Nug Love

The following is a guest post by avid VoML reader and resident Denver Nuggets expert, Popes. Popes came to Denver at a nice time, the team was young and exciting and they had a franchise player to build around in Carmelo Anthony. As with most teams who experience success after years of ineptitude, the Nuggets have their fair share of bandwagon fans. I can attest that Popes is not one of them.

I’ve been following the Nuggets ever since I moved to Denver in late 2004. Over that period I’ve slowly built up my attachment and knowledge of the team. I’ve watched Melo meet a new supporting cast at the beginning of each season. I stood transfixed at Iverson’s first game in the Pepsi Center, convinced that his personality and style of play would get the Nuggets further in the playoffs. I grew depressed this off-season as the Nugs dealt away a couple of my favorite players, Najera and Camby, for unknown returns. And finally, I watched from the upper reaches of the Pepsi Center with rapt (re: drunk) attention as the Nuggets put together a great season in 2009.

I didn’t know what to expect going into the Playoffs. The Nugs had a soft schedule for their last 10 games and they rolled through them, ending up with the 2^nd seed in the Western Conference and winning the Northwest Division. But I was still unsure about them, they seemed to still have that fragile feeling about them, much like years past when the Playoffs arrived, all strategy, teamwork, and discipline were thrown out and replaced with one-on-one contests of athleticism . So on Sunday night, I sat rather uncomfortably on my friend’s couch (he was at the game, I was borrowing his cable, squatting if you will), wondering what was going to happen.

And now, 4 days later, I sit at my desk at work, still slightly buzzed from the first 2 games of the 2009 playoffs in which the Nuggets beat down the New Orleans Hornets. I couldn’t be happier with my team.

What happened on Sunday and last night prompted much reflection on how good this team can be and the risks of believing in what they could do. Saying someone or something has potential is easy, it rolls off the tongue as a pleasant platitude. Believing and hoping that that thing or person comes through on what you dream for them is another animal entirely.

I’ve just begun to wonder what the Nuggets can do.

George Karl has for once been playing the right players at the right time, actually managing the game. Anthony Carter is an undersized guard with questionable abilities, he shouldn’t be playing in this series because there’s no good match-up. I’ve had the pleasure of watching his minutes decline these last 2 games. Linas Kleiza, for all his improvement last year, has largely been a disappointment this season. He isn’t bringing anything unique to the line-up and his strengths aren’t nearly as strong as they should be to warrant more PT (re: 3 point shooting). His minutes have also declined.

But it isn’t about who George ‘Tony Soprano’ Karl is sitting, it’s also been about who he’s playing.

Karl has told Dahntay Jones to harass Chris Paul which is great because it’s the only thing that DJ is capable of doing well. I don’t want DJ shooting the ball, I don’t want him dribbling, I want him hacking the shit out of Chris Paul. Foul out, get T’d up, I don’t care, just make sure that CP3PO knows who was guarding him.

Chris Anderson is playing out of his head. I don’t know much of his career prior to his mystery drug suspension (was it is the Chinaman’s nightcap, the Yam-yam? We may never know) but I do know that whatever he was doing before, he wasn’t doing it nearly as well as he is now. He’s getting solid minutes, hovering somewhere in the mid 20’s is my guess. And he’s producing, blocks, rebounds, energy, hustle, and the occasional basket. Opposing players are changing their shots because of him and when they don’t, he smother chickens them (see what Birdman did to Rudy Fernandez a couple weeks back). Last night, I witnessed him light up the Pepsi Center with a put-back dunk, a play that I'm convinced broke the Hornets.

I could go on about all the players… Melo playing solid, not getting huge points but making up for it with D and hustle and the occasional primal scream, K-Mart making David West a non-factor, Nene scaring Tyson Chandler, Chauncey… nothing needs to be said, JR Smith’s puppy like enthusiasm and unbelievably short memory, but I’ll save it for later. The series isn’t over, there’s still basketball to play, and even though it’s only the first round, I’m not ashamed about how fired up I am. The Nuggets are playing up to their potential, the way I’ve hoped they would.

-Popes