Bleacher Report - Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets Go Through The Motions and Fall to the Lowly Clippers 106-99

Courtzide Seatz — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:43:36 -0500

The Nuggets once again showed why they are an oddsmaker's worst nightmare.

Going into tonight's contest against the Clippers, they were 8.5 point favorites, and through the first 12 minutes it appeared as though this game had predictable blowout written all over it.

Carmelo Anthony was unstoppable in the first, as he made his first six shots from the floor on his way to a 17 point quarter. His first miss came with 8.9 seconds left in the quarter on a Chris Kaman blocked shot, which led to a Rasual Butler three point shot on the other end of the court as time expired.

This cut Denver's lead to five points, and seemed to turn the momentum in favor of the Clippers for good.

After an inspired start by the Nuggets, the impressive energy they displayed early quickly drained from the team with disturbing ease.

If you didn't know better, you would have thought the Nuggets were the team with the recent history of losing, as they displayed all the qualities of a group willing to pack it in at the first sign of adversity.

A Sebastian Telfair layup with 9:50 remaining in the second quarter put the Clippers up 28-26 and they would never look back.

The Nuggets had no answer for reserve forward Rasual Butler, who went 4-9 from long distance, and scored a team-high 27 points. Far too many times Butler was left wide open for the easy three, and even when the Nuggets did contest his shot, it was done half-heartedly at best.

The Clippers scored 35 points in the second and 32 points in the third, and held a 19-point lead heading into the fourth.

Ty Lawson came in for the invisible man, Chauncey Billups (five points scored in 30 minutes), to start the fourth and he lead the Nuggets on a 19-4 run to bring the game within two points with 6:10 remaining.

The momentum seemed to have completely shifted in the Nuggets favor, and there was a sense of imminent collapse once again percolating among the scarce Clipper crowd.

But as they have made a habit of doing throughout the early part of this season, the Nuggets once again failed to capitalize on a golden opportunity on the road.

The Clippers missed six of seven shots during Denver's rally, but back-to-back three pointers by Butler and Baron Davis gave the Clippers the 98-90 edge with 5:18 remaining, and the Nuggets would never again get any closer than five points.

My thoughts, as the Nuggets made their comeback in the fourth quarter, went immediately to appreciation for displaying the resistance of a champion. But a champion takes a strangle hold on that game as soon as they had the lowly Clippers on their heels, and no sooner than my hopes were raised with anticipation of resurgence were they again dashed with the disappointment of retreat.

Billups, whose presence was again scarcely felt, needs to reassert himself as the leader on the court. Right now, Ty Lawson is giving me more reason to have confidence in him as the Nuggets floor general.

Outside of another remarkable performance from Carmelo, a comeback led by Ty Lawson, and a highlight reel 360-degree spinning layup by J.R. Smith, the Nuggets didn't give their fans much to cheer for tonight.

The Nuggets will now head home, where they will play six of their next seven games. They have a favorable schedule during that stretch, and will try to right the ship against the likes of New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, and Golden State. This might be just what the Nuggets need to exorcise their road demons and reignite their confidence.

Read more Denver Nuggets news on BleacherReport.com

Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Clippers: Game Preview

Courtzide Seatz — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:52:48 -0500

The Denver Nuggets (8-3) take on the Los Angeles Clippers (4-9) tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Nuggets are coming off of a dominant performance against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, in one of their most impressive games yet. They look to ride the momentum of their last two impressive victories, where they outscored their opponents by a combined 44 points.

The Clippers have been struggling so far this season and were just embarrassed by the Memphis Grizzlies in a 15-point loss. They look to rebound from their two-game slide against the high-octane Nuggets.

The Nuggets have won the last seven meetings between these two teams.

Nuggets Injuries

-Anthony Carter has a hip strain that kept him out of the lineup the last two games. He is considered day to day, but will most likely be a scratch.

-Chris Anderson is dealing with right knee tendinitis, but a recent MRI revealed no structural damage. He should be in the lineup for tonight’s game.

Clippers Injuries

-Eric Gordon has a left groin injury and is scratched from tonight’s lineup.

