Mudiay For Carmelo Makes Lots Of Sense Actually

The Denver Nuggets are barely on the edge of deserving a post about their current fortunes, but fortunately, the West is back-sliding enough for the Nuggets to have a legitimate shot at....at...

Does Emmanual Mudiaye have a little too much
Evan Fournier in his game?

The truth is that the Nuggets have a legitimate shot at being a first round bucket of barbecue chicken wings for some top seed in the West. Unless Gallo becomes someone he's never been in his career, Nikola Jokic won't quite be ready to carry a team past the best in the West. He would need someone with enough experience and skill to demand the double like he does and, still score in moments that matter.

To get out of the first round, Jokic would need Carmelo Anthony or someone like that to pass to when teams send the double at him because they'll soon have no choice. They really don't have much of a choice right now, yet many teams hesitate to double Jokic, at their own peril.

Did somebody say barbecue chicken?

The Denver Nuggets are currently seeded 8th in the Western Conference playoff race because Portland can't defend and nobody is doubling Jokic nearly enough. If this trend continues, the Nuggets could actually move up to 7th seed, but they'd still be barbecue chicken to the hungry team they would face in the first round.

Without a serious star that is seriously available for trade, the Nuggets are fighting to be bounced once again; bounced like they used to be back when George Karl was at the helm.  That's not all bad and certainly not different than what George Karl apologists talk about when they complain about the rebuild of the Nuggets that has yet to yield what we gave up with Karl.

This year appears to be the year that we return to the days of Karl, but I'm not so certain that settling for what Karl could do is the way we need to be thinking right now.  Again, not because getting in isn't respectable enough, but because Emmanuel Mudiay no longer makes sense in Denver almost as much as Melo no longer makes sense in New York.

Both teams need to consider what their teams are clamoring for and look to make the proper fix. Mudiay would be the perfect playmaker for the Knicks future star and current go-to-guy Kristaps Porzingis. Melo isn't the kind of distributor that the Knicks need right now, and Mudiay isn't the kinda scorer that can keep Jamal Murray at bay.  He's not even outplaying Jameer Nelson anymore, so the reasonableness of letting him go and making room for Murray and Malik Beasley to play more makes a whole lot of sense.

Mudiay, however, is not a piece of scrap metal and he's got a huge upside, so the Nuggets need to offer him as a straight up trade or a trade with enough add-ons to make the money right, but not as a blockbuster trade like Melo was when we let him go.  NBA insiders realize that Phil Jackson is on the verge of losing his own job if he can't get the chemistry right in New York, so the trade rumors are not leaking out on accident. Jackson is likely blowing up phones to try and find a team willing to bite on his offering. Whether the Nuggets and Melo pursue such a touchy trade could be a hurdle, but if Denver is not at least considering the top trade options, then they are not serious about finally getting over the top.

Melo is the top trade option and would have a career resurgence returning to Denver with the freedom to get open and hit jumpers while bringing some of that Olympic level leadership to bear. He'd have to humble himself quite a bit to come back to the team that drafted him out of college, but so would all the fans who wrote him off when he left us the first time.

Keeping Gallo and making him spell Melo is also a move that makes a lot of sense. Neither of these players seems to have exactly what it takes to make other players better on the floor, but Jokic makes that necessity a moot point now.  He is the difference maker and the reason Melo and Gallo would never have to fight for a shot again if we made that trade. Such freedom on the offensive end would actually uncover a Melo that can and does play defense, just not as easily when asked to score 40. Keep in mind that Melo is still the best player in the league covering LeBron James, although Draymond Green is a close second.

The current ridicule Melo is getting from New York fans could be the exact kind of humbling humiliation that gives Denver a chance, but will we have enough of an interest to get in the Melo chase? This fan is dreaming of the day Melo returns to Denver and finishes what he started. He, and we deserve that kind of story. And dreams really do come true. Ask Cleveland.

NBA Contract Envy Reveals 'We All Wanna Hoop'

As we National Basketball Association fans take some time in between the conclusion of the NBA Finals and the start of the summer Olympics, there is unhealthy down time causing an uncanny fascination with this new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which appeared to give back money, but now mandates expanding the revenue for players alongside the expansion of league revenues.  In a move of utter brilliance, the NBAPA (Players Association) bargained for themselves to enjoy the increasing fruits of their own labor.

As a result of the new CBA, teams are now responsible for insuring that they spend a mandated minimum on players salary, or the difference between what was spent on salaries and what should have been spent gets returned back to the players on the roster at the end of the season.  This new, exacting standard has many teams fighting to avoid the revenue floor, if they can, by paying several marginal players the kind of revenue that has some fans questioning the entire industry. Meanwhile, the superstars of the league continue to be their own GM's while realigning the location of stars throughout the NBA sky.

Take super star Dwayne Wade for example.  He rejected Miami's final 2 year, 40 million dollar offer (their first offer was only 2 years $20 million), while he pretended to pursue 2 year, 50+ million dollars from my home team, the Denver Nuggets, who were more than willing to use all of our extra money on Wade. It appears that he was using Denver to end up in his birth town of Chicago with a 2 year, $47 million dollar deal.

Denver did not accept the Wade meeting because he is particularly suited to our rebuilding plans, but mostly because the dim-stars we've got in-house already are hardly worthy of all the extra money, and not one of our hard to pronounce named players could insure one person shows up for the games even if we did pay them the money. Names can fill seats, but wins are what ignite hoop fans who've begun to question all that money for so many average NBA hoopers.

Now that Wade has finished working my team just to get back home to Chicago, it's my hope that Denver does something unique with the money and avoid the Von Miller contract mess that the Broncos are dealing with by locking up some of this young, 30 win team worth of  talent, to long term deals before the market dictates price. Especially since nobody really knows who they are yet.

Unlike our unknowns, D-Wade is a magnet for fans.  Superstar talents like Wade made last years playoff race one of the most watched in history.  For all the complaints about the modern game, the Finals themselves was actually the most watched NBA Finals in 15 years. If the viewership was not impressive, the ongoing social media arguments over LeBron's greatness as a player keeps returning us to conversations about who deserves the best player in the league moniker, is it fair for great players to join up for titles, why is Timofey Mosgov making so much loot out in L.A., and when exactly did basketball players become so damn rich and powerful in the first place?

In reality, basketball players have always been the cream of the athletic crop.  Golf only recently got it's full qualifications as an actual sport since people of my generation didn't think it was a sport until Tiger Woods made us try the game for ourselves.  NFL football is certainly America's new baseball, but football is one of those fringe activities that mostly strong, hyperactive boys take up as a childhood past time.  A whole lot of people (like my mom) never needed repeat traumatic brain injury to finally receive a name to consider football way too rough for daily doing, so professional football has always been mostly pursued by those non-hooping, crazed contact lovers who also couldn't hit or pitch well enough, or just grew to need crashing and banging from being forced to love it as a child.

Basketball, however, has always been a sport of athletic supremacy, with bodies crashing together like boxers, but eloquently done like ballerinas. Maybe boxers and dancers are actually the best of our athletes and basketball players somehow encompass them both.

