Denver Nuggets Flying High, Yet Full of Smoke

Ok, as I watch the Denver Nuggets get blown out by the San Antonio Spurs on a TNT nationalized telvised game Tuesday night, I thought I would comment on how awful the Nuggets look.

Good GOD!

I thought that if you wanted to compete to win a championship, especially in the West, you had to at least play some defense.

I mean the Suns really are an exception to that rule, but then again they have two-time (and soon to be three-time) MVP Steve Nash to drive their ship - however the Suns have yet to go to the Finals.

But the Nuggets lack anything of the sort.
As Charles Barkley said on TNT- The Nuggets defense is horrible. The Nuggets have the two leading scorers in the league, but the have no players doing the dirty work. No guys who don't really want to score, but will play defense and rebound and hustle. And he loves Allen Iverson, but Iverson pounds the ball too much. David Aldridge mentioned Eduardo Najera as a gritty player, but Barkley said Najera's not a good enough player.
They lack any confidence in their defensive play. And the Spurs just picked them apart like the veterans they are, while Reggie Miller proclaimed that "this" is why the Nuggets are not being considered to go far in the playoffs. They don't have the ability to compete on a higher level with those elite teams of the West. The Spurs weren't even playing that complex a defense, but their excellent execution managed to hold the Nuggets to 49 points through three quarters. The Nuggets recorded their lowest scoring quarter of the season with only 10 points in the third, as they crawled into the fourth quarter with a 31 point defecit.

It was ugly.

Iverson and Melo have only played 7 games together and they are 2-5.

You do the Math. At number 7 in the West- it is not looking good.

John Amaechi declares “I’m Gay” to the World…. The World replies, “Who the hell is John Amaechi?”

I’m sorry, but I don’t really care about John Amaechi. It’s not that I’m insensitive toward gay people; it’s that I’m insensitive toward mediocre ball players.

A lot of sportscasters have been saying the same thing: it will be real interesting when an active NBA player comes out publicly.

To that end, let me know when Vince Carter holds his press conference (zing!)

(Come on, this dunk was clearly just an excuse to get close with Frederic Weis)

Cuban, Dirk and Wade get ugly

So Dirk Nowitzki says that the Dallas Mavericks gave the Miami Heat the NBA Championship last year. He’s arguably right: The Mavs were up two games to zero on Miami in last year’s finals and they ended up losing the series.

Still, you don’t say that sort of thing publicly because it implies that they other team didn’t do anything to deserve the championship. It’s one thing to say that you should have won; it’s another to say that you gave it away.

So naturally, Wade is insulted and fires back at Dirk. Wade called out Dirk, saying:

“He’s the reason they lost the championship, because he wasn't the leader that he's supposed to be in the closing moments. That's because of great defense by us, but also he wasn't assertive enough as a leader's supposed to be.”

Wade is arguably right too. It’s not the classiest comment in the world, but he’s not completely off-base.

Now, enter Mark Cuban to add some more drama and his trademark cutting remarks:

“You are an amazing player, Dwayne. I love watching you shoot free throws.”

This is clearly a shot at both Wade and the NBA’s Referees. If you can’t read between the lines, Cuban is saying that Wade gets preferential treatment from the league’s officials. Guess what? He’s arguably right too!

One things for sure, we have a bona fide rivalry on our hands. The question remains: does anyone care?

Arenas Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot

I really like watching Gilbert Arenas play and I think he’s one of the best players in the NBA right now, but the guy has just proven to the world that he clearly doesn’t get it.

Scoring is great. You score more points than the other team and you win, right?

But when your only aim is to score, and you don’t, there’s not much that you’re contributing, now is there?

How immature do you have to be to have a vendetta against assistant coaches who had nothing to do with making decisions that made you feel slighted?

How disrespectful do you have to be to insult a pro team by saying how many points you’re going to score against them before the game?

How unfocused do you have to be to worry about how many points you (personally) score when the object of the game is to win?

How good are you if you cannot backup your selfishly bold prediction against one of the worst teams in the league?

What does it say that your head coach says that there’s no leadership on your team?

Gil just went from Golden Child to Goat.

Oh yeah, and stop playing fucking Online Poker at halftime! Jeez.

Francis and Isiah in the Showcase Showdown!!

Everyone has seen that "Franbury" backcourt (Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury) has not succeeded according to plan. This has been so apparent that the newspapers have continually reported rumors that the Knicks were discussing a buyout with Francis's agent.

Plagued with injuries this season and stuck in an unclear role on the team, it is apparent Francis is not the player he used to be. Worse yet, Steve Francis's trade value is at an all time low and this makes it even more difficult for the Knicks to effect a change.

So what do you do? SHOWCASE, SHOWCASE, SHOWCASE! You give him a bigger role and talk about how great he is, of course!!

Take one look at the title of the article on Francis in today's New York Post: "FRANCIS RETURN (AND BIGGER ROLE) AT HAND."

Pay close attention to the quotes from Thomas littered throughout the article:

• "He looks good to me."

• "He gives you some veteran savvy in the backcourt"

• "When [Stephon] Marbury goes out, or if he goes down, at least you've got some savvy back there, someone who understands the position and is still the same kind of threat offensively, can get to the basket, can get to the foul line and is an excellent rebounder.

• "He definitely brings another level of savviness to your team."

Is Thomas his agent? Is Thomas his mother? What's the deal with this unbridled positivity?

Thomas clearly understands that a buyout will not help the Knicks. He also understands that Francis does not fit with this roster. His only choice is to build Francis up, make him look good (in the hope that this will increase his trade value) and then ship him off at the deadline for something or someone that the Knicks could use.

Let's not forget the other elephant in the living room. Thomas's complements about Francis's game are clearly indictments of Nate Robinson's game.