Denver Post sports writer Benjamin Hochman posts his Nuggets Mailbag on Wednesdays during the 2008-09 NBA season. The next installment is slated for March 11.
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This is from my 8-year-old sons, who are just starting basketball: Do the Nuggets get snacks at halftime? Probably not, but I wonder if some orange slices would get them over their third-quarter slumps.
— John Lang, Fort Collins
Hi there, John. That’s a very good question from your sons, so I sat down with Nuggets chef Mike Osterman to get answers about that — and about the team’s nutrition in general.
As for halftime, Osterman said because, “It’s the right mix of carbohydrates and proteins. And it’s low in sugar. It’s a great bar — we buy in bulk. We probably go through 30 cases a month. During the game, they’ll also knock down Gatorade and water. And if someone is under the weather, we might cut some oranges up.”
Osterman started in the restaurant business in 1991 — he spent some time working with TV food celebrity Guy Fieri, a good friend — and came to Denver to work in restaurants. Tired of the “80-90 hour weeks,” Osterman opened his own business, and soon became friends with former Denver player and coach Bill Hanzlik. Osterman was introduced to Nuggets athletic trainer Jim Gillen and strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess, and now Osterman is in his fourth year as the Nuggets chef. On practice days, he prepares a breakfast and lunch.
“It’s a balance of carbohydrates and proteins,” he said. “Very little sugar in their diets. Their sugars are all natural — vegetables and fruits and so forth.
“After practice, we want carbs immediately back in their bodies, so they have to replenish. The body is pretty much like an automobile, and consider that these guys are like Ferraris — the most unbelievable athletes in the world. If you have a Ferrari, and you don’t put high-octane gas in there, it’s going to sputter and break down. That’s what we do with our guys — it’s clean cooking. We don’t use a lot of oils and butters and we don’t deep-fry anything. Chicken is always boneless, skinless. If we use steak, it’s always filet mignon because it’s the leanest of the beefs we can use. We use quite a bit of turkey and we use bison — bison’s low in fat.
“The carbs that we mainly lean on are sweet potatoes and yams, because what we like is the long, burning carb. We put that in their system and it’s got to hold them three or four hours before it completely burns itself out. If we want to get something immediately after practice — baked potato. A lot of rice that we use with them and a lot of greens — broccoli, spinach.”
On gamedays, there will be breakfast after the morning shootaround, and then a pre-game meal, which most players eat between 4:45 and 5:30 for a 7 p.m. game because, as Osterman said, “You don’t want to try to guard Paul Pierce and try to digest food at the same time.”
On game nights, the menu generally features salad, rice, fruit and a variety of chicken — rotisserie, bourbon, barbecue or, a team favorite, teriyaki. Osterman, though, will use sugar-free teriyaki sauce and “get by” with Splenda. However, when Allen Iverson was on the Nuggets, he would generally eat steak before games.
Osterman, who has baseball roots, is very superstitious. “There’s been time when we’ve stuck with the exact pre-game meal and put it out at the exact same time. I’m an old baseball guy so I’m very superstitious. I don’t know if it works or not, but it makes us feel better.”
In his eyes, the players are “Ferraris,” but I asked him for some advice for all of us “Ford Tauruses” out there. Here are some tips:
“It’s pretty much the same (as with the team). You want 5-6 meals a day, in smaller quantities. You want to cut out the sugars and fat and eat what we call clean food. Baked potato, chicken breast and some broccoli is phenomenal for you. I’d stay away from fast-food places. And pizza is one of my favorite things, but it’s so bad for you. And stay away from stuff late at night — no later than 9 o’clock — and if you are going to eat late at night, stay away from the foods with high sugars. Turkey and chicken are great for you. And if you do get hungry late at night, eat some celery sticks and broccoli.”
What makes anyone think the Nuggets are going to be competitive in the playoffs given the erratic play of J.R. Smith (lazy on defense, selfish on offense); the streakiness of Linas Kleiza (also very little defense); and the frequently sloppy, slow play of Anthony Carter?
— Richard Holcomb, Austin, Texas
I hear ya, Richard. But the glass-half-full person would say: Chauncey Billups is floor general with the ultimate playoff experience; Carmelo Anthony is a different player than last April — he’s maturing, playing smarter defense (or, really, defense at all) and is knocking down outside shots; Nene is a factor now; Kenyon Martin can be a defensive weapon; and they’ll probably have home-court advantage in the first round.
I like Renaldo Balkman’s hustle and defense, so I’m wondering why he rarely plays. Isn’t there room to put him in for 5 or 10 minutes when the team hits those lulls and needs a spark? Do you think he’d be able to cover some 2-guards on defense?
— Bob, Lyons
Sing it, Bob. You’re in a chorus of Nuggets fans who e-mail me with the same thoughts. Balkman did play pretty well in , notably in the second half, and provides a lot of energy and hustle, Birdmanesque. But George Karl isn’t a big believer of giving players just a snippet of minutes each night. He would rather give Birdman an extended five minutes then wedge in Balkman or Johan Petro.
I asked George about Balkman for you, and here’s what he said: “I think Renaldo does a lot of good but he also makes mistakes, and unfortunately his mistakes turn into layups. Big guys kind of give up layups, and that drives me crazy right now. And then the size factor — he’s not the biggest of fours and rebounding and covering the post-ups, we’ve been good there, and to try it a different way would be a pretty strong change. With Kenyon (Martin), Nene and Chris (Andersen), we don’t double-team the post-ups and we don’t front the post-ups very often. With Renaldo, if we had a post matchup, we’d probably have to adapt.”
Benjamin – Do you know what Melo and A.I.’s relationship is like now? It’s remarkable how much better the Nuggets are post-Iverson, even if most of it has to do with Chauncey Billups. (Not to mention how far the Pistons have fallen.) I read they were pretty close off the court prior to the trade. Thanks.
— Sean, Fort Collins
What’s poppin, Sean. Melo said he actually keeps up with A.I. on the phone or text pretty regularly. They became good buddies during Iverson’s time in Denver. But, yeah, it’s pretty obvious how much better Denver is without Iverson — not that 50 wins is shabby. But last season Denver was the eighth seed, didn’t play a lot of defense and lost a lot of games they should have won.
It will be fun to watch the Nuggets-Pistons game next week. It will be Billups’ first game back in Detroit since the trade. I’m sure the appreciative applause will be deafening — similar to last season, when Iverson returned to Philadelphia for the first time. And, of course, Melo and A.I. will get to say hey.
Melo made bold a statement: “I’m the only one out here in the West.” Then he asked, Although it’s a given that he is the best, Kevin Durant is making a case due to his recent outbreak. In your opinion, will K.D. be better than Melo in five years?
— Wade, Manila, Philippines
Wade! Always good to hear from Nuggets Nation down in the Philippines. You’re making reference to the point that both Melo and Karl have made — that Melo is the best small forward in basketball. Obviously, Durant is playing high-level basketball (unlike his teammates). In five years, I still think Melo will be better, and, Nuggets fans would hope, more accomplished.
Fact is, Melo is a more versatile player. I asked Karl for you if Durant could become Melo-ish, and the coach said: “I actually think Durant is more of a perimeter player, whereas Melo — at his stage — was more of a paint player. Melo has moved out to be a little bit of both. I’m not sure about Durant. Perimeter players very seldom go into the paint. Paint players have a tendency to move to the perimeter. But he might. That skinny body might say — I’m not going to go in there.”
Benjamin Hochman covers the Nuggets for The Denver Post. , or .