Basketball as an endeavor is something that everyone can try out on a regular basis, so it also stands as one of those exceedingly humbling sports that help you to remember that- even if you could run fast and jump high and defend and block out- simply dribbling and shooting while mastering the aforementioned, demands amazing skill. Hockey makes a fair argument on the athletic demand scale, but it's just not our sport and mostly only gets playoff attention in America, or when your hometown team is more competitive than my Colorado Avalanche of late.

Take a close look at the bio for your most athletic players in every sport, and they typically played a lot of basketball to get that way.

NBA basketball players are magical and hardly invisible because their skills elevate them several inches above their commonly tallish frames.  In a recent radio debate,  two hosts argued over who would be most noticed in a crowd- Tom Brady or Kevin Durant.  I've waffled over the answer because one might have immense notoriety, but the other is nearly seven feet tall, black skinned and among that special group of people who do things with a basketball in hand that the rest of us only dream about. Given that the question came before KD exited OKC, and before all of the NBA contracts got announced, I might now be leaning towards Durant because he's a hooper, and WE ALL WANNA HOOP- or at least be on that team that under spends by $20 million this season.

Denver Bronco pass rusher  Von Miller even posted a picture of himself in a Golden State Warrior uniform with the words, "The Kicker". You see, despite so many hoop dreams, not all of us actually dream of a grueling 82 game career in the NBA. We mostly just dream of stuff like flying through the air from time to time right before dunking a basketball in the face of someone we don't particularly like very much- and that money too.

Can you imagine doing one of those Michael Jordan, free throw line flying dunks right in the face of Donald Trump, and then yell, "I'm richer than you too", while standing over him?  

Maybe that's just me?

Whether your interest in the NBA remains true love, or some twisted version of envy and hate (thanks LeBron), we all have some version of hoop dreams, and collectively, our hoop dreams are as big or bigger than the NBA Finals ratings this year.  If it weren't true, explain to me why have we never seen a traveling All-Star baseball or football team (either one..soccer or regular) like we've watched for decades in the Harlem Globetrotters? Yeah, I realize those other sports might struggle with travel arrangements, but we entertain ourselves yearly by watching a cavalcade of athletic animals and acrobats traveling from state to state, much like those Globetrotters, and I'm absolutely certain that the circus has way more equipment to transport.

Even if only in our hoop dreams, basketball maintains a position of athletic hierarchy that may not be readily acknowledged because we're too busy envying hoopers and their big guaranteed contracts, unlike any other athlete on earth. Especially their big guaranteed contracts.

To play the sport well demands a great deal of stamina and grit because the game moves at a pace beyond the control of most individual players. Yet, the greatest of players do dictate pace and have the wisdom to regulate the demand of energy expulsion.  It takes skill and will along with wile and guile to be simply be good at the game. It takes something truly special to be NBA great, that kind of great that has everyone watching and league revenues rising through the roof. If we have any reason to complain or care about salaries, it only goes to prove how interested we truly are.

I'm not sure how much money this new CBA is scheduled to bring to the individuals in the league because it should climb again and again over the next few years as our economy improves and league profits grow, so this moment of temporary rage towards people getting paid the cut they fully deserve- or for players recognizing their strength and ability to be their own GM's- is destined to have a few more flash points. The best of the best of hoopers will always have the eyes of the nation whether we're watching to see them succeed or fail, because basketball simply has that kind of allure.

LeBron James is the best player in the most athletically supreme support in the land.  By virtue of being the best hooper, he is functionally America's best athlete, maybe the world's best, and a lightning rod for every opinion that comes with the post.  If Steph Curry has one thing to be glad about, it's that his failure in the Finals will steer him clear of that best player on the planet moniker that comes with adoration, envy and loads of expectation, expectation that he might be smothering under, if not that Cleveland defense. Apparently, the fact that Steph still remains on the team that drafted him will also keep him clear of some the criticism that comes when players leave small markets for bigger venues; the kind of criticism KD is currently enduring as we speak.

Why Do We Care Where They Play?

Sorry KD. You used to be #1.
Now your best role might be as 6th man. 

Durant is now getting LeBron level criticism for choosing to join a team full of other really great players; a team that Durant nearly beat in the Western Conference Finals.  In my years of watching the NBA, the competitive draw of being seen as the best player in basketball, and the pseudo top athlete in America, has almost never seen a GREAT player joining a team that he's not clearly the greatest player on that team. Even LeBron and Miami came up short in their first season of trying the approach because the cockiness to be THE MAN in basketball was in full fledged contradiction to the humility it eventually took to make the chemistry work; chemistry that became clearly defined when it was clearly defined that LeBron was
the teams best player and not the other stars that shined
in the Miami sky while he was there.

A group of stars and superstars in Golden State must acknowledge who is THE MAN and stack rank themselves accordingly, and hope they can shine brighter than before their constellation realignment, while the eyes and expectations of a legion of envious hoop fans apply added pressure.

Good luck with that. We'll ALL be watching.

Does Signing Galinari Help Nuggets Rebuilding Pain?

Can Gallo say healhty?

Disclaimer:  Disregard This Article If Gallo Gets Hurt......Thank You!

Call the loss of Carmelo Anthony whatever you want to call it. The New York Knicks acquired his services because they were willing to give up one important piece, and that was Danilo Gallinari (Timofey Mosgov and Wilson Chandler were sweeteners) who the Denver Nuggets just extended by 2 years to create a 3 year deal essentially worth $15 million per year.   If you are curious about the hope the Nuggets have for this season, the Gallo deal is all you need for clarification. A truly rebuilding team would let go of Gallo to get maximum value for him while teams are still willing to take a risk on his health. By keeping him and extending him just long enough to sign him again in 2 years if he lives up to expectation, the Nuggets have decided that Gallo's rebuilt knee are all the rebuilding this team needs for now.

                                                                 Disregard This Article If Gallo Gets Hurt......Thank You!

The Knicks never promised that Gallo would be the type of player that Carmelo Anthony had been in Denver while the Nuggets thought New York had won the deal but quietly hoped Melo would crumble beneath the immense weight  of Madison Square Garden and demanding Knicks fans. If Melo remains the great scorer and marginal teammate who never fulfills his promise to carry a team to the crown, Gallo won't only been seen as that valuable piece of the Nuggets/Knicks trade who really helped Denver ease the pain of losing Melo, he'll  soon be competing heads up with Melo for who's a better player.

Chandler might be scared to shoot at times, but he is a
consistent scorer who defends on the other end too.
Does a healthy Gallo make him an All-star player?
Does Mike Malone inspire him to his best?

Disregard This Article If Gallo Gets Hurt (you get it?)......Thank You!

This bold comparison of players assumes that Gallo will stay healthier than he has in his past as an NBA player.  When healthy, I'm banking on the youth and versatility of Gallo over the age and predictability of Melo. At 26 (almost 27), Gallo is at the prime of his career and likely to stay there for the next 5 years. Ty Lawson's designation as Denver's top player over the past few season's was primarily because Gallo missed too many games, not because Lawson deserved the label.