-Marcus Camby re-aggravated a back contusion he sustained while crashing into the first row of stands on Tuesday against New Orleans. He is listed as day to day, but will likely miss some time.

-Blake Griffin sustained a stress fracture to his left patella in the preseason and has been out since. He will not be available.

-Kareem Rush has a torn right ACL and will be out.

Matchup That Favors the Nuggets: J.R. Smith vs. Rasual Butler

J.R. Smith will come off of the bench, as usual, but will inevitably get the bulk of the minutes at the shooting guard spot. He lit up the Raptors last game for 29 points off the bench.

The Clippers have looked to Rasual Butler to provide some production in the absence of Eric Gordon, but so far he has been average at best and his team has only won one once with Gordon not in the lineup.

Butler is a pretty good defender on the perimeter, but tends to struggle against smaller, quicker guards like J.R. I would expect for Smith to be able to score every time he has the ball in his hands.

Don’t be surprised if J.R. goes off for 30 points this game. He looks like a man possessed, and should be licking his chops to face Butler.

Matchup That Favors the Clippers: Chris Kaman vs. Nene

Kaman is off to a monster start this year and is quietly emerging as an All-Star caliber center. He is a difficult matchup for anyone in the league due to his scoring abilities both around the basket and from 12-15 feet.

Kaman understands how to use his big body to his advantage and has great timing both as a rebounder and a shot blocker. He should be able to get off his mid-range jumper fairly easily and he will get some easy ones around the basket, as Nene tends to lose his man defensively.

Nene is coming off of a great game against the Raptors, where he finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. However, he was facing a rather inept defender in Bargnani, and Kaman should offer much more in the way of resistance.

Key Matchup: Chauncey Billups vs. Baron Davis

After a rough start, Baron Davis bounced back to record his third straight 20-plus-point performance in their loss to the Grizzlies. His effectiveness is key to the Clippers’ success, although it hasn’t translated so far as his team is coming off of three straight losses.

What can you say about Chauncey? He has struggled on the offensive end in the last two Nuggets blowout wins, but his presence was still felt on the court as he dished out eight and 10 assists, while playing only about 26 minutes in each game.

This is an intriguing matchup between two savvy veteran point guards, with the ability to explode offensively on any given night. I can see the winner of this matchup having a huge impact on this game.

Keys to the Game for the Nuggets

-Contain Kaman

-Exploit the absence of Camby by taking the ball strong to the rim

-Run them out of the building

Keys to the Game for the Clippers

-Contain the explosive Nuggets second unit

-Control the boards

-Control the pace of the game

Prediction: Nuggets win 110-107

The Nuggets have owned this matchup in recent history, but they have also been struggling away from the Pepsi Center this year. I see this being a close game that will likely come down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The Nuggets are by far the better team, however, and should be able to eek out a victory on the road.

Read more Denver Nuggets news on BleacherReport.com

Pivot Points: Carmelo Anthony for MVP?

Hadarii Jones — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:36:52 -0500

The worst misfortune in Carmelo Anthony's young career may be the fact that he was drafted in the same year as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

While James and Wade found their names brought up in every conversation about the MVP, Anthony has become almost an afterthought, until this year.

In reality, it's almost like a tragedy of Shakespearean consequence due to the fact that Anthony was just as heralded as James and Wade when he made his NBA debut, yet has fell behind them in in the sphere of player influence.

Remember, it was Anthony, not Wade that led his Syracuse team to an improbable NCAA championship in his freshman year, and it was Anthony not Wade who was considered the cream of the crop in the draft that year along with James.

It's not like Anthony has been unable to live up to his lofty expectations, as he has been a league star ever since he stepped foot on NBA hardwood, but the trajectory of his path has been different than James or Wade.

Early in his career Carmelo was victim to back spasms that limited his play and threatened to derail a very promising start. After conquering the physical demons, Anthony fell prey to an animal of a different sort.

Anthony was raised in the concrete jungles of inner-city Baltimore and for him, it was difficult to escape the trappings of the ghetto.

He was the type of guy who believed in keeping the friends of his past, and he failed to realize that after you reach a certain status that can be a dangerous proposition.

