I personally was more upset about Rip's chokejob in Game 5 than LB's in Game 7, but both were difficult to watch. Duncan finishes with 22, and Ginobili, who the Nuggets absolutely cannot check, has at least 17. Spurs win Game 2 going away and appear to be back on track.
So far a close game in Denver. Very important game for both teams. If Spurs can win, they'll have psychological advantage for the remainder of the series. If Denver wins, watch out...
Oh that's sad ahb. But I think you speaketh the truth. I'm such a sucker for the underdog team. I was so hoping Denver would be able to get this series. Well Denver has another game at home to play in front of their fans and I think even if they lose this series, as long as they don't have a horrifying last game blowout at home they will have acquitted themselves pretty well and set themselves up for the future. I still find them 100 times more exciting to watch than San Antonio. San Antonio is the "watching paint dry" team in the NBA. I'll go with the wildly inconsistent and variable Nuggets anyday! Winning ISN'T Everything in this case. Staying Awake is a priority as well.
Well I'm going to try to watch this Game 5 in San Antonio. I have watched a ton of Nuggets games since AI was traded there so I'm "emotionally involved." How I hate these elimination games when the team I like is the likely eliminee. When you add to that how much I hate to see any San Antonio Spurs players look happy, it could be a long night of basketball fandom. LOL. The Spurs' Defense has really affected AI's scoring and his shooting average. He shot 50% in Game 1 and about 30-35% in the other three games. AI is my favorite non-Piston player so watching him get shut down is a drag. Man, these Spurs play some very competent defense, don't they? I haven't watched them all season because (have I mentioned?) I HATE THEM! LOL. If they beat Phoenix in the next bracket, I will be inconsolable. A nagging irritation: When are they going to get rid of those horrible unis with the name Spurs across the chest where the U letter is that dumb spur? Horrible! A bad sign. Nuggets down by 10. San Antonio making it look like a walk in the park. And me? It's only the second quarter and I have to mute the sound because I definitely can't endure an entire arena of happy Spurs fans.
I think Iverson is too old (32 this summer) for Denver to be set up for the future. With the type of game he plays relying on his speed and physical ability so much, when the end of his game comes for him it will come very fast. With the physical punishment he takes game in and game out I give him 1 to 2 more years of being effective. Marcus Camby is 33. I think that Denver may have 1 or 2 years left of finishing in the bottom of the playoff stack before they become a lottery team. Sorry. That is my opinion.
Personally I think the downfall of this Nuggets team stemmed from their offense running through Anthony and Iverson when IMO Nene should have gotten many more touches than he did. Instead he shoots 6 times while the other two guys jack the ball up like fools.
I hate to say it, because Iverson is one of my favorite players, but it looks like the Nuggets could have used some more PRACTICE. Many times, AI and Carmella looked like they were doing some serious freelancing, and the Spurs aren't the kind of opponent where you can make it up as you go and expect a win. I saw quite a few turnovers from the Nuggets that should/could have been avoided by running their sets. Yeah, I'm talking about PRACTICE.
I was thinking something similar watching the game last night. The Nugs are a pretty amazing team on paper. But they really don't seem to know what to do with all the pieces. And it's not even like everyone needs the ball to be effective. Karl seemed more bored than not when the camera showed him during the game. Managing that much talent just might be beyond George. Certainly the Spurs can make even the best teams look like they're running in circles, but it seemed different last night. More like the Nuggets had a total lack of imagination on the offensive end.
