Jax Raging Bile Duct :@Kev
I was sure that block was going to be the block of the night.
I came away thinking that we played good defense, and even our offense played pretty well. I think the thing that killed us for this game was all the turnovers we had.
Denver is the real deal though. Second only to the Lakers. No shame in playing very well against a good team.

agreed . . .

I was sure that block was going to be the block of the night.

I came away thinking that we played good defense, and even our offense played pretty well. I think the thing that killed us for this game was all the turnovers we had.

Denver is the real deal though. Second only to the Lakers. No shame in playing very well against a good team.

Defensive rebounding is a TEAM thing and an instinct thing. If everyone blocks their man out (like they are supposed to) we get the rebound 85% of the time. When you see games where opposing teams get several rebounds in a row… that means the blocking out was blown. Not that we need a big rebounder.

All in all, it was a good showing (+38; above average). Yes, we lost by 9, but it wasn’t due to the defense. We just played a very good/great offensive team. Against three-fourths of the teams in the NBA, this showing would have been good enough to get a win. This was the first time this year that four starters had a very good defensive score (+8 or higher).

Defensive MVP – Jeff Green (+16)

Now some of you are saying – wait a minute: Anthony scored 31 points – how can you have Jeff down for +16? Just a quick reminder: if a player contests a shot and the shooter scores anyway, the defender is NOT penalized. This is basically what happened tonight with Carmelo.

It was an interesting choice to match Green with Anthony. I applaud the decision. I think that Jeff did a very good job on Anthony; it’s just that Carmelo is a great scorer. Anthony got by Green once in the first quarter. After that, it was solid defense by Jeff. I marked him down for three contests (closely guarding a jump shooter and forcing a miss), a block, and a forced airball on Carmelo. Carmelo made twelve shots, but when Green had the assignment, he was in good position every time (besides the sequence described earlier).

What really made Green the MVP of the night was his play elsewhere – remember it’s a team game on defense as well as offense. Besides having to cover Anthony, Green also found time to:

a) block two shots by guard Aaron Afflalo
b) draw a charge on Nene
c) deflect a pass to Thabo (the statisticians gave Thabo the steal, but Green really gets the credit here)
d) contest two J R Smith shots
e) block a J R Smith shot
f) pick up another deflection

Talk about working overtime!

Kevin Durant (+11)

It started quietly for KD. He started out on Kenyon Martin, and the Nuggets didn’t really go to Martin until 2:40 left in the first: Martin scored on a post up on KD. KD did have three mistakes, but he got going later in the game with a drawn offensive foul, a contest, a strip, a deflection, a steal off an errant pass, and a block. The play of the game (and one of the best plays of the year) ended in a KD block, but there were lots of things going on before that. Let’s break it down.

It’s near the end of the third quarter. Chauncey Billups (Westbrook) has the ball at the top of the key on the left side. Chris Andersen (Collison) picks for him. Collison does a great job hedging and forces Billups to pick up the ball thirty-five feet from the goal. Billups turns back and passes to a now open Birdman. Collison scrambles to recover. Meanwhile, on the weakside at the low block, D J White leaves Kenyon Martin to get Andersen at the high post. Durant leaves his position in the shell to stop Martin from getting a wide open dunk. Right before KD left to cover Martin, Collison saw Martin open and started to race to him. One problem: all this activity left Anthony, the NBA scoring leader, wide open. Collison changed course to contest Anthony. Anthony went by Collison on the drive. DJ White leaves Andersen on the high post to slow Anthony. KD also leaves Martin to stop Carmelo. Carmelo flips up a shot from close in, only to have it swatted by KD. The timing was excellent. I encourage anyone who still has the game on DVR to go watch the sequence. My awkward description doesn’t do it justice. It was great team defense. (I have rewound and watched that play at least a dozen times).

Now let’s look at one of KD’s errors. A great offensive team will make you pay for what, at first glance, seems to be a small mistake. In the third quarter, Billups was in the lane and looked ready to shoot. KD anticipated the shot and left his man, Kenyon Martin, to get a rebound. As soon as KD left, Billups fired it to Kenyon, who scored soon thereafter. Of course, even if Billups had shot the ball, KD was in poor box-out position.

Nenad Krstic (+9)

Nenad’s defensive ascent continues. He only gave up one post up score to Nene. He picked up two blocks, a deflection which turned into a steal, and a contest of Carmelo Anthony near the three point line. Lately, he’s been playing defense almost as well as Collison (our best defensive big man).

Thabo Sefolosha (+8)

On Saturday night, Billups destroyed Nash, one of my favorite players, with five three pointers in the second half of the contest against the Suns. Thabo did a great job of preventing Billups from shooting the long ball. He also denied penetration to Chauncey. Billups made ONE field goal all game. Thabo was out of the game at the time.

Nick Collison (+3)

In the third quarter, Collison was whistled for a defensive three second call, mostly because Kenyon Martin could easily be heard whining about the situation. I would reprint what Martin actually said, but this is a blog intended for all ages. Anyway, fast forward a few plays later. Collison is guarding Chris Andersen, who is a non-factor on offense unless he is at point blank range. Collison ignores him to block the lane for an anticipated breakdown off the pick and roll. However, this time, Collison makes sure to get out the lane after a couple of beats and then QUICKLY he reenters the lane to thwart the drive. After reentry, Martin is driving, but Collison is waiting for him to force a tough shot. I say it every game – I love watching Collison play defense.

Russell Westbrook (+1)

D J White (zero)

Shaun Livingston (-1)

Serge Ibaka (-3)

James Harden (-6)

So much for the very good defense that Harden WAS playing – lately he’s put up a couple of stink bombs. As noted previously, Thabo had Billups on lockdown. Late in the first, Harden spelled Thabo. Harden gave up penetration to Chauncey right after he entered the game. Later, he gave up the lane twice to J R Smith. The only positives: a deflection and a loose ball. Well, at least there are three more games this week.