Nuggets: Lakeshow @ Nuggets presented by .500 ball

[Latarian Milton]

their homecourt is a of place for any visiting team because more of its al ude rather than anything imho. as much of a defensive freak as DH is, he's never been quite an offensive presence and he's not 100% yet, just a glorified tyson chandler imho. dude has little to none fundamentals to work with and athleticism is the only thing for him to rely on, but his athletic advantage is often limited when the opposing C is a few inches taller than him like the ones he battled against tonight, or the 7'6 big ty who used to pwn his ass at times back in the old years

[TrainOfThought5]

If howard isnt the best center in the league... Then who is??

[irishock]

If howard isnt the best center in the league... Then who is??

[Cry Havoc]

a few more notes..

Nash's defense causes problems on every single possession nearly... you can't just look at the boxscore of the opposing teams PG.. Lawson didn't even have a GREAT game but his penetration due to Nash also just causes the defense to collapse and open looks for others.

Howard is really not that dominant... he's the best C in the league at his best, but A. that's not saying much and B. a lot of of centers are outplaying him this year. In my handicap of this game betting hte Nuggets I determined Howard could not exploit the Nuggets lack of size/interior defense like a great big man should... iirc Duncan had like 30/15 v these Nugs last week, Howard had 12/7 in 27 minutes and an ejection. Howard's touch and skill just aren't great around the basket. When he posts up, nothing usually happens.

as for my Nuggies, look for this team to possibly start playing .700 ball over the final 50 games. They've played a LOT of road games AND a tough schedule. They're really difficult to beat at home due to their athleticism and depth... they're definitely flawed w/ a lack of shooting in the halfcourt and marginal defense.. but the schedule gets easier from here on out. Think they can possibly win 54-55 games, even.

The concern with Howard is efficiency. Especially now that teams know to stop him you just foul him hard and send him to the line every time he gets a possession. If teams collapse on him, he either A) takes a horrible shot, or B) kicks it out to a perimeter player. The Lakers are just not geared to make use of Howard as things stand, because to be effective you need to force the issue with him all game long, like a running back in football. What doesn't work in the 1st quarter will be more effective in the 4th, but only if you stick to it and actually wear the defense down. With limited touches, Howard can't be as effective. He needs the offense to go through him, like most big men. And when the Lakers get down, they really, really don't trust Howard to bring them back, as he isn't skilled enough to be a glorified chucker. He will just never be the focal point in LA, and it limits the damage he can do to opposing front lines.

[Killakobe81]

Nuggs are a good team especially at home. Lakers are a crappy road team so I dont see why anyone would over-react to this result. Lakers lack atheleticism quality depth and consistent 3 point shooting all things the Nuggs are good at, we are weak. But Nuggs are the Nuggs they will have a great regular seasonr record as the schedule balances out, but get beat by a better coached team come playoffs. In fact, except for the finals run vs. the Bulls and the WCF run that happens to ALL of Karl's teams.
As for th LAkers I do think they can be dangerous come playoffs but as I have said all season WCF is this team's ceiling. Now I m not sure they get that far ....but a WCF for THIS team would be a success. Unfortunately ... for our franchise a wCF loss is a failure. SO if that happens (or another 2nd round loss)and Howard re-signs expect Pau and his expiring (next season)to be traded in the off-season ...

[Koolaid_Man]

Personally I wouldn't get too excited if I were Nugget or Spur fan.......it was the 2nd night of a back 2 back....coupled with Nash's 3rd game back he scored 15 points and 8 dimes...that being said..Ty Lawson scored most of his 17 points and 14 assists on Duhon..if you actually watched the game you would have seen Nash locking Lawson up repeatedly...

[Jodelo]

Yeah, because Denver was not on a B2B and had even a few hours less rest...

[Koolaid_Man]

Yeah, because Denver was not on a B2B and had even a few hours less rest...

they're younger...can recover faster...Nash been out for 2 months...coupled with the fact it's a mile high city al ude adjustments for opposing teams and the fluke game from Brewer...

[midnightpulp]

they're younger...can recover faster...Nash been out for 2 months...coupled with the fact it's a mile high city al ude adjustments for opposing teams and the fluke game from Brewer...

You gave up 126 points. You in' suck.

Fool's win streak. Nothing more.

[Jodelo]

we suck, despite paying 100m$

[Killakobe81]

Suck maybe but I doubt it, mediocre probably