On an otherwise routine Nuggets media day in September, coach George Karl was once again asked what to him was becoming an increasingly irritating question about keeping up with the Joneses in the Western Conference.
San Antonio revamped its team with the free-agent signings of Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess. The Spurs then drafted undersized but bruising forward DeJuan Blair. All were statements to make clear that getting to the playoffs and then losing the first round — as San Antonio did last season, to Dallas — was not acceptable. The Spurs were committed to getting back to championship form.
The Nuggets made a handful of moves — none flashy — and the question was asked: Should they have done more to keep up with the Spurs and others?
Karl’s response: “Some of those other teams made those changes because I think they knew they had to catch up. I think one of the teams they had to catch up to was us.”
Now the Nuggets get their first up-close look at the team that made arguably the biggest offseason splash. The Spurs team they will be facing, however, is 9-7 and struggled early trying to make the new pieces fit.
But they are figuring things out. San Antonio lost Thursday night at home to Boston, but has won five of its past six games.
“They acquired some new guys on their team and they are playing well right now,” Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said. “I’m pretty sure they’re going to be up to play against us.”
At 13.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 32 minutes per game, Jefferson hasn’t had the huge impact most thought he would. In fact, the career 17.6-ppg player has put together three straight games of single-digit scoring.
But Anthony, who on Friday was named Western Conference player of the month, is expecting more, saying Jefferson “gives them more options. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and of course (Manu) Ginobili coming off the bench. Richard Jefferson is giving them another scoring option, another big body; somebody that they can rely on to get them a basket when they need it.”
Karl agreed.
“Jefferson will give them another scoring athlete on the perimeter,” he said. “I still think they have a lot of good role players, led by Duncan, Ginobili and Parker. I don’t think anything is going to change. Their defense is going to be good. We’re going to have to play an ‘A’ game in order to win.”
The Nuggets won at San Antonio last season, so confidence won’t be an issue. The two teams are so familiar with each other that Karl hadn’t studied much of the Spurs at all as of Friday night.
“I haven’t seen a lot of them,” Karl said. “I’m sure they are going to be a (coach Gregg) Popovich-Duncan-led type of team, with Parker and Ginobili getting in a lot of pick-and-rolls. It’s always a challenge to play there. It’s fun to go down there and try to win. It’s one of the more difficult places to play.”
The road has been a difficult place for the Nuggets this season. Four of Denver’s five losses have come away from Denver. The Nuggets are currently riding a two-game road losing streak.
But no one is ready to push the panic button just yet.
“We’ll be OK,” Anthony said. “This is another good road trip for us. We’ll be OK, and we’ll be ready to play.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Denver at San Antonio
6:30 p.m. tonight, ALT/NBA TV, KKHI 101.9 FM
Spotlight on DeJuan Blair: The oldest team in the league drafted some low-post spunk this summer in Blair, the former Pittsburgh standout who thrives despite an unconventional body size (6-foot-7, 265 pounds). On Thursday against Boston, the Spurs reserve post scored a career-high 18 points on 9-for-11 shooting, and he did so in just 21 minutes. He also nabbed five offensive rebounds (he averages 5.9 total rebounds and 6.7 points) in the Spurs’ loss. “Blair almost single-handedly turned this game around for them,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers told reporters. “He beat us on the post. He kept balls alive.”
Nuggets: At 14-5, Denver is off to its best 19-game start in team history. . . . Forward Carmelo Anthony has scored 20 or more points in Denver’s first 19 games. Allen Iverson holds the NBA record with 21 in 2005-06. If Melo gets 20 tonight, he will have a chance to tie the record playing against Iverson in Philadelphia on Monday. . . . Nene leads NBA centers in assists with 2.8 per game. . . . Guard Arron Afflalo scored 17 in Thursday’s win and now he has eight 10-point games this season. In the previous two seasons he had a combined 19 games with 10 or more.
Spurs: This is San Antonio’s first game against Denver this season. . . . Power forward Tim Duncan is fifth in the NBA in both rebounds (11.1 per game) and blocks (2.0). . . . Starters Antonio McDyess and Keith Bogans went scoreless in the Spurs’ Thursday loss to the Celtics. . . . Spurs opponents shoot 44.2 percent from the field. Only three teams in the Western Conference hold opponents to a lower shooting percentage. . . . The Spurs average 21.8 assists per game, while opponents average just 18.1. Only Utah and Boston have a better assist differential in the NBA.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
