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.

Round Deux, Game Duex Preview (Rhymes intended)

Before I begin, I would like to hereby upgrade Dirk's foul on Sunday to a type two Flagrant Gesticulation penalty and fine him 25,000 Deutsche Marks. Enough said on that subject.

After a surprisingly dominant performance by Denver in the paint on Sunday, I feel like the Nuggets will be loose enough for the shooters to warm up a bit on Tuesday night. That being said, I expect to see Karl test the waters with Nene in the post early on to see if he still has the attitude he showed in the second quarter of Game 1. It will be interesting to see what Dallas decides to do defensively against Nene as Erick Dampier might as well have just set up a table and started signing all of the Nene posters he's soon to be featured on.

As far as Dallas' response, I think we'll see a team that's less likely to settle for the long jumper in Game 2. While they're very talented from long-range, a team just cannot expect to win 4 of 7 games when they're taking the majority of their shots from more than 15 feet out. Rick Carlisle pointed to the foul disparity, and if I could, I would point to the Points-in-the-Paint disparity as a response. You're not going to get calls when you're settling for jump shots, and I don't expect the Mavs to do so quite as often in Game 2.

I'm also looking forward to seeing how Denver decides to guard Dirk in Game 2. Despite his early success, he was clearly flustered by the end of the second quarter. I don't know if they'll decide to play him loose again, allowing for the fallaway jumpshots, and switching on screens allowing for the mismatch, but I have a feeling Dirk's going to see a lot of different looks as this series progresses. I think that the penalty assessed to KMart today will only serve to motivate him more, and I'd love to see him come out and play just as hard as he has throughout the postseason, especially when he's matched up against Dirk.

Overall, I expect to see a very different game on Tuesday night. I think Denver will test out the paint offensively, but will ultimately find more success with the outside shooting, and I think Dallas will be far more aggresive on both ends of the court as well as much more disciplined with the ball. I don't think we'll see the dominace of Game 1, but I do think the swagger and home-court success will continue as the Nuggets take a 2-0 lead into Dallas: Denver 104 - Dallas 96

Round Deux, Game 1 Nuggetz

Wow. We could be watching something really special here. The energy, agressiveness, and attitude that the Nuggets are showing right now are unprecedented as far as anything I've seen before and the scary thing is that I think that as well as they're playing, they're just going to get better as each guy gets another playoff game under his belt. If they can keep their focus as well as they did in the first round, this series could be over faster than most people, myself included, thought.  

On to the second half and final Nuggetz:

• Dallas came out firing in the 3rd quarter and seemed like they wanted to push the pace of the game.  Both teams are comfortable playing a fast-paced game, but neither really got a chance to play that style in their first round matchups against San Antonio and New Orleans.


• Initially the Nugs seemed flustered by the increased pace, but it didn't take long until they took over, seemingly driving in for layups and dunks at will.


• While the scoring played out much like I thought it would in the second half, it came in a surprising way.  I thought for sure the Nuggets shooters would heat up and provide some separation, but Denver continued to pound the paint and find success there.


• Denver has played aggresive defense regardless of how the officials have been calling the game.  I love that they don't seem concerned with drawing fouls early in the game.  Even if it hurts the offense, it has to be frustrating and disheartening for the opposing teams to have to play against a team that attacks so relentlessly on defense.


• The Mavericks simply cannot stop the Nuggets in the paint.  They have the shooters to steal a game or two, especially at home, if a player or two go off from 3-point range, but I just can't picture a team that is so overmatched in the post pulling out 4 wins.


• At one point in the 4th quarter, Hubie Brown said, "We're seeing Denver at their best right now."  I couldn't disagree with that statement more for these reasons:

Denver was absolutely horrible shooting the ball from the outside today.  According to ESPN's shot chart, Dallas sank 22 shots from 15 or more feet out to Denver's 11 in this game and 5 of Denver's 11 makes came in the 4th quarter with the game already well in hand.

If Dallas hadn't been so hot from outside, this game would have been over much closer to halftime.  They were sinking a ton of shots from the perimiter, many of which were well-contested by Nuggets defenders.

The Nuggets missed 11 Free Throws tonight and were out-rebounded by 7.

• JR didn't put up the numbers that he has in the past, but I would argue that this was his best overall game of the playoffs so far.  He was energetic on defense, drove to the hoop and only settled for long-range shots occasionally.  If only he didn't shoot 1-5 from the charity stripe.


• Carmelo was extremely patient tonight.  He was pretty much a non-factor offensively until the second half, but he ended up with 23 points on 7-10 shooting, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.  That's a line I'll take  from him any day of the week.


• Another Nugget with some excellent scoring efficiency was Nene who ended up with 24 points on 13 shots.  Nene looked winded throughout the Hornets series, so seeing his intensity today bodes very well for the Nuggets chances to keep this run going.


• Enough cannot be said about the Nuggets front-court trio of Nene, KMart and Birdman.  Their energy was without a doubt the catalyst for this victory.  They all seem to want to out-do each other defensively and that energy carried over into Nene's offensive dominance today.