Now that Lawson is history in Denver, Emmanuel Mudiay has the chance to take over the Denver Nuggets soon and make this his team just as the new coach publicly declared, yet that's not likely to happen in his rookie season.  'Taking over a team' kind of leadership takes time to develop, especially at the point guard spot where premier players (Chris Paul, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, John Wall...etc.) are paid premier dollars to lead their teams with premier performances.  Mudiay must elevate his game and his team quickly if the Denver Nuggets hope to outperform the skeptics who have determined this team to be in full rebuilding mode despite the fact that, minus the point guard change, the roster looks mostly the same as it did last season. Gallo remains the teams best player for sure, but will he be keeping Mudiay's seat warm until he's ready to officially take over for himself?  At this point in his career Gallo has yet to show himself eager to be that kind of leader, preferring instead to hit big free throws and make big shots as his way to lead his team. Insiders suggest that this year could be different.



From the day Gallo and the gang arrived in Denver, this team has showed the ability to beat anybody so long as they bring a lunch bucket effort night in and night out.

 Three times in recent years, Denver's front office has gotten rid of capable coaches in the hopes that a less experienced replacement could accomplish something different despite the fact that 57 wins and a Coach of The Year in Denver represents the first bar that needed raising.



Michael Malone will be tasked with saving Tim Connelly's job by developing the future players while bringing cohesion to a team that must win enough games to justify basically standing pat with the roster. Melvin Hunt, a coach who had been with these same players since George Karl was here, seemed willing and capable of winning while developing the youth but was replaced for an uncertain change just like his two former bosses experienced.  Nuggets fans are clear headed enough to recognize championship coaches from first round exit coaches just as we recognize front office fishing expeditions. We also recognized that last years team could have won even more games if they had remained consistently professional and uncovered reliable outside shooting.  Connelly has promised us that his buddy Mike Malone is the right guy to deal with each of these issues.

Gallo is nothing if not a reliable shooter and an eager scorer.  He's had his moments of end game success and never shies away from living with the results of casting up game winning attempts. Whether Randy Foye or Wilson Chandler actually become consistent shooting help for these Nuggets hinges on the quality of shots they are given by our point guard tandem which now includes Mudiay- an exceptional passer- and veteran guard Jameer Nelson as the end game, ball handling decision makers who WILL distribute to the right players at the right times. Gallo's contract says he will be asked to create when games are tight, and his exceptional passing skills will also pay great dividends if he continues to elevate his stature as a capable and dangerous NBA scorer.

Smooth Says: "The Nuggets Are Rebuilding!"

Without the Mayor of Park Hill, Chauncey "Smooth" Billups in Denver's back court (which has been quite a few season's  now), way too many close games, even during the Karl years, have been lost in Denver due to poor end game execution. Because he never had a a half court attack, Karl's Nuggets had to blow teams out and hold on for dear life. This point is noteworthy because  I believe that a Nuggets team with a healthy Gallo will be nipping at the tails of their opponents in a lot of games this year.  If they find a way to establish the hometown, lung busting advantage, we should blow teams out occasionally just by virtue of the thin Mile High air. Taking the court with a healthy and mature Danilo Gallinari anchoring the way will snatch a couple of victories right out of the jaws of rebuilding's hungry mouth.

Take the Atlanta Hawks for example, a team without a closer or a means of insuring points when games are tight.  They advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with defensive effort and ball movement. Granted, the East is an easier road to take than what these Nuggets must overcome in the West, but it isn't a cake walk.  Minus a mid-series adjustment by Steve Kerr, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers would have taken the title from Golden State with east coast style basketball anchored by Denver Nuggets cast away, Timofey Mosgov.  It's possible that the Warriors have altered the course of future championship pursuits with their small ball victory, but the signs say several teams are still willing to try to win it all employing the bully-ball style that Cleveland almost won with.  These Nuggets are poising themselves to play both styles well.

Jusuf Nurkic is the Nuggets Center of the future, but the front
court is full of big men fighting for relevance.  Stay tuned!

If They Like Mosgov, Wait Till They Meet Nurkic.

In Denver, interim coach Melvin Hunt scratched out a few wins this way last year making the end of the season at least entertaining. But he also nurtured some of the new talent while doing it. There is a saying that basically goes, "what must be done eventually is best done immediately.  Mosgov got traded mid-season to Cleveland because Jusuf Nurkic made it a foregone conclusion.



When this portion of the Denver rebuild occurred, Shaw, and then Hunt, had to live and then die from the exploits of a rookie center. Coach Malone will be expected to win at least as much as Hunt did with this virtually unchanged roster just to justify another coaching change that left some Nuggets fans scratching their heads again. For this team, simply maintaining the mediocrity of last year's end would be considered growth through stability instead of what many around Denver are expecting to see this season- taking two steps back for the hope of one big leap forward (see; rebuilding).

I was primarily on board with the concept of rebuilding, though I think the process began with the firing of George Karl which ushered in the hope of playing young talent for long stretches (see; rebuilding). And then I watched Mudiay play during the summer league games.  He has some grooming to do as any young player would, but his time in China has paid off big with confidence and overall court awareness.  Mudiay is Rajon Rondo with a slightly better shot.  Rondo can't shoot so that is not a compliment.  Mudiay must improve in this area quickly because opponents WILL soon be forcing him to shoot the ball instead of allowing him to create for others, which he does extremely well already.  He is not a fearful or hesitant shooter so he will knock down some of those open shots from confidence alone on good nights.


Gallo and Galileo (finding stars)


Mudiay's bad nights won't be a lot worse than roller coaster Ty Lawson who was probably fighting hangovers as much as bad health last season. If Mudiay only has to be as good as Lawson wasn't last year, then signs are positive for some success. The only way THIS Nuggets fan accepts the word REBUILDING from the same core roster we've had since Melo left is if Gallo, whom I rejoiced over when we extended his contract, spends another year rehabilitating an injury.(Disregard This Article If Gallo Gets Hurt......Thank You!)  If Gallo STAYS healthy- the extended contract says the Nuggets are betting he will- he is a budding all star who will earn his first all-star appearance by keeping a rebuilding team in the hunt for the playoffs throughout the entire season. Whether or not they make it in will be a function of how good our new coach is at grooming babies and finding stars.

Return Of The King Forces Warriors To Look Ahead

Pimping is said to be difficult-  but it can't be much harder than closing out a series with a sweep in the NBA semi-finals.  That's the kind of thing only king's do well. Golden State, behind MVP Steph Curry, is a really good team. This team can truly play defense and crash the boards with the best of them, and at times they appear to be a team even LeBron can't handle.  They will need to be all of that and more tonight since the Cleveland Cavalier closeout should add the same pressure to Golden State that Golden State's closeout of Memphis added to the Clipper's.


What happened to the Clippers ? Kevin McHale and Golden State?

If the Houston Rockets are trying to duplicate their unlikely triumph over the L.A. Clippers, spotting Golden State a 3-0 lead was a great way to do it.  They might have gotten off of the snide by avoiding a sweep, but they've still got to do it again, and again, and again if they hope to be watched during the finals.  Most likely, Houston will watch the finals as spectators just like the rest of us. However, they just got the same free agent addition that they received at the end of the Clipper series.


