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.

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.

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.

Why Do The Denver Nuggets Beat Juggernauts, Lose To Scrubs? It's Like That...and that's the way it is.

Unemployment at a record high.....people coming, people going, people born to die.

Don't ask me because I don't know why....It's Like That.... and that's the way it is.        -(Run DMC)

For some reason, those of you who had a younger sibling who you taught to play basketball never believed they would beat you.  If it was a little brother, it wasn't as hard to include a timely push or shove (or elbow) because parents often freely allow you to beat on your little brother (ask Cheryl Miller).

If you are playing your little sister, just due to her physical differences you never expected to lose that game.  Nothing in the fiber of your DNA would bring you to play 100% against that sibling because it simply felt unnecessary going into battle.

For some inexplicable reason, this younger sibling dynamic rears its ugly head any time a professional athlete, that doesn't possess the murderer gene, takes on a competitor that they are certain they can beat.  Why?
It's like that....and that's the way it is.

Its also like that murderer gene thing I just mentioned.  For some reason there are guys who are as friendly as you can imagine on the court, ala Earvin "Magic" Johnson, but will kindly rip your heart out in the field of battle, as Magic often did to opponents. Why? It's like that...and that's the way it is.

The Denver Nuggets didn't beat the Miami Heat a few nights ago and the blazing hot Los Angeles Clippers last night because they got lucky.  That little brother usually catches up eventually.  In fact, at some point he typically passes the elder siblings because its like that.....and that's the way it is.

These Denver Nuggets shall someday soon become the big brother like they are most nights against every team not in the championship hunt (every team).  Denver may not be the smart, energetic, hard working big brother on most nights, but they display a physical dominance on the court that is as undeniable as it is frustrating (for opponents and Nugget fans alike).....but that's the way it is.

Denver did not set a record last season with games won simply because they had talent.  George Karl is a Hall of Fame coach.....period.  On the other hand, Karl wasn't simply working magic either or he would have saved a trick or two for the playoffs. Karl had lots of talent, and despite the roster challenges that Brian Shaw endured, he too has plenty of talent for the task at hand (as long as Lawson is healthy and shows up).  In the end, the old adage of it being about the talent making good coaches is true to this extent;  no matter how good you are, and all of these guys are good, only the heart snatchers win championships.

When the Dallas Mavericks snatched the heart out of Miami three season's ago, it was the catalyst that Lebron used to become a heart snatcher himself.  What Karl could not give his team was the vicious determination that coaches who understand provide.  I realize that such a characterization is graphic and a bit gruesome, but my words pale to the grind of winning it all.  In the end, champions realize that they will ultimately have to remove the heart of a competitor who keeps reaching for something  you've laid claim to.....because that's is just the way it is.

Brian Shaw looks like a really nice guy when you stare him in the face.  But if you peer into his soul there is the ferocity of a murderer.  If you ever get the chance to see at his 5 championship rings (3 as a player), look beneath his fingernails.....I am sure you will find the blood of a few hearts.