It wasn't like his friends were similarly inspired in their desire to abandon the cruel cycle of poverty, they were more inclined to continue their unlawful ways with Anthony serving as their window to the world.

Carmelo allowed himself to be video-taped with known felons and drug dealers and the public's perception of him took an immediate turn. It was a story that we knew all to well and it seemed Anthony was destined to relive it.

While this was going on, Wade was winning his first NBA championship and James was amazingly surpassing the unreal expectations that had been thrust upon him.

Anthony was a player in flux, unable to concentrate on his game, while trying to distance himself from the weight of ill-advised friendships.

He was eventually able to put that part of his life behind him, but then was faced with sharing stardom with the player formerly known as Allen Iverson. To say their relationship was strained would be an understatement.

On the surface the pairing seemed to work as he and Iverson became the highest scoring duo in the NBA, but it was clear that the marriage wouldn't work.

Anthony found himself feuding with his coach and the rest of the league waited for the implosion that was sure to come. We weren't disappointed, as the Denver Nuggets became the first 50 win team to get swept out of the playoffs in the first round.

The next chain of events are what changed Anthony's career and allowed him to begin to fulfill his large promise. The Nuggets got rid of Iverson, and brought in Chauncey Billups and everything changed.

Billups changed the culture of the Nuggets and inspired Anthony to begin a run of the best basketball played in his life. His game broadened and his attitude changed along with it.

The last two years have seen Anthony become more versatile on both ends of the court. He no longer settles for jump shots and has begin to trust his footwork and his post game,

The difference in his defense is evident to as Billups has encouraged him to be more aggressive in his stance and to show more trust in his teammates.

The biggest thing is that he seems to be enjoying the game more as evidenced by the smile that is now present on his face the majority of the time.

While he has always been among the top players in the league, Anthony has taken the steps to cement his game among the elite. Few are playing better than him now and his impact on the Nuggets has them in the upper-echelon of the NBA.

If he can continue on the path that he has begun, maybe he can finally erase the memories of his past and maybe we can finally place him in the discussion that he deserves to be in most, as one of the prime candidates for MVP.

Read more Denver Nuggets news on BleacherReport.com

Could Allen Iverson Really Come Back To the Denver Nuggets?

Rich Kurtzman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:29:05 -0500

Today a report broke about perennial All-Star Allen Iverson looking for a new team, as he’s not yet ready to quit playing the game he loves—NBA basketball.

The fact that A.I. still has the burn inside that makes him yearn for an ever elusive championship is not surprising. What is surprising is that the Denver Nuggets came up as one of the teams he’d like to play for.

Sure, Iverson said he liked it in Denver when he played here—and he and Carmelo Anthony became friends—but A.I. was an experiment gone wrong in the Mile High city.

The Nuggets were the highest scoring team in the league in his year and a half. Iverson averaged better than 25 points per game in Denver, but the Nuggets' only option was to outscore every team they played as A.I. and Melo were liabilities on the defensive end. Even though Denver scored more than anyone else from 2006-08, it was a two-headed monster with little to no ball movement. And if either were off, the team was likely to lose.

Plus, Melo learned from A.I. that he could focus solely on scoring instead of working on becoming a well-rounded player.

And when asked about the possibility of Iverson being a Nugget again, head coach George Karl did not dismiss the idea totally, saying he would consider it if the team suffered a major injury—the likes of a Chauncey Billups going down probably.

There are other possible suitors for the once great Iverson, in the Cavaliers and Knicks, and apparently New York may be the answer for A.I. The New York Times’ Howard Beck blogged that “Allen Iverson will become a free agent Thursday evening and he might become a Knick soon after that.”

And Pardon the Interruption hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon agreed saying the “Knicks appear to be the chief team among [the suitors].”

Hearing Iverson’s name come up as a potential Nugget wasn’t as exciting this time around, it was more surprising. But A.I. will not be calling Denver his home team again unless a fluke injury occurs for the Nuggets; and it’s better for all parties anyway.

Iverson wants to be a starter, and the Nuggets don’t need him for recognition or scoring anymore. Even if A.I. never gets his coveted championship, he’s still one of the most exciting players in the Association to watch, so hopefully he can find somewhere to play for the rest of this season—just not in Denver.

