Lakers Bury Nuggets With 3's and Dunks, 123-104

The current big 6 powerhouses of the Western Conference seldom lose at home. The Mavericks, Spurs, Rockets, Lakers, Suns, and Jazz are a combined 80-21 at home. The Lakers are 15-4 at home, and like the other powerhouse teams of the Conference, they don't lose at home unless at least a couple of starters are having bad nights.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets have blown several 4th quarter leads at home, mostly to losing teams, and are just 9-7 at home. The Nuggets, before the suspensions, lost at home to teams that the big 6 wouldn't be caught dead losing to at home, such as the Grizzlies, the Hawks, and the Knicks. When Melo and J.R. return, the Nuggets must become dominant at home in order to show they are competitive with the top teams in the Conference. They can hardly afford any more losses to losing teams at home.

Fortunately for the Nuggets, in the playoffs, the home court advantage is somewhat less than it is in the regular season, giving them a chance to advance in the playoffs despite their opponents having the home court advantage.

Tonight the Lakers used a lethal combination of long-range three-pointers and close-in dunks and layups to dominate and rout the Nuggets, who seem to sink deeper into confusion and inconsistency as the marathon suspensions continue on. The Lakers stormed the hoop at will, especially in the first half, and when the Nuggets tried to defend in the paint, they just sunk a large number of lightly defended threes. They made 13/28 threes, but they missed several during the huge garbage time, so it was really more amazing than that ratio makes it look. Had Boykins not been 4/6 from downtown, with the Nuggets overall being a very decent 7/16, the score would have been more ugly than it was.

The Lakers ran an offensive clinic against the "pick-up team" Nuggets, and had a staggering 39 assists, versus just 24 for the Nuggets. Kobe Bryant had 10 assists (but only 8 points on 2/9 shooting) and Luke Walton (SF) had 9 assists. The Laker offense was so tightly and efficiently run, that the number two blocker in the League, (behind only Jermaine O'Neill), Marcus Camby, failed to get a single block. By contrast, the Laker's 7' center, Andrew Bynum, the second team, second year Center, had 6 blocks alone, and he had 19 points on 8/9 shooting.

It was the kind of aggressive and well-coached game that the Lakers seem to play at home without fail, season in and season out. The Nuggets almost certainly would have lost this one even if J.R. and Melo had started, unless there is some miracle Melo-A.I. combination effect which confuses defenses and produces a whole heap of easy scoring. (Of course, whether this spark happens is exactly what many basketball fans are waiting eagerly to find out.)

In a sure sign of how disoriented the Nuggets are from the constant lineup changes, the 24 assists the Nuggets had were distributed throughout almost the whole lineup. The assist leader (6 assists) was guard Julius Hodge, who played all of 1 minute the whole season until tonight, when he played 19 minutes. Neither Iverson nor Boykins could lead the strange lineups which came and went.

For the third game in a row since his return from a 4th metacarpal fracture on his right hand, which is probably still bothering him, Marcus Camby failed to reestablish his scoring touch. He finished 5/16, and 4/4 from the line, for 14 points, but he had 12 rebounds and 4 assists.

It's sad to say, but Najera was even less of a factor than usual. In 19 minutes, he was 1/6, and 0/1 on 3's for 2 points, and he failed to get any rebounds or assists. Reggie Evans, who has been to hell and back trying to find his shots, decided not to take any tonight, but he was an expert rebounder as usual, getting 13 boards in 19 minutes. Another forward, Linus Kleiza, played 23 minutes and was 4/7, and 2/2 from the line for 10 points, and he had 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Nene, questionable knee and all, played 16 minutes, and was 7/12 for 14 points, and he had 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Because the forwards other than Nene can not score enough, Nuggets fans have to hope that Nene's knee allows him to play at least much of the rest of the season.

Diawara (GF) played 31 minutes, and was 4/13, but 3/7 on 3's, and 2/4 from the stripe for 13 points, and he had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.

Julius Hodge (G) was called up from the NBA Development League to play some PG tonight. He played 1 minute against Philadelphia in early November, marking his first appearance in an NBA game since being shot four times in the legs and hip while driving on Interstate 76 on April 8. Tonight, Hodge played 19 minutes, but he was only 1/3, and 2/2 from the line, for 4 points, and he had 6 assists and 2 steals.

