nuggets will take care of business.  It will be another hard fought game, but I don't think this one comes down to the last shot:  Denver 112 - LA 104. 

Now on to the second, and most personally exciting reason for this post.  A friend of mine directed me to this story in the Denver Post about Linas Kleiza.  In my initial post I spoke of my intention for this blog.  Above all of the normal things I wanted to get out of this blog was the dispersal of my favorite nicknames that nobody else was using: Linas the Menace and The Blankman (Renaldo Balkman).  After seeing Linas the Menace used in the comment section of a Denver Post story online, I was pretty happy, but this...  this is a dream come true.  An objective completed.  It's in print.  It may not be my story, but my nickname has been published and I'm hoping that's just the beginning.  I suspect it will catch on like wildfire, especially if the Menace's hot shooting continues tonight.  I'm glad you could all be a part of this special moment.

I'm the luckiest man in the world!

Any Questions? (WCF Game 2 Nuggetz)

None from me thank you.  The biggest remaining question for this squad was how would they respond to adversity in the playoffs?  Very well, thank you very much.  There's still a long way to go, but I think it's safe to say that Thursday night's win solidifies Denver's status as a championship contender, and I think we're in for a very entertaining Western Conference Finals.

• Much like Games 3 and 4 in the Dallas series, the recaps for Games 1 and 2 in this series can essentially be flippy-floppied.


• Carmelo was the most efficient scorer in Game 1, but was outdone by Kobe in crunch time and ended up scoring just a little bit less for the game.


• Kobe was the most efficient scorer in Game 2, but was outdone by Carmelo in crunch time and ended up scoring just a little bit less for the game.


• Who's the hungriest player on the court in this series?  Without question it's Melo.  Nobody else comes close.  Whichever area he's focused on, whether it's scoring, rebounding, defending or whatever, he seems to will his way to success.


• Second place goes to Pau Gasol, whose rebounding and dare I say, tough interior play, is keeping these games from being double-digit losses for the Lakers.


• Nene looks like the old Pau Gasol, flopping for fouls, occasionally dominant, but usually confused by the different beast that is NBA Playoff basketball.


• Forget the Playoffs, welcome to the 2008/2009 NBA season Linas "the Menace" Kleiza!


• Miraculously, the Nuggets were paced offensively, until Melo's scoring outburst, by Linas the Menace and Kenyon Martin.  Without their scoring, the Nugs go down by at least 20 early in the first half.


• I'm starting to think Mark Warkentein and Rex Chapman decided to assemble this team around the mold of Melo's NCAA Champion Syracuse Orange team with Chauncey playing the part of Gerry McNamara and the freakishly athletic Birdman playing the part of the freakishly athletic Hakim Warrick.  Here's to hoping the NBA Finals end with Birdman blocking an attempted 3-point shot.


• I have to admit I was absolutely frightened when I realized that both Steve "Jobbed Me" Javie and Dick "I hope he doesn't hurt himself" Bavetta were working this game together.  Fortunately each seemed to be favoring one team or the other, so it worked itself out in the end.  Apparently sometimes two wrongs do make a right.


• I haven't felt my heart beating as fast as it was in the last two minutes of this game in avery long time.  I'm not sure if that's a testament to the exciting finish, or to my lack of cardiovascular training, but I'm pretty sure it was the finish.


• Gasol and Odom got their share of uncontested putbacks, but this time the Nuggets countered by crashing the glass on their end just as hard.

With the series shifting back to Denver, I expect we'll see a little better production out of the Nugget's energy guys off the bench.  So I think Birdman, Junior and AC will all see a boost in the next two games.  If anything, I think Kobe will be even better in the Pepsi Center as he seems to revel in quieting rowdy fans on the road, but I do think guys like Ariza, Shannon Brown, Bynum and even the emotionally unsteady Lamar Odom could be affected.  So I'm expecting to see the games remain closely contested based on the play of Kobe and Gasol, but the bench play at home will give the Nuggets the overall edge.

And so it begins...

Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, no teams dominated like the Cavs and the Nuggets.  Cleveland barely broke a sweat winning both series' in the minimum 8 games.  Denver let their oppponents hang around a couple times, but ultimately posted the largest scoring margin through the first two rounds in playoff history.

You hear a lot about how a playoff series doesn't begin until a team wins on the road.  Well I say the playoffs have just begun for these two teams after tasting defeat for the first time early in a series.  I haven't followed the Cavs reaction much after their devastating loss, but I've been very impressed with Denver's maturity and professionalism following Tuesday night's last-minute defeat.