Read more Denver Nuggets news on BleacherReport.com

Toronto Raptors-Denver Nuggets: Game Preview

Courtzide Seatz — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:10:38 -0500

The Denver Nuggets (7-3) take on the Toronto Raptors (5-5) Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

The Nuggets are fresh off of an impressive 25-point annihilation over the world champion Lakers on Friday night and look to continue their dominance against the Raptors.

The Raptors are still trying to stomach a gut wrenching one-point loss at the hands of the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Many are considering the Raptors performance in that game, even in defeat, to be their strongest outing of the season.

The Nuggets swept the season series last year (2-0).

Nuggets Injuries

Anthony Carter has a hip strain that kept him out of the lineup against the Lakers. He is considered day-to-day, but will likely sit out at least one more game.

Chris Anderson is dealing with right knee tendinitis, but hasn’t missed any playing time and is expected to be in the lineup Tuesday night.

Ty Lawson strained his left calf on his monstrous dunk over D.J. Mbenga. Lawson isn’t expected to miss any time.

Kenyon Martin has been struggling through left patella tendinitis the better part of this young season, but is expected to be in the starting lineup against the Raptors.

Raptors Injuries

Reggie Evans is currently listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game as he continues to nurse the foot injury he sustained during the pre-season.

Antoine Wright is listed as day-to-day with a sprained left ankle. It is still unknown whether he will be in the lineup against the Nuggets.

Hedo Turkoglu (hip) was in the starting lineup against Phoenix and all indications are that he will go again Tuesday.

Mismatch in Favor of the Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony vs. Hedo Turkoglu

Carmelo Anthony scored more points by himself in the Nuggets last game than the Lakers did the entire second half. And he only played 29 minutes. He continues to dominate every defender that stands in his way. The only matchup that has proven to be tough for him this season was against the big and physical Luol Deng.

While Turkoglu is definitely big for a small forward, he stands at 6’10’’, he is far from physical. I see Anthony getting to the basket at will against the slower Turkoglu. If it weren’t for his height and his length, which creates the ability to alter shots, Hedo would be an awful defender. He has no chance of keeping ‘Melo in front of him and he definitely will not frustrate Anthony with his toughness.

Turkoglu will get his 15 perimeter points against ‘Melo, but I would expect Anthony to be good for at least 30 points in this matchup.

Mismatch in Favor of the Raptors: Andrea Bargnani vs. Nene

Bargnani is emerging as a prime time player, in the mold of Dirk Nowitzki. He loves to shoot the three, and he has been doing so brilliantly this season (.458), but he can also put the ball on the floor and drive to the hoop, which creates a nightmare matchup for nearly every defender in the league.

Nene, while a fairly strong interior defender, will not be able to cause many problems for Bargnani. Nene relies on his bulk to push out opposing post players, but since Bargnani spends very little time in the painted area, this will leave Nene out on the perimeter to stop the three point shot. Bargnani should be able to drive by Nene with relative ease, and the Nuggets will have to rely heavily on their help side defense, which hasn’t been their strong suit this year.

Bargnani should be good for about 25 points in this matchup.

Key Matchup: Kenyon Martin vs. Chris Bosh

Bosh is one of the most offensively gifted big men in the NBA. His game is finesse. Kenyon Martin is one of the most intimidating and versatile defenders in the NBA. His game is toughness. I see this as a battle of strength vs. strength.

If anybody has the skill set to make life difficult for Chris Bosh, it’s Kenyon Martin. He is quick enough on the perimeter to keep Bosh in front of him. He is strong enough to keep Bosh off of the block. And he is athletic enough to consistently contest Bosh’s shots.

Martin does not pose much of a threat offensively, but that is not his role on the Nuggets. He will play tough, hard, and with energy, and all he is expected to do is make Chris Bosh work hard for his points.

Bosh will still get his 20-plus points, but if Martin can win the physical battle and force Bosh into a game he isn’t comfortable with, the Nuggets can chalk this up as a victory.

