Denver Colorado Sports Thread - Page 8

Strange Meat · #**141** Posted **May 28, 2009, 3:56 PM**

That was such crap last night.

AFPhoto Wolf · #**142** Posted **May 28, 2009, 6:24 PM**

what a let down last night was....

Pizzuti · #**143** Posted **May 28, 2009, 6:56 PM**

Well we were criticizing the Lakers as a one-man-show so they came back and played as a team.

Unfortunately it worked, and Denver wasn't playing so great either, ruining good plays by failing to follow through on shots. Don't settle for a layup when you can just as easily dunk! I cringed so many times when they missed easy shots and turned the ball over to the Lakers. It was like they got cocky or overconfident in their shooting skills and that resulted in bad judgment. They seem to swish every shot when they're already ahead (and also seem more likely to dunk), but when they're feeling discouraged they need to play more conservatively keeping in mind the possibility of missing shots.

I think that you should always avoid shooting difficult 3-pointers when there is NO ONE for your team under the basket and a miss is guaranteed to turn the ball over (I wouldn't say this had they made more than a third of those attempts). I do think the Nuggets are the better team - they play harder and would have won games 1 and 3 with better luck - but one thing the Lakers are much, much better at is getting someone under the basket for the rebound.

The Nuggets were also victims of some really awful calls, like Billups' break-away that was called an offensive foul after he scored the basket and Nene's first-quarter foul on Gasol that got him pulled from the game when it should h ave been an offensive foul against Gasol. But that's no excuse; they had early leads in all of the games they lost to the Lakers, and now they need 2 games in a row to continue. Here's hoping they do it.

blm3034L!fe · #**144** Posted **May 29, 2009, 6:03 PM**

I predict that the Nuggets will come back strong in game 6 but then loose the series in game 7.

unless Chauncey pulls out some serious on the court leadership and they keep a level head in game 7. If the refs were consistant and didn't call bullshit or no calls when there clearly is one. I think the series would already be over. But LA will always have the favored calls and that is something the Nuggets will have to overcome by playing really well and continue to play strong all the way through the 4th qtr!!!

GO NUGGETS!!!

I'm still very impressed with the Nuggets, this is so exciting for them to be doing even this well and make if this far into the playoffs. I would like nothing more than to see the Nuggets take out LA.

SnyderBock · #**145** Posted **May 30, 2009, 12:48 AM**

Big Game, Big game.... !!!
Happy Birthday Melo ;-)

FrancoRey · #**146** Posted **May 30, 2009, 3:30 AM**

Bad game. Bad game. Very disappointing.

It was a fun ride, I guess. LET'S go EAST!

SnyderBock · #**147** Posted **May 30, 2009, 3:39 AM**

The Lakers found out how the Nuggets were playing them and came up with a scheme to counter it and they executed it perfectly. Maybe next season in the Western Conference Finals, the Nuggets wont let game 1 and game 3 slip away at the very end after controlling the entire game.

Pizzuti · #**148** Posted **May 30, 2009, 3:41 AM**

Alright, now lets trade the hotheads off the team so we stop those ridiculously unnecessary fouls, and use our expanded status to recruit some additional star players to help Billups and Anthony next year.

Top Of The Park · #**149** Posted **May 30, 2009, 7:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pizzuti

Alright, now lets trade the hotheads off the team so we stop those ridiculously unnecessary fouls, and use our expanded status to recruit some additional star players to help Billups and Anthony next year.

Our players...all of them played with emotion, many times getting the short end of the ref stick, I cannot fault them and I hope they all come back. They didn't keep whining like so many of the Laker's players...especially one superstar. Credit the Laker's for playing as a team in the final game.

I kept thinking watching them what we might have done with a young Dikembe in there. Karl was a huge disappointment with some of his player substitutions, getting the ball into play and into the Laker's hands at critical times with the wrong in bound player. Finally, when things where getting out of hand at times, I expected Karl to call a time out, instead of just being a spectator. Seeing the scenes in the Denver locker room, one can see through the player's body language... they don't respect him.

Dispite the horrible officiating, I will be pulling for the Nuggets next year.Does anyone know if they have a first round choice in the draft?

Ronald-Dregan · #**150** Posted **May 30, 2009, 11:28 PM**

Denver does not have 1st round pick this year I don't know why. Denver has early second round pick #34 overall.

bammbammz · #**151** Posted **May 30, 2009, 11:59 PM**

I had ya'llz back Denva!!!
I'll still bet Denver against L.A. an Kobe, in a seven game series anyday.I'm wondering if jerry west an sorts sign the ref's salaries???? NICE-SHOWING DENVER..........salttylake4life...BAMMZ

Vicelord John · #**152** Posted **May 31, 2009, 1:52 AM**

If I learned one thing in this series, it is that I seriously misjudged Kenyon Martin... he is a true competitor and I didn't see him argue one call, or do anything stupid. He was called for a foul and had a huge smile on his face like he knew it was stupid, yet he had the warewithall to step away and not say anything. As far as the NBA goes, he is a stand up player.

JR Smith and Crymelo though, I also misjudged, they are actually stupider than I had thought. I wanted to shoot my TV everytime JR Smith made his stupid face and whatever his little dances were. If I were George Karl, hed be on the bench until he shut his gay little black face.

Next year if the Suns are out, I'll be rooting for the Nuggets again.

SnyderBock · #**153** Posted **May 31, 2009, 4:41 AM**

Melo does that immature stuff far less than he used to a couple seasons ago or even last season and JR Smith has been doing that stuff less and less as this season went on. Allan Iverson was partying nights before games, often until 3am and bring Melo and JR Smith along with him. Melo and JR Smith were trying to keep up with AI and that became one of the major forces inside the Nuggets organization for trading AI away abruptly at the beginning of this season.

