Nuggets Find the Way to Lose to Hawks 98-96

The Nuggets had a tough time coming up with a way to lose to the Atlanta Hawks at home but they came up with one. The Nuggets led most of the game, and led 75-61 at the end of three quarters and 88-74 with 8:41 left. This team needs to learn how to close. With that kind of a lead you can take some chances on defense and go for some steals or, at the very least, increase the defensive pressure. Double team the guy or two who might be able to hit a bunch of 3's. On offense, chew some clock by passing the ball around alot.

Or at the very least, HOLD ON TO THE DAMN BALL WHEN YOU ARE WAY AHEAD. The Hawks had 5 steals in their 4th quarter surge! Jeesh! All the Nuggets had to do to win was take care of the ball. The Nuggets keep playing as if they are running to catch up even when they are well ahead. At least old George Karl finally called a time out with the score at 88-85, just before I was going to start waking up the neighbors by shouting.

Ok, had the Nuggets won, I would have said this is a great team effort type of team which is trying to get everything it can out of all it's players; the Nuggets did end up with six players in double digits. Trouble is, it went too far tonight. The offense got too complicated and confusing, and Melo was kept out of too many plays. Somebody has to be the go-to guy; no team has ever won a Championship without a clear leader.

Melo was called for two straight offensive fouls early in the third quarter, giving him 4 pf's and he was taken out for almost the whole quarter. That alone cost the Nuggets the game. But even when Melo came back, not enough plays were set up for him, the highest scorer of the highest scoring team in the league. Another mistake. That said, Melo was not quite at the top of his game tonight, though this was not the type of dud game he had sometimes as a rookie and in his second year (last year).

The Nuggets, who were a pitiful 16/33 from the line tonight, need to shoot a whole lot more free throws in practice. Had they simply hit their free throws, this game was theirs.

This loss is the kind of loss that costs a team home-court advantage in a key playoff series (against Houston,? Phoenix?). It is a very tough loss for Nuggets fans tonight.

Camby, JR Smith, and Miller all had 10-12 points, as did Boykins and Diawara off the bench. Diawara had two straight threes at the end of the third quarter which should have been the dagger. Reggie Evans had a tough night by being just 2/7 from the line and he had only 5 rebounds. Camby led the rebounding with 15 and he had 8 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Najera was 4/4 from the field but missed every one of his 5 free throws!

Melo was 11/27, 1/2 from downtown, 1/2 from the line, 7 rebounds and just 1 assist. The star of the team just didn't have the ball enough times tonight.

The next game is at home against Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. The tip off is at 8:30 pm Mountain time Friday night December 8.

TOUGH NIGHT AT THE OFFICE


YAKHOUBA DIAWARA

 

You're right, the Nuggets are short a scorer. Losing Martin alone was one thing but losing Martin and having Nene Hilario out all the time is a big problem. Furthermore, Reggie Evans can't shoot free throws and Najera doesn't rebound well enough. Diawara is at least a season away. Camby is not Wilt Chamberlain.

What I was saying in my post is that Melo didn't get enough shots in this game because he was out for most of the third quarter. After reading your reply, I looked again and realized that he actually had more than his usual average attempts for the game as a whole. But you are right, there was too much burden on Melo in the fourth quarter because everyone else was shut down by the Hawks or out of gas. So, the even bigger problem in the Hawks loss than Melo being out was the lack of a dependable second go-to guy.

There is one possible second go-to guy on the team right now. Nuggets fans can hope that J.R. Smith continues to develop his three point shot, gets his short range average up, and learns to go to the hoop more. Otherwise, the Nuggets need a player.

 

I thought it best to add a clarification to this discussion about the Nuggets, because this is the issue that will probably determine their fate this season. Shapecity says the Nuggets definitely need another scorer and I (tremaine) say the Nuggets may need another scorer. But anyone reading this topic might ask: Why might the Nuggets need another scorer if they are already the highest scoring team in the NBA?

The answer is that the Nuggets don't have a dependable, high percentage, "go-to" shooter to take the heat off Melo, especially in the 4th quarter of a game. Last night, Melo tried to close the game on his own as the Hawks started stealing the ball over and over and his teammates started turning it over. But he was swarmed by the Hawks who knew who to key on and he was pressured into missing just enough shots in the 4th quarter to cost the Nuggets the game.

The other Nuggets were shut down almost completely by the high pressure Hawks defense, and/or were out of gas, and/or they have not been coached on how to close a game with a big lead. (Earth to George Karl: please instruct the team how to close a game with a double digit lead).

In other words, the Nuggets need a second go-to guy. All great teams need at least two players who will not and can not be shut down in the 4th quarter, players who will hit clutch, game winning shots when the defensive pressure is high. J.R. Smith is getting close but is not quite what shapecity and I are thinking of yet. Smith might become who we are thinking of later this season.

But right now, I am predicting that the Nuggets point production is going to go into a slump after the all-star break, because a team that runs every night will eventually start to wear out a little. Even that is not certain, of course, the Nuggets could be a bunch of extremely well conditioned athletes who continue to get many fast break points off turnovers right into and through the playoffs. But that has seldom been seen in the NBA.

So this scoring from across the whole roster that the Nuggets have had so far this year is fine, but the Hawks were able to shut the whole thing down just by turning up the defensive heat in the 4th quarter. The Nuggets ended up looking confused as the game they had won was stolen from them by the Hawks. This shows the need for at least one player besides Melo who will not be shut down by any amount of pressure, and who can score a few points and get to the line when the going gets tough in the fourth quarter.