Keys to the Game for the Nuggets

Get physical with Bosh
Contest the three ball
Run, run, run. Ware down the Raptors

Keys to the Game for the Raptors

Slow down Denver’s second unit
Force ‘Melo into jump shots
Win the rebounding battle

Prediction: Nuggets win 110-89

The Nuggets are by far the superior team, and they have owned the matchup against the Raptors in recent history. The Nuggets should be able to carry the momentum of their blowout win against the Lakers into this game and come up with another dominating performance.

When Denver controls the pace of the game, especially at home, they win. Their second unit should be able to wreak havoc against a weaker Raptors squad, and leave the Raptors gasping for air.

Read more Denver Nuggets news on BleacherReport.com

Denver Nuggets Newcomers Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo Add Energy Off Bench

Rich Kurtzman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:13:16 -0500

During the 2009 offseason, almost every contender in the wild Western Conference improved through free agency, and it seemed the Denver Nuggets stood pat.

The World Champion Lakers got All-Star Ron Artest from the Rockets. The aging Spurs added an older Richard Jefferson. And in the Nuggets’ Northwest division, the Trailblazers picked up ex-Nugget Andre Miller, although he’s underutilized as of now.

What did Denver do in response? They started by resigning Chris “Birdman” Andersen to a multi-year deal. Then, after Dahntay Jones left to the Pacers, the Nuggets traded a future second-round pick to the Pistons for Arron Afflalo—a third year player and relative no-name in the NBA.

Possibly the biggest pickup of the offseason was a draft-day trade with the Timberwolves for speedy Ty Lawson.

Both Nuggets newbies Afflalo and Lawson didn’t act like they were inexperienced when they came to Denver, as each have made a significant impact on the team since day one.

Afflalo, a 6’5” 215 pound shooting guard, can be sold as a defensive specialist, but he’s much more than that. In 10 games this season, Afflalo averages 9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24 minutes a night.

He’s strong and athletic, as Afflalo is not afraid to drive to the hoop. But his best asset is his outside jumper, as he shoots 47.1 percent from three-point range so far this year.

On Friday night versus the Lakers, Afflalo played “Kobe stopper” as he forced the perennial All-Star into tough turnaround fade-aways that missed badly.

And at the end of the first half, Afflalo even stripped Kobe and the ball was run out for an easy bucket for Denver which gave the Nuggets momentum heading into the break.

Like Afflalo, Ty Lawson has been huge for the Nuggets, and he’s played bigger than his 5’11” 195 pound frame leads on.

Lawson has basically worked his way into the backup point guard position, behind Chauncey Billups and ahead of Anthony Carter with his supreme play.

In just under 22 minutes per game, Lawson averages 10.3 points, 3.1 assists and two rebounds.

Lawson is lightning quick and so fast he’s down the court before opponents know what flew by them. When he comes in the game, the energy of the Nuggets skyrockets and teammates must run with him or lose out on scoring opportunities.

Lawson is an efficient scorer too, knocking down 50 percent of his three pointers (9-of-18), is shooting 94 percent from the free-throw line, and can knife through the lane for an easy lay-up.

Lawson’s most impressive play in NBA so far was a quick crossover dribble that turned into an explosive dunk on Lakers reserve Didier M’Benga on Friday night.

It was impressive from the standpoint that Lawson is under six feet and M’Benga is a seven-footer. It was so big; the Pepsi Center erupted, including the Nuggets bench.

So the good news for the Nuggets is that both youngsters are playing great already, and their confidence continues to grow.

The influence of the two newest Nuggets is two-fold, as they both impact the team from the bench now, and both could be integral to Denver basketball for years to come. Lawson’s potential likely has a higher ceiling, but both players could develop into starters in the future.

Plus, both are extremely coachable and are proven winners, as each went to an NCAA Championship in college; Afflalo with UCLA in 2006, and Lawson won with North Carolina last year.

For Denver, both Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson will are already impressing now, and could be great later. Either way, it will be a lot of fun to watch for Nuggets fans.

Read more Denver Nuggets news on BleacherReport.com

Denver Nuggets Breakdown: Romp Over L.A. Reminds That West Is Three-Deep

Erick Blasco — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:12:31 -0500

All the preseason and early season forecasts have tabbed the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers as the prohibitive favorites to represent the Western Conference in this year’s Finals.