That's a lot of bad influence AI brought with him and that's a lot of immaturity for Melo and JR to outgrow in one season. Kenyon Martin took the role as enforcer and basically enforced curfews on the team to put an end to these late night parties before games. They will both continue to mature, they have come a long way in only one season. Both Chauncey Billups and yes, Kenyon Martin made statements to their teammates this season about professionalism and commitment to defense.

Now they saw what professionalism and commitment to Defense got them, how far it got them and how they fell just short of their goals because they didn't have enough professionalism and commitment to defense. The key is, they know now, they experienced it first hand. They know what it takes and that they still have to work hard to get there. They are moving in the right dirrection.

I'm not sure what the team will do for upgrades. But the continued maturing and commitment to defense and professionalism from both Melo and JR Smith next season will equal an upgrade. A tall, physical center with a dominant post game and defensive presence would be the only upgrade they would need. This would allow them to move Nene back to his natural PF position and play Kenyon Martin off the bench (much in the way the Lakers use Lamar Odom), in order to keep his minutes down to help extend his career (save wear on his knees) and to further solidify the defense of Denver's bench unit.

A Dwight Howard, Shaq, Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, or Carlos Boozer type player would really be the only upgrade Denver needs to make them a challenger for the NBA's top record next season. Lack of Home Court advantage throughout the playoffs likely cost them the Lakers series. Their goal for next season should be to take into the playoffs the best record in the west. To do so, they need another dominant big man like I described. That may not be easy to come by, without giving up anything which made them so effective this season.

Vicelord John · #**154** Posted **May 31, 2009, 5:11 AM**

Ill trade you shaq for kmart straight up.

Pizzuti · #**155** Posted **May 31, 2009, 5:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicelord John

If I were George Karl, hed be on the bench until he shut his gay little black face.

Wow, way to be racist and homophobic all in one sentence, man. You're talking about a player's behavior then you go on saying a middle-school thing like that - Don Imus got fired for less. When a person can't censor his or her own bigoted speech it makes me discount everything he or she has to say.

Pizzuti · #**156** Posted **May 31, 2009, 5:39 AM**

I think the Nuggets need a tall guy. Watching Pau Gasol snap up all those rebounds made me cringe. He doesn't even have to be good to be a huge asset because by the simple virtue of his height he can get there first, then get control of the ball and pass it to someone who can take a good shot. Of course he is good, which made it all the worse. It seems like every team has a token super-tall player except the Nuggets.

If there were two things I would train the Nuggets to do better for next year, it would be follow-through on shooting, and rebounds. Don't roll it in when you can dunk (it popped out so many times and resulted in the other team getting the ball).

And don't shoot a 3-pointer unless you have someone under the basket to bump it in, since you're likely to miss. Actually, ALWAYS have somebody under the basket for the rebound when your team has the ball. That's a simple matter of discipline; my grandpa coached basketball for high school and middle school in Catholic schools and even with that age group he drilled his players on that.

Some days you're going to go on a roll and shoot awesome, and some days your shooting is going to suck. I think that variation is inevitable; the jitters of playing an away game, or playing when you're behind, can get to you. But the way to control your playing rather than putting yourself at mercy of the game is to have somebody there for rebounds.

If Denver had somebody to tap in even 1/4 of the missed-shots that handed the other team the ball (especially when their shooting averages were way down), I think they would have won every game. You'd essentially be bumping up your own score by 10% because you'd get those baskets, and bumping the other team's scores down by 10% because they wouldn't be getting possession of the ball.

SnyderBock · #**157** Posted **May 31, 2009, 5:44 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pizzuti

Wow, way to be racist and homophobic all in one sentence, man. You're talking about a player's behavior then you go on saying a middle-school thing like that - Don Imus got fired for less. When a person can't censor his or her own bigoted speech it makes me discount everything he or she has to say.

I as offended by it somewhat myself... BUT I think he meant "gay," as in "silly" or "flamboyant," not so much as in sexual orientation. Pointing out he has a black face (as in dark skin) is somewhat raciest, but in it's self is not hateful. It is a non-hateful, raciest observation and comment.

So in other words, it's pushing the limits and combining a semi-sexist statement with a semi-raciest statement into one, really makes it sound bad. However, i do think it is forgivable, so long as he does not intend to convey hate for generalized populations on merit solely based on stereotypes.

Pizzuti · #**158** Posted **May 31, 2009, 5:56 AM**

I know how he meant the word "gay" there, and it's still a problem for me. I don't know if he's personally anti-gay or anti-black, all I can tell is that he doesn't seem to mind being thought of that way.

I call that stuff out. And if they stop doing it I forgive them.

I don't mind being "that lame guy" who people roll their eyes at; silence is as good as participation. If I heard a kid talking like that, I wouldn't punish him, but I'd say not cool, man. It's the same thing I do for adults.

Vicelord John · #**159** Posted **May 31, 2009, 6:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pizzuti

Wow, way to be racist and homophobic all in one sentence, man. You're talking about a player's behavior then you go on saying a middle-school thing like that - Don Imus got fired for less. When a person can't censor his or her own bigoted speech it makes me discount everything he or she has to say.

Are you fucking kidding me? Im not going to censor my speech because youre afraid of it. I could care less if you discount what i say. Furthermore, there was no racism or homophobia in my sentence. Grow some balls. I'm not anti anything. I suggest if you read it that way, maybe intolerance is already at the front of your mind and really you're the one you should be worrying about, not me.

Go back to minding your own business.

SnyderBock · #**160** Posted **May 31, 2009, 7:51 AM**

You black triangle faced instigator... Your all upside down dude!