I have it from a friend with direct contacts in the sports media world that the Nuggets brass are giving strong consideration to the suddenly available Avery Johnson.

I think Avery could be a very good fit here in Denver. I have a lot of respect for him as a coach, and his energy level and attention to defense may be just the thing that bring the Nuggets out of their 5 year postseason funk. I have a personal problem with his irritating high-pitched voice, but I could very easily overlook that if he is hoisting the O’Brian trophy as the Nuggets skipper.

I also have nothing but respect for George Karl as a coach and as a person. He’s done great things for the Denver Nuggets in the regular season the past 5 years, and the things that he’s gone thru personally (fighting cancer) and as a father (of a son that has battled cancer) make him the kind of guy that I root for no matter what. But, I do think it is time for a change in Denver. Unfortunately that means he might have to lose his job, but I think he could easily still coach elsewhere in the NBA if he wanted to. I do think that he coached one of his best games in the playoffs this past Monday night, by substituting his players more freely for matchups and flow of the game, rather than always having his star players in the line-up when it was their scheduled time to be on the court. He hasn’t been willing to do nearly enough of that, and I don’t blame him for not having the energy and fortitude required to make that kind of stand, but if he doesn’t anymore, he shouldn’t continue to coach the Nuggets.

It will be interesting to see what happens this offseason to the Nuggets coaching staff, just as it will regarding the Denver Nuggets players.

I’m a long-time die-hard Nuggets fan, and I was very depressed after the loss last night. It’s been a bizarre season. The Nuggets finish with 50 wins, their best season record in 20 years, yet barely make the playoffs and draw the #1 seeded Lakers. Then, the playoffs start and the Nuggets lose both road games and it feels like doomsday after the Nuggets never really threatened the Lakers in either game. The Nuggets have only won one game in each of their past 4 playoff series, yet they are in elite company in the Western Conference by being one of three teams to have even made the playoffs each of the last 5 years. (Dallas and San Antonio are the other teams)

I’ve reminded myself today though, that I’m just a Nuggets fan.  Whenever the Nuggets are done running up and down the court this season, life moves on. So, I’m determined to soak up the playoffs atmosphere this weekend when it comes to Denver, cheer hard for my team, but revel in the overall experience after the final buzzer sounds, whatever the outcome.

I wrap this post with a final reminder to just enjoy the NBA playoffs. With all the pressure George Karl and his coaching staff are under, they still found some time to have fun before the start of game 1:

Yes, Mr. Kroenke, I know that you have already dug deeply into your pockets this season - going $25 million over the salary cap and spending the third most in the NBA in keeping the core team together this year. I’m not going to ask for much more, but I have a plan as to how the Nuggets can give back on your investment.

As sports fans know - the home court is a coveted thing in the playoffs. The crowd is intense and you want it on your team’s side when the game is on the line, as it often is late in playoff games.

I’ve been to every Nuggets playoff game at the Pepsi Center in the past four seasons. Before each home game, the Nuggets organization has handed out “Bam Bams” (also known as Thunder Stix or Cheer Stix) to all ticket holders as they walk into the Pepsi Center. Last year, as many NBA teams were starting to do new and creative things like inspirational t-shirts emblazoned with marketing slogans, the Nuggets were still handing out Bam Bams. In fact, they looked so similar to the ones they handed out the year before, they were most likely left-overs recycled from one or more of the previous seasons since they have not had more than 2 home games in a playoff series since 1994. Then, the Nuggets went so far as to hand out more Bam Bam’s at the first game of the season this year. Ugh. If I have to see another Bam Bam… well, let’s just say that I’m a little tired of them.

So, back to thinking outside the box. I’m perfectly fine with the Nuggets following the lead of other NBA teams and printing t-shirts for the upcoming home game this weekend. I think the crowd would be more than happy about it and bring some extra noise and energy to support the Nuggets. That’s really what its all about isn’t it? Find a co-sponsor, throw their name and logo on the back of the shirt, and the whole thing doesn’t have to cost a whole lot. Wouldn’t an imposing sea of Nuggets baby-blue fans look a little imposing to the visiting Lakers this weekend and be well worth the $$’s it takes to print up 18,000 t-shirts?

So, here are a few quick ideas for the slogan on the front of the shirt, to help the Nuggets marketing staff:

Welcome to the Mile High City, where the air is rare

Always good to bring up our unique home court advantage.

Defense - it’s an altitude thing!

Poking fun at our own defensive liability that we all know about, but bringing up the high-altitude that the Lakers will be facing. It’s intentionally a play on the word “attitude”.