After trouncing the Lakers 105-79 though, the Denver Nuggets reminded the NBA that omitting them from title talk would be erroneous.

Quite simply, few teams have either the offensive firepower or the defensive energy the Nuggets have, yet alone both.

Here’s the rundown on how the Nuggets do what they do.

Offense

Because Denver has terrific three-point firepower (6-for-16 at the game at hand), they generate tremendous spacing for their isolations, high and wing screen/rolls, and post ups, where double teams are quickly punished.

This is important because so many Nuggets are accomplished one-on-one scorers while doubling as willing passers.

Carmelo Anthony is Denver’s go-to-guy and has one of the most well-rounded offensive repertoires in the league. It was his 18 points in the second half that turned a two-point halftime nail-biter into a 26-point romp.

Of Anthony’s 25 points, eight came in transition, nine came on baseline drives with strong finishes, four came on cuts without the ball (including a clever fake screen, dive, catch, and dunk), two came on a screen/roll where he shook off the contact of Luke Walton and nailed a jumper, and only two came on a standstill isolation jumper.

Only a select few in the NBA posses Anthony’s combination of speed, strength, and shooting form.

Kobe Bryant has it, no doubt. LeBron is developing the jump shot, but he can’t attack from the multitude of areas on a court Anthony can because he can’t post up and rarely plays along the baseline. Brandon Roy doesn’t have the overpowering strength, and Dwyane Wade doesn’t have the range.

The point being that Anthony is a rare breed in the NBA. He’s even an exceptional passer!

Chauncey Billups couldn’t shake Derek Fisher—1-8 FG—but he got the ball to the places it needed to go to—8 AST, 1 TO.

Arron Afflalo hit his open jumpers—4-4 FG, 8 PTS.

Nene showed off explosive spin moves in the pivot and sank two of his three jumpers, while Kenyon Martin bricked the majority of his awkward drives and line-drive jumpers. Each made nifty interior passes whether on the move or feeding cutters.

J.R. Smith showed off his electric talents to their full extent—7-16 FG, 4-10 3FG, 20 PTS.

Chris Andersen worked hard on the offensive glass with six offensive rebounds among his 11 total.

Ty Lawson showed warp-speed quickness, an accurate jump shot, good vision, and extreme athleticism when he capped off the game with a poster dunk late in the fourth.

If he can remain accurate from the outside, he’ll easily replace the scoring lost with Linas Kleiza overseas.

Of course, the Nuggets had their problems. They missed over a dozen layups, overhandled and overpenetrated at times (especially Smith and Billups), and generated many of their points from poor Lakers court balance.

On the other hand, they demonstrated an unselfishness juxtaposed with their aggression with their sterling ratio of 28 assists on 37 turnovers.

The fact is, Denver has as much scoring punch as anyone, and can easily overcome most of their mistakes with a J.R. Smith hot streak or three.

Defense

Denver plays an aggressive double-teaming defense that turned the tide in the third quarter. Wing screen/rolls and corner screen/rolls are trapped aggressively, with the pass back to the middle of the court often overplayed.

When doubling the post, doubles are hard and tight, choking the airspace of the player trying to post up, and forcing the post player to swing the ball to blind spots.

Those double teams result in turnovers (Denver forced 16 Lakers turnovers) which fuel their fast break (16 fast break points).

When asked to play one-on-one, Afflalo did a yeoman’s job holding down Kobe Bryant. While Kobe recorded 19 points, the majority came against Smith, Martin, and Andersen. Afflalo is already filling Dahntay Jones’ shoes nicely.

Denver’s interior rotations were generally on point, forcing the Lakers to miss a dozen layups of their own.

Denver’s rambling, scrambling style coaxed the Lakers into taking more bad shots than they’re accustomed to, which proceeded to more run outs and more transition opportunities.

Martin and Anthony made several exceptional defensive rotations.

However, while the Nuggets defensive blitz allowed them to take control in the third quarter, they also showed many holes which will need to be corrected.

