Nuggets await next course
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12282021
With Mavs on menu, Denver's Big 3 leading feeding frenzy
Occasionally, when the Nuggets win a big game, coach George Karl, a Coors man, proclaims beer tastes like champagne, which begs the question: What, then, does champagne taste like?
Carmelo Anthony took matters into his own hands late Wednesday night — like he did hours earlier in the first-round series-clincher against New Orleans. He toasted Taittinger Prestige Rose Champagne, while surrounded at Jing Restaurant by loved ones and teammates he loves, notably playoff veterans Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups, who knew what Anthony was feeling.
" 'I did it' — I said it to everybody who was with me that night," Anthony said the day after he won his first playoff series. "I was saying, 'I did it' because they've been there, they've done it before. Now I've done it. It's a special time."
As the night slipped away, the guests gobbled up the personally prepared plates, be it the salmon sashimi, Vietnamese-style shrimp rolls, pan-seared lobster dumplings or the assortment of fruits, which, of course, tasted like victory.
"The vibe was extremely positive — there was just a sense of team," said Lawrence Yee, the restaurant's managing partner, who organized the gathering. "There was a huge camaraderie vibe there. . . . That sense of, 'Hey, we accomplished something together.' "
That evening, the guys were satisfied and full; the next day, the Nuggets came to work unsatisfied and hungry for more.
"It's here now," Melo said. "There ain't no turning back."
You don't get a banner for winning just one round; no jeweler is working overtime getting rings ready. The Nuggets believe they can make a run past Dallas and a run at the Lakers, whom they would likely meet in the Western Conference finals. To do so will require a fierce focus unseen with the Nuggets in years.
"I think the teams that aren't fine-tuned don't survive the first round, and now, of the eight teams, six of them are probably playing the best basketball they've ever played," Karl said. "And then you get coaches and strategy, and the games are very close.
"The thing I don't think gets enough attention — people say, 'Play hard.' Well, these games now are so far above 'play hard,' it's in a different arena. It's insane how hard we play — the physicality, the focus, the demand, the discipline."
Experience is a skill
On Thursday, a sun-drenched day that could make a whole office call in sick, the Nuggets ambled inside the Pepsi Center for their first meeting about the Mavericks. It went fast. Even Karl, following the previous evening's game, admitted he was tired, and he probably should have let everyone stay home.
"It ended, and I said, 'Hey, get out of here, have fun,' " Karl recalled. "But Chauncey, Kenyon and Melo all came up to me, and we just sat there for about 15 minutes, talking."
Said Martin: "We all have different views and ideas about how we should go about this series, and we're trying to give George our views and hear the things that he's thinking. He values our opinion a lot, especially myself and Chauncey. And Melo, he's still a young guy and a huge part of this team, so we need his input."
Three postseasons ago, Martin and Karl feuded like J.R. Ewing and Cliff Barnes in "Dallas" (or J.R. Smith and Mark Cuban in Dallas). Last postseason, Anthony said "we quit" after a loss to the Lakers, in reference to players and coaches. This postseason, Martin and Anthony are proud team captains, and Billups, well, he's a maestro.
The Nuggets are hungry, but they've also been handed a menu that's foreign. Of the team's rotation players, only Martin, Billups and Anthony Carter have played past the first round. And in the playoffs, experience is a skill.
"I think in close games, experience always is a value," Karl said.
Take Martin. Normally, he does interviews with his shoulder leaning towards the exit, but Friday, he held court courtside, telling old stories from his New Jersey seasons, which he hopes can help Denver this postseason. One story: It was the 2002 Eastern Conference finals, and with the series tied 1-1, Martin's Nets led the Celtics by 21 points entering the fourth.
They lost.
But, they persevered to win the next three and advanced to the NBA Finals.
"Knowing that situation, knowing that the game shouldn't have gotten to that point, knowing that we bounced back the next three games to beat them — all the experiences you can go through at this time of year helps, good and bad," Martin said. "You learn from your mistakes, you learn from the things you did well, and you build on that and try to eliminate the things that you did wrong."
Shared experiences can permeate throughout a series, through a locker room, a practice session, a pregame talk and, if need be, a key moment of a key game.
That's where Billups comes in. While the Nuggets hadn't won a first-round series since Mr. Big Shot was in high school, Billups is shooting for his seventh consecutive conference finals.
"Chauncey, he's the perfect guy because he does all those (leadership) things now, but early on in his career, he didn't," said NBA TV analyst Eric Snow, who played key minutes for three different NBA Finals teams.
So you know he had gone through the grind and trials, figured out that craft, so now it's easier for him to relate to a Carmelo Anthony or a J.R. Smith, because he's been on both sides of this.
"He has the experience to see a guy have a down game and is frustrated, and knows what to tell him. Or, be able to foresee things that are coming."
Do the hustle
In another private moment after Wednesday's series win, Karl spotted Anthony, each suspiciously missing the gorilla on their backs (the next day, team chef Mike Osterman said he was preparing "cooked gorilla.") That night, Karl told Anthony, who scored 34 points, "This is where you want to be."
Karl likened it to an actor on Broadway who had smaller parts before getting a lead role and seeing his name on the marquee.
But the playoff spotlight is bright. Asked if he feared Melo could get stage fright, Karl said: "No, the exact opposite. I think there's going to be a release of his stress to swing freely."
Snow believes the key to postseason success is winning the "hustle game" — attacking the boards while forcing ill-advised shots and turnovers. In the postseason, Snow said, "It's all about possessions."
Dallas is white hot. But the Nuggets believe they have the know-how and hunger to knock down destiny's door. It conjures up the image of the film "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory," with the obese Augustus Gloop outside the factory doors, bellowing: "Let me in, I'm starving!"
#7 - JOHN - #44 - FLOYD - #80 - ROD
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Buff
