Significance of an otherwise insignificant game against the Suns.

     An individual who hasn't kept up too much with the western conference playoff picture or the Nugget's season so far this year might look at the schedule on NBA.com and see the Nuggets Suns game and think this is a pretty irrelevant game. Just looking at the game on its surface, it seems they would be right. The Nuggets have 57 wins and have the 4th best record in the league, while the Suns have a lowly 25 wins and have the 4th worst record in the league. I would beg to differ, to me, this game is the most significant game the Nuggets have played this year, and the most significant non playoff game in years. Now before you exit the the page because of how rediculous you think that statement was, hear me out!

     Now most of you know that this game's significance jumps way up for the fact that if the Nuggets win, they will clinch the 3rd seed in the western conference. The third seed represents to me for this team more than just playing an easier team in the playoffs, it represents a resilient team, that was unwilling to give up and use excuses to roll over. At the end of December, the Nuggets where 17-14 and were struggling to gel, playing a tough schedule and fighting to stay in the playoff picture, while the Clippers where 24-6, the thought of the Nuggets finishing above the Clippers was almost laughable. Did the Nuggets use this as an excuse and give up? No, they continued to gel and improve every game. The Nuggets later went on a 15 game winning streak, and just when it looked like the Nuggets had it all going, their leader, Ty Lawson went down with an injury. This was a perfect time to lay down, but the Nuggets didn't feel bad for themselves and continued their winning ways. Then six games ago, Danilo Gallinari, the Nuggets leading scorer for most of the year, went down with a season ending ACL tear, another great excuse for bad play, but they went on to win that game and four of the next five games (1 and a half games without Kenneth Faried).

     All this being said, the Nuggets still must win this game to have the greatest regular season in franchise history in my books. Yeah, yeah, I know that the Nuggets this year have the most wins in franchise history, but look back to the 2008-09 season. In 2008-09 the Nuggets barely held off 3 teams who were right behind them for the 2nd seed in the west. Even though they only won 54 games as opposed to 56-57, they did their job and kept that 2nd seed and to this day, had the best regular season in Nuggets franchise history. Now you see the significance of this game against the Suns, the significance is not only one of the best teams in the league playing one of the the worst, or even getting the 3rd seed, the significance of winning this game is having a really good year or having the greatest year in Nuggets franchise history. What will it be? We will find out tonight at 6 MST!

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Trade Deadline Review

     It has been around one month since the Nuggets decided to not make a move on the trade deadline February 21st. When most of the trade grades come out the day of, or the day after the deadline, I decided to wait a month to grade the Nuggets. For an accurate grade you have to see how the team responds. Good thing I waited, I probably would have given the nuggets somewhere near a c-, I thought they should have traded Wilson Chandler for a three point specialist, boy was I wrong. I'm going to go ahead and give the Nuggets an A+ for not making a deal, and here are the reasons why:

1. Team Cohesion: At the start of the year, the Nuggets were many expert's pick to be a top 3 team in the West with the acquisition of Andre Iguodala. The year started shaky with Ty Lawson and Andre Iguodala really struggling. If you look at the Lakers this year, and the Heat when they first acquired Bosh and Lebron, you can see how hard it really is to adapt to new player in the regular lineup. I think the Nuggets were going through this big time, trying to see where Iggy and Chandler fit in, it also didn't help that the majority of the Nuggets games the first quarter of the season were away. With the decision to not make a trade, the team management have allowed the Nuggets to get over most of their growing pains instead of increasing them. I don't even think the way the Nuggets are playing on this 12 game winning streak is as good as they will be come playoff time, as one of the Nuggets most key players (Danilo Gallinari) hasn't been himself since his injury.