I'm left feeling pretty much exactly how I felt after the Nuggets' victory over New Orleans in the first game of Round 1.  I think Cautious Optimism is still the best way to describe it, but as they proved to me against the Hornets, the Nuggets can stay focused and I'm moving further away from the "Cautious" side of things and more towards the "Optimism."  Denver's dominance in the paint was a total surprise to me, and I hope it can continue through Game 2 and into Games 3 and 4 as they head to Dallas.

Game 1, Round Deux Halftime Thoughts

• Dirk certainly started off hot, but if all he shoots is fallaways for the whole game, I feel good about that.  Interesting that Kenyon hasn't locked onto Dirk though, kind of surprising.


• Erick Dampier has looked totally lost.  Denver's frontline is just too athletic for him.


• Offensively, the Nugs look really tight.  The only points they're getting are in the paint so far.


• Kenyon's hip-check/forearm shiver on Dirk was pretty nasty looking, but that's the type of thing that's going to get into Dirk's head and also seemed to give Kenyon an energy boost too.


• Interesting to see LK enter the game so early on.  All I can think is that George saw how the refs were calling the game and decided to use up a few fouls with Linas the Menace.


• Glad to see Josh Howard back out on the floor.  You hate to see a team lose one of their top guys in the first game of a best of seven series.


• I'd like to officially welcome Nene to the 2009 Playoffs!  This could be the match-up that wins it for the Nugs.


• Dirk's antics are reminiscent of Tim Duncan's non-call incredulance and WoManu Ginobili's flailing limb approach to basketball.  No sir, I don't like it.


• This first half reminds me a whole lot of Game 5 against the Hornets.  The Nuggets are keeping themselves in the game by keeping the Mavs out of the paint, and attacking the basket offensively.  Once those shots start falling, the Nugs could put a little room between them on the scoreboard.

Round 2 Preview

With the opening game of Round 2 quickly approaching, I figured it was time to weigh in with my thoughts heading into this series. There's no question that the Mavericks are playing their best ball of the season right now, and combine that with the fact that all 4 of Denver's wins in the regular season came in hard-fought, exciting games and I think this could turn into a great series. On the other hand, going into the final week of the season, I was absolutely sure that the Mavericks were the best match-up for the Nuggets and I tend to still feel that way, and here's why:

• Two of Dallas' 3 main scoring options happen to match up against Denver's two best one-on-0ne defenders with Dahntay Jones checking Jason Terry or Josh Howard and Kenyon Martin taking on Dirk.

• When Howard is in top phyical condition, he has a chance to frustrate Carmelo a bit, but I don't think he's hitting on all cylindars at the moment, and the ones he is hitting on should be focused more on scoring during this series. Regardless, The Mavs don't seem to have anybody who can match Carmelo's speed and size.

• Despite the fact that the regular season games were close and that the post-season is a different beast, I don't think you can overlook the fact that the Nugget's managed to close out all 4 games against the Mavs with wins.

• Erick Dampier is the type of player that can have a dominant night on the glass one night, then appear as though he's asleep for the next four games. I don't think he'll be able to match the energy that Kenyon and Birdman bring. When the Nuggets are doing their job on the boards, they're tough to beat.

• With the limited minutes that Linas the Menace and Blankman have been seeing, I think it's safe to say that the Nuggets' depth hasn't even really been tested thus far in the post-season, and should it be tested this series, I think the bench will come through.

With all that being said, I don't think the Nuggets will run away with every game quite like they did against New Orleans, but I still believe they have enough match-up advantages to make their way into the Western Conference Finals. Denver in 6.

Stop the Press! I Have Received a Media Alert!

I received an email today informing me of a promotion that Qwest will be running to give away two courtside tickets to Sunday's Game 1 against the Mavericks. Instead of keeping this information to myself in hopes that nobody else finds out about it, I figured that since I'm apparently a member of "the media" I should pass this along to my faithful readers. So mom and dad, this is for you:

FANS EMBARK ON “TICKET QWEST” FOR DENVER NUGGETS PLAYOFF TICKETS

Qwest to Give Away Two Courtside Seats Through Twitter Treasure Hunt

DENVER, May 1, 2009 – Fans searching for seats for Sunday’s Denver Nuggets playoff game now have a chance to win them through a Twitter treasure hunt from Qwest.

Beginning today, to win the tickets, fans must follow “@ticketqwest” on Twitter, where they will see a stream of clues to find the tickets, as well as clues for a code word to claim the tickets.

These clues will culminate on Sunday, May 3 at noon, when Rich Karlis, Qwest Sponsorships director, will be at a fixed location in downtown Denver with four tickets for courtside seats to that afternoon's game. The first two @ticketqwest followers to find Karlis and tell him the code word will each receive two tickets and be escorted into the game immediately. Karlis will be identified by a bouquet of big, blue balloons.

To join the fun, follow @ticketqwest on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ticketqwest.

Winners must be at least 18 years of age. Total prize value is $866. Tickets are not transferable and each set of two tickets will be awarded to individual, separate parties.

I'm not sure whether to be more excited about the tickets or about the possibility of meeting Rich Karlis. Either way, this sounds neat. I like it.

Mustache May/Playoffs Mustache.

Here's the first edition of my celebration of Mustache May. Should they agree to it, I'll add some examples of my co-workers contributions. It's really a lot more full in person. I swear. I hear the camera subtracts 500 follicles.