As my colleague Nate Timmons pointed out in his column entitled Previewing the 2012-13 Denver Nuggets, George Karl seems to have a minutes problem. Specifically minutes for his many … many … many … many … wing players. You have Andre Iguodala, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Jordan Hamilton, Corey Brewer and Evan Fournier. By my count that is six players who all play the 2 or 3 position on the floor. Clearly minute allocation is a problem.
I am, however seeing one way that George Karl may be choosing to attack this problem. After the preseason game on Monday night against the Golden State Warriors, George Karl stated that the 6’10” Italian small forward Gallinari was the best player on the court that game. Which he was. However, there were stretches of the game where Gallo played either the 4 or 5 position on the court. So when the Nuggets go to “small ball” it seems that Karl intends to use Gallo as his “tall” player in that scenario.
This doesn't mean Gallo would guard the center. It just means Gallo was the tallest Nuggets player. So I'm thinking that once we get into the regular season we should be prepared to see even more of this played out. I'm not entirely convinced it's a good idea to play Gallinari that much at the power forward position. However, you need your best players on the court, and finding minutes for all those wing players will be a difficult task indeed. Maybe, just maybe, playing Gallinari and Chandler (when he's healthy) at the 4 will help lighten some of the "minutes-based pressure" on the Nuggets.
Or it may just be opening a can of worms we don't want.
On to the links!
Kosta Koufos could have inside track on Nuggets’ center job – Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
Two things. The premise of this article may make some heads explode in the “JaVale McGee needs to start camp”. Second, Adrian Dater has to fill the NHL lockout time somehow I suppose.
Nuggets' Danilo Gallinari plans to make the "Party Start" – Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
Simply put, this is a big year for Gallo. Needs to take the next step and really prove he's a good player in this league and remain healthy.
Chandler could provide big Nuggets impact – Josh Dover, Mile High Sports
For those Wilson Chandler fans (cough…Nate Timmons…cough) this is an article from Mile High Sports that advocates big time for Chandler. Obviously Mr. Dover doesn't think Chandler is "meh".
Athletic, versatile Nuggets have the look of a challenger – Mike Tokito, The Oregonian
Here is a nice preview of the Nuggets coming from Trail Blazer territory!
Nuggets guard Julyan Stone to miss several more months – Mile High Sports
Looks like Stone is still recovering from his hip surgery and will be out at least until January. Alright Nuggets fans, take a deep collective breath and accept that Anthony Carter’s chances of making the roster have increased dramatically.
