San Antonio – The movement has been subtle, and that’s the way it will remain. But slowly, this Nuggets team has moved away from being Carmelo Anthony’s and followed the on-and-off court leadership of Allen Iverson.
“He’s meant a lot to us,” Nuggets reserve guard J.R. Smith said. “Since he’s been here he’s been the heart of the team. Everybody is looking to see what he’s going to do, what he’s going to say next. He’s pretty much, I wouldn’t say the reason why we play basketball, but the reason why we play so hard for this team.”
That was never more evident than in Game 1 of the Nuggets’ first-round playoff series Sunday night against San Antonio.
Iverson was the best player on the court in Denver’s surprising win, scoring 31 points on 11-of-22 shooting and frustrating the Spurs throughout with his ability to break down their defense.
It is the kind of experience and leadership that the Nuggets’ front office, including Mark Warkentien, vice president of basketball operations, envisioned when Denver traded for Iverson in December.
“Playoff time, you need star players,” Warkentien said. “Rotations are shortened up, and for some of our guys this is the first time around the block. A.I. has done laps around this block.”
Iverson said it was never his intent to take over the team from Anthony, and it still isn’t. He did acknowledge, however, that he has assumed more of a vocal leadership role with the Nuggets than he ever did in Philadelphia.
“I wanted to add that as part of the team because I feel like that is something that we would need,” Iverson said. “I’ve never been a verbal leader. I’ve always tried to lead by example; go out and play hard every night and you know, show my teammates that I will give everything I’ve got.
“Now, I feel like, with the circumstances and team that we have, that I have to be more of a verbal leader. I know we have leaders on this team already; Melo’s words mean a lot. Marcus Camby’s words mean a lot. But I just try to come and add something that this team has never had.”
Warkentien has noticed.
“You look at him for leadership; he’s been providing it,” Warkentien said. “There’s a media perception of him, but everywhere we turned in talking to people that we trust, they loved the guy. We love guys that hate to lose. As an organization, we really like guys that hate to lose. And he’s (a perfect) fit on that one.”
Said Camby: “You always hear the rumors about him being a selfish player and he’s this and he’s that. But he’s been great, great to everybody. He respects his teammates, one through (15). He gets along with everybody.
“He’s not standoffish, like he used to be in the past. His game definitely speaks volumes, but he’s also a great scorer, great penetrator and a great passer. He’s unselfish from that aspect. If you’re open, he’s going to try to give you the basketball. He’s been more than expected in my eyes.”
He was exactly what the Spurs expected. Iverson has made a career of shredding the Spurs, averaging 29 points against them. San Antonio, which double-teamed Iverson at times in Game 1, will probably make further adjustments for Game 2, but the Spurs are hoping A.I. stops himself.
Asked what they could do to keep the ball from Iverson, Spurs guard Michael Finley said: “That would be hard to do with him being the point guard and handling the ball so much. Besides, Allen has been scoring so many points for so many years now that there’s no defense that we could throw at him that he hasn’t seen. All we can do is keep making him take tough shots and hope that he’s not making them like he did in the last game.”
TIME FOR TWEAKING
Game 1 is in the books. Now, it’s time for adjustments. San Antonio’s first salvo two years ago was to bring Manu Ginobili, who had started the first game, off the bench. What’s in store this time around? The Post’s Chris Dempsey takes a look:
NUGGETS
1. Get the bench going: The Nuggets must get more from Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith as the series moves forward.
2. Run, run, run: Three fast breaks in Game 1 aren’t enough for coach George Karl.
3. Shore up on defense: The Nuggets can’t count on Tony Parker and Ginobili to miss so many layups again.
SPURS
1. Get Tim Duncan involved early: The Spurs’ big man started 0-for-8 on his way to an un-Duncan like performance.
2. Use more zone: The Spurs don’t use much zone but might need to change to contain A.I. and Melo.
3. Get aggressive: The Spurs shot 10 free throws to the Nuggets’ 25. They’ll want to reverse that stat.
Staff writers Marc J. Spears and Anthony Cotton contributed to this story.
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
