Recently, the Denver Nuggets have driven me crazy. I am fanatical, without regret, about the Nuggets finally winning a championship, and for some reason, it has affected my attitude toward certain players on the team that I have deemed unworthy of playing heavy minutes or even having a spot on the team. Through the help of others, I have discovered this on Christmas Eve, and am currently writing at 1:16 AM on December 25th because I feel very strongly about this. If I can share my perspective with everyone, then hopefully we can come together during the Holiday season and support the entirety of the organization for the rest of the way.
When I became a Denver Nuggets Fan, it was very to root for the team. During the 2008-09 season, I discovered basketball and never let go of its fast-paced nature. The Nuggets of 2008-09 were a slower team than we were accustomed to, but they had a reason to be, armed with two great half court scorers and a few lights out defenders. Chauncey Billups gave me hope as a Nuggets fan that not all was lost with Denver sports, and we watched the greatest NBA basketball team the franchise has ever seen go to the Western Conference Finals and square off against a certain Shooting Guard from the Pacific Standard Time Zone. We may have lost, but we were given a certain degree of hope that even a team from Denver could win a ring.
The Nugget Dreamcrusher himself
Fast forward seven years, and the entire cast of characters from that team is long gone. No more Carmelo Anthony, one of the best scorers the Nuggets have ever had. No more Chauncey Billups, the "savior of Colorado Basketball" for many. No more JR Smith, Kenyon Martin, Dahntay Jones, Anthony Carter, etc. What we have left could be considered better in some respects, but worse where it counts: the win-loss column. We had the 57 win team, yes, but remembering back to the 2008-09 season gives me pain because that team WOULD have won a championship had it not been for #24, and he himself has set this franchise back many times.
This past Tuesday night, Kobe proved once again that the Nuggets franchise would feel his wrath, and with Gallinari out, Kobe feasted on match-ups such as the inexperienced Kostas Papanikolaou, the short Jameer Nelson, the incapable Randy Foye, and the skinny Will Barton. Bryant went off for 31 points, and while Gallo may have helped, Kobe likely would have pulled a Kobe anyway and shot more difficult shots that still would obviously go in. Figures.
The Nuggets are beat up, battered, injured, and berated. But why the last one? Every fan does it in some way, shape, or form, but why do fans berate their own players? Why do I do it? I want us to win, yet continuously bombard players like Randy Foye and Kenneth Faried with insults and expletives, debasing their abilities at the game of basketball.
(FYI I finally learned how to embed videos lol)
The Nuggets played the Suns the night after and absolutely amazed me. 8 players. 3 shooting guards, 2 small forwards, 2 power forwards and one center combined for a heck of an effort in a win over a team that had all 5 starters healthy, albeit a large amount of dysfunction. Each and every player had a major role in the game, including players that for some reason, I have trouble saying nice things about. As a practice exercise, I'm going to say the single most impressive thing about each player's performance.
Randy Foye - Wow. 27 shots and he only got 31 points....I'm just kidding. Foye played his heart out, and he was called to orchestrate the offense when no one else could. 31 points, 6 assists, and 7 HUGE three pointers. Without Foye, we lose this game by 30 points. That's the highest compliment I can give.
Gary Harris - He's a warrior. After coming down on his knee hard in the Lakers game and giving every single fan a heart attack, he came out tonight and played 37 minutes of hard nosed basketball. He didn't shoot well, but that's okay because he had 3 assists, and his presence was felt on both ends of the floor.
Will Barton - He just looks so confident. He's assumed responsibility of this team with multiple people ailing, and he's generally flourished. Each of his 17 points were integral, as were 5 assists and 9 hard fought rebounds.
Kostas Papanikolaou - What can I say about the man? The myth? The Legend? Everyone here knows I'm his biggest fan, and while he has many offensive and defensive limitations, him being on the floor was incredibly important. He seemed to make a key play whenever the team needed it: a corner three, a hustle rebound, a nice pass for an easy assist, and a great contest on a jump shooter. He will never be a full-time starter in all likelihood, but how about that chase down block on TJ Warren? Savage.
Mike Miller - Magic Mike looked overwhelmed a bit by his newfound starting role (not surprising), but that didn't stop him from being a good facilitator and dishing 4 assists, rebounding well with 6, and getting a steal in 17 minutes of action. Great job Mike.
Kenneth Faried - This one his hard for me because I have been the hardest on Kenneth lately, but he makes some spectacular plays. He caught an alley-oop at the beginning of the game with insane hops, chased down some key loose balls, and quietly accumulated 3 blocks. As a Center, I question Faried's long-term viability, but he is still a very talented Power Forward, and he deserves heaps of praise for what he does, and I am consciously going to try and change my attitude about him.
Darrell Arthur - He was on fire all game wasn't he? His shots were all on line, and he made 9/14, tallied 10 rebounds, and dished 3 assists, all while playing normal DA excellent defense. At one point, he was considered to be moved to the bench permanently, but I don't know how you don't play Darrell Arthur with how well he has played in December. He averages a full block AND steal during that time, and has earned his time in the rotation through hard work and consistent effort.
Nikola Jokic - Another guy that I can't help but heap boatloads of praise on, Jokic has been a monster offensively lately, and his defense has improved immensely through knowledge of rotations and his own intuition. He will never be a guy who gets his points by jumping out of the gym, but he does it better by using fundamental moves, positioning, and a perfect shooting touch. When that's not working, he makes great passes to teammates that have the national media on notice:
A great pass from a great player. Nikola Jokic is only 20 years old, yet he plays like a star. This kid is locked up on a four year contract worth next to nothing due to the new TV deal. We have a stud folks, and he's gonna be here for a long time.
***
Okay, that was interesting. The real point I'm trying to make here is that I wish great things for this basketball team, and I really, really want to win a championship, but I will now be the first to say that I have been going about it the wrong way. Josh Kroneke, Tim Connelly, and Mike Malone have helped form a team worth rooting for, and every single guy is a guy we should continuously uplift while they wear a Nuggets jersey. Randy Foye gets enough bashing from analytics experts and fans of other teams who have seen his 3-point percentage this year, so why should I continue to bash him when I can root for the next 3-point shot to go in? Kenneth Faried doesn't have the fundamental skills a traditional Star Power Forward in this league has: the ability to stretch the floor, score on his own, defend the Pick and Roll, etc. Why should I continue to hash that out though? Everyone knows it now, so why not continuously root for improvement in those areas or be happy when he succeeds in the things he's good at? Like out-hustling people, rebounding the basketball, and demoralizing people with his leaping ability.
It's okay to come up with trade proposals, express unhappiness with certain players, and debate the effectiveness of certain guys in certain situations. What's debilitating for a franchise, especially ours, is to make it sound like we don't support the players. Again, I really want to win, but no longer will it be at the expense of our players and their human nature. Being so young, I turn to analytics and statistics often because some people choose not to listen to a 19 year old solely for his opinion, but unfortunately, I have dehumanized the very players I want to win and have instead turned them into statistics. I will continue to use that as my analysis, but the way I go about it will certainly change.
As for the rest of the Stiffs, I'm calling for an army of positive people to step into the game threads, onto the streets, and into Pepsi Center to proclaim support for our players. I will be doing it from afar for most of the year, as I will be taking up another semester of college, but I would be a very happy camper if I came home in early May to see these Nuggets still playing in playoff games. For what it's worth, I believe we CAN do that with the current team and zero changes, but we have to be behind our guys 100% in order to do so.
So storm the Pepsi Center and let your voices be heard!
It is now 2:46 AM on December 25th. Merry Christmas Stiffs! Don't spend too much time reading comments here. The game ain't till tomorrow. :)
