Nuggets

[elindholm]

I'm not as impressed with the Nuggets as some people on this board are, but there are some things about them that seem intriguing:

Their last loss to someone other than Phoenix was February 16 (Charlotte).

Their last home loss to someone other than Phoenix was January 14 (Minnesota) !!

Perhaps most interesting, they can still win their division. They are currently 3.5 behind Seattle, with the following games left:

Denver
Memphis
@ Houston
@ Phoenix
Portland

Seattle
Dallas
New Orleans
@Minnesota
@Dallas
@Houston

Seattle's magic number is only 1. (The season series between Denver and Seattle is 2-2, but Seattle will clinch the second tiebreaker, conference record, the next time they win or Denver loses.) So Denver would have to go 4-0 and Seattle would have to go 0-5. That’s pretty darn unlikely, but given the schedules, not absolutely out of the realm of possibility.

 

[George O'Brien]

Seattle has lost five in a row and is behind in a game with Dallas tonight. It would take a total collapse for Seattle to lose it, but it looks like they are going to cut it very close.

 

[arthurracoon]

Seattle has lost five in a row and is behind in a game with Dallas tonight. It would take a total collapse for Seattle to lose it, but it looks like they are going to cut it very close.

I have supreme confidence that they will beat New Orleans.

 

[George O'Brien]

It could come down to that. New Orleans has had some big upsets, so it is not an absolute sure thing.

 

[goldseraph]

I think the Nuggets are scary - they are athletic enough to play the Suns game, but have more toughness and defense. I hope they keep winning so we won't face them in either the 1 or 2 slot.

 

[PhxGametime]

I guess I should respect any team Suns play but I worry more about Grizzlies than the Nuggets. Stoudemire has played well against Martin since coming into League and Camby/Nene don't put fear into me offensively and Amare should have no problems scoring on other end...

Stromile Swift has played Stoudemire well, Gasol is better offensively than any Nugz big and Grizzlies have: Posey, Miller, Battier, and Wells at wings. Jason Williams and Earl Watson aren't too bad at the PG position. I'd take the Suns players over that group but they are pretty deep.

 

[jbeecham]

The only really positive thing about playing Memphis is that they're slumping to end the season and have had injury problems all year.

Lorenzen Wright usually plays Amare pretty decently as well. The Grizzlies are deep enough that our running ability doesn't tire them out like most teams, but the Suns have a lot more experience winning ugly games now than they did earlier in the season.

 

[Joe Mama]

I'm not really sure how anybody could prefer Denver over Memphis in the first round. It's true the Phoenix Suns have beaten Denver three times. However in the first meeting the Nuggets were without Marcus Camby and Carmelo Anthony. That was the 107-105 win the in Denver where Q hit a last-second shot.

The Phoenix Suns beat the Nuggets in Denver again 106-101. That was another one where they were without Marcus Camby. A couple weeks later the Suns won again 123-114, but that time Kenyon Martin was out. That was their latest victory, and it really came down to the wire. Infect every one of their victories over Denver were very close.

Phoenix beat Memphis in their first meeting 109-102. Only Wells was out for Memphis in that meeting. The next time they met was that 88-79 loss at home when Steve Nash was injured. Barbosa was also out, and this was before the Suns had traded for Jim Jackson and Walter McCarty. The Memphis grizzlies were at full strength for that one. The second loss to Memphis was 108-97 in Memphis. The Phoenix Suns were missing only Barbosa, and Memphis was without Wells. In the last meeting Phoenix won the game 97-91 in Memphis on national TV. Stromile Swift did not play. According to the box score that was a coach's decision.

I guess what scares me the most about Denver other than how well they have been playing is their frontcourt. The Phoenix Suns have yet to beat the Nuggets one Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby were playing. In the first meeting even Carmelo Anthony was out. Each of their three victories has come down to the wire. Since George Karl took over they are playing offense like the Phoenix Suns while being better defensively.

Joe Mama

 

[zett]

Joe, You failed to mention the fact that Amare was out in one of the Denver games, And who's to say we will ever have to face them when both are healthy? Those guys are always injured.

 

[F-Dog]

I see Denver having much more trouble with Phoenix than the other way around.


Camby and Martin are both good players, but so is Nene (he's the only one who can match up with Amare at all IMO). The Nuggets' problem is that those three players only fill 1 1/2 spots on the floor against Phoenix, which means the other 3 1/2 spots have to be filled by other players--players who have trouble keeping guys in front of them and/or guarding the three-point line.

Also, I think George Karl is someone that D'Antoni can seriously out-coach. Karl has a history of out-thinking himself and of tightening up under pressure. And remember the last game, when the Nuggets abandoned the offensive glass to get back on defense? I bet that strategy needs another trial or two under playoff conditions.


Denver's having a good stretch where they're winning a lot of games, just like Houston or Golden State (or Seattle or Phoenix) have had this year. Of course, the Warriors and Rockets both beat the Suns when they were playing well.

