Why Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony Can't Help the Denver Nuggets in the West

Denver's acquisition of Allen Iverson in December had many believing the Nuggets would become one of the elite teams out West. Instead, the Nuggets were left with more questions than answers.

Could Iverson and Carmelo Anthony coexist? Could either of them learn how to play crisp, team-oriented offense? Could any of the Nuggets play championship-caliber defense? Were the only people anointing Denver those members of the media who focus on stats and hype instead of play between the baselines?

After watching Denver's solid 113-101 victory in Sacramento, I have some answers—but they're not answers Denver fans will want to hear.

Denver started  the game totally out of sync on both ends of the floor. They played most of the first quarter in a 2-3 zone, which had a number of holes in it. When Mike Bibby wasn't nailing open jumpers, he was driving to the basket and dishing off. Floor spacing and player movement resulted in easy layups and dunks for Kenny Thomas and Brad Miller. Bibby's hot shooting and slick passwork resulted in 11 first quarter points and three first quarter assists, and Sacramento put 29 on the board in the opening stanza.    

Nobody on the perimeter could find a way to stop Bibby—and the Nuggets' late rotations didn't help their cause. Carmelo played with his hands instead of his feet. Steve Blake was unable to get around screens or prevent Bibby from driving to the hoop. Iverson was out of position so often after playing for the steal that he committed three fouls in the first six minutes of the game.  

To make matters worse, because Marcus Camby was forced to bail out his teammates and chase ball penetration, Denver was soft on the boards early: They allowed four offensive rebounds in the first quarter. If not for the athleticism of Camby (one block, four rebounds) and Hilario Nene (two blocks), Denver would have been in a deeper hole than 10 points.    

On offense, the Nuggets weren't much better, committing an unsightly nine first quarter turnovers. For some reason, Camby decided to be a slasher, driving to the basket from the top of the key almost a half-dozen times. While one of his drives resulted in a pretty layup and a second resulted in an Iverson jumper, Camby still committed four turnovers in the first period.    

Because Iverson was out with early foul trouble, it was up to Anthony to be Denver's dependable point provider. He responded by letting Ron Artest push him off the block whenever he caught the ball in the post. That hounding D produced difficult jumpers and low-percentage drives, which in turn resulted in a number of missed layups and three early turnovers.    

Put it this way: After watching that first quarter, I was sure Denver would go on to lose their 21st consecutive game at Arco Arena.    

And then Linas Kleiza came off the bench.

Kleiza checked in and defibrillated Denver's pulseless offense. He set a screen and popped an open jumper. He ran the court in transition, faked a pass, then took it to the hoop for an uncontested layup. He was the beneficiary of repeated dribble penetration for uncontested threes. He played two-man ball to perfection with Iverson.

In total Kleiza scored 18 points—18!—in the first half, and his play helped spark the rest of the Nuggets offense.

Iverson played sharp basketball, dribbling to the basket for layups, getting free for mid-range jumpers, and knocking down outside shots. He even took Bibby into the post on one possession before hitting a fade-away jumper. Though the Answer still overhandled, his dribbling always led to a screen/roll, a penetration, or a kick-out. As long as Iverson isn't dribbling in one place or forcing shots (by my estimate, he was only guilty of one forced jumper, one forced drive, and one egregious overdribble sequence in the first half), his offensive talents outweigh his faults.    

More importantly for Denver, their defense improved with their offense. Rotations were crisper, penetrations were denied, and the Kings were held to zero offensive rebounds in the second quarter. And while his standard D left much to be desired, Iverson attacked any and all lazy passes in his vicinity, intercepting four of them. It also helped that the Nuggets cut their turnover total from nine to two in the second quarter.    

Denver's offense kept rolling in the second half. After a Mike Bibby shooting spree cut the lead to six, Iverson went to work, hitting Camby for a dunk and a jumper and knocking down a three-pointer of his own. Anthony also got to show off his passing skills, feeding Nene for two baskets. When two Camby rebounds helped push the Nuggets' lead to 16, the Kings effectively mailed it in.    

But the news wasn't—and isn't—all good for Denver. While the win was nice, and they did some things well, it's clear that the Nuggets have flaws in their game which will be exposed against better competition.

For one thing, Denver's lack of rhythm at the beginning of games will put them in holes they often won't be able to climb out of. Also, players like Jason Terry, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, and Deron Williams will feast on the Nuggets' inability to stop point guards from doing whatever they want on offense. Jump-shooters will shred Denver's defensive holes and poor rotations. Teams will go at Camby and force another Nugget to grab rebounds. Teams with powerful post players on the bench will attack the soft defense of Eduardo Najera and Linas Kleiza. And Kleiza himself probably won't be able to score 18 points in a half at any point in the near future.    

That said, the most telling flaw in Denver's game is the play of Carmelo Anthony. Of his 29 points, 10 came during the last five minutes of the game, after Denver had built a 19-point lead. So we're clear: Garbage time points don't count for much. Of the other 19, one point came from a technical foul shot, six came on wide-open jumpers, and two came on tip-ins after Anthony botched layups and nobody bothered to box him out.  That leaves only 10 points that 'Melo scored while contending with living, breathing defensive players.    

Come playoff time, Anthony's tendency to force shots, settle for jumpers, and turn the ball over will be magnified in spades. Anthony has been shut down in nearly every postseason game he's played—and, as a result, his team has never gotten past the first round.

Josh Howard, Shawn Marion, Bruce Bowen, and Andre Kirilenko will all be itching to shut down the Nuggets' star in the playoffs. Will Carmelo be able to step up his game? If not, Denver might need Kleiza to go for 40 a night if they want to be playing in June.

And that's about as likely to happen as one of Patrick Ewing's guarantees.