There were too many Nuggets trying to make up for too much bench time for A.I. to be able to "take over the game" tonight. Iverson must be thinking to himself about now "at least with the Sixers, I lost games without all these confusing lineup changes and complications". Then he will remember that even David Stern's suspensions eventually will end, and Melo and J.R. will eventually return. Any thought that Iverson had of taking 25-35 shots ended when his new friend Earl Boykins went on a scoring rampage in the 2nd quarter. A.I. finished a disappointing 5/17, 0/1 on 3's, and 6/8 from the line for 16 points. He had 5 assists and 1 steal. His turnovers were limited to 3; the Nuggets as a whole had 14 turnovers, which was good under the circumstances.

The Nuggets would have been badly routed were it not for one Earl Boykins, the shortest player in the NBA, at 5'5", who lit up the scoreboard against the mighty Lakers in L.A.. At this point, Boykins has probably proved that the only reason he is not a starter is that he is 5'5" tall, because he has played as a real starter during the entire suspension period. I hope his play talks the Nuggets out of trading him, though I realize the team badly needs help at PF. Boykins was the highest scoring player on the court, with 24, beating Laker Smush Parker by a point because, though both of them were 9/14 from the field and 2/2 from the line, Boykins was 4/6 from downtown and Parker was 3/4 from there. Boykins also had 3 assists, a steal, and played the best error-free defense you can play when you are 5'5".

This was the eighth suspension game for what was the League's top scoring tandem, and there are still 2 more games left in the double suspension and a staggering 7 games left in the Melo suspension. George Karl, despite being in over his head during the suspensions, will earn the "Bravery in the Face of David Stern's Temper Tantrum Medal" if he can get the Nuggets into the playoffs after all this turmoil. The Nuggets may fall out of the top 8 in the West before Melo gets back.

The Nuggets next game is tomorrow, Saturday Jan. 6 in Denver against the division leading Utah Jazz, at 7 pm mountain time. Nuggets fans are as upset about the Jazz position at the top of the Northwest Division as they are about anything else, save the suspensions, so they are really going to be on the lookout for some combination of Nene's knee, Camby's shot, Iverson's heart, and Boykin's soul to give them an upset win against the Jazz, who will also be playing without rest.

Suspensions Cost Nuggets a 2nd Game, to 76'ers 108-97

The Nuggets are the NBA's most confused team right now. The lineup has changed so many times over the past three weeks due to multiple injuries, the two huge suspensions, and the Iverson for Miller trade, that it has been impossible to establish dependable plays for the offense, plays where everyone is on the same page. The guy with the ball is supposed to be familiar with where everyone usually is on the court, and to know where everyone on the court likes to run a play from.

More generally, no one knows what their role is. How does a running team succeed when who runs where and when is not worked out? It doesn't.

Tonight's 22 turnovers shows how confused the Nuggets are right now. The coaching staff can only reduce the confusion; there is going to be alot of confusion on this team until about the end of February. Nuggets fans can be happy, though, that the season is long, so that the confusion should be over weeks before the playoffs start.

The Nuggets are now like a pick-up neighborhood team having to play professional teams whose roster has not changed much. The continuing Nene knee saga and the Camby injury has been adding alot to the confusing mess that has been the Nugget's roster, as has Iverson's complicated calculation as to what role to play during the suspensions.

Iverson is clearly trying to avoid taking too many shots, because he has decided that his reasonable role on the full roster is as a more traditional point guard, not as someone who has to take 30 shots as the only chance to win games. Trouble is, some of these games during the suspensions may be winnable ONLY if Iverson in fact does take 30 shots. Iverson had two technical fouls in tonight's miserable loss, the last one when the game was all but over with less than two minutes to play. I'm thinking his frustration was partly that he realized, at about that time, when it was too late, that his putting 30 shots up might have changed the outcome.

The suspensions to Melo and J.R. Smith are now threatening to take a much larger toll than many thought when Iverson arrived on the team, because of the large scale confusion on the court regarding who is doing what when.

