Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Basketball New Year (Nuggets-Lakers)

I only caught a bit of the Nuggets-Lakers game amidst the election reports last night but I'm comfortable declaring it a bad night for Denver.

They shot (30-88 from the field, 3-12 from three) and passed (17 assists/16 turnovers) poorly against a Laker team that I don't foresee being one of the better defensive teams in the league.

Losing Voshon Lenard, their one legitimate three-point shooter, will make things very difficult for the Nuggets this year. Rodney White and DerMarr Johnson will be pressed into service as shooters in the half-court offense. The Nuggets will have to become even more of a defense and transition team now. It will be imperative that Martin, Camby, Nene, and Francisco Elson both control the defensive glass and get the ball quickly into the hands of Andre Miller and Earl Boykins. That Chris Mihm posted 20 and 10 against the Denver big men does not bode well for their success with this approach.

Kobe put up a Paul Pierce looking line, making just over a third of his shots, going to the line a ton, and contributing both assists (7) and turnovers (4).

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