The most frustrating thing for me in the first half was how the Nuggets defended the pick and roll. When an opposing big comes up high to set a screen for the ball handler. The Nuggets are playing right into both the shooter's and the pick-setters plan when they switch or fight under the screen. When the defender goes under the screen, it leaves the shooter wide open. When the Nuggets switch on the screen, they create mismatches that get exploited. The only way to effectively defend basketball's oldest offensive tactic is for the man guarding the ball to fight over the top of the screen while the man guarding the screener hedges high, playing the situation almost as if it's a two-on-two scenario in a very tight and confined space, and thus giving the man being screened ample time to get over the top of the screen while not giving the ball handler/shooter room to operate and causing enough disruption for his defensive help to get back into position after hedging high.

Does that make sense to everyone?

It's a tricky game situation and when not handled properly it causes defensive breakdowns off of dribble penetration and personnel mismatches. This one area is the crux of what ails the Nuggets on defense the most.

Moving right along, not everything was bad about the first quarter. Dahntay Jones fired out of the gates with the hot shooting hand making both of his 3-point attempts in the quarter and draining a long jumper from the left corner to pace the Nuggets with eight first quarter points. The game was tied at 18 apiece with 5:20 remaining in the first, but a 9-0 scoring run by Atlanta opened things up and left the Nuggets trailing by five, 33-28, headed into the second quarter.

The problems on defense were still lingering like a bad stench as the Nuggets allowed 33 points in the first quarter for the 11th time in 13 quarters of play spanning the last four games. The mismatches created by not defending the pick and roll correctly were leaving Atlanta's best rebounders with guards trying to box them out and as a result the Hawks scored eight second chance points int he first quarter alone.

Once the second quarter was underway, the Nuggets failed to score in the first 2:30. Carmelo Anthony finally tossed the ball through the twine, but it wasn't until after the Hawks had scored eight unanswered points to start the second quarter to open up a 14-point lead. Then, like a ray of sunshine, J.R. Smith became very aggressive taking the ball towards the rim. The penetration by the Prodigy heated up the Denver offense like a can of Hormel chili getting put into the microwave. His attacking the rack opened up numerous easy lay-ups and free-throw opportunities from heady dimes. And although J.R. didn't record an assist for his efforts, he was the spark that lit the Nuggets' 32-point scoring fire in the second quarter.

Defensively, things tightened down for Denver with the substitution of the Birdman for Petro. Chris Andersen's impact was felt on the boards and in blocked shots as the Bird soared, controlling the air space around the Nuggets rim, as he blocked four shots and snared five rebounds (three offensive) in the first half. Offensively, the Nuggets were paced by Chauncey Billups' 18 first half points and four assists and went into intermission leading by seven, 60-53.

'Melo started to heat up in the third quarter as the Nuggets opened up their biggest lead of 17 points after a 24-2 run ,and trailing the Hawks 51-45, of which spanned the second half of the second quarter up until the nine minute mark of the third. Denver carried a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter after Carmelo hit a 26-footer with one tick remaining on the game clock.

The momentum of the Nuggets was palpable and things were looking up at this point, but someone forgot to tell the Nuggets there were still twelve minutes of basketball yet to be played and a game's outcome yet to be decided. It would be ludicrous to think Denver took the Hawks lightly in the fourth, but after starting the money period with four turnovers and another 2:30 second scoreless stretch the Hawks were right back in the game down by six, 92-86, with nine minutes to play in regulation. Go figure...

And in another display of complete fundamental breakdown on defense, not once, but twice the Nuggets were exploited for easy buckets in transition on instances when nobody picked up the ball handler! I mean, what in the name of Doug Moe's run and gun offense is it going to take for the Nuggets to play some friggin' D? On the cusp of their worst losing streak in two season, I was in disbelief to see the Nuggets lolly-gagging as Joe Johnson and Flip Murray dribbled the length of the floor for layups!

The Nuggets led by as many as ten with under three minutes to play, but after scoring on only two made free-throws by Chauncey Billups in the final stretch of this game the Nuggets were lucky to hold on and win. Joe Johnson hit a 3-pointer and two free throws after a Billups' turnover. And after Chris Andersen's inbounds pass was stolen by Maurice Evans, Al Horford's jumper made it a one-point game with 33 seconds left. Chauncey then wound the clock down on the final Nuggets' possession before throwing a desperation, double-clutch jumper from the top of the key that clanked off the back of the iron and set in motion one last attempt for the Hawks to steal this win. Atlanta had no timeouts remaining and with the rebound in Joe Johnson's hands, Johnson went driving the distance of the floor before unwisely deciding to kick the ball to a trailing Flip Murray. Flip, who usually is pretty clutch, proceeded to short arm what would have been the game-winning shot and the Pepsi Center faithful all breathed a great sigh of relief.

It was an ugly win, but coming off a three-game slide it was as good as a blowout. Chauncey scored a season-high 33 points after scoring a season-low three points against the Celtics two nights prior. Carmelo Anthony poured in a double-double of 23 points and ten rebounds, while also handing out five assists. The unsung hero award of the game goes the Birdman. Without Nene for the second straight game, Chris Andersen filled the void by scoring seven points, grabbing a dozen rebounds, and swatting five shots in 21 minutes of action.

Up next for the Nuggets is a look at the NBA's top team, record wise, the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. Denver failed its Eastern Conference measuring test against the Celtics on Monday, so it will be interesting to see how they perform against the West's top dog.

Go Nuggets!

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