| 26 March 2009
(Denver-CO) The Denver Nuggets are a team to be reckoned with. When they play their offensive game, with a defensive agenda, they might even be contenders in the Western Conference. Last night’s, 101-88, shellacking of the New Orleans Hornets, in the Big Easy, gave us a glimpse of what kind of potential this team has and what’s scary is they were without starting center, Nene, who was suspended by the league for two games for a flagrant two foul in the Denver loss to Phoenix on Monday.
In my preview I discussed how Chris Paul had gotten the better of Chauncey Billups in both of Denver’s prior losses to New Orleans this season. Well, in last night’s win that all changed. Chauncey Billups may have played Paul as tough has he has been played all season long. Billups and company forced Chris Paul into six turnovers, which is one shy of his season-high, while Paul was 5-11 from the field shooting. Granted, the box score reads a line for CP3 of 19 points and 13 assists, but that same line includes a -19 +/- overall.
Offensively, Billups was in rare form. Mr. Big Shot netted 26 points, six assists, and just one turnover in a game-high performance of +18 +/- overall. Billups raised his game and led by example by not only answering the challenge of handling Paul defensively, but with his offensive efficiency as well and both seemed to be contagious team-wide as the underlying cornerstone in this win.
Defensively, the Nuggets were on their game. They were trapping Chris Paul in an effort to keep him out of the interior of the defense and with the ball out of his hands more than the Hornets were used to it was disrupting to New Orleans’ continuity and frustrating to Paul. This had a two prong effect: First, it was forcing the other Hornets to create something for themselves. This is not something they are used to doing after being spoon fed by CP3 all season long. Secondly, it frustrated Paul into trying to do too much and as a result forced him into tough shots and turnovers. As a team, the Nuggets kept the Hornets to only 29 made field goals while New Orleans netted just 42% shooting. Denver also forced 19 turnovers tying a season-high for Paul and company. The low shooting percentage is attributed to Denver limiting New Orleans to eight offensive rebounds and a very stingy 68 shot attempts overall. When all combined with the season-high tying turnover total for NOLA this game may have been the most impressive body of work defensively over a full four quarters this season.
Bravo.
The Nuggets really opened up this game in the third quarter behind Herculean efforts by Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony. ‘Melo scored ten straight points over a three and a half minute stretch that sustained Denver’s lead at four points with 5:35 remaining in the third quarter. Chauncey then hit his second momentum crushing three of the quarter before Anthony connected four more free-throws. Billups then closed the quarter for Denver with three more free-throws to put the Nuggets up by twelve, 77-65, before James Posey was awarded the actor of the year award, and three free-throws, at the end of the quarter with a thespian effort drawing contact in the corner on a three-point attempt. Posey made all three charitable free-throws and the Nuggets led by nine heading into the fourth quarter.
It’s at this point that I have to mention the crowd at the Hive. Up until about the middle of the third quarter, the patrons at the New Orleans Arena were rabid. Altitude commentators mentioned numerous times that there was a playoff atmosphere in the arena. But, after the Nuggets put 31 points up on the scoreboard led by Carmelo and Chauncey scoring a combined 23 points in the third, the Hive had been smoked into a dramatically calmer state entering the fourth quarter. This may not seem like much of an accomplishment in the grand scheme of the win, but it proved to me that the Nuggets are not as green in such situations as in years past. Before, Denver would be prone to allowing a team to feed off their home court energy, but to calm the crowd and handle their team on their home floor in as big of a potential playoff match-up was something to build on for the upcoming postseason. This ability is invaluable in the playoffs and certainly something Denver has not been able to do while being bounced in the first round of the postseason the last five years.
Back to the game.
In the fourth quarter, we saw the Denver offense running on all cylinders for the first eight minutes. The Nuggets opened up their largest lead of the game, 94-73, with a barrage of scoring from its guards. The huge run was capped off by J.R. Smith hitting his second three of the game and seventh point of the quarter, but with the help of Chauncey hitting his fourth and fifth three’s of the game book ending another long jumper, and Anthony Carter hitting his own long J. The Nuggets looked as good as I’ve seen them all year long. They had inflicted enough damage at this point in the game to endure scoring just seven points over the final 7:38 by playing smothering defense for the first 40 minutes of the game and prevailed, 101-88.
Carmelo finished with game-high 29 points and five rebounds, Chris Andersen grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and scored nine points while blocking two shots, on the same New Orleans possesion, and altering countless others. J.R. Smith added 16 points off the bench. And although Denver handed out just 14 assists, they were 23-24 from the free-throw line and as a team turned the ball over just twelve times.
And guess what, Nuggets Nation….
Phoenix did us huge favor last night by beating the Jazz, 118-114! Denver now holds a full game and a half lead over both Utah and Portland with just ten games remaining in the regular season.
Go Nuggets! 
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