2. Wilson Chandler: If there was a trade involving the Nuggets, it most likely would have involved one of two players, Chandler or Mozgov. Just one month ago I couldn't stand Chandler, it seemed like when he wasn't injured (or in China) he played terribly, shooting at a terrible %, and making a ton of unforced bad plays, only having 1 or 2 good games. In one month I've come completely full circle on Chandler. Over the past month Chandler has shown the ability to shoot from the 3 point ark pretty consistently, drive hard to the basket and finish, defend, rebound, and frankly, carry a team in scoring if it comes to it. I'm excited to see how Chandler develops with this team. With Chandler's versatility, he fits in perfectly with what the Nuggets want to do. Of all the players on the Nuggets roster, I think Chandler has the potential to be an all star level player in the future. Knee jerk reaction? Maybe ha ha.

3. The Future: When I heard Masai Ujiri say,  "We're not a contending team, We also need to be patient as a team, organization, to grow a little bit." in his interview following the trade deadline, I couldn't help but be a little annoyed. "Why would you make a statement like this, with a team like the Nuggets, shouldn't you be going for it all this year? And why give them an excuse to not win it all?" were my initial thoughts. Now looking back I think I understand a little more. Why would the Nuggets trade a project like Chandler for a guy in his prime like JJ Redick (this is what I wanted) when the Nuggets aren't a huge threat to win the championship this year? That would be trading away the future for a player that might help you win a couple more games in the playoffs, that wouldn't have been a smart deal.

So a month later, I'll admit I was wrong about Chandler for Redick. I guess that's why I don't get paid for my opinions.

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Game Preview: New York Knicks 3/9/13

     After two and a half years, Carmelo Anthony will make his much anticipated first return to Denver to take on the Nuggets. This is the game that stuck out on the Nuggets schedule to fans at the beginning of the year. This is the must watch can't miss game. Here are the keys to win this game.

#1. Make It Hard On Melo: It is very likely that Carmelo will hear the boos from the crowd, this will only fuel him more. Melo will get his tonight, they key is to force him to shoot a low percentage from the floor.

#2. Rebound: The Knicks are 21st in the league in rebounding, while the Nuggets are 3rd. If the Nuggets can force bad shots and win the battle on the boards, they should win this game.

#3. Play Your Game: With all the emotions that will be flying around tonight, it is imperative for the Nuggets to play their fast pace game. I believe this is the biggest key to this game. The Knicks want to play half court "Melo" ball while the Nuggets want to play at a very fast pace. Whatever team wins the battle for play style will win this game.

Key Match Up: Carmelo VS Danilo
The Nuggets will send a mix of Danilo, Iggy, and Brewer. Don't think that Danilo can't wait for this game also, look for him to have a big game scoring and play well against his old team and the player he was traded for.

Now here is the question of the day; If you where at the game, would you booo Melo for leaving in the way he did, cheer for him for the year of bringing the Nuggets back to prominence, or neither? Personally, I would find it hard to not let a booo slip out during Melo's introduction.

Game Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves 3/9/13

Coming off a big win against the Clippers, the Nuggets (41-22) will host the Timberwolves (21-37) who they have struggled against this year, winning only one of the 3 meetings. This game has special significance, if the Nuggets win this game, it would mark the most strait home wins since 1989, when they went on a 19 game winning streak at home. Here are the keys to tonight's game.

#1. Stay focused: As Karl said after the Clippers game "We've got to stay focused on (19) games of pretty serious playoff intensity and not get hung up on a loss or a winning streak". The Nuggets need to forget about the win two days ago and play  hard from the tip tonight.

#RUN: It seems like more nights than not, this is a key to the game. This is especially essential tonight, as Minnesota is likely going to be without two of their regulars, Nikola Pekovic (abdominal strain) and Andrei Kirilenko (strained left calf).

Stop J.J. Barea: It seems like J.J. Always plays great against the Nuggets, I see him as the x-factor tonight.

Key Match up: Derrick Williams VS Danilo Gallinari
Due to team injures, Derrick is currently playing the PF position, but it's likely that he will be matched up against Danilo. Williams is averaging 20.5 points in his last six games, so this should be a fun one to watch.

