Denver Nuggets Stop Sliding. But are they out of the mud yet?

Denver, we have an Evan  Fournier citing (he'll need a few more games before its a sighting).

Is Fournier the future.  Is the future now?

The Nuggets experienced one of the most unusual meltdowns that I have seen from a good team in a long time.  To start the season they endured a tireless search for their identity.  The gigantic pole in the middle of the lane that we call Javale McGhee is not an easy target to avoid.  Neither is his sizable contract which forced the Nuggets and coach Brian Shaw to try the new inside/outside approach with McGhee as the centerpiece.  3 games and  50 goofy finger rolls later it became obvious that this is not his strong suit.

I expected us to improve when McGhee went down with his leg injury because I felt that valuable possessions were being lost inside with McGhee who neither scores well or passes well from the post.  The win streak justified my suspicion and moved the Nuggets one step closer to finding an identity.  And then the wheels fell off.

Some might blame the Oklahoma City Thunder because they started the slide in a game that we had plenty of chances to win, but had no player who would attack the belly of the defense late in games.  Smart teams saw this happen and decided to employ a new tactic.  For 8 games, teams chose to back up off of the Nuggets and force them to find their jumpshot and their identity.

Coach Shaw, to his credit has seen so much that he did not panic.  He should have  and it took an 8 game losing streak, a bunch of frustrated players and a 2 game suspension of Andre Miller before players and coaches talked their way through the frustration.

The new coach simply assumed that these young Nuggets understood how good they could be.  He thought it was confidence that won 57 games last year and not some deep seeded NBA knowledge from George Karl. He thought Evan Fournier would be his young ace in the hole because of an uncanny ability to get the ball to the rim (the holy grail of hooping).  The problem with this notion was the fact that only 2 players, Nate Robinson and Andre Miller, had enough experience to see the vision.  Everybody else was just happy with the benefit that winning has on your dating life.

This is a young team.  An extremely talented young team, but a young team nonetheless.  In terms of minutes played, Ty Lawson is now an elder statesmen in the Nuggets locker room.  Based upon the meltdown meeting, it seems clear that he and Wilson Chandler now understand that the Nuggets can only go as far as they take us.  What is also clear is that Evan Fournier has been called out by his team as the next in line

When you understand your role, clearly, it becomes easier to recognize your identity.  The Nuggets are no longer in competition with the next team in town.  Their competition is to chase for the face.  Will it be Lawson and Chandler  with Miller and Fournier off of the bench or is there another player rising to this identity challenge?

Although the mud slide has stopped, we still have to clean the residue off to reach our fullest potential.  However, if you are concerned, here is a comforting reminder.  The 57 win Denver Nuggets of last season had a record of 15-17 just like this team before they took off.  That team also lost in the first round of the playoffs, so we should be looking for signs of something different, not more of the same. So should they.