| Nuggets Win On Snowy Opening Night Authored by Derek Johnson - October 30, 2009 - 1:25 am
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Denver hosted the Jazz before a sold out Pepsi Center (80% capacity crowd) cheering the home team on to victory over a very tough Northwest Division rival in both team's 2009-10 season opener. This less than capacity crowd was understandable considering it was a mild 28 degrees outside with a foot of snow on the ground, and the forecast had snow falling until 6:00 PM the following day.
Here are some of the highlights from a RealGM writer who actually played college basketball and wasn't born during the Ronald Reagan years:
1. Chris Noth’s clone, Mehmet Okur, going down on the second play of the game while trying to take a charge (it was called a block). Mr. Okur finally returned to the game in the 2nd quarter when he realized it was just a mild ankle roll.
2. The energy of the crowd that helped to propel the Nuggets to victory during the final two minutes of the game (well, we have to give the Nuggets players some of the credit). Fairly amazing considering it was past 11:00 PM and a drunken icy commute awaited most (just not the players hopefully).
3. Chauncy Billups dropping 25 points on Opening Night, with a 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Denver’s native son is on pace to break Ray Allen's single season record for most 3-point field goals in a single season, whilst at a tidy clip of 57.1%.
4. There was a silver, mushroom shaped balloon dropping from the ceiling during one of the breaks. All the while, the announcer droned on and on about who might be in the balloon. So who was it? A dead boy? We should have been so lucky. Instead we were presented with that strange Denver mascot, Slappy or Slinky, some name like that. Why is the Nuggets mascot a lion-type creature covered in lightning bolts? Shouldn’t the Denver Nuggets have an oversized nugget as a mascot?
(Next morning research: The mascot is actually named Rocky and he is supposed to be a mountain lion. He is available for parties and corporate events, with a guarantee* to make it memorable.)
* Not an actual guarantee
5. The halftime show consisted of early 90’s rappers Naughty By Nature. Out to promote their new album they decided to go straight into their only known hit, 'O.P.P.' I was not down with it. It was less enjoyable than last year when I saw an obese Young MC get hoisted from the ceiling for a halftime set at this same arena. One guess as to which song he rapped? The line he sang, “come on fat boy just bust a move” was ironic.
6. Ty Lawson. The rookie from North Carolina is another powerful weapon for a team that should contend for Western Conference supremacy this season. 17 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and another added headband off the bench. Well done little fella.
7. Chris “Birdman” Anderson. He really didn’t do anything, but just running around and making an occasional bird flap with his hands is, in itself, a valuable stat for both himself and the fans. I am not looking forward to all the Birdman costumes that will, no doubt, be paraded around Denver this Halloween.
All this aside, with the exception of a few out of control moments, Denver looked very impressive in the 114-105 win.
One thing I have noticed about Denver is that the moment when Billups begins to go awry with turnovers and bad shots, this team utterly collapses. We saw this happen during last season's Western Conference Finals against the Lakers. Denver doesn't have the luxury of withstanding “off” performances from Billups, but perhaps Lawson can plug this gap and provide another real leader for a Nuggets team that desperately could use another one.
In summation, my record prediction for the Nuggets: 79-3. |