The Next Round will be Found

Please let this be true!

Now, you’re playing at Altitude

Remind that visiting team they are playing a mile high now.

So please, please, Nuggets organization… I hope you are listening and have already thinking about this since we secured our fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs!

The first game on TNT’s Thursday night line-up for April 10th has about as much potential drama as you can order for a regular season game. Two teams are vying for the 8th and final NBA playoff spot in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. The team that wins this game has a clear path to securing that spot, while the loser stands to become the all-time winningest team not able to make the playoffs.

With only 4 games remaining for both teams, and identical 47-31 records, this is a must-win game if there ever was one. Not that either team isn’t already well-familiar with that mode - as the battle just to get in to the playoff has been going on for both the Nuggets and Warriors for several weeks now.

“Two good teams who deserve to go to the playoffs are going to battle on Thursday night,” Denver coach George Karl said of the Nuggets and Warriors. “When this thing all started evolving six or eight weeks ago, I remember circling the game with Golden State.

“We could get (to the playoffs) if we don’t win. It could give us a big leg up if we do win.”

Carmelo Anthony appears to be a little confused by the situation.

“It’s a big game for us. Do I believe we have to win? No. But it’s a must-win for us.”

Regardless of his contradicting statements, he has not been confused on the court - averaging 40.3 points on 68% shooting (49-72) in the past three games.

Scoring will not be a problem in this game. The Nuggets rank second in the NBA in scoring with 110.7 points a game, training only Golden State at 110.8. On the flip-side - the Warriors have the league’s worst defense, allowing 108.3 points per game, ahead only of Denver, who allows 106.9.

The Nuggets have had their struggles on the road this season, going 16-23 away from the Mile High city this year. However, the Nuggets have won 9 out of their last 12 against Golden State. Golden State has the worst home record of any Western Conference playoff contender this season.

Enough statistics. Tomorrow’s game will be won by the team that wants it more.

GO NUGGETS!

We had a blast, and it was the best such event I have been to as a long-time Nuggets fan. About 3 years ago the Nuggets organization got smart and changed it from an autograph signing event to a real change to mingle with the players and coaches. The aquarium provided the perfect opportunity to talk to, take photos with, and literally rub elbows with the team. The players did a great job for the most part of walking around the aquarium and being accessible. Marcus Camby is the master at this - he always seems to be the first player that the fans see, and is the most willing to chat and take photos. I also had fun conversations over the course of the event with Anthony Carter, Linus Kleiza, Eduardo Najera, Coach Karl, Yakhouba Diawara, and yes, even Allen Iverson.

Allen, Carmelo, and JR hid behind the bar for most of the event, but when Allen agreed to pose for a quick pictures with my wife Carrie in the foreground, he chatted a bit as well. I asked him about his fractured finger, and he held it up to show truly damaged it is - from the look of it, it will definitely need surgery in the offseason. The finger is unnaturally bent upwards at the first knuckle. Ouch! I ended the conversation with a comment about the finger hurting less during the playoffs. With a smile, he countered:

No, probably not…

Implying… the other team will definitely be gunning for it during the playoffs, even more than they already are.

Yahkouba had the comment of the night. I asked him if he had lost any teeth during his encounter with Shaq’s elbow at the end of the game in Phoenix this past week. Chris Marlowe, during an Altitude broadcast the following evening had made a comment about Yahkouba having 3 teeth pulled:

“No, my teeth are fine”, he replied in his thick French accent. “Actually, Shaq’s arm is what you need to worry about as far as being injured.”

I just want to say thanks from myself and my family to the Denver Nuggets organization for putting on a great event tonight. It was a real treat for us fans!

Rewind to the beginning of the 2007-2008 NBA season. Nene was coming off a fairly successful season, especially in the playoffs against the Spurs, and was entering the second year of a 6 year, 60 million dollar contract. Life was good. Then, 5 games into this season, Nene injured his thumb bad enough to require surgery and miss 6 weeks of the season. He returned to the line-up on December 26th and played in 7 games. On January 11th, the Nuggets organization announced that Nene would be taking an indefinite medical leave. Not much was known at that time in respect to Nene and his situation. Many of the Nuggets players appeared to know and stepped forward and embraced Nene publicly to let him know they were there for him. This statement came from Nene, via the Nuggets:

“I’m very upset that I have to put a little delay on being with the team to take care of my health,” Nene said in a statement released by the team. “It is hard to go through when things seem to be going so well. I thank God that he showed me this issue, so I can take care of it. I want to get back on the court as soon as possible to help my teammates. My family and I ask that you respect our privacy during this time.”

