Nuggets-Trail Blazers: Denver Outlasts Portland 97-94

Denver Nuggets 97, Portland Trail Blazers 94 ( Box Score )

I have a confession: I’m bad at game recaps. I have another one: I like the Denver Nuggets. Not as much as the Blazers mind you, but I have a thing for what some might call “misfit talent.”

If I were an actual Nuggets fan, my feelings would probably be more complicated. I once told a fan that I really liked watching JR Smith play, and he gave me a look like a cocker spaniel just complimented his outfit.

I’ve gotten the vibe from other fans that I’m not supposed to enjoy the Nuggets. I can’t help it, there’s too much to like. I could care less about whether wins or loses in non-Blazer matchups. That leaves me free to enjoy Smith’s lack of conscience.

As a fan of basketball I can’t help but appreciate Nene’s style and story, Carmelo’s knack for scoring, Billups’ quarterbacking, and Chris Anderson’s giddy assault on both the field goal attempts of his opponent and your nerves.

Doesn’t look like a finished product yet. There is still work to do before they become the team they can be this season. While the turnover onslaught of opening night did not show up, there were still numerous occasions where the guys looked to still be getting used to each other.

It's a team that has a lot more things figured out. Losses are never as good as wins, but the fact that Portland came so close is encouraging.

If Anthony maintains the level of focus and energy he showed tonight, he will be an MVP candidate this season.

Maybe if Batum was out there, Anthony misses a few more shots and the Blazers win, but the way Carmelo was playing, I’m not sure that would have happened. Believe it or not, Martell Webster made Carmelo work hard tonight.

Speaking of Martell, he was fantastic tonight. (Outlaw mostly disappeared. Maybe they have a plan to alternate who steps up in order to conserve energy?) He was active on both ends and seemed ecstatic to be playing again.

In the second quarter, he drove passed Birdman for the two-handed dunk. On the next play, Carmelo looked to make a similar highlight but Webster blocked his dunk from behind. Fist-pumping jubilation ensued. He would block another Carmelo lay-up later in the night.

Oden gets talked about more for what he isn’t than what he is. We all know that he is limited offensively. He still often looks uncomfortable, unsure, and clumsy when he has the ball in his hands.

He found himself with less than five seconds left in the fourth just several feet in front of the rim. Instead of going up strong, Oden flicked the ball out to a surprised and off-balance Fernandez.

A foul ended up being called that sent Oden to the line for two shots with the team down one. He missed them both. This sums up Oden’s deficiencies.

Greg is also an absolute monster on the boards. In the first quarter he played eight minutes and gathered four offensive rebounds. While he gets his share of blocks (two tonight), his impact on defense is beyond that.

He alters quite a few shots and his big mobile body scares a lot of attempts from ever being born in the first place. At halftime, his +11 was the best on the team.

Tonight Oden got to work against Nene, who is a lot closer to his physical equal than anything the Rockets put on the court opening night.

In this individual matchup he did well. Nene shot 60 percent from the field last season and managed to make just 2-of-7 attempts tonight, before fouling out. Greg missed the late game free throws, he did not cost his team the game.

He started out cold making just one of his first seven shots. He then proceeded to go ballistic in the third, capping off the quarter with a deep banked in three at the buzzer.

Blazer fans rejoice, he found his touch tonight. He did damage from the line as well, going 16-of-18. He’s 26-for-29 from the stripe on the season.

Rudy played well and seems to be feeling better. In the fourth quarter he went into spectacular mode, even taking over for a stretch.

Fernandez will make a team pay that tries to cover him with a smaller defender. He used 6’2 Anthony Carter in the fourth. Very bad idea.

They had zero offensive rebounds in the first half, and had 20 more field goal attempts on the night. Losing a game where those things happen is frustrating. Remember that this is clearly a team that is figuring how to play together.

Even in the short-term will improve noticeably. Long-term, is so much better than they were last year at this time that we should all be happy. Remember the early season national stage jitters? Gone.

Irrelevant Scraps (these don't make sense and should probably not be read):

- can do a lot of things. One thing he has struggled with is keeping up with the latest off court trends. I’m not saying this is bad, this is just an observation. seems like a bit of a square old soul and that probably helps make him be the franchise player that he is.

It also makes his attempts at adopting the latest styles feel a little like if your Dad put his hat on backwards.

When I first saw with a non-standard hair cut tonight I got a little worried. Lines in the back, off to the side? Once I got a good look I actually like it. Not everyone will like it but it gave me a bit of a sci-fi futuristic vibe. That gets my approval every time.

-Why was I watching with the sound down? To honor the wishes of my sleeping fiancée. If there is one thing that absolutely sucks hard about not living on the West Coast it is how late you have to stay up to watch games. This game wasn’t over until after 12:30 AM my time. Terrible.

-Mark this down: in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, 10/29/2009, the referees actually didn’t call some fouls on Oden when they could have. I can’t remember many instances from last season where I thought “whoa, Oden got away with a bit there,” but it happened a couple times tonight.

I hope it means Oden is getting a bit more respect. But if they start letting Greg touch people, he will only get beastlier. Unfortunately it probably was an aberration, as Oden picked up quick fouls in the second half. Baby steps.