The agent is doubt from a Warrior team who is already starting to wonder if they can actually beat a rested LeBron- and free because such doubt won't cost Houston a dime. Golden State should have never forced Curry to return to the lineup after his nasty spill, but pressure causes missteps.  If Curry needed a rest in game 5, the decision to force him back in game 4 made the game 5 decision for you.

Looking Ahead?

For a while, the Clippers were the story of the NBA playoffs after beating the defending champs and going up 3-1 to the Rockets.  Suddenly. the resting Golden State Warrior team joined the Houston Rockets cause by adding "we're waiting for you" pressure to the equation.  With a 19 point lead and a clear path to the Bay Area, the destraction became too much to bear, especially since the resting and waiting Warriors appeared unbeatable anyway.

Cleveland's sweep could be the opportunity that Kevin McHale needs to pull off his post season magic once again..  NO ONE thought Houston could do it without the services of guard Patrick Beverley, who went down at the the end of the regular season- or without their alMost Valuable Player James Harden, who sat on the bench during the magical 19 point, come from behind victory against L.A. that launched the Rockets into the next series.  They did it, and from the looks of things, even if Dwight Howard loses a game or worse from trying to free himself from Bogut- or worse, Terrence Jones at center could be the right way to go since Howard's limited offensive ability and inability to make free-throws on a consistent basis has turned him into a real liability in the 4th quarter.

By the way!

Tristen Thompson could be putting his name in the hat for top center in the league after this outstanding playoff season.

Hack-A-Howard  .vs. Hack-A-Dre .vs. Hack-A-Josh

While I am now rooting for Kevin McHale and his Rockets (if my team is out- give me the underdog everytime), I am not a fan of the intentional foul (a.k.a, Hack-A-Shaq).  In fact, I really wonder if it even currently fits inside of the rules of the game, Every foul typically demands a play at the ball and not at the head or legs when a player actually has  the ball.  On every level of basketball, fouls that are intentional but not directed at the ball will typically invoke some version of a flagrant foul, much like it does in the final 2 minutes of the NBA. How can we ever justify and allow intentionally fouling a player who doesn't have the ball  and call it a good rule or good basketball?  While I can't understand how the rule gets allowed throughout the game, every team that does the tactic at least deserves shame and bad luck if you ask me.

It seems like a simple fix to force ALL intentional foul's to be allowed ONLY while making a reasonable attempt at the  ball being held by the player holding or receiving the basketball.  If such a modification goes into play, fouls against these horrible shooting post players will only happen when those players have the ball.  This is important because RIGHT NOW, team's choosing to foul often mitigate their approach by selecting teammates with minimal fouls to do the dirty work.  If off-ball fouling gets corrected, teams will no longer have the luxury of doing it with minimal risks.

Hack-A-Shaq doesn't seem to ever give good kharma to the team's that do it anyway. Nonetheless, despite having players that have endured this tactic all season/career long, the Rockets and the Clippers chose to do it towards each other.  You would think that the teams with a Shaq (or whatever) would be more sensitive to the low brow approach that others have taken against them.

Obviously that's not true.

I have a soft spot for great coaching, so I am pulling for McHale, and generally I am a West Coast guy since my Denver Nuggets are a Western Conference team,  but I have a hard time expecting good sports kharma from any team that tries to win a title through off the ball intentional fouls. From my best recollection, every team that did the Hack-A-Shaq lost to Shaq.

Make Your FreeThrows Kids
;That being said, if the league doesn't change the Hack-A-Shaq, I can live with that too because you already can't get away with it in the final 2 minutes, and kids really need a graphic example of the vital importance of making or missing freethrows.  Crappy post season freethrow shooting has been a leaguewide horror flick, and it's not only Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan with the problem.

Ain't that right Josh Smith?

#7 Might Not Be So Lucky

Houston's two Achilles heel's, Josh Smith and Dwight Howard, are likely to cost the Rockets in the end, no matter how far the Rockets rise.  A rested LeBron is surely enough pressure to make a team that's never been there before tighten up.  Without question, the Warriors must dominate game 5.  A loss in game 5 comes with a virtual guaranteed loss in game 6 at Houston as well. and #7 might not be so lucky if it goes that far.

#7 Might Not Be So Lucky

The biggest problem with making yourself believe that you are a contender when you really are not is that it totally delays the process of realizing and pursuing the truth.  The Denver Nuggets were not really close to winning anything when they had Carmelo, and they moved even further away after he left, despite the illusion that 57 wins and a Coach of The Year create. These Nuggets have NEVER seen a sniff of the top pick because they've only recently come to recognize the value of sucking for a while to smell what big time losing provides.

This year's #7  might be the unluckiest of them all.  Why?  The Nuggets own it.

The last 7 at #7 have been more good than bad.  Maybe even some greatness at 7.  

2014  #7 Julius Randle  UNC            - Lakers
2013  #7 Harrison Barnes  UNC       - GS
2012  #7 Greg Monroe  Georgetown - Detroit
2011  #7  Bismack Biyombo   Congo - SAC
2010  #7  Stephen Curry Davidson    - GS
2009  #7  Eric Gordon   - Indiana       - LAC
2008  #7  Corey Brewer - Florida       -MIN

It could be a good pick, if my Nuggets weren't still looking for a coach, presumably one that might impress the front office more than interim coach Melvin Hunt does.  Brian Shaw was really no different than Melvin Hunt relative to his experience as a head coach, but he had name recognition.  If the Nuggets have chosen not to lock up Hunt as their next coach, its because they are, once again, waiting for another coach with a name, not one who clearly connects and can develop a team of up and coming players.

The problem with chasing big names is that it assumes that any recognizable coach will trust coaching for a team that got rid of George Karl after a 57 win, Coach of The Year effort, and won't hire an interim who did everything you hoped he could do.  Shaw's failures might have removed the Karl cloud from above our next head coach, but any smart person must know to tread lightly with a front office that is more focused on the fish they would like to take the bait and not at the bait at all.

News Flash:

An up and coming coach is the right choice for an up and coming team.

These Nuggets need to lock up Melvin Hunt and give up that #7 to go up or down from that spot to get a player that doesn't need so much development.  Keeping #7 means that the list of young Nuggets who need developing will only grow after next season unless we get a sure fire pick, or one that we won't need to develop so much while Jusuf Nurkic, Erick Green and Garry Harris prove their value.  Frank Kaminsky should do just fine at 15 or 20.

 Kaminsky has a lot of Kevin McHale in his game.

Is Frank Kaminsky the NBA draft sleeper?
This Nugget fan hopes he is, for our sake.

I have already confessed my support for coach Kevin McHale, the guy who took out the other coach that I was rooting for, Doc Rivers. I'm a coach. What can I say?  I was also always a big McHale fan as a kid, especially when I discovered Larry Bird was quite the jerk. I encountered Bird's  Boston Celtics when they borrowed our high school gym prior to a game against my Denver Nuggets.  McHale was awesome, and his kindness and post moves have stayed with me for years.  I still utilize a couple of his baseline pivot moves whenever I get a chance to act like a basketball player, although I typically credit Jack Sikma because his name sounds cooler to say.

7 game series?