 

[Joe Mama]

You're right F-Dog. I did forget that Amare Stoudemire was out of the lineup the last time the Suns faced Denver. It is encouraging that they were able to beat the Nuggets without him. I'd still rather face Memphis. They are kind of limping into the playoffs while the Nuggets are on fire. Denver is as hot right now as the Phoenix Suns were at the beginning of the season. I think it would be great if they faced San Antonio in the first round.

Joe Mama

 

[NugzFan]

I'm not as impressed with the Nuggets as some people on this board are, but there are some things about them that seem intriguing:

Their last loss to someone other than Phoenix was February 16 (Charlotte).

Their last home loss to someone other than Phoenix was January 14 (Minnesota) !!

Perhaps most interesting, they can still win their division. They are currently 3.5 behind Seattle, with the following games left:

Denver
Memphis
@ Houston
@ Phoenix
Portland

Seattle
Dallas
New Orleans
@Minnesota
@Dallas
@Houston

Seattle's magic number is only 1. (The season series between Denver and Seattle is 2-2, but Seattle will clinch the second tiebreaker, conference record, the next time they win or Denver loses.) So Denver would have to go 4-0 and Seattle would have to go 0-5. That’s pretty darn unlikely, but given the schedules, not absolutely out of the realm of possibility.

highly unlikely - i dont think even the team is thinking about winning the division. just winning as many games as they can. 50 wins and passing houston are probably our last goals before the postseason.

 

[NugzFan]

I think the Nuggets are scary - they are athletic enough to play the Suns game, but have more toughness and defense. I hope they keep winning so we won't face them in either the 1 or 2 slot.

looks like you guys will stay at 1 and us at 7.

 

[NugzFan]

I see Denver having much more trouble with Phoenix than the other way around.


Camby and Martin are both good players, but so is Nene (he's the only one who can match up with Amare at all IMO). The Nuggets' problem is that those three players only fill 1 1/2 spots on the floor against Phoenix, which means the other 3 1/2 spots have to be filled by other players--players who have trouble keeping guys in front of them and/or guarding the three-point line.

Also, I think George Karl is someone that D'Antoni can seriously out-coach. Karl has a history of out-thinking himself and of tightening up under pressure. And remember the last game, when the Nuggets abandoned the offensive glass to get back on defense? I bet that strategy needs another trial or two under playoff conditions.


Denver's having a good stretch where they're winning a lot of games, just like Houston or Golden State (or Seattle or Phoenix) have had this year. Of course, the Warriors and Rockets both beat the Suns when they were playing well.

its no longer a "good stretch" - that ended many games ago. we are a new team. a good team.

 

[Cheesebeef]

its no longer a "good stretch" - that ended many games ago. we are a new team. a good team.

gotaa agree with this. 40 games - playing great ball - isn't a good stretch - they're just finally living up to and excedding expectations they had going into this year. I'd love to see them and SA slug it out in the first round - nothing like starting the playoffs by having 2 of the top 3 teams playing each other and starting the wearing out process.

They have yet to beat anyone GREAT during this stretch run - but they are beating EVERYONE else - and quite handily - that ain't a fluke. And they HAVE shown before this run that they have the talent to beat at least the Heat, Mavs, and Pistons - pretty much the other three best teams in the league besides us and the Spurs.

 

[F-Dog]

40 games - playing great ball - isn't a good stretch - they're just finally living up to and excedding expectations they had going into this year. I'd love to see them and SA slug it out in the first round - nothing like starting the playoffs by having 2 of the top 3 teams playing each other and starting the wearing out process.

They have yet to beat anyone GREAT during this stretch run - but they are beating EVERYONE else - and quite handily - that ain't a fluke. And they HAVE shown before this run that they have the talent to beat at least the Heat, Mavs, and Pistons - pretty much the other three best teams in the league besides us and the Spurs.

I agree that the Nuggets are a good team to avoid in the first round, but I'd love to see them against the Suns in the second round--if it meant that the Spurs were playing the Mavericks on the other end of the bracket. The teams that worry me are SA and Dallas.

There are plenty of fans of other teams who will tell you that the Suns aren't that good, and the Suns went 35-4 on one stretch. They didn't have many scalps on the wall back then, of course, but they had more than the Nuggets are currently sporting.

 

[NugzFan]

i dont think anyone is saying the nuggets are better than the suns. but id love to play ANYONE in the 2nd round of the playoffs

 

[cly2tw]

If I had the choice, I'd pick Dallas and Denver as Suns's opponents over Houston and Memphis. However, I'd like the Spurs to deal with Denver even better. For that, we have to do our part by beating the Nugs when we meet. For me, the matchups Suns-Grizz, Spurs-Nugz, Sonics-Kings, Dallas-Houston would be ideal for the Suns' chance to win out in the west. In particular, Dallas-Houston would be an hell of a series which I expect Dallas to come out the winner. And I'd love to play the Dallas in the second round.