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Denver is horrible this year. They had their chances last season and they imploded.
Nuggets see no reason to fear Lakers
By Marc J. Spears
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl believes he owns a recipe the rest of the NBA wishes it had: The Nuggets, Karl thinks, have all the ingredients necessary to beat the Los Angeles Lakers.
Karl won’t reveal too many specifics about what it takes to conquer Kobe Bryant and the defending champs. But it’s clear the Nuggets aren’t lacking for confidence as the Western Conference’s top two teams prepare to square off for the second time this season on Friday. Not only do the Nuggets think they know how to win against the Lakers, they believe they can beat them regularly.
“We kind of know how to beat them, what we have to do,” Karl said. “We’re learning that better, and I think that’s a positive.”
For years, the Lakers routinely had their way with the Nuggets. That changed in last season’s West finals. After losing the opener by two points, the Nuggets won two of the next three games to even the series. The Lakers won the final two games, but the Nuggets believe they learned a lot from the series. Namely, that they don’t have too much to fear from the champs.
It might simply be brash talk, but the Nuggets don’t seem worried in the least about the mighty Lakers. Even if Friday’s meeting has lost some of its luster with Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant both questionable to play because of sprained ankles.
“Why should we be? [The championship] was last year,” Anthony said. “They are the same to me. They are the Lakers, I guess.”
Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups says the Lakers might have actually digressed from last season.
“I don’t know if they’re better,” Billups said. “But they won it all. They don’t have to be better. Nobody was as good as them.
“That’s yet to be seen. I really, really thought Trevor Ariza was good for that team. I think they miss him.”
Adding to the Nuggets’ confidence was their 105-79 beat-down of the Lakers on Nov. 13 in Denver – a game, albeit, that Los Angeles played without the services of All-Star forward Pau Gasol. The Lakers scored a mere eight points in the third quarter while Bryant was held scoreless in the second half. After the game, Bryant said the Nuggets “beat the out of us,” and mentioned that Gasol might not have made a difference.
While the loss was just a blip on the Lakers’ schedule, it was a major confidence boost for Denver.
“It mattered to us,” Karl said. “I don’t think it has a high difference to them as [Lakers coach] Phil [Jackson] would always tell you.”
So what exactly is the recipe to beating the Lakers? Having a quick guard like rookie Ty Lawson, Karl said, helps. So does Kenyon Martin’s ability to knock down open jump shots from the elbow of the lane.
“I know what we have to do,” Karl said. “I’m not going to totally divulge, but I think we know we can play this type of game and beat them.
“We have a couple ingredients: Kenyon shooting and scoring from the high post. They left him a little free last year. It’s a little different this year, a lot better this year.
“The little point guard, they have a history with. I’m not saying they don’t cover little point guards well. They just don’t like to cover that little point guard from Aaron Brooks last year to [Tony] Parker in [previous] years. They’ve had struggles. The little point guard is going through their defense. They can’t do much about it.
“It’s all bothersome.”
While the Nuggets don’t give the Lakers much praise, they do admire the champs’ focus – a trait, Chauncey Billups said, that Denver still lacks on some nights.
Denver has played well against many elite opponents this season with wins over the Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers. But the Nuggets have also lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte Bobcats, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings.
“When you talk about the Lakers, you have to play with a serious mindset,” Nuggets center Nene said. “You have to play focused. If you don’t come prepared, they are going to embarrass you. Their team is good. They have a lot of veterans, a lot of good players. They explore all the parts of the court. They go to the bigs. They go to the smalls. They go to Kobe. When they don’t go to Kobe, they have other players that can finish the game who can be the difference in the game.”
Just like in the teams’ first meeting when Gasol didn’t play, the Nuggets and Lakers could have a hard time using Friday as a true measuring stick of where they stand. Anthony expects to miss his seventh straight game and Billups is playing on a sore ankle. Bryant’s own ankle problems might even cause the Lakers to hold him out.
The teams will meet twice more this season: Feb. 28 in Los Angeles and April 8 in Denver. Between now and then, the Nuggets don’t plan to lose their swagger. They think they’re capable of winning a playoff series against the Lakers unless someone convinces them otherwise.
“I’ll take our chances against anybody,” Anthony said.
Denver is horrible this year. They had their chances last season and they imploded.
All the tools are there if they can just somehow figure out what's going on and develop better chemistry and team play. If they can get their act together then I also see no reason why the should fear LA, although they should probably fear them if the playoffs started today.
horrible?
It's good to have confidence. And Denver matches up fairly well against the Lakers, so it's fine to be confident that they can beat them. But, it's the old cliche, they gotta prove it on the court in the playoffs. Until then, it's all just meaningless talk.
Seriously?
I think the nuggets have the tools to beat the lakers in a 7 game series.
They sure do have the tools...
The question is whether they have the mental composure.
More thuggish than toolish though...
George Karl won't beat Phil Jackson.
They have the thuggish ruggish tools to get the job done...
"While the Nuggets don’t give the Lakers much praise, they do admire the champs’ focus – a trait, Chauncey Billups said, that Denver still lacks on some nights.
Lol..
But seriously they have the size, the talent, a great scorer in melo and a excellent leader in billups, however mentally I'm not quite sure lol if there was a team in the west that had a shot it would be them imo.
They will be the Pistons 2.0, without the le. They'll make it to the Conference Finals over and over again only to lose.
miss jokes much?
Yeah, Denver really had me worried in the WCFs last year. They just have the toughness that makes the Lakers work for it. I don't, however, think they have the sharpness mentally to win a series just yet. But, I don't like the way the Lakers are playing of late and tonight could be a key victory/loss in the season. If they sweep this two-game back-to-back it could launch the team into a consistent basis. But I digress, I don't like the sound of that and though the team is still loaded--it is banged up. Let's just hope the Western Conference Playoffs will be exciting.
With K-Mart, JR Smith and Birdman, the Nuggets always find a way to shoot themselves in the foot when it matters.
Yeah, I noticed that after I posted it but didn't feel like changing it.
George Karl couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag. LMAO at this fat thinking he has has some masterstroke up sleeve.
Denver can't and won't beat LA in the playoffs this year. They are the biggest threat in the west to compete as they will win 1 MAYBE 2 games against the Lakers in a series. They are not a smart team and their head coach blows. Stupid teams with a weak coach just aren't going to beat the Lakers. It is that simple.
lol @ Denver even knowing what a recipe is...to them dinner is a blunt, 40oz., and a pizza delivered...
do you watch any games that the lakers dont play in?
J.R. Smith doesn't use guns to shoot people, his weapon of choice is vehicular...
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