This is the first dose of adversity and the first true test of the 2009 playoffs for both of these teams.  Cleveland has much more reason to be scared after losing on their home-court, but they also have the best player in basketball, so you can't be too worried.  Denver is much more of a wildcard.  Many "experts" probably expect a significant drop-off from the Nuggets' Game 1 effort and enthusiasm, but everything I've seen so far the spring tells me that's not going to be the case.  Denver lost a game in New Orleans by two that it could have won, they lost a game in Dallas by two that they should have won and now the same thing has happened in Los Angeles.

The only difference this time around is that it happened in Game 1 instead of Game 3 or 4, so if recent history tells me anything, it's that not only will there not be a drop-off, but there will be a significant increase in focus, effort and team-play.  Keeping in mind the current opponent is undoubtedly more talented than Dallas or New Orleans, I still see Game 2 as a great chance for Denver to get a win on the road and even their playoff road record at 3-3.  A win tonight would be a great way to swing some momentum as the series shifts to Denver where the Nuggets have been unbeatable for over 2 months now.  It would make the Lakers think a little more about how many games they've played over the last couple weeks.  It would make the Lakers think a little more about how the altitude is going to affect their tired legs.  It would be just what the Nuggets need to take control of a series that most "experts" are now ready to hand right back to LA.

If I can see these things, then the Denver Nugget organization can clearly see these things and the players will be well prepared for a game that holds a wild amount of significance for this team.  With a couple home games coming before a return to Staples Center, by no means do I think this series will be over if the Nuggets can't pull out a victory tonight, but a win tonight will provide a significant boost throughout the rest of the series and I'm looking forward to watching this team respond to their first real challenge of the playoffs.

I don't see Melo scoring 40 tonight, but I see the bench playing much stronger.  Kobe may score 40 again, but I don't see Fisher and Ariza hitting every significant 3-pointer that they take.  Gasol, Odom and Bynum may have better offensive performances, but I don't see them dominating the offensive glass the way they did in Game 1 and most importantly, I don't see the Nuggets choking away another chance for victory in Game 2.  When the game is on the line, the ball will be in Billups or Melo's hands and if that's the case, I like our chances.

Game 2 Prediction: Denver 111 - Los Angeles 104

Western Conference Finals Preview

This is how it should be.

As nice as it would have been to take on a depleted Rockets team, keep home-court advantage and sweep through the Western Conference Playoffs as the favorite in every round, this is the match-up the Nuggets needed in order to be taken serious as a contender.

Much has been said of Denver's easy path to Round 3 of the 2009 Playoffs, and about how they have yet to really deal with any adversity, but I think that's more due to the performance of the Nuggets rather than the shortcomings of their opponents.  New Orleans was clearly not playing great hoops in the first round, but I would certainly take them in a 7-game series with the tanking Jazz team that took on the Lakers in Round 1.  Dallas didn't look up to the challenge against Denver, but had been playing their best ball of the season leading up and in to their first round victory over San Antonio.  There's no question in my mind that Dallas would have been able to knock off the McGrady and Yao-less Rockets in less than the 7 games it took L.A.

We've been watching a Denver Nuggets team that has embraced and conquered every challenge laid in their path this post-season, and playing the Lakers will just be the next on the list.  I don't doubt the talent that Los Angeles brings to the table.  Their front-line is very formidble and it will take the best effort from Denver's big guys to match up with them.  Phil Jackson will not be rattled in the way Rick Carlisle was, and will have his team prepared as far as X's and O's. Kobe is easily the best all-around talent in the Western Conference and won't be settling for fall-away jump shots nearly as often as Dirk was, but I think these are the things that will keep this Nuggets team focused.  

My biggest worry in the playoffs has been how the Nuggets will respond to their continuing success.  All season long, they've been able to play the "Nobody Believes In Us" card, and matching up with the Lakers will allow that to continue for a little while longer.  Denver only managed one victory over L.A. in the regular season, but if you look at the line-ups in each of the 4 games, you'll see that one team or the other had somebody significant missing in each game.  The season-opener came before the Billups trade and before Dahntay Jones had made his way into the starting lineup; the second game featured Vlad Radmonovic starting for LA and Birdman missing the game for Denver; game 3, Denver's dominating victory came with Bynum sitting out and the final regular season game was played without Kenyon Martin, who is unquestionably the Nuggets' defensive spark plug.