Too often Smith would give up on Kobe’s drives, leaving Bryant with uncontested pull-ups. Smith also was totally flustered when presented with a baseline screen causing Chris Andersen to switch onto Bryant.

The resulting no-match led to an easy score for Kobe. The hope is that as Smith gets back into playing shape, his defense will pick up, a reasonable expectation.

While Martin had no problems shoving Kobe to the floor on off-ball cuts, he was abused on the glass by Odom and Bynum early in the game.

When Bynum attacked Andersen directly, the Birdman was unable to spread his wings and contest. Also, simple pump fakes would get the Birdman to spread his wings and soar out of the play.

Nene’s interior rotations were hit-or-miss, and he too had trouble with Bynum’s length and strength around the basket.

The Nuggets responded to their first major test with a satisfactory performance on both ends. However, the caveat is that the Lakers were playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road, and were without Pau Gasol.

The Nuggets can also counter that J.R. Smith is still rounding into form after his early-season suspension.

The Nuggets won the first battle between the two conference powers, but a three-week January-February stretch where the Nuggets go to San Antonio, Los Angeles, Utah, and Cleveland, while hosting Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Sacramento will better determine how capable the Nuggets are of winning the war.

Read more Denver Nuggets news on BleacherReport.com

Denver Nuggets Reply To Questions With a Blowout Win vs. LA Lakers

Rich Kurtzman — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:34:29 -0500

Carmelo Anthony’s 25 led the Nuggets in scoring, and Denver dominated the loathed LA Lakers 105-79 in the Mile High city Friday night.

But to read just that would be to miss the importance of the victory, as Denver answered many questions that I asked prior to the game. As it turns out, all the answers were intertwined and everything fell into place for the Nuggets Friday.

The first question I asked was, "Is Carmelo Anthony going for MVP good for the Nuggets?"

Well, Melo answered that tonight, as he was spectacular in the scoring department, with 25 points on 11-20 scoring, but he also snagged four rebounds and dished two assists. What he didn't do is take too many shots or hold onto the ball too long.

When he takes quality shots, Carmelo usually makes them, and when he's covered the most productive thing to do is pass to teammates. Plus when everyone is getting involved, he's more likely to receive passes in transition, which happened multiple times tonight against LA.

And when Melo is unselfish, the whole team is, answering my question about chemistry.

Besides Anthony, the Nuggets had four players score in double digits, two starters, and one (J.R. Smith) will be one soon.

And while Smith's 20 were impressive, he could average around that once he starts on a regular basis. The big story was the big scoring by Denver's bigs tonight against the World Champion Lakers.

Nene scored 13, grabbed six boards and even handed out four assists. He could score relatively easily against Andrew Bynum in the post, and was too quick for Bynum when he faced up.

Kenyon Martin was vintage K-Mart, and even though he only scored 10, he was very aggressive on the boards with nine and passed well too with five assists of his own. And he set a physical presence by bullying Lamar Odom into a tie-up and a jump ball. The jump that Martin tipped was grabbed by a racing Chauncey Billups, who dropped the ball to Melo for an easy lay up. The play was a turning point in the contest, the end of a 10-0 run by Denver.

Which finishes with my other two questions that centered around the front courts of either team.

Ron Artest, Bynum and Odom actually outscored their usual 42.6 points per game with a combined 44 point effort, but the three were dominated physically. Artest drew his fourth and fifth fouls quickly in the third quarter, and had to sit the rest of the game. And Chris Andersen, K-Mart, and Nene out-rebounded the Lakers big three 26-25, a small margin, but the effort on the boards was certainly up in a huge way last night.

So, even though the Nuggets' three best front court players were outscored, they outplayed their competition tonight, as all three were on top of their game.

But, let us not forget that this is a game early in the season, the Lakers are without their second best player in Pau Gasol and LA played the second game of a road back-to-back tonight which showed.

Still, the Nuggets and their fans should revel in the huge victory, one in which all the Lakers (Kobe) fans at the Pepsi Center left early because their favorite player couldn't score after half. Denver beat LA for the first time this year—the first rematch since last year's Western Conference Finals and the win should prove to give confidence to the team as they move forward in the coming weeks.

Read more Denver Nuggets news on BleacherReport.com