Somehow, improbably, the Nuggets just won 2 of 3 on the road. That I can be thankful for as a Nuggets fan. Despite some very inconsistent backcourt play, the Nuggets finally seem to be rounding into form. In 5 straight games, the Nuggets have now held an opponent to 100 points or less, and 3 of those 5 they’ve held the opponent under 95 points.
The Nuggets have now played 12 of their first brutal 22 and are holding even at .500. Although many of us expected a better record at this point, credit where credit is due to this Nuggets team – they're holding their own on the road (4-5) and are showing improvement. Rotations seem to be solidifying for Karl, and he's finally showing Hamilton some additional time on the floor.
With two straight games at home versus the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Hornets (featuring Anthony Davis’s horrific teeth), the Nuggets can help shore up their record before heading back on the road to face the Jazz, Warriors and Lakers. Seriously, don’t look at those teeth if you’re eating right now, you’ll regret it.
Denver Nuggets 101, Minnesota Timberwolves 94 – In the 3rd quarter with 9:26 to play and the Nuggets trailing 50-60, Kevin Love arm barred Kosta Koufos after getting blocked and then when he wouldn’t let go, Koufos threw his arm off, and Love responded by shoving him into the reporter’s row and got a technical.
That one sequence ignited the Nuggets and they outscored the Timberwolves 51-34 the rest of the way. I’ll continue to believe that Love is overrated on a team of mediocre players despite the gaudy numbers.
Carmelo's improved defense makes him a legit MVP candidate – Marc Spears gets Melo to admit what most of us knew all along:
"I know I can do [play defense]," Anthony said. "It's not a matter of me not being able to do it. It was me just saying, 'OK, I'm going to do it now.'"
Thanks for finally admitting that you just haven’t cared enough to play defense until now, Melo. Don’t look now, but the Knicks just gave up 114 points to a Mavericks squad lacking Dirk Nowitzki.
Reggie Evans becomes the first player fined by the NBA for flopping – “The Joker” has finally drawn enough attention to himself with his antics to draw a $5,000 fine from the league. The incident occurred when Reggie flopped on very light contact by Ron Artest in the recent Nets-Lakers contest.
