Denver Post sports writer Benjamin Hochman posts his Nuggets Mailbag on Tuesdays during the 2009-10 NBA season.
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Do you ever hit the concession stand before, during or after games? If so, what is your favorite — at Pepsi Center and on the road? Or do they have food in the press box? Thanks.
— Dexter, Denver
Dexter – I love stadium food. There’s just something fitting, almost sentimental. Like popcorn at the movies, a hot dog or nachos with processed cheese at the arena or ballpark just taste so good — yet if you were served the same meal at your home, you’d surely save room for dessert.
Of course, these days, you can get anything to eat at the ballpark (this makes my dad shake his head), but sometimes this can be a good thing. Indeed, we have a meal available for purchase each night in the press room, but I instead peruse up to section 220 on the club level at Pepsi, where there’s a hidden culinary gem — a concession stand called “5 Spice.” There, I order the caramelized ginger chicken (with additional tofu). It’s splendid, and arguably my favorite meal in the building. Its competition? On the nights of big games, they set up a stand (hidden by the elevators near section 142) where you can buy a roasted prime rib sandwich, served with a smile from Raymond Maes, who calls himself an “all-time carver.”
Greetings from Greece. I’m a huge fan of the Denver Nuggets and Carmelo Anthony. Do you think that Carmelo can become MVP this year? In recent games, Melo hasn’t scored as many points as he used to and his scoring percentage keeps getting lower. Why does this happen?
— Dimitris, Greece
Dimitris – Thanks for writing from Greece! That’s awesome. My favorite Greeks? Sofoklis “Baby Shaq” Schortsanitis, Zach Galifianakis and, of course, Zeus.
Melo indeed is having an MVP-ish season — though, like you pointed out, he’s dropped a little, and that’s because he was dealing with fatigue (he had to have an IV the day of the Thunder game). As I write you this letter on Monday afternoon, he’s third in the NBA with 28.7 points per game, while shooting a career-best 82.7 percent from the line. I asked Portland coach Nate McMillan, who was a Team USA assistant in 2008, if Melo was playing the best basketball of his career, and coach said:
“I think so. I’ve always said it takes most guys 4-5 years to figure it out, get a lot of things out of their system and get adjusted to this league. I think Carmelo has gone through that. He really wants to win, he really wants to be the best in the league. He’s added passing. He will punish you with the pass. And he knows he has an opportunity with this team to win big. So you’re seeing some maturity.”
As for MVP though, I think it’s got to go to LeBron James — he’s the NBA’s top scorer on the team with the most wins. But Melo will likely vie for first-team all-NBA, a heckuva honor, though that’ll be tough too because of Kevin Durant (the No. 2 scorer) and Dirk Nowitzki (whose team is really, really good).
Why does Johan Petro, who is a solid defender and rebounder, not get minutes over Malik Allen when either Nene, Kenyon Martin or Chris Andersen is injured?
— John, Vancouver
John – From my perception, Nuggets coach George Karl and the staff seem to have more faith in Allen, a veteran player who isn’t flashy but can be savvy (though, yes, there are times where Allen is just slow). Karl said: “I’ve always kidded with Johan — he plays better with the first unit than the second unit.”
Then asked what Petro needs to do, Karl said: “He’s a hustle guy, can get some extra possessions and make some good defensive plays. Don’t worry about offense.” Indeed, Petro started with the first unit on Monday against the Trail Blazers, and he scored six points with 10 rebounds in 23 minutes. And John, if you like Johan, then you’ll probably get your wish because with Martin’s injured knee, Petro will get some PT.
I remember reading something a while back where J.R. Smith was asking for people to refer to him by his given birth name, Earl Smith. What ever happened to that?
— Tim, Denver
Tim – It was a crazy day back in November. I spoke to J.R. at the morning shootaround before a game at Chicago (his first game of the season), and he said he wanted to go by Earl. But an hour before tipoff, I saw Earl in the locker room, and he said he wanted to go back to J.R. (“There was too much controversy with the switch. I got a lot of calls and text messages and e-mails. It wasn’t a good move.”)
His given name is Earl Smith III, but he got “J.R.” because people would call him “junior,” even though, yeah, he’s actually a third-generation Earl.
Hey, Ben. How interested are NBA players generally in March Madness? How about the Nuggets? Do they fill out brackets or follow televised games in the locker room? Thanks.
— Mike, Denver
Mike – Yes, there is definitely college pride inside Denver’s locker room, notably this season from Anthony, whose Syracuse squad became No. 1 for the first time since 1990 (though, of course, they finished the season No. 1 when Melo led them to the 2003 title). Melo wore a ‘Cuse warmup suit and hat after a recent Nuggets game (No. 15 was stitched onto the hat), and Melo is constantly following his old squad and occasionally trash talking.
As for games in the locker room, there will be some on after practices, but Coach Karl doesn’t like it when games are on before actual Nuggets games — instead, the coach prefers that the locker room big screen features film of that evening’s opposition.
Benjamin Hochman is in his third season as the Nuggets and NBA beat writer for The Denver Post. for the Nuggets Mailbag.
