One of my best friends was attending tonight’s game, and at halftime with the Nuggets ahead 52-48. I talked throughout halftime and came up to the Avalanche press box a little bit late. In the time it took me to walk down the concourse, to the elevator and to the press area the Nuggets went from up 4, to down 9.

I shook my head. Is this right? Seemed like it happened in a flash. They couldn’t have not only given up the lead, but be down nearly double digits in such a short amount of time. But there it was. By the time the third quarter had ended the Nuggets were down 17 and were outscored by 21 in the frame. Game. Set. Match. It was inexplicably brutal, and at one point the fans in Pepsi Center started getting restless and booed Timofey Mozgov when he missed two bunnies close to the rim one one possession.

Of the negatives, J.J. Hickson played tonight like he just now discovered the game of basketball. A grand total of 1 point in 16 minutes of play with 6 rebounds. It was brutal. I don’t know if it was because he had to cover DeMarcus Cousins or if he just had an off night … he was so bad Mozgov was subbed in for him in record time (three minutes into the first quarter). Mozzy also had a rough game. He was getting good looks but couldn’t connect at all with 6 points on 3-15 shooting. For a center who get’s close looks that is an absolutely brutal percentage.

Both Wilson Chandler and Kenneth Faried had “meh” type of games. In fact Wilson Chandler didn’t score until the fourth quarter. Since the break Chandler has looked a bit disheartened. Faried doesn’t look enthusiastic about his current situation either. Just…there. Both finished with awful +/- scores. Faried was -52 and Will was -48 in the last two contests. Yeesh

On a positive note, the first half really displayed what you WANT to see from Evan Fournier. He had 20 points and was extremely aggressive. Without Fours and his offense the Nuggets likely would have been blown out in the first half. He finished with 27 and suffered a bit from not getting the ball much, and looking for his shot while dribbling too much. However if you are looking for the bright side, that is it.

Additionally, Jan Vesely looked … productive. He had a couple steals, a couple dunks and was active in his limited minutes. I’m not holding out hope that Vesely will be anything more than an expiring contract, but it was good to see that he showed flashes of WHY he was the 6th pick in the draft.

Yet…that third quarter. Yuck. On to the next game Nuggets, on to the next game.

Nuggets of Wisdom

No words of  wisdom today folks. Just a song. Have a good night!