Matt Harpring played 12 seasons in the NBA, and it’s possible the forward never received as much attention as a player as he did before Game 2 of the Nuggets-Jazz opening-round NBA playoff series.
Now a member of the Utah television crew, Harpring grabbed a bit of the spotlight after it was revealed he talked with the Jazz players about his experiences guarding Denver forward Carmelo Anthony.
One of the league’s more physical players during his career, Harpring indeed did have a measure of success against the Denver all-star, who rang up 42 points Saturday in the series opener.
While talking to the Utah players may be well and good, there was just one problem — the men defending Anthony, C.J. Miles and Wesley Matthews, aren’t remotely the same type of physical player Harpring was.
“That’s exactly right, and if they don’t have that kind of mentality, it doesn’t matter what anyone says to them anyway,” Harpring said Monday night. “They aren’t me, but they do have to decide how they’re going to play. Are you going to go out and let a guy score 42 points on you again? I hope not.”
Triple-A’s triples.
The big story line with Arron Afflalo is his defense, but Jazz coach Jerry Sloan believes Afflalo can be very dangerous from the offensive end too, especially shooting corner 3-pointers.
“He doesn’t make many mistakes, he plays within what they’re trying to do,” Sloan said. “They want him to shoot 3s, and he’s worked very hard. He’s really improved himself from last year.”
Time out.
Thanks to television, the Nuggets and Jazz played two games in three days — and now will have three days off before Game 3. But this could be a good thing for Nuggets power forward Kenyon Martin, who is playing through some pain in his left knee. Also, Utah power forward Carlos Boozer is fighting through a rib strain.
Tough cover(s).
The Nuggets are going to have to adjust to more low-post minutes for Boozer and his backup, the tough-minded Paul Millsap, in the wake of Mehmet Okur’s injury.
“We play faster,” Boozer said of playing with Millsap. “We’re more active on defense, we can do more things of offense, we can help a little more on defense because we can recover better. We’re both good at working on the court together.”