There are some second team players who are trying to make up a starting role for themselves as they go along, almost always unsuccessfully. George Karl is very stingy with playing time for unproven second teamers, so a player like DerMarr Johnson(GF) does not have the recent playing time experience to be able to produce reliably in these suspension games. He was 3/7, and 0/4 on 3's, and 2/2 from the line for 8 points in 30 minutes.

Diawara(GF) has been on an extreme rollercoaster as George Karl has no alternative but to play the rookie major minutes. One game he can't hit the side of the barn, and the next game he is almost at a starter level. Tonight he was 8/16, and a huge 5/10 from 3 point land, and 2/2 from the line, for 23 points. He did his best on defense and had 6 rebounds and 5 personal fouls. All this after he had 1 point in 40 minutes on Sunday night. Diawara's yo-yo performances clearly show the turmoil the Nuggets are in.

Kleiza played 15 minutes, and was 2/7, and 0/2 on 3's and 2/2 from the line for 6 points, and he had 1 rebound. Evans had just 12 minutes, and he was 0/5, and 2/6 from the line for 2 points, but he had 9 rebounds.

Najera continued to confound Nuggets fans with his overly cautious approach to the suspension games. After being more assertive on Sunday night, he fell right back into near invisibility tonight. He was just 2/4 and 3/6 from the line for 7 points, and he had 6 rebounds.

The Nuggets have a weakness at power forward. Najera is too cautious about both scoring and rebounding. Evans is a rebounding machine, and he wants to score more than anything but, not only does he have trouble from time to time even from short range, but even his free throw shooting is in need of serious work. If you are George Karl, you have a dilemma at power forward. I guess his strategy is the best one, you just split the playing time almost down the middle and keep your fingers crossed. Tonight shows what happens when you get the weaknesses of both players on the same night: a disaster at power forward.

Boykins was 5/14, and 3/7 on 3's for 13 points, and he had 6 assists and 3 rebounds.

Camby started his second game after being out from the finger injury, but he has not yet reestablished the shooting touch that he had worked hard to get before the injury. Either he is still bothered by the finger, or he has yet to reestablish that part of his game, or else he has been preoccuped as the only defensive specialist on the Nuggets over the last two games. Due to some combination of those 3 factors, he was unable to score more than 8 points against the 76'ers. But with the deck on fire and everyone heading for the life boats, Camby was the only stable force on the Nuggets left, as he produced another all-star quality game on defense, with 16 rebounds, 2 steals, and a massive 7 blocks.

Iverson was under all kinds of pressure tonight. Aside from his dilemma about how many trips to the hoop and how many shots in general to take himself, as discussed earlier, he also had to play his recent teammates for the first time tonight, still being frustrated that the Sixers refused him any opportunity to give his input regarding how the Sixers should play and proceed as a franchise. Unlike, say, Kevin Garnett or Tim Duncan, Iverson had nobody in the Sixers organization who would listen to his advice. So when the Sixers coaches appeared on his new home court, it was kind of like the relatives you hate the most coming for the holiday and staying too long.

A.I, with some of his rocket boosters still left unfired, was 10/24, 2/6 from downtown, and 8/10 from the line for 30 points, and he had 9 assists and 5 rebounds. But he also had 7 of the Nugget's turnovers.

It is scary to think that the wins against the Celtics and the Sonics were at least partly due to luck: both of those squads were depleted and the games were played in Denver. That has held the suspension toll to two games so far, whereas it could have easily been 3 or 4 with more to come.

SUSPENSION GAMES
Wizards WIN
Kings LOSS
Celtics WIN
Sonics WIN
AT Hornets LOSS
Mavericks LOSS
76'ers LOSS
SUSPENSION GAMES STILL TO COME
AT Clippers
Jazz
Bucks
Spurs
Rockets
AT Trailblazers
Cavaliers
AT Rockets

MOST PROBABLE RESULTS WITH NO SUSPENSIONS & NO IVERSON
Wizards loss
Kings win
Celtics win
Sonics win
AT Hornets win
Mavericks loss
76'ers win

So the Nuggets are 3-4 in suspension games but most likely would have been 5-2 had there been no suspensions and no Iverson. So the suspensions have probably cost the Nuggets two games so far.