The details on Nene’s condition were revealed the following week. In thanks to an NBA ordered random drug test, doctors had found a testicular tumor and were able to remove it surgically. Biopsy results found the tumor to be cancerous. The good news was the fact that the cancer was caught at an early stage. Nene chose to attack it with treatment, just as he would attack the rim in a game, to give his life and future the best possible chance of a complete recovery from cancer. When the details were shared, Nene had this to say:

“I want to thank my fans, my teammates, the Nuggets organization and everyone that’s been supporting me. My victory will be their victory as well.”

This past Thursday, Nene returned to the court, ten weeks after finding out he had cancer. A testament to Nene’s youth and strength - he somehow was able to come back to the court just a month after undergoing harsh radiation treatment. I had the good fortune to be at that game against Dallas, and the cheers Nene received from the fans that night were some of the loudest he has probably ever received in his career. Nene’s victory was shared by all.

So, this story has a happy ending, and it does circle back to sports and NBA basketball. After that initial trip back onto the court in the waning moments of a Nuggets victory, Nene has contributed significantly, albeit in small doses in the past two games against the Suns. What better test than to go up against one of the biggest and strongest centers to ever play the game? Shaquille O’Neal. In those two games, Nene was 3-4 from the floor with 8 points and 9 rebounds. He showed a pent-up level of energy that I would not have expected, and his moments on the court were marked with the strength and power moves in the post that the Nuggets had been missing in his abscense this season. I truly believe that Nene will be an important and positive factor in the playoffs this postseason. Welcome back, Nene.

Here are a few recent examples:

• On February 22nd in Chicago, he scored 43 points (a career high) in 33 minutes on 15-25 shooting, hitting 8 of 14 three pointers.
• On March 24th in Memphis, he scored 25 points while hitting 7 three pointers - solely in the fourth quarter.
• On March 27th against Dallas, his three point stroke was off, which in the past meant his game was ineffective and he would quickly head to the bench. Instead, he got to the rack (including the most acrobatic 180 degree alley-oop I’ve ever seen) and shot 5-7 from inside the arc with 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
• On March 29th, in another pressure cooker of a game, his three point stroke was even worse (1-9) so he shot 7-7 from within the arc, hit 5 of 6 free-throws, scored 20 points, and had 5 rebounds and 7 assists to compensate. The 7 assists were a career high.

J.R. experienced a lot of success last season in his first year with the Nuggets after being traded from New Orleans. However, he was inconsistent, and his performance was erratic. In the playoffs last year, his game took a nose-dive, where he shot 6-22 from the floor and missed all 12 of his three-pointers. Coach Karl was so frustrated with his poor choices on the court that he publicy called J.R. out and benched him in the 5th and final game of the series.

A tumultulous off-season followed where J.R. was driving an SUV that got into an accident and his childhood friend was killed. The 2007-2008 season started okay for J.R. but come December and January he found himself in the Coach’s doghouse and one of the last players off the bench. Instead of going into a funk though, J.R. agreed with the coaching staff and worked on his game. With that effort, he’s improved his defensive intensity and team defense, and is making better decisions handling the ball, passing it, and driving to the rim when his outside shot isn’t falling. 

The result is one of the key reasons for the Nuggets surge during their March playoff run. Arguably the toughest stretch of the season for the Nuggets, yet they’ve gone 10-5 and managed to work themselves back into one of the toughest playoff battles the NBA has ever seen. At 45-28 - 17 games above .500, they are in the 8th spot in the Western Conference.

J.R. Smith is the first player that Coach Karl pulls off the bench most games now, and whether he’s hitting the three pointer or not, he contributes heavily to the success of the Nuggets in whatever way he can… just as the coaching staff have yearned for him to do.

I’m actually referring to the exciting news from earlier in the week that might have slipped past you as a Nuggets fan, with all the buzz about Western Conference teams making major trades to try and give them an edge in one of the tightest playoff races from seed 1 thru 8 that the NBA’s seen in years.

THe NBA announced that Denver will play Phoenix in an outdoor preseason game for only the second time in league history. The only other time the NBA has played an official game outdoors was in 1972 when the Suns played the Bucks in Puerto Rico.

The game will be played October 11th at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California. Tennis fans will be familar with the site as the host of the Pacific Life Open Tournament on the bright blue court.

The game will be televised nationally on TNT.

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