(Denver-CO) The Denver Nuggets made everybody in the Nuggets Nation thankful that they didn’t lose to the hapless Timberwolves. We can be thankful for Carmelo getting his 15th consecutive 20+ point performance and by doing so is now the only player in the league to have done so this season and also put himself in the record books of the Denver Nuggets by breaking Alex English’s record of 14 consecutive games to start a season with 20+ points. Additionally, we can be grateful for George Karl picking up his 944th win that put him into a tie with Bill Fitch for seventh all-time in games won by a head coach. However, a 124-111, victory wasn’t as sweet as it may have seemed when you look at how the Nuggets won against a team that truly is in dire straights for positive things to build on for their future.

I’ll start out by saying at least the Nuggets took control of the game from its opening tip offensively. Denver jumped out to a, 29-18, lead after one quarter of play with a well-balanced attack led by Nene’s four points and four assists.  But, once again, it was bitter sweet for me because Denver is still doing a shoddy job of defensive rebounding. Maybe I’m a purest (or perhaps just a constant scrutinizer), but even when the Nuggets are humming on offense. I can’t overlook the fact that they allowed Minnesota eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter. Sure, the Nuggets can afford to allow something like that to happen against a team like the Timberwolves because they couldn’t throw a seashell into the ocean, but it still shows me a certain lack of discipline and an absence to the attention to detail that playing the game the fundamentally correct way warrants. I digress, but I think all of you would agree with me when I say these kinds of lapses aren’t going to be merely side notes when teams like the Lakers, Spurs, or Celtics are the Nuggets’ opponent. They’re flat out too good to give second and third chances on single offensive possessions and the Nuggets will not be as fortunate as they were against the Timberwolves.

With all that being said, and that’s not to say there isn’t more that bothered me, the Nuggets’ overall attack in the first half was really good. I especially liked stretches in the second quarter where Denver was making the extra pass and getting easy dunk attempts for the Birdman. Andersen shot five free-throws in the quarter and gave the Nuggets nine of their 62 points at the half while really making a difference defensively with his shot blocking presence. Defensively, I know that Kenyon Martin is the “middle linebacker”, as George Karl likes to call him, of our defense, but I can’t help myself from thinking that this team actually plays better defense overall with the Birdman patrolling the nest. He’s the highest +/- player in the NBA off the bench (to be fair, Ty Lawson is also doing a great job and is the second highest player coming off the bench in +/- stats) and gives this team a different dimension defensively. It’s hard to put your finger on how or why this is the case, but the results (and stats) seem to back up my theory seeing how Denver had built an 11-point lead at the half, 62-42.

However…

The second half is where I have a bone to pick.

I only liked a couple of aspects of the third and honestly didn’t care for much of the Nuggets’ 40-point outburst overall because they were leaking points on the defensive end like a sieve. Maybe the pick-up style of play that ensued in the third quarter was due to playing two of the worst teams in the league on back-to-back nights and the Nuggets knowing that they could just outscore the Timberwolves in a Rucker Park style of basketball, but 37 points - to any team - is a lot of points to surrender in twelve minutes and was Minnesota’s highest output in  a single quarter this season.

What I did like about the third quarter was Chauncey Billups showing us that he hasn’t gone anywhere, yet rather has just been quietly pulling the strings from the position of puppeteer. Mr. Big Shot hasn’t had to score a lot of points as of late, but cashed in 15 points in the third quarter by way of five three-pointers (four conventional, and one by way of wit when he drew a foul out of Ramon Sessions in transition for three free-throws) just to remind us that he could as the Nuggets’ bigs took turns handing out nifty passes to each other for dunks.

What scared me though was how the Nuggets, even with their starters on the bench for the entire duration of the fourth quarter and the referees giving them no whistles on one end and blowing it at nausea on the other, could allow their lead of 23 points entering the fourth to dwindle down to a mere eight points with 1:09 remaining in regulation before pulling out a 13-point win, 124-111.

Is it possible that the total disinterest of playing two terrible teams on back-to-back nights set in on this team during the second half or is it fair to think that this stretch of games against such sub-par teams could lead to the Nuggets developing habits that could come back to haunt them when better teams are on the schedule?

I’ll take thankfully the win, but I’d sure like to see the Nuggets tighten a few of the loose ends like defensive rebounding, allowing a ton of points to be scored in quarters, and those 19 turnovers.

Go Nuggets!