There's no more time for excuses now.  It doesn't matter who's hurt, who's tired, who got the better match-ups and who didn't, it's all about showing it on the court.  The Lakers have been written into the Finals in ink since the start of the season, and they've been playing as if they believe it's a foregone conclusion so far in the playoffs as well.  Denver has yet to fall behind in a 2009 playoff game by more than 11 and has yet to lose a 2009 playoff game by more than 2.  I don't expect either of those numbers to stand up throughout this next series, but just as the Nuggets' play has remained consistent, my series prediction will stay the same as I'm looking forward to stealing one of these first two in the Staples Center and continuing the dominant play at home:  

Nuggets in 6.

Round Deux, Game 5 Recap

Wow, what a night to be in the Pepsi Center.

Getting past the first round was fun, but there was an unbelievable amount of energy flowing through the Can all through the 4th quarter and well past the final buzzer.

With a record attendance that nearly topped the 20,000 mark, every shot attempt, every defensive stop by Melo or KMart on Dirk, every time somebody entered or left the game, the crowd was ready to erupt and every time it seemed like it couldn't get any better, with it all culminating on Junior Smith's alley-oop pass to KMart for a dunk that gives new meaning to the word "emphatic."

It was an epic journey.

When I say that, I'm not speaking about the game, series or playoff run. I'm not talking about the evolution of the Carmelo-era Nuggets. I'm talking about how I got to the game.

Having purchased the tickets on ticketmaster, I selected the "pick-up at a retail location" option since will-call didn't seem to be an option anymore. Before braving the 2.5 hour drive to Denver, I made sure to look up a few Ticketmaster retail outlets around Denver to give me some options. With traffic the way it was, I managed to get into my usualy parking lot next to Old Chicago at 14th and Market. From there I figured it was a short jaunt over to 16th and California where I thought I'd be able to snag my ticket before heading back to the Can. Much to my surprise, the Denver Visitor's Bureau was all locked up for the evening. This was disappointing as I believed the next closest outlet was at a record store up around Colfax and Ogden. I make the walk up that direction and come to the realization that the record store I walked to was in fact not the record store that was a Ticketmaster outlet. After checking out some street signs, I realize I have a good 15 blocks yet to go. I finally reach Twist & Shout up next to the Tattered Cover bookstore, make my way back to the back cashier and he tells me that since the game has started, my ticket will be at Will Call.

Oh.

I was lucky enough to catch a cab back with a cabby that was a fan, so I got to listen to the first half of the second quarter on the radio anyway and made it into my seat for the last 5 minutes of the half.

Anyway, now that I've rehashed the highs and lows of my evening, I'll try to throw together some thoughts on the series' past and future:

• Denver has now taken two teams that played strong in the powerful Western Conference and made them look like fringe playoff teams.


• At some point, maybe it's time to give some credit to the Nuggets instead of bashing the other team.


• I like the idea of Mark Cuban crashing into a Maverick's halftime huddle giving Will Farrell's "We've got to keep our composure!" speech from Old School.


• Speaking of Cuban, it's very convenient that he had a previously scheduled event to attend this evening. I wonder where he'd have been if this game had been played in Dallas.


• Regardless of who the Nuggets play next, I would love to see them keep working on consistent defensive intensity. There have been times this series where Dallas has had absolutely no options on offense and times where the Nuggets seem fine with allowing open jumpers. Maybe facing Kobe will be enough to motivate the team throughout the next round.

I'm going to leave it at this for now as it's late and I'll be getting up early to make the 2.5 hour drive back tomorrow, but I'll also leave you with a picture I got from my seat shortly after the final seconds ticked away on the Maverick's 2009 season:

Round Deux, Game 5 Preview

One bright spot coming out of Game 4's loss to the Mavericks is that now I'll have a chance to head to another elimination game at the Pepsi Center this post-season.  The Mavs got up for their "revenge" game two night's ago and played with plenty of heart and resilience despite plenty of chances for them to quit in the style of New Orleans.  

I think Dallas will come in a focused team, but I don't see them able to match the emotion and intensity of their Game 4 effort.  A 3-0 lead allowed a much more relaxed Denver team to finally start hitting their shots from outside, and I see that continuing as they return to the friendly confines of the Pepsi Center with a 3-1 series lead and chance to close out another series in front of the hometown fans.  

