Wilson Chandler just keeps proving himself and making a statement that he should be starting. Last night at the United Center in Chicago, Chandler hit everything from 3's to reverse layups in the land where great basketball has been played. The Nuggets kept their lead all the way into the 4th quarter, only to watch Nate Robinson bring the Bulls back and tie it to send the game into overtime. Ty Lawson had a clear shot, but pump faked, and that hesitation cost him the points. Then in overtime, the Bulls jumped out to a quick lead, and more lead changes followed in overtime then almost the entire game. Down by 2 with 7 seconds left, Andre Miller passed it outside to Andre Iguodala, and he nailed the game winning 3, helping the Nuggets tie the longest winning streak in franchise history(1982). This was a fun game to watch, and neither team really had a superstar playing on the court. Wilson Chandler played like one though. Since he probably won't be making his way on the starting lineup, then he should see his name in the 6th Man of the Year award finalists. The biggest key to the Nuggets success: no injuries! A healthy team is a happy team, and a happy team is a successful team.The lack of fouls was due to the refs letting the players get away with a few fouls here and there, and you definitely saw the home court advantage, but with the new replay system in the NBA, they were able to make the right calls. Especially after the Noah goal tend shot that would have given the Bulls the lead with less then 5 seconds left. But, just as they have all season long, the Nuggets endured, and head into Oklahoma City only 3 games back in the division, and the 4 seed secured.
If anybody cares, Tiger Woods and Lindsay Vonn just made their relationship public. Huh, ski poles and golf clubs, that's gonna be a violent Thanksgiving dinner!
Corey Brewer had another big game off the bench, with 16 points, 3 steals, and 4 rebounds. The Nuggets bench scored 71 points, Chandler leading the way with 35. Iguodala only scored 12 points and missed an easy break away alley pop, but had a solid game with 3 blocks, 2 steals, and oh yea, the game winning 3. If you look at Iguodala's season, missed alley oops, air ball free throws? These are not traits of a starter. I think that Iguodala, Gallinari, and Chandler should all rotate in the starting line up, but they don't really need it, the minutes all balance themselves out, especially since the Nuggets have played with only 9 total players in each of the last 4 games. But who knows, Iggy may drop 35 one game, then score 9 the next. What is great about the Nuggets, is that they are so fully loaded with talent at all positions, that every night, somebody has the opportunity to step up and contribute big time. Koufos for instance, was voted the most useless player of the league at the beginning of the season. Then he comes out and drops 18 points, along with 18 rebounds against the Grizzlies. Keep that chip on ya shoulder Koufos, the bigger it gets, the bigger the games you will have! So with 14 games left in the season, the Nuggets are going into the playoffs strong and they are putting the fear into teams in the west. The Spurs don't want to play them, the Thunder are cocky and will be sent a message tomorrow night(hopefully). This is a huge game tonight and if the Nuggets can break a franchise record, they can become a power in the west. Until they make a serious run, they will remain over looked. OK, that's fine. Karl likes to fly in under the radar, and with the Heat on a NBA record winning streak, they will do just that. This run into the playoffs should be fun, the Nuggets can't afford to let up now.
Spring training is almost over, the hot dog vendors are oiling up the wheels on their cart, and opening day is right around the corner. These are the teams that I will be following through out the summer:
American League
1. New York Yankees
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. Texas Rangers
4. Anaheim Angels
5. Detroit Tigers
National League
1. Colorado Rockies
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
These are the only teams that I'm really interested in, so I am gonna do what I want, and keep up with them! Talk back to you soon! Shua out!
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