When the Denver Nuggets took the Memphis Grizzlies to the wire in a hard fought game that did not include 3 starters, I immediately did the happy dance because starter resting is something only the good teams get away with. Tanking teams usually fake injuries or other ailments to justify the type of shady behavior that good teams do all of the time. Not these Nuggets. They stood boldly before their public and made it known who would not play against Memphis just as they rested three others the night before.
Before the Memphis loss, the decision felt like a reasonably smart chess move for a team that has made mostly good moves recently. The biggest move involved that psychological ploy notoriously described as replacing the king/coach. While this ploy has been known to motivate underachieving teams, these Nuggets have rapidly driven past motivation and are playing inspired basketball. So inspired, in fact, that an interesting dichotomy has grown.
 |
| Will ill-Will always look the same way he did the night he got traded to Denver? |
Playing Like Single Men
Prior to firing Shaw, these Nuggets had fallen to a performance level that typically comes from single men because no wife or fiance would allow her man to continuously perform so miserably- for many reasons. Coach Melvin Hunt has displayed motherly sensitivity towards his players, so he's been able to help them see themselves on a bigger level- dare I say, on a championship level. In the process of starting their 5 game road trip, the Nuggets rested 3 key players and still pulled off a double overtime victory over the New Orleans Pelicans- in New Orleans. Before Denver plucked the Pelicans, the Golden State Warriors attempted the resting game against Denver too, but it cost them a victory.
As the team with the top record in the West, the Warriors might have been shocked by their Denver loss, but what is the excuse for the teams that followed? Under interim coach Melvin Hunt, Denver has placed their product on film, and opposing teams are noticing. This all could be end of season spoiler duty, but you still have be the kind of team that can spoil to be a spoiler. Last years Nuggets showed a similar season ending stride, which probably added to the over inflated expectations Denver had going into this season. What we hoped we had at the end of last year has resurfaced in just enough time to make next year our greatest hope once again. Fortunately, there's no such thing as bad hope since even a little hope can change the world. We hoped for a healthy dose of Danilo Galinari to anchor our "strength in numbers" marketing line that started the season. When he wasn't quite ready for public consumption, the marketing team had to finally stop the stupid ads.
Brian Shaw lost a job waiting for a wine that never quite matured and a Nugget who still thinks he's a Knick. In some ways, George Karl did too.
Just when you thought it was time to cook a stew or simply throw out that bitter wine we call Gallo, Danilo Galinari has forced fans and the front office to hit the breaks and make sure we don't already have our closer in the fold. Gallo has always been squeezed from a high quality but fragile grape unique to his European heritage, but experience and injuries have increased his playmaking just enough to ease up on his knee's and give his career a chance to ripen fully. What we will never know is if he is one driving play away from needing another year on the shelf.
If Gallo has finished the worst of his career hampering injuries, then Denver instantly becomes a team to consider on another level. Our ability to match any teams size, speed of play, and half court execution makes this Nuggets fan increasingly intrigued for our future. Cities like Denver will always depend on a touch from above to secure the John Elway's or Patrick Roy's that bring parades to town. Parade's are fun, but they breed entitled fans who become anxious for victory, and anxious fans can be worse than the homeless wino who would rather gobble up volumes of the cheap stuff rather than hold out for a championship variety. Has Danilo finally matured into that championship variety or is there a crack in the barrel turning this wine to vinegar?
Maybe the Nuggets still believe in Gallo or maybe they have no choice but to bring him back even if the plan is to get out of wine making altogether. Gallo's 40 point performance (career best) against Orlando instantly forces the Nuggets brass to reconsider their search for championship grapes since Gallo could already be that select variety we hoped he'd become. Whether the Nuggets are posturing for free agency, the draft or standing pat can not be ascertained by their current push to 'sort of' win basketball games.
The team and coaches are clearly playing hard enough to win games. In fact, several scores have tilted heavily for Denver under coach Hunt, yet this organization remains confusingly disjointed in the takeaway messages that fans are forced to derive from the front office silence. Direct messages from above are not exactly how they do business since some of the players have verbalized their confusion while staring into the eyes of healthy teammates on the bench who would have helped them avoid a couple of recent losses.
I WAS EXCITED!
If the players are confused just like the fans, that's all I needed to hear to join those who are questioning the resting recipe employed by the Nuggets of late. I'm still really excited that we did it and won a game in double overtime- and that we did it again and almost beat the number two team in the West- but I am scratching my head in excitement. I can't tell if we are gonna stand pat since whoever is in charge is not talking- which I believe means the heat is still on someone in the front office too. Even the indirect message from this team is too cloudy to know if our excitement will change once we discover who's in charge and where they are trying to go. Should I connect to certain players on this team or accept that any one of them could be traded to help Denver take the next step to improve? Is Gallo truly a fine wine or just a fancy vinegar? Does Ty Lawson drink too much wine for Denver to endure the bitter flavor he keeps causing? Is Jusuf Nurkic getting aged too fast?
In the fine art of championship wine making, you need a perfect chemistry of quality grapes or it might be necessary to dump the whole tank and try again. Are the Nuggets comprised of championship grapes or should we be tanking and searching for something better? Will we ever know if this current recipe has championship potential if we don't have the patience to let it mature?
I think I need a drink.
No comments:
Post a Comment