As heroic as Dirk's performance was in the 4th quarter, I believe JJ Barea's hustle and Brandon Bass' play on offense and defense were the reasons Dallas was able to keep from getting blown out on their home court.  That being said, the return on the Birdman will be a defining factor that I expect will return the edge to the Nuggets as far as bench play.  It's no coincidence that Dallas was able to produce in the paint the same night Denver's most intimidating shot blocker was sidelined with food poisoning.

I'm getting more excited by the hour as Game 5 approaches and I'll be very happy to be a part of yet another historic victory by this Denver Nuggets team that continues to improve as the playoffs go forward.

Quick Game 4 Recap

Busy day for me today, so I'll keep it simple: Read all of the Game 3 Recaps and switch the teams around.

Denver was in control of this one the whole time until the final minutes just as Dallas was in control of Game 3. Frustrating loss, but I don't see it affecting the Nugget's dominant ply at home and believe this series will be over by tomorrow evening.

The X factor was clearly the Birdman's absence. I don't think JJ Barea would have been quite so heroic had the Bird been around to swat his drives to the hoop. It could be a reason for Dirk's sudden 4th quarter prowess as well with Linas Kleiza drawing the big German on many 4th quarter possessions.

Here's a question: Wouldn't Balkman be a good option when the team is looking for someone to check Dirk the Jerk and soak up a few fouls?

Round Deux, Game 3 Preview

It's probably a good thing these teams had 4 days in between games. Incredible foresight by the league to know that Dirk's alleged fiancee would be arrested and Josh Howard's ankle would need some rest. Without those two events, I don't think there's a whole lot more that could be written about this series. Games 1 and 2 followed a nearly identical script. The Nuggets had a few more defensive lapses in Game 2, and their 1st and 2nd quarter dominance flip-flopped, but other than that it was pretty much the same story of a tight game through 3 quarters followed by an embarrassingly dominating 4th quarter by the Nuggets.

I expect to see something different this game, though it remains to be seen exactly what that will be. I keep thinking Dallas will find a way to limit Denver's post production, but that's been very consistent so far, and the Nuggets aren't likely to miss any dunks just because they're playing on the road. I would think that outside shooting would be the main statistic that would change as a playoff series shifts from one city to the other, but so far in this series, Dallas has been the better outside shooting team by a long shot. Unless Erick Dampier finds a way to get rid of the cement blocks on his feet or Ryan Hollins and Brandon Bass bulk up to the point that they can consistently challenge Denver's post players, I just don't see the story changing when it comes to post play.

I believe the "distractions" surrounding the Mavs will only serve to help the team focus especially with as many veteran leaders as there are on the team(JET, Dirk, JKidd, etc.) so I think we'll see a Dallas team hungry to prove themselves in a series in which they've looked entirely overmatched, but until they prove they can flip the script, I just can't see things ending up any different.

While not being much of an X's and O's guy, I think we'll see something new from Dallas as far as defending Nene in a way that doesn't increase the Nuggets' chances of second chances on offense. I think we'll see Denver test out whatever scheme Dallas comes up with for that. I think Dallas will be happy to zone up until Denver's shooters prove they need to do otherwise and I think Denver's shooters will start hitting some shots as the pressure begins to lift from their shoulders. Not having the home crowd will certainly lower the energy level in the 4th quarter for the Nuggets, but in the back of every player's mind will be the two dominating 4th quarters of Games 1 and 2, so there's absolutely nothing that comes to mind that makes me think Game 3 will be much different.

Overall, I guess I'll give Dallas a slight boost thanks to strong fan support and a very good home court record, but I'm going to have to go with another Nuggets victory as they can only stay cold from long-range for so long.

Denver 104 - Dallas 98

Dunkfest 2: Electric Boogaloo (Round 2, Game 2 Nuggetz)

Excellent performance by nearly the entire team tonight, hell, even Linas the Menace got into the action a bit. It was a somewhat sloppy first half for both teams, an excellent 3rd quarter that was everything I've been expecting of this series and another unbelievably dominant 4th quarter for this Nuggets team. Great to hear the Pepsi Center rockin' on national TV.

On to the Nuggetz:

• I started watching this game part-way through the 1st quarter when the score was tied 14-14 as I was busy being dressed up as the Monopoly Man's evil twin and chased around by 20 6th graders demanding I return their brownies.  All part of the job as an educator I suppose. 

• Dirk got his points again, but he seems entirely unable to score any points against Denver's post players.  He's got an ugly shot to begin with, but it seems to get uglier as the game goes on, and more importantly, it stops going in.

