Denver Post sports writer Benjamin Hochman posts his Nuggets Mailbag every Wednesday during the 2007-08 NBA season on DenverPost.com.
To drop a Nuggets- or NBA-related question into the Nuggets Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
In , Anthony Carter had an awful minus-24 plus/minus in just 18 minutes of play. The team played much better with J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza in the game. Why doesn’t George Karl shift Allen Iverson to point guard and start one of those two at shooting guard?
— Kirby Daubanton, Minnesota
Kirby – This will happen. Carter is a pretty good defender, but he struggled in the fray on Sunday in Game 1, especially when he crossed paths with the Lakers’ Vladimir Radmanovic, who is almost a foot taller.
Linas Kleiza will start and likely continue to play extended minutes against the Lakers – his 37 minutes in Game 1 were his most since Jan. 30. Reserve J.R. Smith will log more minutes, too. But, like you said, look for Iverson to be the lone short guard on the court for Denver.
Did you see anything positive out of the Nuggets in Game 1?
— David M., Castle Rock
David – No one got hurt.
No, in all seriousness, there were some positives. Kenyon Martin did a pretty good job defending Kobe Bryant. Kleiza, a year after an awful postseason, scored 10 big second-quarter points to lead a comeback. And I think the Nuggets learned a lot in Game 1 about clamping down defensively – it was their first look against . Now, we’ll see how Denver adjusts.
How much do you think George Karl will play the bench during the playoffs, considering they’ve been playing pretty well?
— Heidi Roth, Denver
Well, Heidi, after Tuesday’s practice, Karl spoke glowingly about his bench, which scored 41 points in Game 1. That was the most points scored by a postseason Denver bench since May 2, 2005, when it scored 49 points against San Antonio.
Obviously, with Kleiza starting, that takes away some of the bench’s firepower, but J.R. Smith looked confident offensively – though a little lost defensively – and Karl spoke highly of Eduardo Najera’s energy in Game 1. Also, Nene is a possibility for Game 2, and he could give maybe 5-10 minutes of intensity off the bench. It will be interesting to see how Anthony Carter fits into the bench equation, after a lackluster performance in the opener.
Why hasn’t the NBA suspended Carmelo Anthony?
— Robert, Aurora
Robert – Good question. The league and the Nuggets are awaiting all the information from the blood tests and the courts to come in before they jump to any conclusions. One could argue that if a player makes a mistake such as Anthony’s, that he should be punished immediately. But I honestly don’t think this was a let’s-wait-’til-the-playoffs-are-over situation. I think if this had happened in January, they still wouldn’t have punished the player until they were certain the punishment was the deserving punishment.
OK, one more question about the Nuggets’ defense, or lack thereof. Is it the defensive system that isn’t working, or are the players too winded playing the up-and-down style? I find it hard to believe their defense can be that bad with Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin on the court.
— Mike Fallona, Las Vegas
Well, Mike, I’ll let Phil Jackson answer that one. After the first game, the Lakers’ coach said: “We know (Denver) plays passing lanes, blocks shots, run out because it creates easy baskets for them. But if you’re patient and you work the ball, changing sides of the floor, you can find a way to get the ball inside for easy baskets.”
Yes, Marcus Camby took a lot of heat after Game 1. And, yes, his defense wasn’t as good as it generally is. But the players needed to focus more on playing 24-second defense. The Lakers worked the ball extremely well, and even though it was Camby’s man who did a lot of the scoring, it was, say, Carmelo Anthony’s man or Anthony Carter’s man who got open, forced Camby to help out, and caused Gasol to be open under the basket.
Benjamin Hochman covers the Nuggets for The Denver Post. To drop a question into his Nuggets Mailbag, or visit DenverPost.com’s .
