You seldom hear Stuart Scott “booyah-ing” a bounce pass, or a fellow ESPN anchor describing a textbook assist with catchphrase pomp.
Safe passes often lead to baskets, but dang it if they’re not fancy pants enough for “SportsCenter.” Alley-oops and threaded needles are, but they come with the risk of a lowlight, in the form of a turnover, something that has been plaguing the Nuggets.
“We broke our own flow by tying to make home run plays and not just taking what the game gives us,” coach George Karl said of the Nuggets’ home loss to Golden State on Sunday. “The general passing decisions were frustrating — we had opportunities to hit the roll guy, we had opportunities to throw the ball over the top of the defense. There was no flow of the game because we threw the ball away.”
Karl preaches controlled chaos in his high-paced offense, but lately there has been little control. Denver (18-12) averages 16.5 turnovers per game, second-most in the NBA. Against the Warriors, they had 24.
The NBA’s top turnover culprits annually are some of the league’s better players because they generally have the ball the most. Nuggets guard Allen Iverson and forward Carmelo Anthony both average 3.7 turnovers. Entering play Monday night, they were tied with New Jersey’s Jason Kidd for third-most in the league, trailing only Miami’s Dwyane Wade (4.6) and Washington’s injured Gilbert Arenas (4.9), who has played in only eight games.
But only one other team — lowly Charlotte — has two players in that dubious top 20.
The Nuggets do a great job of creating turnovers, a saving grace. Denver opponents average 18.4 turnovers per game, an NBA worst. But of the eight teams in the league that commit the most turnovers, only Denver has a winning record.
K-Mart questionable.
Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin (strained hamstring) is questionable for Thursday’s home game against San Antonio. Martin has not played in four of the past five games because of his injury. Eduardo Najera started the past two games in Martin’s spot, Najera’s first two starts of the season.
Good and bad.
After an 8-5 December, the Nuggets embark on a fascinating January during which they are scheduled to play the Western Conference teams with the five best records. The Nuggets also have six games against teams with losing records.
The Nuggets practiced Monday and will take today off, reuniting at the Pepsi Center for a Wednesday practice.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
