There is one in every series.
An underdog. The team that few, if anyone, expects to win.
The Nuggets, in this first- round Western Conference playoffs series against the San Antonio Spurs, are that team.
And, like pretty much every underdog, the Nuggets are relishing the role.
“That’s motivation for me,” Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said. “I’m pretty sure that’s motivation for my teammates also. We just got to go in there with our confidence that we’ve had the last month of the season, and be prepared for anything.”
The Spurs are favored to win the series, but many experts have identified the Nuggets as a team that has enough fire- power to pull off an upset. Still, that recognition isn’t enough for the Nuggets, who lost the regular-season series to San Antonio 2-1.
“We’re never going to get the credit that we’re due,” center Marcus Camby said. “We won 10 out of our last 11 games and people say we’re the hottest team, but yet they still don’t think we can beat the Spurs. … A lot of people have been doubting us, but we haven’t lost faith in ourselves. We always felt that once we got guys back on the court healthy playing the right way, we gave ourselves a great chance.”
Said Anthony: “I don’t really think nobody has us going past the first round, but we’re going to try to prove people wrong, try to play our game and just try to stop them and continue playing the way we’ve been playing all year.”
Almost a Nugget
When Spurs guard Michael Finley was a free agent considering his next team in the summer of 2005, the Nuggets were on his short list. Despite not choosing Denver, he says he is a fan of the organization.
“I like the Nuggets,” Finley said. “I was a fan of Coach (George) Karl’s, and they have a great group of guys.
“You have Carmelo, who is one of the premier players in the league at this point, and (Allen Iverson), who has been doing it consistently throughout the year. With them adding his leadership, it makes them even better.”
Footnotes
Defensively, here is how the Spurs say they plan to play against Anthony and Iverson: Bruce Bowen and Finley will get the primary duty of covering Anthony; Tony Parker will guard Iverson, along with backup Jacque Vaughn, who is a good perimeter defender; and Manu Ginobili roams. He will have double-team responsibilities on Anthony and Iverson when he enters the game. Expect Tim Duncan to guard Nene and Francisco Elson to take Camby….The Nuggets went through their final practice before the series in Denver before boarding a Saturday afternoon flight to San Antonio.