In order to avoid serious suspension damage, Iverson, Camby and the roll of the dice second teamers need to produce a win this Friday night against the Lakers in Los Angeles. Iverson may feel the need to "take over the game" this Friday now that the full extent of the suspension nightmare is apparent, and we can only hope that he has the touch and avoids the high turnover count he had tonight.

So the next game is Friday, Jan 5 at 8:30 pm mountain time in L.A. versus the Lakers.

Last Game of 2006: Mavs 89, Nuggets 85

The Nuggets, continuing to play without the League's top scoring tandem, blew a substantial 4th quarter lead for the sixth time in 28 games this season and lost to the League leading Mavericks at home 89-85. The Mavericks were without their top scorer, PF Dirk Nowitzki, who was out with a sinus infection. PF Josh Howard stepped up and had 17 rebounds and 28 points on expert 10/16 shooting. Coach Avery Johnson is one of the best coaches in the League and is one of the best at directing 4th quarter surges on the road.

Dallas got off to a quick start and led it 20-11 in the 1st, but Boykins and Iverson led a furious rally to give Denver a 24-20 lead at the end of the 1st. Denver led 50-44 at the half and 69-63 after three quarters.

With less than 8 minutes to play a reverse layup from Najera gave the Nuggets a 76-69 lead, but it was all downhill from there. Erick Dampier rejected two point blank shots from Najera, and a 3-pointer from Jason Terry made it 79-77 Nuggets. With 2 1/2 minutes to play, the Nuggets led 82-81. A Devin Harris layup and free throws from Dampier and Howard due to successive Najera fouls made it 87-82 Dallas with 1:16 to play. Iverson made a couple of free throws but Josh Howard responded with a jumper for 89-84 with 54 seconds to play.

Diawara missed the key jump shot and Najera missed the tip in. Najera hit one of two free throws on a loose ball foul making it 89-85 Dallas with 43 seconds left. Kleiza took and missed the last shot for the Nuggets. I would have tried a few intentional fouls but George Karl elected to not do so.

Najera, in 33 minutes, was 5/10 and 4/5 from the line for 14 points, and he had 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Kleiza, in 25 minutes, was 2/7, 0/2 on 3's and 2/2 from the line for 6 points, and he had 3 rebounds and 0 assists. Reggie Evans, in 15 minutes, was 0/1 and 3/5 from the line for 3 points, and he had 3 rebounds and a nice 3 of the Nugget's 12 steals.

Diawara, in 40 minutes, was a nightmare 0/11, 0/4 on 3's, and 1/4 from the line for 1 point. He tried alot more close-in shots, but got no reward for it.

With some of the Nugget's top rebounders (K-Mart and Nene) out on injury and Reggie Evans playing just 15 minutes, Camby was the only major defensive presence on the court for the Nuggets, who were outrebounded 49-37. Camby had 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. His 4-game long finger injury disrupted his shooting touch to where he was only 5/15, and 3/5 from the stripe for 13 points.

Iverson and Boykins combined for 48 points, matching the Melo-J.R. tandem, but it wasn't enough mostly due to the Diawara scoring drought. Boykins was 8/17, 1/3 on 3's and 3/3 from the line for 20 points. Boykins had 2 rebounds, but only 1 assist.

A.I., played the role of "the answer" at point guard instead of the role of "the only hope of winning" that he played for the Sixers for many years. But the Nuggets may need him to take 25-35 shots to win many of these suspension games, because Najera and Evans are falling short and Diawara is not dependable yet. The expert point guard was 10/17 and 8/8 from the line for 28 points, and he had a nice 8 assists. Iverson is one of the all-time greatest ball thieves and in some games, like this one, he goes on a rampage. He had 7 steals.

Iverson's performance was just about as good as it gets for a point guard. Trouble is, the Nuggets are lacking at 3 of the other 4 positions due to the suspensions and the injuries. Before the marathon suspensions are over, George Karl is probably going to have to ask A.I. to put up 30+ shots if A.I. doesn't decide to do so on his own. A.I. can resume his star point guard only role when Melo returns.