• With apologies to Nene, who had a great first half, JR Smith was the reason the Nuggets went into the second half with a lead.  He settled a little too much for his outside jumper for my liking, but once again he showed off his all-around play and decision making.  Other than his terrible shot that lead to Jason Kidd's half-ending 3-pointer, JR was spectacular.

• It was very disappointing to lose Josh Howard for the game, he's a solid player and I would have loved to have gotten to see him battle with Melo.  Hopefully the long break will get him enough rest to make another appearance in this series.

• I've been very surprised at the Denver defensive approach this series so far.  They have shown absolutely no desire to fight through screens and seem content to switch out and play out the rest of the shot clock with those match-ups.  Other than an equally surprising switch to zone early in the 3rd quarter, this has been the base defense and somehow has kept Dallas out of the paint for the most part.

• One area I'd like to see Denver improve in as they head into Dallas is defensive focus coming out of timeouts.  I didn't keep track, but it seemed like every time Dallas came out of a time out, they got an easy hoop or free throws.

• JJ Barea seems completely uncomfortable out there in this series.  Denver's guards are quick enough to stay with him, and the bigs are too intimidating in the post for him to even attempt a shot in the paint.

• I think I would have reacted in exactly the same way Kenyon Martin did when Ryan Hollins was cupping his pectorals.  The commentators seemed convinced that Hollins was holding him up, but I'm pretty sure KMart would have been just fine without the Purple Nurple perpetrated on him by Hollins.

• The Nuggets seemed to lose defensive focus in the second quarter and for much of the third.  It's amazing that they manage to hold on to these leads when they give Dallas so many easy buckets in the middle of the game.

• Other than a couple bursts of 3 pointers, the Nuggets continue to be cold from the outside.  It's a testament to their aggressive offensive play that they're able to stay-in, and even dominate these games at certain points with very little production coming from 15 or more feet out.

• The Mavs' bench should be happy with how they played tonight.  They were badly outplayed in Game 1 and were one of the reasons it was such a dominating performance by the Nuggets, but tonight, the Mavs' bench had the energy level and production that should be expected out of them.

• If I weren't emotionally tied to either team, I would consider tonight's 3rd quarter the best ball of the series.  Both teams were going to their bread and butter and were successful.  The Nugs were attacking and pounding the ball into the paint and the Mavs were moving the ball around the perimeter and hitting open shots.

• There were times tonight when the Nuggets seemed content with not challenging Dallas' shooters and it seemed like every time that happened, the Dallas player nailed the shot.

• Every time these two teams have moved into a fast-paced transition-style game, the Nuggets seem to pull away.  I don't know if it's the athleticism or what, but I think the Mavs only hope is to slow the game down.  I realize that's not how they like to play, but I just don't see them having any chance to match Denver in the transition game.

• Every single one of the Denver Nuggets should be proud of how they played in the 4th quarter.  It seemed like on every possession, somebody new was stepping up to make a great play, from AC, to JR, to Melo, Birdman and everyone else.

• AC is quietly having a great postseason.  He's doing everything we could hope for from a backup point guard.

• Gutty performance by Melo in every sense of the word.  Clearly in pain, Melo was not afraid to do the dirty work tonight.  Whether he got it or not, Melo was in the paint fighting for rebounds and fighting through defenders on his way to the rim.

• Least believable comment of the night: "It's Really Funny."  This is what PJ Carlissimo said in response to the promo for Meet the Browns.  Maybe he really is a big fan, but I just don't believe it.

• When the Nuggets went on their 16-2 run to start the 4th quarter, they only took one shot from more than 15 feet out.  It was a miss from just outside the foul line by Carmelo.  Maybe Denver should just give up on jump shots until Dallas proves they can defend the paint.

• Somebody should tell Ryan Hollins that his team was losing a playoff game by 17 points when he celebrated his emphatic dunk.

• If the game had ended with 4 minutes remaining, my final score prediction would have been very good.  Turns out, my final score prediction was not very good tonight.

• As impressive as they've been playing and as much respect as the TNT crew is showing this team, I don't think I'll be content until the national broadcasters learn how to pronounce Linas Kleiza's name.
  

