Pre-Season Game III: V.S. Utah Jazz

[francesco totti]

http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_10711379

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/new...eup-wednesday/


MELO & AI are both expected to play. For the first time together in preseason.
We are 2 - 0, lets make it 3 - 0.

[OneMoreSucka]

I'll be pissed if we win two games without melo and ai and lose one with them.

Even if they do play limited minutes.

[francesco totti]

Originally Posted by OneMoreSucka

I'll be pissed if we win two games without melo and ai and lose one with them.

Even if they do play limited minutes.

According to this

AI wont play, so will Chris Andersen. Balkman will get more minutes with Birdman out.


- Chris "Birdman" Anderson, will miss Wednesday's game due to a bruised calf.
- Allen Iverson, sidelined with a sore left knee.
- Steven Hunter, out with a sore right knee.
- Sonny Weems, recovering from a sports hernia and may not see court action until the last week of the preseason.

[OneMoreSucka]

In that case, I hope we see Melo take some leadership as far as talking to his teammates on the defensive end.

This game isn't televised is it? Goddamn it...

[CaptainOwlClub]

i was nervous about how this unbalanced roster would look- and even with a preseason win!! now im almost sick about it

i cant stand the fact that carmelo, kleiza, & balkman have to play pf- almost all of balkman's effectiveness is canceled out when you have him try to cover pf's and c's- melo & kleiza are also way less effective playing out of position-

tonight there were stretches w ruben patterson playing c and balkman at pf- this team is so small that last years duke team is calling the nugs an open gym team

the nuggets are now the worst rebounding team(cant even rebound missed ft's from the other team) and have the weakest interior defense in the nba- the defense is no better(why would it be if nothing has changed exept giving away the top 2 defenders?)- offensivly its still open gym every man for himself- & this horrible defense and open gym offense is without iverson- put him back in and both of those problems are magnified

this coach & this roster is asking for a complete meltdown- im now more worried than ever that things will get uglier than any of us can now imagine

nugs will need to average 130ish to be competitive this year w no defense and no coaching- are the nugs the dumbest team in the nba? do we have any players that have high bb iq's?

[OneMoreSucka]

Originally Posted by CaptainOwlClub

i was nervous about how this unbalanced roster would look- and even with a preseason win!! now im almost sick about it

i cant stand the fact that carmelo, kleiza, & balkman have to play pf- almost all of balkman's effectiveness is canceled out when you have him try to cover pf's and c's- melo & kleiza are also way less effective playing out of position-

tonight there were stretches w ruben patterson playing c and balkman at pf- this team is so small that last years duke team is calling the nugs an open gym team

the nuggets are now the worst rebounding team(cant even rebound missed ft's from the other team) and have the weakest interior defense in the nba- the defense is no better(why would it be if nothing has changed exept giving away the top 2 defenders?)- offensivly its still open gym every man for himself- & this horrible defense and open gym offense is without iverson- put him back in and both of those problems are magnified

this coach & this roster is asking for a complete meltdown- im now more worried than ever that things will get uglier than any of us can now imagine

nugs will need to average 130ish to be competitive this year w no defense and no coaching- are the nugs the dumbest team in the nba? do we have any players that have high bb iq's?

It's a preseason game...there's no real reason to go out with fierce intensity on D or to run halfcourt plays every possession. Maybe the bench guys play hard because they're fighting for minutes, but one reason for this stagnant offense is because these guys haven't even played together before. You have to know your teammates and their tendencies and create a chemistry before you can go out and flow so easily.

I have faith that rebounding will improve, and I have no idea how you say our interior defense is the weakest in the nba when it's nene and kmart, two very good one on one defenders who don't have two left feet like camby. Their only weakness is they're prone to foul, specifically nene.

But regardless, as I said in another thread, nuggets defense will improve but will only be effective against bad teams. Elite teams (utah) will find holes and dominate (109 points at end of regulation).

Hopefully once the regular season starts, we will see a new and improved team, but I will hold off harsh criticism till they've played at least 20 games.

[CaptainOwlClub]

Originally Posted by OneMoreSucka

It's a preseason game...there's no real reason to go out with fierce intensity on D or to run halfcourt plays every possession. Maybe the bench guys play hard because they're fighting for minutes, but one reason for this stagnant offense is because these guys haven't even played together before. You have to know your teammates and their tendencies and create a chemistry before you can go out and flow so easily.

I have faith that rebounding will improve, and I have no idea how you say our interior defense is the weakest in the nba when it's nene and kmart, two very good one on one defenders who don't have two left feet like camby. Their only weakness is they're prone to foul, specifically nene.

But regardless, as I said in another thread, nuggets defense will improve but will only be effective against bad teams. Elite teams (utah) will find holes and dominate (109 points at end of regulation).

Hopefully once the regular season starts, we will see a new and improved team, but I will hold off harsh criticism till they've played at least 20 games.

you are right that things take time, but i do wonder why one would expect things would be done differently w the same group?

i agree w you that nene & kmart are both good interior defenders at their spots- but im talking about situations like last night when nene, bird, & steven hunter are out (because that very well could happen during the reg season)- kmart at c, juwan howard & ruben patterson playing backup c and kleiza, carmelo, & balkman at pf- that is a horrible interior defense group- asking every single player to play out of position? i just dont like that-

i guess i just like to compare the nugs to teams like the jazz & the lakers- how do these guys go against pau & bynum or boozer & okur- we just DONT have the horses

too much of last night looked like little kids trying to rebound against their big brother- utah's guys just standing under the hoop putting up shot after shot while our little guys jumped up in the ar flailing around trying to touch the ball- and that was fesenko & koufos, against real nba rotation players it will look worse

i really agree w you on your statement about playing against good teams, but that is what should matter right? sure the nugs will win alot of reg season games, bcause many nights teams just wont be able to score with melo, ai, jr, and the rest- is that really enough?

im just so dissapointed that the organization would want to be stuck in the middle like this- too good to be bad, no chance to be good

w camby, kmart, nene, najera, reggie evans, and fransisco elson the team needed elson, evans or both- so that means even w kmart and nene this team needs juwan, bird, hunter and maybe beyond- sorry, but that is scary to me

more than anything im just sick watching karl sit there w the same old frown while his players run around with no clue- same old same old will be too much this year- im just hoping this season doesnt have too long term of affect on the franchise

im glad you have confidence right now & i really hope i am way off w what i see

[OneMoreSucka]

Again, I think things are really dumbed down for preseason games. There's not really any incentive to win aside from boosting self esteem.

I also think we will see a more aggressive Karl that isn't always sitting. The players aren't the only ones fighting for their jobs, the coaching staff is too.