View From The Floor: Denver Nuggets

If you didn’t know I dabble a little in photography and will occasionally make it down to shoot photos of the Denver Nuggets. And on Monday I had the pleasure to have the best view in the house to watch the Nuggets beat the Milwaukee Bucks. If you want to check out the photos here is a link to the photo album on Facebook.

On Monday, the fans got a look at how the Nuggets looked on a back-to-back-back, and lets just say they were a little sluggish. The Bucks jumped out to a six-point lead in the first quarter thanks to the Nuggets struggles on the offensive side of the ball. No way this game should have been as close as it was, but three straight games definitely had an impact on a few of the Nuggets players. They shot a dismal .398 from the field, had 16 turnovers and they continued their struggles from behind the arc, making only 4 of 19 3-pointers.

Al Harrington

was once again Denver’s savior as he did his best Kenyon Martin-impression in the fourth quarter.

Harrington slowed the Bucks’ slow-footed but also skilled big man Andrew Bogut. Harrington also brought the same energy on the offensive side of the ball with two vicious dunks in the fourth quarter that got the fans to their feet. The veteran big man finished the game with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Danilo Gallinari had what one reporter said in the press room a quiet 21point-10 rebound game. He still is struggling with his jumper, missing four of five from behind the arc but he made up for it by getting to the line, attacking the glass and playing good defense. Gallinari’s offense has been slightly disappointing, but his defense has been a great surprise as Gallinari tends to draw the tough perimeter assignments (Kobe Bryant on Saturday and Sunday and Stephen Jackson on Monday) and does a solid job.

While the rest of the Nuggets were slightly sluggish, Corey Brewer was full of energy and gave the Nuggets some good minutes in the second quarter. Of course he hasn’t played in the last two games and was as good as advertised, being one of the quickest wings up and down the floor. He scored some easy fast break buckets and got a kind roll on a 3-pointer in the second half. No doubt, Karl will want to find a spot for him in the rotation after Monday’s performance.
Kosta Koufos stepped in for Nene and actually had a better performance than Timofey Mozgov. In 19 minutes, Koufos had eight points and six rebounds and had some solid bouts with Bogut.
Ty Lawson was once again all over the floor. He had 16 points and six assists, but could get where ever he wanted on the floor. It was pretty obvious that Lawson and Brandon Jennings (12 points and 3 assists) were going after each other every time down the floor. And at the end Lawson won the battle.
Gallinari isn’t the only player struggling shooting the ball, Rudy Fernandez has really struggled with his jumper but he does a lot of other things with the ball. Fernandez is a good defender and great passer, but had some unforced turnovers.
Andre Miller was one player that was affected by the back-to-back-back. Miller played well, but didn’t shoot the ball well and tried too hard to draw fouls instead of making the shot.
Arron Afflalo continues to try to do too much, unlike the previous few years, when he let the game come to him. He missed a few open shots and had an unforced turnover.
There was definitely the foreign connection on Monday. The Nuggets had Mozgov from Russia, Koufos who is originally from Greece, Gallinari from Italy and Fernandez from Spain. The Bucks had Bogut from Australia, Ersan Ilyasova from Turkey, Carlos Delfino from Spain and Beno Udrih from Yugoslavia.

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