The Blueprint

I've missed several recent games for reasons alternately happy and sad. Furthermore, I will shortly be leaving the country for a time. Hopefully, this post will tide over HyTop's increasingly rabid readership.

Saw the Milwaukee game. It was very nearly art. The pieces, for one brief moment, fit together, and the universe made sense. Psychedelics have this same effect, until the inevitable comedown. For now, I am still high.

Let's look at the blueprint (while remembering that blueprints exist only in the realm of the mind, while the Spurs and the Celtics are flesh and bone). The front office had some ideas, y'all.

BIG MEN

Marcus Camby: Savvy Vet. Plays a phenomenal finesse game on both ends of the court. Best weakside shotblocker in the game. Best passing center in the league. Rebounds like a motherfucker (but never boxes out). Decent slashing to the basket. Owns a somewhat shaky jumpshot that he trusts too much. Never loses his cool. Team spokesman.

Kenyon Martin: Junkyard Dog. Best man-to-man defender. Intimidator. Nasty finisher (in the half court). Can't do much in isolation situations. Tends to get out of control. Plays as hard as anyone in the world. An emotional leader.

Nene: Legit Big Man. Can guard the behemoths, score with his back to the basket, box out for rebounds. Runs the floor exceptionally well. Best pick and roll big on the squad (by a long shot). Seems to be in shape and healthy (knock wood).

Eduardo Najera: Glue Guy. Hustles, makes plays when he shouldn't, lends his energy to everyone around him. Plays within himself. Guards the pick and roll and loves to pressure guards in the backcourt. Moves without the ball better than anyone on the squad. Would be a valuable contributor to literally any squad in the league. Finishes fairly well for his size (reverse layups!) and now can shoot threes.

WINGS

Carmelo Anthony: Finisher. Moves without the ball, catches everything thrown his way, makes shots from all different angles and positions. A decent passer and an exceptional rebounder (when he wants to, which he recently has). The best post player on the team who commands automatic double teams (and often triple teams). Can't get a step on anyone off the dribble this year (tired legs from consecutive USA Basketball summers?). Decent man-to-man defender who loses interest when his man gives up the rock. Dominates and puts tons of pressure on the defense if he gives consistent effort. Seems to be morphing into more and more of a big man as he matures. This is not a problem. It makes him unique.

Linas Kleiza: Sharpshooter. Makes threes and runs better than anyone on the team. Earnest defender who is exploited on mismatches. Solid rebounder. Can kind of create his own shot off the dribble and in the post, but everything works off the threat of his jumper. Confidence is always on the edge, but he seems to realize that he belongs now. Hard worker. A bad but improving passer. Probably the Nuggets best young assets (Melo is part of the core), a lot of teams would love him and I think he could get 15 and 7 as a starter (on very good percentages). Basketball IQ has always been suspect with LK, but he's got a huge heart and wants so badly to succeed.

J.R. Smith: Whipping Boy. With Dermarr gone, Coach Karl has started fucking with JR in order to prove to himself and the world that his penis is longer than his thumb (he hasn't seen it in years, you see). JR can play, but honestly headcase projects are only valuable on marginal teams. JR is not needed if this team plays to potential. He's dead weight wrapped in bad karma, and it's not like he hasn't been given opportunities.

POINTS

Allen Iverson: Superstar. Everyone listens when he speaks (except the refs, who are deaf to his constant "AND1s" by now). Is finishing again, and taking less time to do it. Can do whatever he wants on the court. Needs to figure out what's best for the team. Really seems to want this to work. Easiest dude to root for this side of Barry Obama. It's his team, even though he'll pretent it's not. He remembers what it was like to be Melo. It wasn't easy, still isn't.

Chucky Atkins: Swagger. He's a real point guard, talking and pointing and directing traffic. Not a superior passer, but a guy who understands the game. He and AI have fun playing together (witness the behind-the-back-a-thon of the other night), and he recognizes how good Nene is in the pick and roll. His shot isn't there, but dude is a shooter. Can't guard anyone, doesn't rebound, but provides this team with some shit it just hasn't had since Saint Van Exel left town.

Anthony Carter: Plugger (in honor of the Simulator's favorite single-panel comic). Fills the gaps. Hits those ugly jumpers from Avery Johnson's favorite spots, gets unexpected steals and rebounds, throws long passes ahead to Melo for easy baskets (RIP Andre Miller). Best perimeter defender on the team (not a good thing). Plays within himself. Listens to the coach.

SCRUBS

I'm not doing the scrubs, I'm busy today. Y'all know I love Bobby Jones, hate Diawara, and am ambivalent on the rest. I guess JR is a scrub now, but I think his situation has meaning for the team as a whole, which is why I included him.

HOLES

No Playmaker. The Nugs aren't a great passing team.
Bad perimeter defense. This is why Tony Parker runs layup drills every time we see him.
Shooting. LK is solid. Melo and AI will surprise you. Eddie's been great. Chucky could make this a non-issue.

Basically, trade for Kirk Hinrich and this team could win it all. Shit, they still might, how they looked the other night. I'll watch tonight then fly away in the morning.

Happy New Year. Make it better than the last.