Denver Post sports writer Benjamin Hochman posts his Nuggets Mailbag on Tuesdays during the 2009-10 NBA season.
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Why was Ty Lawson overlooked for the rookie-soph game? Does that mean that most of the assistant coaches in the league are idiots?
— Stan, Aurora
Stan – I couldn’t believe it either. Fact is, Ty is a key reserve for one of the top teams in basketball. But the rookie-sophomore game only has nine players on each roster, so there are only five backcourt players on the rookie team.
Tyreke Evans is a lock; he’s probably one of the 15 best players in the Western Conference this season. James Harden is a key rotation guy for Oklahoma City, a team that is in the playoff hunt in the wild West. And then you look at the other three — fact is, Jonny Flynn, Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings each get more minutes than our town’s speedster (who just drove coast-to-coast against the Kings as I typed this sentence).
Fact is, if Ty played for Milwaukee, Golden State or Minnesota, he would probably put up 15 points per game. But the league, it seems, had trouble keeping any of the top rookie scorers at home, even though they score meaningless points in losses (you can argue). But Lawson can use the rest, since he’ll likely be playing in May.
And really, he’s not missing much. The rookie game is about as fun to watch as “Perfect Strangers” reruns. Yeah, I know the league uses it as a chance to showcase its up-and-coming talent, and it lets a national audience see youngsters on bad teams, but you wanna talk about no defense? You don’t have to wait until Sunday during all-star weekend. And this thing is lopsided — the sophomores have won every season since 2002.
Here are this season’s rosters:
* Sophomore team: Miami’s Michael Beasley, Chicago’s Derrick Rose, L.A. Clippers’ Eric Gordon, Memphis’ Marc Gasol and O.J. Mayo, Minnesota’s Kevin Love, New Jersey’s Brook Lopez, New York’s Danilo Gallinari and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook.
* Rookie team: Chicago’s Taj Gibson, Detroit’s Jonas Jerebko, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings, Minnesota’s Jonny Flynn, Oklahoma City’s James Harden, Sacramento’s Omar Casspi and Tyreke Evans and San Antonio’s DeJuan Blair.
As for Lawson, I asked Nuggets coach George Karl about Lawson’s contributions, heading down the stretch and into the playoffs: “I think he’s got to be able to contribute on a more consistent basis, but that doesn’t mean the bench player has to deliver every night. There’s got to be a consistency to his average games and then he should have the ability to have a wild-card game where he helps the team win big.”
Am I the only Nuggets fan who is NOT upset about ? He’s been injured. Let him rest up for our journey to the NBA Finals!
— Bobby, Denver
Bobby – So it seems, Lawson wasn’t the only Nuggets player snubbed last week. Indeed, Billups is an all-star, and if I was voting, I would have taken him over Deron Williams, even though Williams (consistently) plays at a high level and has yet to make an all-star team (until this season). But the fact is, Denver is the No. 2 team in the tougher of the two conferences, and Billups is the team’s MVP (something I’ve written numerous times this season and something The Post’s Dave Krieger wrote in ).
I’m writing this during Monday’s Kings-Nuggets game, so it’s possible that Chauncey will be named to the all-star team later in the week, because Chris Paul is injured. But it’s a shame that Billups wasn’t named to begin with, especially because of his play in January, when Denver lost just three games.
I know I am not the only one who thinks this, but I just needed to vent. With Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson playing/scoring really well and Anthony Carter’s stability — trade J.R. Smith while people still think he has value. A solid defender who gives assists could really benefit us down the road.
— JCR, Denver
JCR – In the past couple weeks, my e-mail box has been stuffed with fan letters about J.R. Smith. While many fans love J.R., many are becoming more and more frustrated. But the fact is, it doesn’t sound like Denver is going to trade Smith. J.R. is such a valuable weapon off the bench. His 3-point shooting and dribble-penetrate passing can change the course of a game. The Nuggets have invested ample time and money into his development. And the guy scores around 15 points a game — it’s tough to find a guy who makes J.R. money but has J.R. production.
Yes, the guys you mention have been playing well, notably Afflalo, who is one of the better 3-point shooters in the league this season. And Smith, at times, has caused problems on the court and on the bench. But it looks like he’s going to be part of this playoff push — and, as Denver hopes, a key part.
Looking in your rearview mirror, how different would the Nuggets’ last 1 1/2 years be if they hadn’t given Marcus Camby away?
— Jim, Denver
Jim – Great question! Indeed, Marcus was a fan favorite here in the Mile High, and he provided many great seasons with his blocking and rebounding. But if he was still here, he would have gobbled up minutes that have since gone to Nene (not to mention gobbling up salary).
Nene had a breakout season in 2008-09 as the starting center and has had some monster games this season. If Marcus was still here, who would have played the bulk of the big-man minutes? Also, Camby was very stubborn and proud — he wanted to play as much as possible and wanted his touches. Of course, Marcus respected Nene, and the two were close. But the fact is, if Marcus was still here, someone would have suffered. And we haven’t even mentioned “Birdman” yet.
I just don’t think people give the Nuggets the credit they deserve (they always win at home and play well against good teams). Do you agree that they can easily contend with anyone in a seven-game series?
— Greg, New York
Greg – A Nuggets fan in New York! Is it because the Knicks and Nets stink and you needed someone to root for?
You bring up a very good point and, honestly, the biggest question involving the Nuggets. The fact is, when the starters are healthy, Denver has lost just four games. The Nuggets are confident and a smart basketball team (on most nights). And while there was talk about the “luster” of last season wearing off, they looked better in January than any other month (and then consider that with Denver, Karl has a winning percentage of .601 before the all-star break and .653 after).
So we ask: Assuming these guys lock up No. 2, can they beat the Lakers? I spoke to Reggie Miller in a phone interview Monday, and the TNT analyst said the Lakers are “head and shoulders” above all the other teams. The fact is, the Ron Artest addition has proven to be a pretty good fit. The cooks are working together in the kitchen.
Yet Karl did recently say he feels his team has a better grasp on what it will take to beat the Lakers. Trial by fire, if you will. You look at Carmelo Anthony playing his best season ever, Chauncey averaging his most points ever, Kenyon Martin (arguably) playing his best basketball ever and Lawson a newcomer to the Laker-Nugget rivalry, and you have to wonder what might happen come May.
Benjamin Hochman is in his third season as the Nuggets and NBA beat writer for The Denver Post. for the Nuggets Mailbag.