Final Nugget:

Another impressive 4th quarter performance by the Nuggets and another impressive playoff victory.  Normally a team can expect to shoot the ball a little worse when they head out on the road, but I don't think that's possible for this Nuggets team.  I expect that they'll actually be a little looser on offense as they head into Dallas as they wont be pressing to impress the hometown fans.  The main thing I'll be watching for is if the defensive intensity is there when the crowd isn't there to back them up.  They did it in New Orleans, so there's no reason to think they wont be just as focused as they head into their first road games of the second round, but I'm still not totally sold.  I don't think Dallas will fade in the 4th like they have in Denver once they get back to their home court, so it'll be important for the Nuggets to jump out to a big lead if possible to take the crowd and confidence out the arena.

My Nugs Dun Grown Up Before My Eyes (Round 1, Game 4 Nuggetz)

Before I get to the Game Nuggetz, I think it's important to note that this is easily the best game I've ever seen the Nuggets play. I am a fairly young man at the ripe age of 28 and have only been following the Nuggets for about half of that time, so I don't exactly have the historical perspective, but I think there's a good chance that we just witnessed the greatest game this franchise has ever seen. I realize it's a first round playoff game, but tying the all-time record for winning margin in a playoff game in a series that was supposed to be competitive is just ridiculously above anything else I can think of happening in Nuggets' history. Unbelievable.

Now on to the Game Nuggetz...

• Apparently the Nuggets figured out the secret to playoff success: score 2 points every time your opponent scores 1 point.


• The Nuggets role players are stealing all of the attention of the Hornets coaches, players and fans. While the crowd is busy booing Dahntay Jones and Anthony Carter, Melo and Co. are busy carving them up on offense and defense.


• The Hornets tried to play physical early in this game, but it's obvious that the Nuggets were so far in their heads that they had absolutely no chance from the tip. I've never seen so many airballs by the home team in a playoff game, which is especially surprising considering that Peja and Rasual Butler had been shooting so well coming into this game.


• This being the first game of the series I've been able to watch and listen to, I'm having a hard time deciding whether to believe Scott Hastings or Chris Paul and the New Orleans crowd as far as the performance of the referees.


• Speaking of the referees, is it me or does Davey Jones look completely lost every time the camera shows him. I'm not sure he knows where he is or what he's doing. Somebody should help him out.


• If it weren't for the free throws in the second quarter, The starters may have been able to sit out the entire second half. The Hornets went well over half of the quarter without hitting a single field goal.


• Sign of Maturity - First Half edition: Jumped out to a huge lead on the road after one quarter and still managed to outscore the "surging" Hornets in the second quarter.


• I just took the time to purchase a ticket to Game 5 in the middle of devising this blog post and will brave the 4-5 hour round-trip drive and sleep deprivation on Thursday for a chance to see this team officialy take the next step.


• This is the first game that Melo really looks completely comfortable playing playoff hoops. He's driving, hitting his jumpers, rebounding, finding open teammates and playing aggresive, opportunistic defense. This could be the beginning of a new Melo.


• Sign of Maturity - Second Half edition: The Nuggets came out determined to re-establish their physical presence in the second half. The referees were calling the game tighter at both ends, but that didn't deter the Nuggets defensively and they also stayed aggresive offensively, attacking and getting to the line, so once their shots started falling again, it was over.


• Well... more over than it already was anyway.


• Chauncey absolutely lives for the Dagger 3-pointer. Pulling up for that 3(turned out to be a 2 with his foot on the line) is his bread and butter. I'd like to see the stats on his 3-pt. percentage immediately following a turnover.


• Dahntay Jones - his D is getting the press it deserves - Did Chris Paul play tonight? - but he took advantage of every chance New Orleans gave him on the other end, every one of those 12 points were essentially bonus points for the Nugs.


• This game looked like it was a 1-seed taking on the play-in 16-seed in the NCAA tournament. Totally dismantled in every aspect, physically and mentally.


• Sign of Maturity - Bench edition: When the Nuggets bench was emptied, they followed the lead set by the rotation players. Focus on D, drive aggresively and look to set up teammates on offense.


• The first 50 point lead of the game brought to you by: Johan Petro with about 7:15 to play.


• Sign of Maturity - Post Game edition #1: Denver has now outscored New Orleans in 14 of 16 quarters including all 12 quarters in the 3 dominant victories. This team is not going to let up regardless of the score/situation.


• Sign of Maturity - Post Game edition #2: Denver has now held New Orleans under 25 points in all but 3 quarters in this series and has yet to give up a 30 point quarter. That is some consistant defense folks.


• Sign of Maturity - Post Game edition #3: Carmelo's post game interview with Maya Starks showed that he was clearly hungry for more. In years past there's no question that Melo would have looked giddy walking off the court after a 58 point playoff win, but this team is different. This team wants more. I don't think anything less than a Championship will be good enough to satisfy them with the way they're acting on and off the court right now.


