Nuggets Steal One in Philly
By Evan Wheeler
The Nuggets didn’t play well, but were able to steal a win on the road in Philadelphia, beating the 76ers 108-105. Denver moves their overall record to 8-13 on the season, while the 76ers fall to an atrocious 1-20 on the year.
Denver, as mentioned earlier, didn’t play very well here against the worst team in the NBA. The Nuggets missed 15 free throw’s, committed 10 of their 17 turnovers in the second quarter and allowed Philadelphia to hit 15-31 three-point attempts in the game. Mike Malone’s crew finished strong however, shutting the 76ers down the last three minutes to finish on a 12-1 run pulling out the road win.
The Nuggets’ bench deserves most of the credit for this win, scoring 53 of the Nuggets 108 points. Kenneth Faried, Will Barton, Mike Miller, and Jameer Nelson all played crucial minutes and made plays down the stretch to secure the victory for Denver.
Faried was a monster on the offensive glass, finishing with five of the Nuggets 13 offensive rebounds and securing a key offensive rebound late in the game off a missed Jameer Nelson lay-up.
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Mike Miller did a great job of getting the offense going for Denver early on, setting up multiple shots off of dribble handoffs. He finished with six assists and knocked down two three-pointers as well.
Nelson hit a huge jumper late over Sixers center Nerlens Noel to tie the game at 102, then hit Danilo Gallinari with a beautiful pass for a dunk off of a baseline drive. Will Barton was once again the best player off the bench for the Nuggets, scoring 16 points and recording nine rebounds. Barton now has seven games this season where he’s recorded at least 15 points and 5 rebounds. He was great in transiton for Denver, finishing a couple of and one’s and forcing a crucial turnover late to help Denver win.
Emmanuel Mudiay continues to struggle for the Nuggets, finishing with 10 points, seven turnovers, six assists and five rebounds on only 33 percent shooting from the floor. Mudiay has hit a rough patch over his last ten games, averaging 10.5 points, 5.7 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 3.5 turnovers per game during that span. What’s most concerning is Mudiay’s shooting struggles, hitting only 30.5 percent from the field, 23 percent from the three-point line and 70.3 percent from the free throw line during that stretch. Most of Mudiay’s shooting problems are fixable, like keeping his legs square and ridding his shot of the hitch that exists at the top of his release.
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I think many Nuggets fans and media members alike have lacked perspective in general this season, but primarily with the 19-year old Congolese guard. I’ve seen many fans already annoint Mudiay a “bust” and call him things such as a turnover machine and say he can’t shoot. While those things might be accurate in the moment, Nuggets fans should have a bigger picture view with Mudiay.
Anyone who watched Mudiay in high school or overseas in China last season, know that his shooting needs work and he would struggle with turnovers early on in his career. Shooting woes and poor decision making go hand in hand with most rookie point guards. All-Star point guards such as Damian Lillard, John Wall, Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook all averaged three or more turnovers per game their rookie years. In the cases of Wall and Westbrook, they both struggled shooting as well their rookie seasons. Westbrook only shot 39.8 percent from the field and 27.1 percent from the three-point line his rookie season, while Wall only shot 29.6 percent from the three-point line during his.
My end point being, chill out with the Mudiay criticism, have some perspective for once, trust the process, realize he’s only 19 YEARS OLD and enjoy watching him grow the next couple seasons…it takes time people!.
Player of the Game: The Nuggets Bench – combined for 53 points. Will Barton 16 points, 9 rebounds. Kenneth Faried 12 points, 9 rebounds(5 offensive), 2 blocks. Jameer Nelson 10 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds. Mike Miller 8 points, 6 assists.
Up next for Denver: The Nuggets (8-13) will return home to face the surging Orlando Magic (11-8) on Tuesday night.