With Memphis playing as well as they are, the Nuggets really need this win to keep pace.

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Game Preview: Los Angeles Clippers 3/7/13

     This match up seems to be a budding rivalry. The Clippers have two of my personal 10 least favorite players on their team; the overrated, whine if you don't get every call, act like you're a tough guy, Blake Griffin, and the, manipulate your body to create contact and always get the call, Chris Paul. Needless to say, I can't wait for this one to start and hope the Nuggets can pull it out! Here are the keys to the game.

#1. Feed Off The Crowd: The Pepsi Center is going to be rocking tonight! The Nuggets play great at home (11 strait home wins) and will hopefully find extra energy from the crowd tonight.

#2. Come Out Strong: The last thing the Nuggets need tonight is to start out cold and have to dig themselves out of a deep hole. The Clippers are going to start out hyped up for this game, so you have to ride the storm and match their intensity.

#3 Foul Smartly: There's no doubt that there are going to be some terrible calls against the Nuggets tonight, as is the case whenever you play against superstars. The key is for them to minimize their "stupid" fouls and not let bad calls get to them.

Key Match up: Ty VS The Fish (AKA Chris Paul)
This was hard to choose  as there are plenty of good match ups in this game. I feel that whoever controls the pace of the game will win, so naturally the two pace setters will be the best match up.

Today is the day to go out and show on national TV who the real Lob City is.


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Game Preview: Sacramento Kings 3/5/13

The day after a win at home, the Denver Nuggets (39-22) travel to Sacramento to take on the Kings (21-40). The Nuggets have seven straight wins against the Kings, and have won the first two meetings this year by 25 and 28. Here are today's keys to the game.

#1. Get Loose: Playing an away game as the second of a back to back is tough. The Nuggets need to get their legs quickly and come out strong against a team that, over the last couple of games, have been very hot offensively.

#2. Dominate the boards: The Nuggets have out rebounded the Kings 103-82 in their two wins this season. They need to keep this trend going.

#3. Find Danilo's Lost Confidence: Either Danilo has not been playing at 100%, or he has lost confidence in his driving game. If the latter is true, this game would be great to get him going again, as the Kings aren't known for their defense.

Key Match up: Ty VS Isaiah:
Not often will you see Ty play against someone who is shorter than him, as he will today. Isaiah Thomas is at 5-9 while Lawson is at 5-11. Should be fun to watch the little men go at each other, gives us normal people of normal height hope...

These are the kinds of games the Nuggets need to win to gain their fans' trust, let's see if they can get it done tonight. 


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Game Preview: Atlanta Hawks 3/4/13

Coming off a huge win against the Thunder, the Denver Nuggets (38-22) look to protect their home court (25-3) once again as they face off against the Atlanta Hawks (33-25) at 7:00 pm MST. It should be interesting to watch how the Nuggets respond to the big win, and to see if they can keep their great play at home going. Here are the keys to tonight's game.

RUN!: The Hawks played last night in not only a physically, but mentally draining game against the Lakers in which they lost by not getting a shot off on their last possession. It's needless to say that the Nuggets pace will play a huge factor in whether or not they win tonight.

Force Bad Shots: The Hawks shoot the ball very well, they shoot 46.3% from the field and 38.2% from the 3 point line. The Nuggets seem to give up a ton of open three point shots to teams, they will have to clean this up in order to win soundly tonight.

Get Gallo Going: This might be a good game for Danilo to get some of his confidence back that he loses so easily with injuries. The Nuggets really need to get Danilo going if they want to make a run in the last stretch of the season.

Key Match up: The Benches
Coming off of a back to back, it's likely that we will see more of Atlanta's bench. The Nuggets have the huge advantage in bench scoring (39.9 vs 29.5 ppg).  If the Nuggets bench delivers, chalk this up for a win.

The Nuggets have a hard time on the road, so games like this are a must win.

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