• Thoughts on Wednesday night's Game 5: Obviously I'm very, very excited for the chance to see the Nugs advance to the second round on the Pepsi Center court, but I do have some reservations heading into Game 5. Tonight, the Nuggets proved that they have matured, they have grown into a team that is playing for a championship and playing to win together as a team, so I'm no longer worried that they'll come out of the gate unfocused, I'm much more worried about all the pressure that's about to build up over the next 48 hours. This is exactly what they've been playing for all season, a chance to win a playoff series on their home court, a chance to get the first-round-exit monkey off Melo's back, a chance to show the world that they're no longer underachieving and that it's time to think of the Denver Nuggets as serious championship contenders. If the first few shots go down for the Nuggets, I think Game 5 will be over in a hurry, but if those butterflies creep in, I think it will turn into a game much like Game 3: A hard-fought, back and forth, heavy-weight fight, the only difference being the location, and I think that will be enough to swing the 4th Quarter tides in Denver's favor. Regardless, Chauncey's leadership will be just as, if not more important in Game 5 than it was in Game 1. But right now it's time to sit back and soak in the beauty of this historically dominant and record-breaking performance by our emerging, maturing and finally contending Denver Nuggets.

Quick Note: Based on the box scores, it seems that Ryan Bowen is inactive for this series or at least he has been for these games. This is a very disappointing development as I was hoping that in a game like this I would get to see one of my favorite ex-Nuggets get some minutes and show off his all-intangible, no discernible skill game. I think it goes without saying that the balance of this series has been severely tipped in the Nuggets favore by whomever is responsible for the inactivity of Ryan Bowen.

Round 1, Game 2 Nuggetz

Final Score: Denver 108 - New Orleans 93
Denver leads series 2-0

• I know a lot of people thought the Nuggets had the potential to run away with this series fairly quickly, but did anyone see things opening with 2 blowout wins? I definitely didn't.

• As happy as I am with the performances so far, I'm still a little nervous about how the team will respond when Chauncey cools off. If Chauncey cools off that is.
  

• Due to the strange hours that I work and the spotty radio reception in the small mountain town where I reside, I was forced to take in Game 2 by the friendly interface of ESPN's GameCast. While it clearly cannot provide the emotion of watching the event live, I was treated to a few emotionally uplifting and deflating entries like this: "JR Smith enters the game, JR Smith misses 20 ft. jumper, JR Smith called for foul."

• Fortunately, JR redeemed himself in the 4th Quarter by logging this entry after hitting several 3-pointers in a row: David West Offensive Foul (JR Smith Draws the Foul). Just as I was about to make a note of JR seeming to be one of the few Nuggets who have yet to show a huge jump in maturity during this first round series, he managed to make a notch in the other column.

• One other GameCast Nugget that helps underline the maturity Melo has shown so far was this: "Carmelo Anthony blocks Hilton Armstrong's Layup." It happened right at the end of the quarter no less. I think it's clear that Melo is very focused and will not be satisfied with an early playoff exit this year.

• Weird stat-line for Melo tonight as well. His shooting was great, and he replaced his lack of rebounds with a plethora of assists, but I find it hard to believe that he wasn't fouled a single time during the course of this game. I wish GameCast had Game Log entries for things like: "Missed call by Violet Palmer," and "Bad call by Violet Palmer."

• A quick glance through his Game Log for the season shows that Melo only played in 3 games without attempting a free throw. One of those games was the one he left with an injury after 14 minutes and the other two were against Boston and Cleveland.

• Could have gone without the 3-point shooting contest between Chauncey and JR late in the 4th quarter. Fortunately for the Nuggets, the Hornets decided to participate in the contest as well, so it didn't really help or hurt either team all that much.

• We have yet to see a big-scoring game from Nene, we have yet to see JR loosen up to the point he was at to end the regulary season and we have yet to see Johan Petro fill up the fouls column on the stat sheet, so there's still a lot of potential hiding on this Nuggets roster.

• Favorite stat of the series so far:

  The Nuggets have outscored New Orleans in all 8 quarters of the series, and have only allowed the Hornets to score more than 25 in a quarter once so far.

