Now that the Nuggets have evened up the Western Conference Finals at two games a piece, it is becoming increasingly clear that these two teams are who we thought they were. The Lakers have the most talent in the NBA and they are pretty difficult to beat when rolling on all cylinders. But the Nuggets are gritty, ornery and infuse an infectious emotional charge into the game that regularly disrupts the objectives of any team they play
In a cold, calculated series played in the half court and predicated on execution, the Lakers would be everyone’s clear favorite. That type of play, however, no longer seems possible in this series.
On TNT’s Inside the NBA, Kenny Smith’s most common refrain is to discuss how every great team always has an identity. You cannot just be a good basketball team; you need a style of play that defines you. I am pretty sure that the Lakers do have an identity even if I can’t define it (professional inconsistency, maybe?). But something I am absolutely certain of is that Denver does have a style.
Last night, for example, the Nuggets effectively won the game in the first three minutes of the second quarter by taking the contest to a place where this team shines above any other remaining in the Playoffs. The Lakers had been out-played for the whole first quarter as well, but after Kobe hit two shots in the final 35 seconds of the period — including an impressive, driving bank shot as the buzzer sounded — the Denver lead was down to three and the Lakers seemed to have taken some momentum going into the quarter break. But as the Nuggets would soon show, “seem” is the key idea in that sentence.
Right out of the huddle, JR Smith drove the lane and found a wide-open Chris Anderson for a commanding alley-oop dunk. A minute later, after several Denver offensive boards and a JR jumper, Anderson again inflamed the PepsiCenter crowd with a sudden, vicious block of Shannon Brown’s lay up attempt. Then after yet another scoreless Laker possession, JR missed a three but tracked down his own offensive board, knifed through traffic and finished with a right-handed lay in from the left side.
The Nuggets were up 11. The Lakers never caught up. Sure, there was more to this foul-ridden game than those few minutes, but the start of second quarter (altogether Denver went on a 17-5 run in the quarter’s first six minutes) summed up this win.
And, more so, that second quarter summed up this entire Nugget team.
Carmelo and Chauncey are Denver’s undisputed captains. They execute and they provide unwavering assuredness for the rest of the team. If the game is close, they slow it down and make all the major decisions.
Kenyon and Nene are Denver’s anchors. They bang, they defend and they bang some more. Like the interior tandems of Dale Davis/Antonio Davis or Charles Oakley/Anthony Mason before them, they don’t do anything fanciful, but they fill the paint with enough grime to ensure that guys like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom never get comfortable near the hoop. Basically, these two guys force a tactical, whitewater kayaker like Pau to prove he can also manuever in a swamp.
Then comes JR Smith and Chris Anderson: Denver’s bone marrow. They are raw, relentless and unrestrained. They only know how to play one way and there is no dimmer switch. JR is the more versatile of the two with three different settings: (1) shoot, (2) drive, and (3) shoot. Chris Anderson has but one: Birdman.
Of course, without Chauncey and Melo, this team would be a joke. And without Kenyon and Nene, they would be too soft to contend. But without JR and Birdman, they would have no soul. And if we witness the Nuggets reach their first NBA Finals next week, I have a feeling that Denver’s bone marrow will be the main ingredient.
(This great Birdman interview/puff piece ran last night during half time. via @JumpShot911)
“You gonna have to talk to him about that” just beat out the entire Yao/Artest press conference as my favorite quote of the Playoffs thus far.
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