Blazers Game Report

Another day another dollar.

I think our Nuggets have stumbled upon an indentity. It's like this:

I. The starters--four of whom have all-star type ability--all respect each other and play unselfishly and pretty hard for the first quarter, getting a lead. They're not killing themselves with hustle, but they play within themselves, confident in the fact that they are among the best starting lineups in the league.

Kenyon brings the fierce defense, letting AI and Marcus roam for steals and blocks, respectively. Khouba mans up on the best wing player, hustles everywhere, and keeps his head down. The other guys love him, cause he's the most humble dude on the squad (possibly in the world).

Melo and AI key the offense. Melo is getting doubled harder than ever, so he patiently waits for a cutter or makes a swing pass. This makes him the defacto point guard of the team on a lot of possessions. He's making good decisions. AI dribbles around and makes things happen on the other possessions. Camby shows clever interior passing, but sometimes stops the ball looking for his own shot. Kenyon lies in wait, finishing everything he can get his hands on with a dunk. Diawara will either swish all of his threes, or brick them all horribly.

II. Karl puts in the bench, which is made up of a bunch of 6-7 hustle guys who play with tremendous intensity mixed with a bit of skill. Jones, Najera and Kleiza all play with reckless abandon. I excuse their occasional bad shots because it's all so fun to watch. Mike Wilks is a little guy with no point guard skills, but he makes up for by making plays with his athleticism and sticking midrange jumpers.

The craziest phenomenon has been the emergence of JR Smith as the leader of this second unit. On offense, the other guys have limited skill sets, so it's up to JR to freelance and make decisions. If you told me this a month ago

This unit often extends the lead, cuz they're crazy. Also, you can throw Melo or AI in with these guys to give more of an offensive identity.

With Nene down and no other size to speak of, I am gonna go ahead and say that Karl made a gutsy, smart move going with these small guys. It's paying off already.

III. For the rest of the game, Karl can mix and match starters and bench players based on how they're playing. It's not rocket science, but he's been doing it well.

I think the Nugz might be the most athletic team in the league. They're small, but relentless, and Karl is taking advantage of that. So far so good.

Next step: Let's see it work against a good team.

Cuz the Blazers are not that good (I like their future a lot, but not their present), and the Nuggets are pretty good. So that game last night? That was just taking care of business. Still, it'd be nice to see a competent team for a full season. That's a starting point.