No more Mr. notes guy. …
If the season ended today, the Nuggets would be in the playoffs. Which, given all the twists and turns their season has taken, is saying something.
Now for the fine print: They would have the eighth seed in the Western Conference, a usual invitation for a one-and-done postseason.
Sure, Carmelo Anthony is due to return next week, but even with Melo they’ll have a tough time getting higher than No. 7. And no, it’s not just a matter of all those good teams ahead of them.
The Nuggets’ 18-17 record isn’t as solid as it appears. Why? Because they’ve played 20 home games and 15 road games.
According to Doug Moe’s plus-minus system, the Nuggets are a minus-2 – eight road wins vs. 10 home losses. Only twice in their 17 playoff seasons have they taken a negative number into the postseason. And frankly, both seasons were aberrations – minus-3 in 1983-84, when they finished 38-44, and minus-4 in 1986-87, when they limped into the playoffs at 37-45.
They figure to make the playoffs this season, but it isn’t going to be easy. Starting in mid-March, their schedule, to use George Karl’s words, gets “borderline ugly, borderline mean.” Thirteen of their final 18 games are on the road, against the likes of Detroit, Chicago, Phoenix, San Antonio, Utah and the Lakers.
Moral to the story: Whether it’s January or April, the Nuggets need every win they can get. …
Just Marty Schottenheimer’s luck. One of his DBs, Marlon McCree, intercepts a Tom Brady pass to seemingly salt away a playoff win over the Patriots, only to fumble. And what New England wideout stripped McCree? Troy Brown, who doubles as a part-time defensive back. …
A stat only Marty could mess up: According to the numbers crunchers at the Elias Sports Bureau, Brady before Sunday was 0-7 in games in which he had thrown three or more picks. …
Brady, by the way, is 12-1 in the playoffs, making him the winningest postseason QB of all time. Troy Aikman was 11-1 in his first 12 games before suffering a second loss. Peyton Manning? He is 5-6, with all five wins coming in the wild-card and division rounds. …
So LaDainian Tomlinson says the Pats could use some class. What about Chargers cornerback Drayton Florence, whose on-field head-butt of Daniel Graham cost the Bolts 15 yards and handed New England a field goal? …
Let me guess. Afterward, Florence blamed his bonehead move on a substance he got out of a teammate’s locker. That has, after all, replaced “my bad” as the excuse of choice for 21st century athletes. …
Just wondering: Does that 10-buck hoodie of his make Bill Belichick the ultimate rags to riches to rags story? …
Chris Webber, when asked by The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee about life on the Sixers without Allen Iverson: “Once you get rid of Michael Jackson, the Jackson Five is gone. You haven’t heard of Tito since Michael left.” …
No, really, I’m not making this up. Sports Illustrated has a story about a former Colorado prep hoopster in this week’s edition, and his name isn’t Chauncey Billups. That would be Nick Fazekas, who promptly got hurt just as the story was hitting the presses. Not that, you know, there’s something to the S.I. jinx stuff. …
Bringing new meaning to nowhere to go but up: Bears QB Rex Grossman had a 76.9 passer rating Sunday after racking up a Bluto-like 0.0 in the season finale vs. the Packers. …
Good thing new Louisville football coach Steve Kragthorpe is a half a continent away from Salt Lake City. His brother, Kurt Kragthorpe, is a sports columnist for The Salt Lake Tribune. …
And finally, ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser, summing up his first season in the “Monday Night Football” booth for Newsday: “They aren’t sending my tape to Canton.”
Jim Armstrong can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
