Nuggets and other tidbits

      I don't write about sports events that often and in most conversations I veer away from putting forth opinions about players, teams and my own personal philosophies concerning how a sport should be run. It doesn't mean I don't have strong opinions about them but I tend to keep it to myself. Sports are to be enjoyed as spectators and participants, principally, and not argued or fought over as if that was more important. In addition, if you don't at least participate directly in a sport, it is my opinion that you shouldn't discuss particulars about rules, decisions or abilities of players. My feeling is that you really won't know what you're talking about and your opinion should be kept to yourself.

     That being said, I am going to put in my 2 cents worth about the Nuggets, Denver's NBA team, with and without Melo and I am doing so not necessarily because I want to start a discussion, argument or brawl but just because I think what I have to write about the issue is valid. I read all these negative comments from sports commentators, sports writers and columnists, casual spectators and naysayers and I feel an opposite viewpoint might be refreshing.

     First off, before Melo was traded to the Knicks he has been a boon for quite a number of years to the Nuggets. The attendance at the Pepsi Center increased continually and continues to climb. His offensive playing was phenomenal the entire time of his tenure with the Nuggets if you check the averages. His injuries were minimal and he often played through certain problems. That's beyond the call of duty. For one year he topped Kobe Bryant as the highest scorer in the NBA and he kept up a high average. It is my understanding that he cooperated with everyone on the team and never played the star against any teammate. He's a sensitive guy so when I looked on his blog and  read negative comments on the entry where he thanked Denver for all the great years I became a bit irate.

     The Nuggets are doing phenomenally most recently and I applaud that and realized a long time ago that they had a great roster of very talented players. I can't think of one Nugget who isn't showing abilities currently that hadn't already shown up in the stats. The only exceptions were a couple of Nuggets who were traded along with Melo and Chauncey, ironically enough. That happens. Not everyone lives up to their potential. The real debate always seems to center around the defense/offense objective. You have to have both to win a game. Each is equally essential to a good or great basketball game. When it is unbalanced either way you have a serious issue. Right now the Small Forward position, which was taken over by Danilo Gallinari, is among the double digit scorers but if you compare most of his scoring with Melo's stats you're going to find an interesting difference. If an offensive player is allowed to dominate a game then there are a lot less opportunities for the remainder of players to play an offensive game. Just use your head because I'm only using logistics here. A lot of coaches allow their offensive stars to dominate the ball.

     If you think I'm wrong then let's focus on LeBron James for a minute. Have you seen the Win/Loss stats this season for the Cavaliers ? Since LeBron has been whisked away of his own volition they have had the worst season ever. Worse than the Nets 2009/2010 season. Worse. Perhaps they relied on LeBron's offensive playing a little too much. This is sad. Meanwhile, the Heat are enjoying being on top in the southeast division and the Eastern Conference topping the Boston Celtics ! The truth about the Nets is that they needed Vince Carter's great offensive playing and maneuvering fouls to get in those extra points. 

     My point is- that won't happen if you have a team who can play offensive and defensive basketball equally well. It won't matter if your offensive player is gone because the team was always ready to play real basketball. This is really lacking today. I remember watching basketball games on T.V. when I was a little girl that were riveting. I don't see that much anymore and the action seems awfully slow. Slam dunking is great when you see a team work up to that pitch in their playing. It should be a crescendo to fast passing, sticking to a ball, ali ooping and any amount of legitimate maneuvers that show skill and energy. The Nuggets are currently playing this kind of basketball. It works.

 

Just the humble opinion of

 

The Castle Lady      

 

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/BDL-Hump-Day-Chat-?urn=nba-wp979