No Blood No Foul

Now that we know Denver must trade Allen Iverson, here’s a list of potential ’sign-and-trade’ opportunities:

Cleveland - My personal favorite, A.I. and Lebron could play together in a way that Melo and A.I. never will. Lebron is a much better 3pt shooter and passer than Melo, opening up a lot more scoring opportunities for A.I. (and the rest of the Cavs) that simply don’t exist in Denver. Additionally, if Cleveland had A.I., their offense wouldn’t grind to a halt when Lebron went to the bench. Finally, A.I.’s defensive liabilities won’t be as significant in Cleveland as they are in Denver. Denver would gladly take Delonte West back as their PG of the future, and Cleveland has some attractive expiring contracts. Cleveland throws in a late first round pick and we’ve got enough to make a deal.

The Knicks - Anyone else think that A.I. would thrive in D’Antoni’s system? (more…)

It’s a shame that Iverson - one of the greatest small guards to ever play the game (if not THE greatest) - has to leave Denver. The, however, writing is on the wall - the Melo - A.I. experiment has failed. Here’s why Denver’s got to trade A.I.:

1) Denver risks losing Iverson for nothing if they don’t trade him. The argument here is simple - keep Iverson, and you risk him leaving for nothing this time next year. It’s just good business to trade players in their last season.

2) Iverson’s defense is holding Denver back. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not saying that Iverson is the problem on defense. The truth is, even without Iverson, there are a lot of guys that need to improve defensively (cough - MELO -  cough). However, Iverson’s defensive risk taking and lack of focus give the Nuggets opponents a lot of opportunities. While his scoring will be missed, just about anyone can replace him and improve the Nuggets defensively. (more…)

The Denver Nuggets have the honor of being the only second 50 win team in the history of the NBA to be swept in the first round of the playoffs (since the best of seven format began). Here’s what went wrong:

> Bad defensive habits.

The much-maligned Nuggets defense improved in the last year, but not enough to overcome their chronic lack of focus. The Nuggets spent just as much time this season playing bad defense as they did playing good defense. They often played to the level of their competition - like beating a tough San Antonio team twice in Denver, then losing a “must win” game to a young Seattle team during the last week of the season.

> Melo’s lack of maturity.

Carmelo is a tremendous scorer, and he’s becoming an excellent passer and a solid rebounder. Unfortunately, he’s yet to develop into a leader. His meltdown after game 3 in the Lakers-Nuggets series underscored his biggest problem - his lack of maturity. He doesn’t understand that his individual defensive efforts would translate to better team defense. Not to mention his DUI that came the week before the playoffs. He’s the best player - he needs to set the tone.

> Chemistry. (more…)

I’m a baaaad Nuggets fan. I don’t focus on the things they do well - transition offense, creating turnovers, their ever-improving inside-out game, their ability to play through injuries, or the fact that on any given night they can beat any team in the NBA. Instead, I focus on the fact the Nuggets are lazy (like the dog in the picture).

They’re not playing defense (at least not consistently). Every game I see them take a play or a series of plays off - I’ve even seen them take entire quarters off. Not a game goes by that I don’t see the Nuggets fail to challenge a shooter. It’s sickening - all it takes is a little effort to run out and put a hand in someone’s face, yet no one moves. That’s the definition of bad perimeter defense. Local beat writers are finally starting to pick up on this - according to the Denver Post, the Nuggets win more games when they defend the 3pt line than when they don’t. Too bad I’ve been lambasting the Nuggets for this since before the season started.

They’re not running enough. Running creates a lot of easy points, puts pressure on opposing defenses, and (more…)

Minnesota doesn’t need Marko Jaric (but Adriana Lima does). His contract is expensive ($25 million left including this season). By the time the rest of the T-wolves hit their stride, Jaric (currently 29) is going to be too old to be of any use. Finally, Jaric’s not really known as a locker-room leader. He just wants to show up, do his job, then go home to his hot girlfriend (my kind of guy).

But that’s not to say Jaric’s a bad player. His skill set isn’t league leading, but he’s got good range (better than 37% 3pt shooting the last couple of years), he’s a decent passer, and he can play a little “D”. He’s also got good size for a point guard (listed at 6′7″). He provides size, shooting, and above average perimeter defense when he plays.

In other words, Marko Jaric is exactly what the Nuggets need at point guard. (more…)

The Nuggets, in the words of the Nugg Doctor, have a lot to look forward to. Nene is getting ready to return, Chucky Atkins is coming back, and with the return of these two players (along with Steven Hunter) the Nuggets will have a healthy squad once again. With Nene’s return, the Nuggets have a dominant scoring big man that will allow Camby and Kenyon Martin to play more like they’re accustomed — off the ball, flying all over the court for blocks and rebounds. With Atkins return, the Nuggets will have a reliable shooter that will punish teams for loading up on A.I. and Melo’.

But will it be enough? (more…)