You know that commercial for NBA Live 2007 in which Tracy McGrady drives past Chris Kaman and nearly shocks Corey Maggette for some unreal dunk that would have been the greatest highlight since Vince Carter hurdled that 7-foot-2 French player in the 2000 Olympics?
Basketball is so much fun from behind the A and B buttons. But presuming PlayStation 3 brings us the most realistic hoops graphics ever seen, the video version will never make real, no matter how many bits, the dark side of the NBA.
And that includes dreaded East Coast road swings, with long hotel stays, endless plane rides, wacky schedules, unrelenting arenas and drudging defenses.
And just in time for the holidays, the Nuggets find themselves facing an East Coast trip. It’s the second-worst portion of their 2006-07 season, with five straight road games, four in the Eastern time zone.
After the Nuggets host Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat tonight for an 8:30 p.m. game at the Pepsi Center, the team hits the road. The Nuggets are at Dallas on Saturday, home again for practice early next week, then off to Atlanta for a game Tuesday, Washington on Wednesday, Boston on Friday and New York on Saturday. Ugh.
“This is a big road trip for us,” Carmelo Anthony said. “But we have a chance to win them all.”
All the more reason the Nuggets must rebound from Wednesday’s ugly home loss to Atlanta. Denver, in giving up a 17-point fourth quarter lead before losing 98-96 to the Hawks, converted just 16-of-33 free throws, or about the same rate as your average high school team.
With the loss, the Nuggets are 5-4 at home, their worst mark to begin a season since going 3-7 in 2002. And all four of the Nuggets home losses this season were to sub-.500 teams.
“We play better on the road than at home, which is awkward to me,” Anthony said.
So, on second thought, maybe an East Coast swing is just what the Nuggets need.
ON THE COUCH
On: If you missed any of The Denver Post’s extensive coverage of the U.S. Ski Team at the Birds of Prey World Cup in Beaver Creek this past week, you can catch the men’s downhill in a taped broadcast on KUSA-9 at 3 p.m. Sunday. On Saturday, find some interesting early-season men’s college basketball matchups in Indiana and Kentucky at 10 a.m. on KCNC-4 and No. 11 Wisconsin against No. 17 Marquette on ESPN at noon.
Off: Face it, there’s nothing on TV this weekend. Get outside instead. Try the 15th Annual Jingle Bell 5K Run/Walk on Sunday at Washington Park in Denver that supports the Arthritis Foundation (arthritis.org). And while the organizers encourage racers to compete with their pets, we wonder what other pet anyone would race with than a dog? Or try Saturday’s Chilly Cheeks Duathlon at Cherry Creek State Park, a 4-mile road and dirt trail run paired with a 10-mile paved bike ride (racingunderground.com).
AROUND TOWN
What would Frosty Cox think now? The most successful men’s basketball coach in University of Colorado history, with a 147-89 record from 1936-50, would likely be intrigued by Saturday’s 7 p.m. game in Boulder between Colorado (3-5) and Colorado State (6-2). Since 1936, Colorado has just four losses to CSU in Boulder, and none since 1957. Local product Jason Smith, CSU’s mobile 7-foot, 230-pound forward (and one of four unrelated Smiths on the Rams roster), gives the Fort Collins squad its best chance in years to beat CU in Boulder. The Buffs counter with guard Richard Roby, who joins Smith as an NBA prospect. Colorado is averaging barely more than 2,500 fans in its five home games this season, so seats will not be hard to find.
WEAK IN REVIEW
$70 million for J.D. Drew to Boston. $33 mil plus a $12 mil option for Vicente Padilla to Texas. (Wait, it gets better.) $44 mil for Juan Pierre to Los Angeles! $19 mil plus a $5 mil signing bonus to setup man Danys Baez to Baltimore! Do you think Choo Freeman is in line at Coors Field wanting to re-up with the Rockies for $35 million over three years?
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
There is still a chance the college football season can end amicably, if the following happens: Ohio State crushes overmatched Florida by something like 55 points, Notre Dame exposes LSU as the overrated team it is, and Michigan and Southern Cal fight out the most interesting game of the bowl season, the Rose Bowl, to determine a proper No. 2. That leaves the Rose loser as No. 3, Florida No. 4 and everybody else arguing for No. 5. Easy-breezy.