• Most disappointing stat of the night:
  

  Renaldo Balkman - DNP - Coach's Decision
  Ryan Bowen - DNP - Coach's Decision

• It's going to be exciting to see how the Nuggets respond to being fully in control of a playoff series for the first time in a long time as they head into New Orleans. They didn't quite come out of the gate defending as well as I had hoped (The Hornets were shooting about 50% after the 1st quarter), but they threw the shackles back on David West and were a couple of Peja hot streaks away from a 30+ point victory in this game. I think this team is focused and will see the road game as something to rally around and challenge themselves with in Game 3. I'm not 100% sold yet, but if Chauncey keeps shooting like he has been, maybe I won't every have to find out how the Nuggets will respond otherwise.
  

P.S. - I'd like to call attention to the fact that I did pretty well on my first widely public score prediction for a game. My guess: 106 - 98, Denver wins | Actual score: 108 - 93 Denver wins.

P.P.S. - Thanks for the memories Dikembe, maybe the Nugs will finally have a playoff image to replace yours when all is said and done this season.

Round 1, Game 1 Nuggetz

• Cautious optimism. That's what I'm left feeling after Game 1. The Nuggets showed a lot of maturity in how they stayed defensively focused in a game where Chauncey couldn't miss. The old Nuggets probably would have let the Hornets creep back into it once they got a big lead and started looking for highlight reel dunks and ally-oops, but there's just a little bit more focus with this group. Could be the arrival of Uncle Chauncey, could be 5 early post-season exits in a row, either way I'll take it.

• I'm sure this is covered in depth in every game recap, but the Nuggets dominated on a night when their two most consistent offensive weapons down the stretch (JR, Melo) had some serious butterflies. It was good to see Melo get a couple hoops both driving and pulling up late in the game, hopefully they'll settle into a rhythm now that Game 1 is out of the way.

• Melo showed the same growth that he had early in the season grabbing his 7 boards early in the game. As much as Chauncey has helped change the mindset of the team, when Melo is aggressive on the glass, things seem to go well for the Nuggets.

• Speaking of rebounding, Nene showed more life on the glass than he has in months, which bodes well in a series where the only physical rebounder on the Hornets (Tyson Chandler) is still recovering from an injury. The 14 rebound differential in the game can definitely be chalked up to the pride that Nene and Melo seemed to be taking on the boards.

• If you look at the shot-chart by quarter, you'll see the Hornets' shots moving further and further out as the game progresses. This can be attributed to the defensive contributions of the front-court trio of Nene, Birdman and KMart. The more frustrated the Hornets got by the physical interior play, the more they settled for outside jumpers.

• JR made nearly every shot that he took from inside the arc and missed every shot he took from 3-point range. I hope he looks at that and tries to be aggresive offensively in game 2. JR's 3's don't seem to start falling until he really gets into the flow of the game, and that never totally happened last night.

• Nice quiet night from Linas the Menace off the bench. It's nice when he can play a game with a few dunks and a few long-range tries with lots of hustle mixed in.

• The only thing that stands out to me as a negative looking at the box score is the turnovers. It's easy to forget about the necessary areas of improvement after a blowout win in the first game of a series, but the Nuggets racked up quite a few turnovers early in this game, which could spell disaster if the shots aren't falling.

• I'd like to see the Nuggets try to establish some offensive post-presence early in Game 2. Now that Nene has showed some of his mid-season rebounding form, maybe it's time to get him back into some of those 8 for 10 and 12 for 15 shooting nights too. They need to attack Chandler while he's still trying to regain his confidence. I'd like to see Chandler show up on a few Nene posters before this series heads down to New Orleans.

• Looking forward to Game 2 I will be very interested to see how this Nuggets team responds to such a huge victory. They handled themselves extremely well on the court last night, but now let's see how they do after a few days of hearing the media fawn over their performance. If a focused, defensive-minded team comes out of the gate on Wednesday night, then I think it's safe to say we've ushered in a new era of Nuggets Basketball and there's a good chance that we'll finally see a team that's able to live up to the level of talent on the roster. On the other hand, if we see a team trying to re-capture the hot shooting of last night with a little more focus on getting their points than stopping the Hornets from getting theirs, then I think it's safe to say there's still some room for growth. Regardless, Game 2 will be very telling, and like I said before, I'm cautiously optimistic that by this time on Thursday we'll be able to officially welcome a more mature version of the Denver Nuggets than we've seen in a long time.

edit:
I almost forgot the most important stat comparison of the night:

Renaldo Balkman: 3 Minutes Played
Ryan Bowen: DNP - Coach's Decision

If that keeps up, I don't think the Hornets have a chance...