(Denver-CO) The honeymoon is over. That’s right, Nuggets Nation, Denver’s 5-0 start seems like a distant memory now that they have lost back-to-back games in blowout fashion. Last night, Denver looked defenseless against the Hawks losing, 125-100, and glaring problems in the front court seem to be magnified with the unavailability of Kenyon Martin.

George Karl (finally) switched up his starting line-up by inserting Joey Graham in for Anthony Carter and Renaldo Balkman for the injured Kenyon Martin. The good news is Kenyon Martin’s lower leg contusion is not serious and he is expected to return in about a week, but the bad news is starting Renaldo Balkman really exposes the Nuggets’ greatest weakness.

In the first, the Nuggets once again allowed their opposition a 30+ point quarter. To the Hawks credit, they were hitting a lot of jumpers, but when the opposition’s jumpers are falling it makes conceding lay-ups seem even more damaging and in last night’s game the Hawks were able to shoot 68% with the help of eight buckets from near pointblank range on their way to scoring 33 points in the first quarter.

Offensively, the Nuggets were once again slow to start. Carmelo Anthony dropped twelve points in the first quarter, but he didn’t have much help. Chauncey Billups started 2-8 shooting from the field and seems to be still bothered by a tender ankle. And from there things get really thin. Nene played seven scoreless minutes, Renaldo Balkman mainly stayed out of the way, and Joey Graham offered two points in five starting minutes before George Karl realized he’d better get Arron Afflalo in the game to supplement some offense.

Chauncey Billups found his offense in the second quarter to finish the half with 16 points on 5-13 from the field, and Carmelo and Nene each added another six, but the rest of the Nuggets were essentially dormant on the offensive end. Even worse was the effort on defense as the Hawks converted on another handful of dunks or lay-ups and dominated the pace of the game by limiting Denver to one shot and out defensively to take a, 60-50, lead at halftime.

It’s painfully obvious that the Nuggets are going to have serious problems defending the interior and rebounding as long as Kenyon Martin is sidelined. Against the Hawks, the only frontcourt player that made a conscious effort to clean the glass was the Birdman who had seven rebounds in the first half. Carmelo grabbing four rebounds total for the half after having three in the first five minutes of the first quarter is just not getting it done. And where is Nene? Two rebounds by any teams starting center is atrocious and Renaldo Balkman coming up with the goose egg is unacceptable from a power forward who’s specialty is supposed to be a never-ending supply of energy and hustle. Add it all up and the sum is a sobering reminder that Denver is small, thin, and soft without Kenyon’s toughness in the line-up.

I digress, but honestly there is going to be nothing but problems for the Nuggets as long as there is a reluctance to hit the boards by Nene, Carmelo, and Renaldo Balkman (for as long as he’s receiving playing time) because I’m a firm believer that, this year more than in year’s past, this team is going to struggle offensively as long as the defensive end isn’t buttoned down.

Proof in the pudding is how the Nuggets allowed the Hawks to score 30 and 35 points in the third and fourth quarters, and after the Hawks scored the first 10 points of the second half to make it, 70-50, Denver never got their lead down below a dozen. Atlanta finished with seven players in double figures led by Jamal Crawford’s 25 points off the bench and Joe Johnson and Josh Smith each pouring in 22 points as the Hawks shot 51% despite Jeff Teague finishing 1-9 from the field.

But that’s not the most maddening aspect of this embarrassing loss. Numerous times in the second half Atlanta beat Denver in transition for easy buckets on their way to outscoring the Nuggets 28-19 in fast break points and the Nuggets were decimated on the boards 44-36. Carmelo Anthony playing 39 minutes and finishing the game with six rebounds is a clear indication that ‘Melo isn’t putting in the same kind of effort defensively as he is offensively. Anthony finished with a game-high 30 points, but had he scored five fewer points and grabbed five more rebounds (maybe even a few at critical junctures) who knows what the affect would have been on the scoreboard. The same goes for Nene. A center who plays nearly 40 minutes and finishes the game with seven rebounds is not doing his part on boards; especially after playing 20 minutes in the first half and only having two rebounds to show for it.

The good news is J.R. Smith has now served his time and will be returning to the available roster on Tuesday when Denver travels to Chicago to take on the Bulls. Offensively, this should be a shot in the arm for a team that has had trouble getting started, but what concerns me is Denver’s defense. The Nuggets are allowing 30+ point quarters to be dropped on them with too much regularity having now allowed their opposition at least one 30+ quarter in four of their first seven games.

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Add Comment