Those who know New Orleans star forward David West look for nothing less than an all-star effort from him tonight in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
“He seems to always come back the next game just much more focused,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said Tuesday after practice at the Pepsi Center. “That’s the David West that I think we will see (tonight).”
Recent history suggests the Nuggets will have their hands full.
After scoring 18 points against Denver on March 25, he responded with 29 points in the next game against New York. He scored 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting against the L.A. Clippers on April 1, then came back with 31 against Golden State. And, after scoring 14 points against Houston on April 13, he answered with 34 points against San Antonio two nights later.
Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin has basked in the glow of praise after holding West to 12 points in Game 1. But he looks for West to come out strong tonight.
“I expect him to come out and be aggressive like he normally is, for his team to go to him a lot and give him a lot of touches,” Martin said. “I’ve just got to try to make it as tough as possible on him. He gets a lot of open shots. I’m going to try to do the same job on him again.”
Asked what adjustments he expects to see from West, Martin said, “I don’t know. . . . They’ve got to do something.”
The foundation of what the Hornets want West to do tonight starts with movement. They say that although Martin played well, they made it easy on him.
“We’ve got to do a better job of getting David on the move a little bit more,” Scott said. “And when we pass the ball, we can’t stand. . . . We’re not giving him a chance to make plays, which is what he can do with the ball, as far as scoring and passing.”
West said he just wants to make more shots; he was 4-of-16 in Game 1.
“He played good defense,” West said of Martin. “But I missed some shots I thought I should have made. I didn’t give myself a chance in those situations. I got to take what’s there. That’s the biggest thing. But I’m always going to stick to what I do. I’m not going to let anybody change that.”
Scott said his team needs to have more success using the screen-and-roll with West.
“There’s times during the season where he stands,” Scott said. “But against this team, you’ve got to create space, even on the pick-and-roll. If he sets it and (Chris Paul) comes off, he has to get to that short corner as quick as possible. That creates indecision on their part. Either Chris is going to have a wide-open shot, or if Kenyon comes up, he can throw it to David for a wide-open shot.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
