GIVE DENVER A KICK
IN THE NUGGETS
IN THE NUGGETS
-VS-
Game Time Start: 8:00 PM ET
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
Officials: Bill Kennedy, David Guthrie, Brett Nansel
Media Notes: Indiana Notes, Denver Notes
Television: FOX Sports Indiana / Altitude
Radio: WFNI 1070 AM, 107.5 FM / KKFN 104.3 FM, KRWZ 950 AM
NBA Feeds: NBA Audio & Broadband League Pass (subscription req'd)
REMINDER: Per PD policy, please do not share a link to, describe how to search for, request a link to, or request a PM about streaming video of a NBA game that is not coming directly through the NBA. Not even in a "wink-wink, nudge-nudge, know-what-I-mean" round-about sort of way. Thank you
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PACERS Paul George - Calf (probable) George Hill - Personal Reasons (out) Ian Mahinmi - Heel (out) Rodney Stuckey - Foot (out) NUGGETS Jameer Nelson – Left Wrist Sprain (Questionable) Jusuf Nurkic – Left Knee Soreness (Out) Wilson Chandler – Right Hip Arthroscopic Surgery (out) |
Run and Gun is Dead, Long Live Run and Gun Daniel C. Lewis Remember how the George Karl Nuggets used to routinely put up over 100 points on the scoreboard flying down the court in transition? Those days are gone, and hoping for a return to running is an exercise in futility. Corey Brewer was one of my favorite Denver Nuggets, and it wasn't because he owns a pet goat. Okay, that was part of it, but the main reason is for how easy he made scoring look. If you remember the Nuggets with Corey Brewer, the first thing you probably think of is Brewer streaking down the court and hammering home a one-handed dunk, beating everyone down the floor. Brewer was a master of the leak out, constantly taking advantage of defenders to score in what seemed like the easiest way imaginable. It seems like such a simple form of offense - just run faster than the defense and score before the defenders can establish position. Former Grantland NBA writer Zach Lowe referred to the Nuggets as the "Rocky Mountain runners" at the peak of the Nuggets emphasis on transition. The 2012-13 Nuggets flew around the court, with Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala, the afore-mentioned Brewer, Kenneth Faried, and Danilo Gallinari flourishing in Karl's system. Nowadays the Michael Malone Nuggets are 21st in the league in transition points this season, with 11.4 percent of their possessions resulting in transition opportunities. As for George Karl, his new team, the Sacramento Kings, rank first in transition possessions per game, with a 18.1 percent mark this season. As tempting as it may seem to go back to the days of flying down the court past the defense for dramatic finishes above the rim, the Nuggets ought to continue to focus on their half-court execution on offense rather than attempting to prioritize fast break offense for the following reasons. 1. Transition Relies Upon Mismatches Corey Brewer was excellent in transition because he could literally outrun defenders. The player the Nuggets have that is the most obvious mismatch is Will Barton. Barton can outrun defenders consistently, and surprise, he does that multiple times per game! Barton is ninth in the league in total points scored in transition, with 151 points according to NBA.com stats. A majority of those points are coming against second units, and is one of the reasons why Barton is strong contender for Sixth Man of the Year this season. It's great that Barton is able to successfully attack in transition, but oftentimes he finds himself slashing to the rim with three defenders crashing to the paint and no teammates nearby - not ideal. The teams that do attack in transition have a common trait - guards that push the pace. The Nuggets don't have that (outside of Barton), especially when Emmanuel Mudiay isn't active. In 24 games, NBA.com has tracked 67 transition possessions for the rookie point guard. For the other Nuggets point guard, Jameer Nelson, NBA.com has tracked 33 transition possessions in 34 games this season. Michael Malone can talk about wanting to secure the defensive rebound and then look for transition opportunities, but with Nelson at the point, that is translating to one transition opportunity per game - that's abysmal. The players on the team should also favor a shift away from transition opportunities. The Warriors and Thunder are head and shoulders above the rest of the league in fast break points per game, but they also have the players for it. Russell Westbrook can dribble the length of the court in four seconds and Kevin Durant is 7-feet tall with a stride like a gazelle. The Warriors have lineups built around speed, with players like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes all able to get down the court in a hurry. Outside of Barton and Kenneth Faried, the Nuggets have two young guards (Mudiay and Gary Harris) and a bunch of big forwards (Jokic, Nurkic, Lauvergne, Arthur and Hickson) that aren't able to fly down the court in transition. As stated above, Jameer Nelson isn't girding up his loins and racing down the court like John Wall or Darren Collison anytime soon. That lack of speed means there isn't a lot of options for the Nuggets - teams need to adapt their schemes for their personnel. The 2015-16 Nuggets don't have mismatches to take advantages of in transition, so they aren't running. 2. The NBA Adapted More and more, teams are abandoning offensive rebounds and deciding to get back on defense to prevent transition. Nearly 60 percent of field goal defensive rebounds this season have been secured by the defensive team with no offensive player contesting, according to rebounding statistics tracked by Nylon Calculus. In essence, teams are conceding defensive rebounds to minimize transition opportunities. Brian Skinner created a stat, VOIR (Value of Improved Offensive Rebounding), to study how teams would improve by attempting to get more offensive rebounds. He found that an NBA team generally improves on offense by about 0.62 points per 100 possessions for each percentage point increase in its offensive rebound rate. Many teams in the league have decided that the points gained on offense do not outweigh the potential points given up in transition. An example in an approach towards offensive rebounding and transition defense are the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have the No. 1 defense in the league, allowing the fewest points per game (89.7) while owning the best defensive rating (95.6). The Spurs allow 1.02 points per possession on transition plays, according to NBA.com stats, the second best mark in the league, trailing only the Chicago Bulls. Gregg Popovich tells his players "We don't care if you get an offensive rebound in your entire life," Lowe reports, and the Spurs routinely send all five players back on defense after a shot attempt. "San Antonio set the model," says Terry Stotts, the Blazers' coach, in a column written by Zach Lowe. "Offensive rebounding has never been a priority for us." Doc Rivers, Terry Stotts, Steve Clifford, Stan Van Gundy, Rick Carlisle and Erik Spoelstra are all coaches that emphasize getting back on defense over offensive rebounding. Most of those coaches also appear on the list on longest-tenured head coaches in the league, and it's safe to say they know what they're doing when it comes to coaching basketball. Lowe also brings up...CONTINUE READING DENVER STIFFS |
Pacers Candace Buckner @CandaceDBuckner Nate Taylor @ByNateTaylor Jared Wade @8pts9secs Tim Donahue @TimDonahue8p9s Tom Lewis @indycornrows Whitney @its_whitney |
Nuggets Christopher Dempsey @dempseypost Adam Mares @Adam_Mares Jeremy Wagner @RoundballMining Jordan S White @JordanSWhite Jeff Morton @jmorton78 Nicki Jhabvala @NickiJhabvala |
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