Bleak seems to be the exact temperature that these Rockets perform best under, as if losing the weight of expectation allows them to takeoff.  If this Rocket is losing fuel, McHale's championship history could become the power source for this series like it was in the last. It is reasonable to expect an up against the wall Houston team to fight, maybe even steal a game in the Bay area as they nearly did in the first two games.   This series still feels like a 6 or 7 game brawl to me that sets the Western conference up to deal with the well rested Cavs.

Aside from the damage they might inflict upon each other before it's over, both western conference teams would be worthy opponents for LeBron, maybe even favored over him- yet both teams are young and new at all this, so neither will win a crown without a world class brawl, most likely one for the ages.  If Golden State can actually win the west without a 7 game series (which I doubt), they almost certainly won't have the experience to beat LeBron's Cavaliers in less than 7 games.

Either way, buckle your seatbelts for the kind of NBA basketball that makes you need to sit and watch for 4 quarters.

Finally!

Kharma Writes Stories and Wins Game 4 For LeBron

And then there were none.

Is LeBron his own dynasty, or is Cleveland attempting
the impossible? Winning in a small market?

With the fall of the San Antonio Spurs, the age of the NBA dynasties has almost come to an end.  If you count the fact that LeBron is struggling as I write to take down the Chicago Bulls just for a chance to overcome the Washington Wizards or the Atlanta Hawks, then its safe to say that none of the remaining teams are cut from championship pedigree.

The moment I typed these words, LeBron drove to the lane against the Bulls to cut into their double digit lead that they took into the fourth quarter of game 4.  Win this game and the Bulls take a strangle hold over the series (3-1) and start the process of returning Chicago to the realm of champion, despite distant memories from their dynastic days of old.

This season, all signs point towards the rise of the "Have Not's", teams from small market cities that typically were believed to be incapable of winning a championship.  Maybe Chicago or the LA Clippers will win and keep the theory intact, but their franchises are among the many in the league fighting to rise to relevancy too.  Even if the Clippers (big city) or the Cavs (LeBron's team) can win a title this season, hope still springs eternal for lowly cities like Denver that have never proven themselves to be capable of reaching the peak of the NBA.

While my heart has moved into the corner of supporting NBA legend Doc Rivers this playoff season, the only other championship mind capable of dealing with the championship experience of LeBron, I wouldn't be sad if the Warriors lay siege or the Wizards cast  a spell of hope for the rest of us secondary sports cities like Denver to build on.  With a capable front office, anything is possible.  Whether or not Denver's front office qualifies as capable is the only question left unanswered for this hopeful fan looking for a reason to believe.  The Nuggets' next few moves will reveal a lot.  In the mean time, I have to watch this Cav's versus Bulls game and wonder if losing Timofey Mosgov and J.R. Smith was good in the long run, or is LeBron so good that he makes even these ex-Nuggets look like stars?

Before I could complete two paragraphs of thought, LeBron has erased the Chicago lead, and is making Smith and Mosgov look like Parish and Ainge as he carries them towards greatness.  I expect LeBron to find a way to win this game and keep the Bulls in the state of figuring things out- which might mean firing Tom Thibideau at the end of this season.  Thibideau is actually the only other coach that I would take in Denver aside from Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt, still in the hunt for a permanent tag in Denver.

As I write, J.R. Smith just nailed another long range 3 in response to one scored by the Bulls, giving the Cavaliers a 3 point lead with 5 minutes to play.  James blocks a shot that Mosgov recovered and then set Mosgov up with a pick and roll dunk   He missed of course, but nailed the two free throws from being fouled.  In game 3, Mosgov only missed one free throw, and for all of the things he struggled with in Denver, he was an improving free throw shooter.  As I typed these two sentences, Mosgov followed his two freebies with a defensive rebound, and offensive rebound and a put back for a 7 point lead.

Timeout Chicago.

Cleveland might win it with LeBron doing what he does, but they are the Cavaliers of small city Cleveland. A victory by this team makes small city hoops more possible than ever, so even the magic that LeBron keeps doing works in favor of the little guys.  After a really good defensive play that produced a foul from the Bulls, J.R. Smith shoved the same Bulls player, giving up a technical free throw and reminding me why we don't really miss J.R.  On the next possession, Mosgov got one of those wide open layups that he often misses.  He missed the shot, reminding me why we don't really miss Mosgov that much either.

With the clock winding down quickly, LeBron misses another 3 point shot (he has hardly made any during the series), and Derrick Rose heads down court to show King James how its done, knocking down a 3 pointer to close this pivotal game to a 3 point margin.  How did the King respond?  With a muscle drive to the hole for an easy 2 points.  Rose advances up the court trying to match LeBron shot for shot, and gets fouled by a Cavalier team unwilling to let him do it freely.

Rose hits both freebies.

When the King can't hit a jumpers, it's not hard to guess what he will do instead, so Joakim Noah did just that when he guessed right on the next Cavalier possession, drawing an offensive foul on James destined to get to the hole.  Despite the turnover, the Cavs got a stop and had one minute and LeBron James to finish off an important game.  This time down, the Bulls fouled an attacking LeBron and he nailed both freebies for a 5 point lead.  With 27 seconds left in the game, Jimmy Butler nails a 3 point bucket to try and salvage the biggest game in the series for his team.  Win the game and you cripple the King.  Lose it and he inspires his henchmen to take you out.  Guaranteed. If LeBron doesn't get you, the depression of such a lost will do it for him

Bulls use their last time out to create a plan.

3 seconds separate the game and shot clock, and Noah informs the ref that they will not play to foul, so hold tight to that whistle. A strong double team on J.R. causes him to take a timeout with 19 seconds on the clock.  Though the Bulls have no time outs with one left for the Cavs, until more great defense on the in-bounds forces the Cavs to use their last timeout without taking a second off of the clock.  These Bulls saw red and the Cavs were it.  With a long inbound pass to LeBron that he catches in half court corner, the Bulls double team too, forcing LeBron into another offensive foul and a turnover. With a sudden sign of life, Rose takes the ball end to end to tie the game and force the play back to LeBron.

There are no timeouts left and very little time on the clock as LeBron makes his hesitation drive at the lane.  When he was a younger man, he would have dunked on Noah who put a hand on his shoulder to stop the expected dunk. The refs swallowed their whistle forcing the King to use 1.5 seconds in regulation to decide it.  He was clearly fouled on the play, but the uncertainty of when the ball got knocked  of bounds gave both teams one last chance to huddle up as referee's checked video to correct the shot clock.

In my mind, hoop kharma writes these stories for you, and kharma usually goes in favor of those who've paid their dues in the past.  LeBron has won it before, but he also has a lot of tears from those years when he didn't win.  Those are the tears that carry you over the top in moments that matter.

James hit the shot at the buzzer.  Series tied 2-2.

Maybe all the years of bad hair has hurt Rickie's kharma?

PostScript:  Kharma told me that Rickie Fowler was going to rush from behind to win the Players championship today even though he was 5 shots back when I felt the premonition and turned to watch the Cavs/Bulls finish.  By the time I turned the channel back to The Players, Fowler was in a three-way playoff with Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner.  Garcia has a lot of kharma out there on the course, but nothing compares to 2014 for Fowler.  I'm predicting Fowler wins just so I can pat myself on the back for having kharmic awareness.  He's left a lot of tears out on the course over the years
.

