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!

5 Quick Nuggetz from Denver vs. Sacramento 4/13/09

Due to the nature of my job, I was unable to watch this game on the television set, but fortunately the box score provided plenty of interesting tales to make for some quick commentary, so without further ado, tonight's 5 Game Nuggetz:

• Clearly there is a secret to beating the Kings. A secret to beating the worst team in the league you ask? Can it really be that much of a secret? Play average basketball? Don't melt down? Nay, the answer is quite clear: Score 118 points. In the Nuggets 3 victories over the Kings this season they have scored exactly 118 points. Had they scored that many in their only loss to the Kings, they would have been victorious by 4 points. The numbers don't lie folks.

• JR Swish, JR "Don't Call Me Junior" Smith, JR Sizzle, any of them will do for tonight, but none of them will quite capture the brilliance of JR when he lives up to his immense talent. Now I only wish his shot selection wouldn't be the same when the shots aren't falling. Let's just hope that now that JR has surpassed Abdul-Rauf's 3-Point record, he continues to stand during the National Anthem. Apparently, nothing can derail a sharpshooter's career faster than a slap in the face to Ol' Glory.
  

• Single-digit turnovers (9), double-digit blocks (10), double-digit steals (10). Those numbers tend to lead to victories, let's keep this up in Portland. Despite keeping this game embarrassingly close for most of the way, at least they came away with a victory in a classic trap game against the worst team in the league sandwiched between games on the road against the top team in the west and their closest division rival.
  

• Why can't Houston make things easy on the Nuggets? It seems like everybody that's chasing the Nugs blows out their best competition and struggles to close wins against non-playoff teams. Houston has won their last five games, including 10+ point victories over Portland, Orlando and New Orleans and a 4-point win over Golden State. Portland has also won their last 5, including wins over the Lakers and Spurs. At least Utah is playing nice; Out of the 6, 7 and 8 teams in the Western Conference, the Nugs probably match up the worst against them, so it's nice to see them playing their way into a matchup with the Lakers.

• Congratulations to the Nuggets on wrapping up the Northwest Division title. I was sad that I couldn't be there like I was the last time they clinched the division, but I'm hoping there will be pleny of opportunities to celebrate into late-May and June.
  

Nicknames

While I have been an avid follower of the Denver Nuggets for years and fairly well versed in the ways of the Internet for quite some time, I never had any real desire to begin blogging about my beloved Nuggets. Never, that is, until I realized that a blog was clearly the best way to disseminate my great ideas for some of the Denver Nuggets bench players.

So, because it is the reason for the existence of this blog in the first place, I decided that despite the fact that the Nuggets are on the precipice of clinching the division title, clinching home court advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs, and proving to the NBA and ESPN that they are for real tonight with a HUGE game against the extremely hatable Los Angeles Lakers team, I will initiate this blog with a post regarding nicknames.

I hereby submit the following options to the general blog reading public for examination and immediate implementation into any and all Denver Nuggets related conversations:

• Linas Kleiza - Linas the Menace (But pronounced more like Minas.)
  

-I realize this nickname is awkward in its written form, but I can assure you through extensive personal experience that it is very catchy and fun to say. It is also the nickname that I've been using the longest and have been hoping the most that it becomes part of the general Denver Nugget fan lexicon. It also helps that the Minas can be both a menace to the opposing team when he's hitting his 3's and driving hard to the basket as well as a menace to the Nuggets when he keeps launching up bad 3 pointers despite the fact that he hasn't made one in a month.

• Renaldo Balkman - Two options:
  

1. "The Blankman" - This option is for those of you well versed in early nineties movies starring former members of the "In Living Color" television show. I think it fairly well encompasses the Blankman's blue-collar work ethic on the glass and on defense as well as his ability to disappear to the end of the bench at George Karl's whim.

2. Renaldo "Blockman" - This is for those poor souls who are not fortunate enough to understand the movie reference that was made in the previous option. It still emphasizes Blockman's defensive abilities albeit in a much less fun way.

Thanks for reading and I hope that if anybody is actually reading this and finds it entertaining, useful, informative or any combination thereof, that you will continue to follow this blog as I attempt to post on topics you may also be interested in like, "the games," "analysis," "the playoffs," "why kobe bryant fails at being a human being," "the fact that this is the most exciting season to be a Nuggets fan in many years," "the fact that I somehow got 40-1 odds on a Nuggets NBA Championship bet while at a conference in Vegas," and a whole lot more.

Go Nugz!