Slam! I shut my truck door with an adequate feeling of uneasiness as my tickets were scanned and Fred — I call him Fred, anyways — ask “Hey, Smiles, are the Nuggets going to win tonight?” I have this scowl on my face, but it instantaneously turns into a grin, and I give Fred my “trigger fingers” with “Absolutely!” I hurry with my family up the stairs – we always skip the escalator – and that early uneasiness fades with the never-ending of stream of game attendees that follow me.
The magic of being a fan of a team as well as being a rational fanalyst (a fan that analyzes that exhibits a working knowledge) is you can put that fan hat on as soon as you enter your home team’s stadium and it’s just lovely. Although, I wasn’t quite sure how well Andre Miller would be against Chris Paul, I was pretty damn optimistic as I sat in an ocean of blue and gold, that Miller certainly couldn’t do any worse than Ty Lawson this season. Oh, boy, he had a fantastic game as well as many others.
The Nuggets would end the Clippers’ 17-game winning streak, 92-78, a perfect way to start 2013.
The Ugly…
Nothing that Denver executed was exceptionally ugly, to be frank, the only thing that was ugly was the fact L.A couldn’t make a shot from the perimeter to save their life, 5-for-29. By golly some had to do with their shooting, but Denver deserves credit on putting bodies on CP3 and forcing him into turnovers and missed shots.
The Bad…
The only thing that screams out bad for Denver is perhaps Kosta Koufos’ performance during the game; JaVale McGee just looked like the better center, Also, Mozgov’s airballed three-point attempt was pretty atrocious, as well.
The Good…
De-Fense!! Easily the best defense this season against a top 5 offense; they limited L.A. to just 38.5% shooting along with 13 turnovers and that abysmal 17.2% from downtown that was aforementioned.
JaVale McGee. As much as I give him a hard time, he’s the league-leader in entertainment especially with his three-pointer, made, at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter. Plus, in 17 minutes, he had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and one block and was slamming home buckets all night.
Andre Iguodala set the tone early with a three-pointer followed by a slam and ended with an all-around game of 12 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. Iguodala’s versatility and aggressive mentality is needed each and every game. Make some rooster noise for Danilo Gallinari as he found some of his shooting stroke with his 17 points and 6 rebounds. Once again, Gallinari came through for Denver connecting on pivotal three-pointers at key moments during the game.
The Fantastic…
Andre Miller, folks! He may not give a damn about defense or can’t hit a three to save his life, but he’s absolutely one of the best facilitators in the league. He did what Andre does and that was connect from the outside as he hit JaVale McGee for an easy alley-oop. He accumulated 12 points and 12 assists in 41 minutes, fans wont give Miller adequate credit, but he’s been out-playing Lawson on several occasions this season.
Also, want to recognize Kenneth Faried’s physicality during this game; he established himself early as not being fearful of Blake Griffin or the star power that the Clippers have.
Denver improved their league-best home record to 10-1 and will face Minnesota on Thursday.
Seems they took #NewYearNewYou to heart and fans couldn’t be happier.