 

Is Denver Nuggets "Gallo" Championship Wine Or Fancy Vinegar?

I'm proud to call myself a Denver Nuggets fan, but this team can be downright habit forming- and not in a good way.

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?

Despite recent success, some Nuggets fans(me) are angry towards this newly unleashed effort that has left us all unsure of what the heck we are watching now or what exactly we were watching previously.  These products are so incongruent  that the only explanation points to really immature players with a really fragile psyche.  Some of the most accomplished men in the world were terribly underwhelming before they gained the confidence from a strong woman or a trusted confidant- or both. Nuggets management must uncover the most fragile Denver Nugget players no matter which coach they pursue.  They should also try to uncover whether or not Wilson Chandler realizes that he's no longer in New York.

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.

Denver Nuggets Management Need Hunt To Stave Off Circling Sharks

The writing might have been on the wall from way back when mild mannered Andre Miller fell out of love with Brian Shaw so quickly. Kenneth Faried was soon to follow.

What Brian Shaw clearly brought to the Nuggets was a wealth of knowledge of how to play any style that you need to play to win in the NBA.  What he didn't bring was Melvin Hunt who was a key carry over from the George Karl era.  My keen eyes noticed back then how vocal Hunt was, writing that the team would not recognize its new leader with a more vocal leader stuck in the fold. The fact that Hunt remains intact after two coaches speaks to an impeccable reputation and/or an organization that made his presence a non-negotiable for Brian Shaw.

Failed coach or bad fit?

Was Melvin ready when George left or
did Brian add the missing piece?

 Shaw brought a lot of knowledge to the city of Denver. What he did not bring was the capacity to sell his knowledge to a generation of players that need to be sold on the head coach. Hunt was here before most of the current players so he has witnessed which sales pitch works on which players and has earned credibility from this team. If Melvin Hunt is blessed to be made into the permanent coach of the Denver Nuggets, he will have both George Karl and Brian Shaw to credit (which he already has done).  Karl taught Hunt the Mile High game which the team displays at times, while Shaw brought the Eastern style with a twist of Phil Jackson on the side that seems to be the style that the team continues to employ despite Shaw's exit.  Nonetheless, if X's and O's were enough, we would have kept the last two coaches.  Hunt's real asset seems to be his God-given ability to connect with people and the divine timing that might allow him to unleash his gifts just when they've ripened.

Denver Nugget fans appreciate victories just like the next team, but we are savvy enough to recognize teams with the potential to win it all just as much as we recognize teams that probably are only suited for regular season success.  We've seen much more of the latter lately, but championships are not foreign to the Mile High city and neither are championship teams.  We know one when we see it, and Peyton Manning should kick himself in the butt if he leaves Denver without getting that second ring that  John Elway has tried to spoon feed him.

As for Hunt's prospect of keeping the Nuggets head coach job?  It is hard to tell with Denver management who let go of a GM of the year in Masai Ujiri, coach of the year in George Karl and a rising coach of the future in Brian Shaw who couldn't force unprofessional players to stop it.  Hoping that Nuggets brass will get it right this time is optimistic given the recent track record. Hunt deserves a chance to finish Shaw's transition, and he deserves the commitment from management to reap the benefits if he gets it done- but that is rarely how the story tends to go.  Usually two or three coaches handle the fix of a team and some big name comes along to try and take them over the top.

No player has been more vocal about
his dislike of Shaw than Faried.

That's the way big cities write the story, but the Mile High is just  tall, not necessarily big.  John Elway might have made us famous, but strangers still think Coloradoan's ride horses to go skiing.  Elway brought success to Denver by the luck of shunning the Baltimore Colts for a horse of a different kind.  Small town legends typically have to come through draft or luck, and the Nuggets have yet to ride either path towards the ultimate crown.  Will Kenneth Faried become a piece of that draft puzzle for Denver? Have we stopped waiting for Ty Lawson?  What if Jusuf Nurkic carries this team to the precipice? Does this dismal season position Denver for the draft pick that finally sends them over the top?  Most importantly, will Melvin Hunt be the coach to save the team from blowing up this plan (and staff) and starting all over from scratch?

Jusuf Nurkic is the Nugget to watch.

So far, Hunt appears to be smart enough to call the right plays and wise enough to insert the right guys without pissing off  and losing half of the team as a result. In last nights 30 point victory over the similarly hapless Knicks, Hunt had players begging him to leave other teammates in the game who either needed time or deserved it from their quality of performance. When introducing himself after Shaw's firing, Hunt described his number one trait as giving a professional effort at all times.  He will need to squeeze his fingerprint of professionalism on each of his underachievers who've struggled to keep a professional focus throughout the course of this challenging season.   Fortunately GM Tim Connelly uncovered a couple of lunch bucket guys in Joffrey Lauvergne and Will Barton, players who have a chance to stick simply because they give the non-stop effort that Denver fans appreciate.

Lauvergne is a capable backup with a fire in his belly.

Denver fans expect a lot, but we certainly recognize and appreciate the look of progress. Despite a stellar record, Denver is the city that complained all season long over the play of Peyton Manning and the Broncos because fans recognized star wars numbers that wouldn't translate into playoff success without proper balance.  Denver is also the place that demanded a change from the Nuggets by making them play to an empty stadium, and then ran back to the stadium when the back up coach gave us a glimmer of hope in the players, in the playing method and in the front office overseeing it all.

Hunt's success could salvage the reputation of everybody responsible for this debacle.  Some of them are counting on Hunt to keep the firing limited to Shaw alone because the sharks of the Denver sports scene are circling around the court and the  management offices at Pepsi Center.

Denver Nuggets Can Wound Any Team. Need To Develop Killer Instinct

Until George Karl proves that the Karl system is something that can win a title, then I don't want to hear any more conversation about Mr. 57 wins that can't get another job.

As for the merits of Brian Shaw?

Watching my Denver Nuggets compete and lose against the best and worst of the NBA has made me more convinced than ever that Brian Shaw is the right man for this team.  George Karl was clearly a little better at pushing the button called Ty Lawson, but even Karl depended upon a positive Lawson versus timid Ty and needed the maturity of Andre Miller or Chauncey Billups to offset the immaturity that inevitably becomes Ty Lawson from time to time. Avoiding firing Karl made the Denver Nuggets also avoid the youth movement that had to take place to pave way for our future after Carmelo Anthony. An argument could be made that Karl should have been fired a year earlier so that the transition could have started sooner. With or without Karl, this team would not be competitive if not for the positive impact of coaching.


SquareBiz! Karl could have maneuvered a couple of extra wins by virtue of a faster style and years of end game coaching experience.   Karl would have certainly added a few additional games to his legendary win total, but would he also buy into the front office marketing plan of winning with numbers?  Even Shaw, who tried the plan, has had to virtually abandon it given injuries and sporadic ticket sales- but would Karl be better at finding minutes for rookies and mediocre players returning from injury all at the same time?

