Convincing Fashion

The Nuggies pulled it off in convincing fashion tonight against their series foe; the New Orleans Hornets. With the final score being 113-84, Chauncey Billups went off for a game high 36 points which included 8 three pointers on only 9 attempts. Lets just say Denver finally got to see what "Mr. Big Shot" is all about. 

Chauncey took over the game-basically-the entire game. Scoring 16 points in the first quarter alone, and finishing the game with 20 more. This was a very good sign for the Nuggets, and we all hope that Chauncey can put a show like this every night, but I find that highly unlikely. The good thing is that it couldn't have come at a better time. Carmelo struggled mightily in this game early and often. In total Melo only shot 4-12. As a fan of the Denver Nuggets I am very concerned with Melo's play, but I am also amazed that we won this game despite him basically not even showing up. But, I will say that Melo shouldn't expect luxury every night, because I don't believe that Chauncey can pull this type of performance every night. Jump shots in the NBA are never a given. Just because one night you're just hot, doesn't mean that it will continue. Just ask JR that question. 

Speaking of JR, he also had a great night tonight. Like Melo, his night didn't start off too well giving up a few turnovers, and taking ill advised shots. The difference was in the second half though. JR just pulled the game away for the Hornets. Yeah Billups was hot, but it was JR that also fueled what was a 21 point run by Denver that pretty much ended the game for the Hornets. New Orleans did a very bad thing tonight in allowing JR to feel comfortable. If he gets comfortable, he can take over an entire series. That's bad news for New Orleans.

As far as what I believe will follow this game? I think that Karl had a very solid game plan to stop the Hornets, and I think that we'll see more of what we saw tonight. Karl decided to make Paul become a scorer. He would switch or trap any pick and roll that involved paul, and would limit Paul's options to one, which inevitably was score. Paul is still a pass first point guard, and he is not used to being the full load scorer for the Hornets. When Paul is at his best, he's getting a few buckets here and there, but also taking advantage of the defense focusing on feeding the rock to his teammates for easy buckets. Denver limited that second option. Another aspect in this game that I was glad to see was that the Nuggets were much more physical than the Hornets. The Nuggets beat the Hornets up from the opening tip, and about 3 quarters in, the tempers started to flare for the Hornets that led to some poor decisions. After a few techs, the game was about in the books, as the Hornets started making unforced errors and frustration fouls. The Nuggets actually were the mentally tougher team for once in a playoff game. Sounds crazy, I know. 

If the next game on wednesday goes any where near as well as it did tonight, I would expect this series to end quicker than most people thought. I mean, how many blowouts like this have you ever seen in the playoffs? Especially in the first game. That's not a good sign if you're a Hornet fan. I still stand by my prediction of the Nuggets in 5, but the Nuggets need to come out like they did tonight on wednesday, and don't take any game for granted. You lose one game at home, and the entire series shifts. Need to go 2-0 in Denver, and go from there. But overall, I was very pleased with the performance tonight, and I can't wait for wednesday to come. Until then, go Nuggs!