Nobody in the world believes Karl could coach kids or cared to risk his career on their ability, especially Karl.  Kenneth Faried needed fan frenzy to force his way into more playing time, and only then did  Karl finally consider the merits of a youth movement- weeks before he was eventually fired. Had George been retained, stupidity and missed freethrows in the next season would have cured Karl of Kenneth quickly.

It has been miserably frustrating to watch my Denver Nuggets compete and lose against good and bad teams alike. But good coaches realize that you have to build upon the positives that you experience and learn from the negatives regardless of the final score.  Every time that I look at the Nuggets from a coaching perspective, I do not see a team with no opportunity to win games or a team that is competing strictly on the talent of the players.  These Nuggets defend, block out, run the floor and get fast breaks points(#7 in the league).  They run plays to absolute perfection and pummel all teams while getting shots EXACTLY where they expect those shots to come from.

And then suddenly they forget their own identity.

Sometimes the Denver Nugget identity shift is caused by tasting that bitter wine we call Galo (Danilo Galinari); who could be good if his legs were good, but they're not, so he's not- other times the shift happens from player/s that fail to step up on defense when teams make their run at the Nuggets.  Bench scoring is suppose to come from Galo (or Chandler when Galo gets right), but JJ Hickson, Dorrell Arthur and now Jameer Nelson have had to carry the back ups while waiting for the wine to ripen.

The real trick on every night is compiling a combination plate of back ups and starters that can actually secure the win down the stretch.  As it stands, the coach has rolled craps more often than not, but it has little to do with his coaching ability or his worthiness of remaining with this team. Nuggets fans send their message via attendance just like most smart fan bases.  Legitimate critics of Shaw have a legitimate concern about the ability of this coach to develop as fast or faster than the team he's tasked with developing himself. Shaw's growth must continue to outpace his team to remain the leader that we hoped could replace Karl.

Fans of Karl need to start a "hire my coach" campaign to keep the end of his era from being now. Moreover, they should stop using Karl as the primary reason why Shaw was a mistake.

My personal team building efforts could benefit if the Nuggets would suck a little bit more because getting a group rate on bulk tickets has not been as easy as I would hope for a team with the Nuggets record.  For whatever reason, Colorado basketball fans have not abandoned their desire to see if Shaw's team can win games, even if it means they might experience bitter defeats. The trained eye may not always appreciate the outcome, but they recognize the show.  This team can play, and it can play in SEVERAL different ways utilizing several different play options and several different styles of play.  They have not perfected Shaw's style of play, but they have shown glimpses of brilliant basketball that has the front office still maneuvering for wins (see; Jameer Nelson) both this season and in seasons to come. Every other team in a similar position would have scrapped this season while the Denver Nuggets are working to salvage the season- and the coach.

One and a half years into Brian Shaw,
have we seen enough?

If this team had one capable closer it could be in playoff contention.  Without that credible closer the Nuggets will be mostly a nuisance to the entire league throughout the entire season mostly because they have a coach who was that same kind of pest of a player himself.  Brian Shaw is reflecting his nature upon his team with every passing day, and for those who watched Shaw play, that is the most hopeful thing for all Nugget fans.  One serious aspect of the Shaw personality is the quiet ability to get you down and mysteriously slice your jugular vein until you bleed out.  He has taught his team how to wound its victims, but making your victim bleed out with minimal effort takes ninja like precision to perform.

It's not a skill that any team can master overnight.

Has Jusuf Njurkic Already Made Timofey Mosgov The Backup Center?

At the close of last night's drubbing of Memphis at the hands of Denver's desperate Nuggets- who needed a win like air and water,  the lead Grizzly bear Marc Gasol, gave hugs and sincere respect to the new Nugget big man he had ferociously battled just minutes before.

I believe that Nurkic is our future.  Teach him well! 

During a pivotal moment of the game, Jusuf Nurkic finished a back-to-back block brigade, including one against Gasol, with a Dikembe Mutombo-esque bit of crap talking as the icing on his patty cake. According to coach Brian Shaw (in the post game press conference), Nurkic was promised more minutes with less fouling.  Nurkic, who loves to reach and has the wing span to justify the bad habit, finally had a game with no fouls despite a VERY physical battle against one of the leagues best centers.


Along the way he compiled a double double, including 5 blocks, while simultaneously forcing Timofey Mosgov to wonder if he should count his remaining days as the Denver Nugget starting center.  Javale McGhee is working on his ball handling skills as we speak so that he can become a 7 foot power forward/center for his remaining days in Denver.

Nurkic is but one of several young talents that are quickly trying to earn their way into the trust of the city that they play for.  When you become a fan favorite, even your bad play gets overlooked as with Kenneth Faried.  It sometimes even gets you a second opportunity to return to a city that thinks they missed something in your game- as with Aaron Aaflalo who is quickly convincing me that Orlando got his best year/s.  Aaron Augustus Aaflalo is unafraid to shoot in the waning moments of games, but opposing coaches are totally fine trusting AAA  with a slightly contested look to win a close game. The signs say that Wilson Chandler will never be a player who wants that shot, so the hope in  this area remains with two up and coming guards that simply haven't come up quite yet. 

Last night, Nurkic might have been the first Nugget rookie to officially come up.  He certainly got lucky to catch a team that had played the night before, however he was unfortunate for that team to be the 3rd placed team in the vicious NBA Western conference- and a team whose center is probably the best in the league-  unquestionably the center (not named Tim Duncan) with the widest array of skill sets. Denver beat Memphis by 29 points, but Denver fans discovered a reason for hope in the coming days and years.  Denver Nugget point guard and current team leader, Ty Lawson, had another stellar game displaying all of the reasons why you appreciate Ty when he's feeling it.  Even when Ty is not "feeling it", he remains an effective player in the league and would easily lead the league in assist if his current guards weren't such erratic, sporadic, dare I say spastic scorers of the ball.  With a reliable person to deliver the ball to (i.e., someone really close to the rim who can score and/or get to the line consistently), Lawson could unveil a second half to a career that has been positive while far from prosperous.  Whether its Ty Lawson or a reliable backup like Jeremy Lin (who could really use a new home),  Jusuf Njurkic will be the Nugget center catching their passes and calmly creating something for his team.

Nurkic is a natural playmaker who understands the game on a very high level but continues to make the small mistakes that separates rookies from veteran players- mistakes like fouling instead of forcing hard shots then blocking out to eliminate second chances.  Nurkic and the Nuggets could all stand to improve in the realm of defending without fouls and last nights game was the first foray into that realm of improvement.  Since Denver has never successfully defended without fouling, last nights win also has to be considered an anomaly. Whether they were just the beneficiaries of blind whistles will be determined in the games to come.  Denver has long since been the best team in the NBA at getting second chance opportunities.  Unfortunately, the Nug's have also ranked pretty high in giving up second chances and/or giving teams free throws as a result of poor defensive discipline.

The winning potion versus Memphis was one part tired Grizzly and one part new and improved Nugget, a team that MUST keep this going if they hope to keep it going.

Or they could scrap the season like New York or Philly and push the youth movement into overdrive but risk further loss of favor towards coach Shaw who would likely become the sacrificial lamb of such an approach.  The Nuggets are playing for respectability and they are playing for an identity.  They are playing to ensure their fans that they have a plan for the future and that some pieces of it, especially the coach, are clearly in place.  The Nuggets are unlikely to win it all and even hardly capable of turning tide enough to make the playoffs this year, so the current goals have to be set within arms reach or they become a deadly mountain to climb.

Winning just enough to keep the heat off of a worthy and capable coach is an active goal that just took a 7 foot, Jusuf Nurkic leap forward.  As long as he can continue to defend without fouling, Mosgov will move back and the Nuggets will move forward....and that is a good thing.

Brian Shaw Must Overcome Several Obstacles To Overcome Critics

Coaches don't make marketing plans.  Coaches do their best to justify them.  7 games into the season, the Denver Nuggets had only captured one win, but answered a million questions.

Strength In Numbers?  Give us a break.

Number one.  Scrap the stupid marketing plan because the only strength in numbers this season comes from the numbers on Coach Brian Shaw's eye test as he will need the eyesight to see through the forest of options and find the correct 6-8 players on any given night and insure they get proper playing time.  While actually playing legit defense, every NBA team could stand to go 10 deep, so long as those 4-5 backups realize they are serving a unique purpose.  For this rendition of the Denver Nuggets, the 4 totally realize their role, but it's the 6 that can't seem to get it together.

After receiving loss number 7 to the Cleveland Cavaliers- another game that we could have won- I started to realize why the wheels on this car struggled with traction early on.  The 4 are better than the 6.  Watching this team play this season has been an interesting adventure, but watching who doesn't play at the end of games is beyond an adventure, it is a prelude to what every basketball player should respect most about the game of basketball.

The short jump shot has returned in the Nuggets draftee Erick Green

Basketball is not about starting, it is about the players who are on the court to finish the game. Despite the resurgence from the Bird/Magic-MIKE heyday of the 80's and 90's, smart basketball fans still do not stress themselves on the first 3 quarters of an NBA game because these quarter are inconsequential and often played that way. Coaches will start just about anybody with a team uniform, but only certain players will ever be trusted to handle the delicate duties of end game execution.  Alonzo Gee- one of the Denver Nuggets new Fantastic Four- has been closing out games from day one so we will leave his bio until the end.  Jusuf Nurkic, the second of  the noteworthy backups, began the season as the first off of the bench but earned an opportunity to close out a game against LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers before Timofey Mosgov, Javale McGee forced him back into hiding.  It may take another injury or a trade before we Nurkic returns to action, but he will return because Nurkic showed some things.

The best player Tom Izzo ever coached?

Nurkic needed the minutes and the opportunity to win the confidence of his coach while the Nuggets needed to figure out exactly what they have invested in as Nurkic is essentially the player who should have been Doug McDermott, the much applauded draft that Denver acquired for the Chicago Bulls.  Rookie guard Erick Green, the third fabulous backup, quickly won the confidence of his coach and should have also closed against the Cavs, but Brian Shaw played it safe by reinserting Aaron Afflalo to finish the game.  Inserting Afflalo to close took the ball out of the hands of a hot player with a solid short jump shot, and it probably cost the Nuggets a win that night.  In the end, it also exposed everyone to the skill set of a couple of strong draft pickups.

By "everyone" I mean the players who are playing in front of these up and coming stars.  Randy Foye showed up big during the losing stretch, especially given the slow start of Ty Lawson, but he is a strong player that remains a backup at the shooting guard and a double backup at point so long as Nate Robinson remains an unusual Nugget to figure out.

Will Jusuf Nurkic make Nuggets fans forget Doug McDermott?

Robinson could be a good addition to any game at a moment suited for his specialized skills, but playing for any team that needs ball movement or focused leadership is half of the challenge for Robinson, recovering from injuries has been the rest. Early injuries- both physical and perhaps mental- left Ty Lawson as a super no-show, so super backup guard Foye proved long term value, even if it didn't translate into victories.  Injuries and various suspensions  have actually been good for this team because Shaw needed to be able to retain his job by limiting public criticism and not simply justify marketing. No matter how perfectly he is executing the front office expectations, fans of this team are still sore over the firing of George Karl, whose 50 game regular season win standard has cast a shadow over everything considered a defiance to the Karl era.

The next generation of Nuggets don't actually need much skill development, they only need minutes.  Gary Harris and Erick Green already have more offensive courage than Lawson, who has to be constantly reminded to force his will, and his game, upon the competition.  When Lawson is right, he is an extra special player.  When Lawson is wrong- again, he makes the Nuggets coaching staff realize that Nuggets basketball will not work without an engine to drive the car. But does the front office share this assessment?

Aaron Aaflalo could prove to be a positive re-acquisition, but he is not quite as young as he used to be, so his vaunted defense is not aided by youthful legs like the players that are threatening to steal his minutes.  Aaflao's scoring behavior remains limited by an erratic and flat jumper or the hope of a sleeping defense that will let him finish at the rim.  He refuses to shoot the pull-up jumper because his shot is way too flat for consistent success at that range, so driving and passing is the only choice his game offers him. Erick Green plays a lot like coach  Shaw played on offense, with a deadly short jump shot that makes room for every other aspect of his offensive attack. Gary Harris is described by Tom Izzo, his former Michigan State coach, as "the best player he ever coached", and both his offensive and defensive intensity explains why.  Wilson Chandler and Aaron Aaflalo have suddenly started to play better and it seems to have coincided with the unveiling of their potential replacements, Green and Harris.

Coach Shaw could do his best impersonation of Aaron Rogers or LeBron James and tell Denver fans to relax, but without consistency at point guard- and the lingering need to discover if Danilo Galinari will ever live up to the promise- Shaw can't do much relaxing himself.  The miserable starting team consistently gives Shaw justification to sit a couple of those deadbeats at the end of the games in exchange for smarter defenders or more confident players.  Having capable backups has forced the entire team to play smarter, harder and with more confidence which has turned the tide for Denver, but how long can you execute a plan in which your best players are held to the final moments of the game while your starters dig a hole for their backups to fix?

In reality, nothing replaces a hearty appetite and some of the Nuggets simply haven't played hungry for a while.  Alonzo Gee is a journeyman who saw his chance to eat and gobbled up a job for himself. Jusuf Nurkic, Erick Green and Gary Harris are young, hungry and capable of pushing the starters to do number 2 or be number 2.  What concerns me is whether the concerned starters can remain focused on the mission without letting concern for their jobs be the key motivation.  Gee forced Quincy Miller out the door simply because he is hungry and he can defend anybody. Shaw consistently calls on Gee for tough defensive assignments and end game defensive pressure. If the Nuggets are succeeding it is because the heat is on the starters and the newbies are ready to eat.

Hungry players must be fed while the well fed must be reminded of what it means to be hungry. As for the marketing plan?  "Strength In Numbers" sounds like a great marketing plan, but it is likely an advertisement of players whose days in the Nugget uniform will be dictated by how well the coach inspires and markets the talent.

If Shaw can groom the future, groom and prepare the excess cattle for market and actually win enough games to justify his understanding of winning in the NBA, he will have accomplished a lot for Denver and for the future hopes of winning a crown.  If he finally silences the Karl loving critics of his, he will surely be the last man standing, smiling on the stage with the crown in hand.