Carmelo for MVP

There are rumblings of Carmelo Anthony being in the bid for the NBA league MVP. To his credit, Carmelo has tried to keep the rumblings down and let nature take its course. For Carmelo to win the MVP of the NBA there would first be Carmelo taking care of business against Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers come playoff time. Carmelo is off to a good start in that department.

Denver Nuggets 105 L.A. Lakers 79

The Nuggets exploded in the third quarter to take down Kobe and the Pau Gasol-less Lakers in a solid beat down that let out some of the frustrations from last year’s playoff ouster by the purple and gold.

Up just two points at halftime, the Nuggets outscored the defending champion Lakers 29-8 in the third, breezing to a 105-79 victory at the Pepsi Center.

“I think it was the best quarter I’ve seen our team play against a special team, maybe since I’ve been in Denver,” said Karl. “It was intense, focused,

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Carmelo Anthony shot 11- 20 for 25 points in a brilliant offensive performance. Kobe Bryant on the other hand did not fare so well and just plain ran out of gas in the second half.

Bryant, the NBA’s leading scorer, finished with a pedestrian 19 points in 32 minutes, shooting just 7-for-17 from the field. He didn’t score in the second half.

Denver needed this game, needed to win big and show the Lakers that the Nuggets will be here to stay, but the Lakers openly admitted that the Nuggets beat them soundly, but it was the second game of a back to back and they were without Pau Gasol.

There will be some great Carmelo Anthony vs. Kobe Bryant battles this year and years to come

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers

The Lakers were coming off of a convincing victory over red hot Phoenix and in rolled a determined Denver.

One night after running the Suns off the court during a resounding 121-102 victory, the Lakers went back to work against another hyperkinetic team with something to prove to the defending champs and the rest of the league.

The tempo was just as high Friday as it was Thursday. Maybe higher.

The Lakers raced to an 8-0 lead, but it didn’t take long to realize this was not going to be a second consecutive runaway victory for the Lakers, who set season highs by scoring 121 points with 36 assists against the Suns.

The difference between the Suns and the Nuggets was evident in the game’s first few minutes Friday. Unlike the Suns, the Nuggets are willing to crash bodies and hack and whack the opposition while still pushing the ball down the court.

When the third quarter began, the Lakers simply wilted under the pressure.

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So maybe it was not an earth shattering victory, but at least the Nuggets and Carmelo Anthony served word that they are to be reckoned with this year!

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Carmelo Anthony is in Denver right on the edge of the Rockies celebrating his stay with the Nuggets. Carmelo won’t be a part of that celebrated free agent class next year and that is just fine with him.

There aren’t going to be a lot of happy people out there,” Anthony said. “It’s going to be a zoo. … There are too many people.”

Three years ago, James, Wade and Bosh all signed three-year contract extensions with an option for a fourth year, making them eligible to become free agents in 2010. The move gives them a chance to make more money by becoming free agents sooner. More importantly, it also gives them the power to leverage their teams into keeping a talented supporting cast around them – and the flexibility to leave if their teams don’t.
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Carmelo Anthony took the advice of his Mom and signed a 4 year deal with a 5th year option totaling 80 million bucks and putting off free agency until 2012. Even that may not be necessary, because Carmelo likes where he is at and he likes the team he plays for right now.

Carmelo has that Rocky Mountain High!

The addition of Chauncey Billups, who came to the Nuggets by trading Allen Iverson to the Pistons, has bolstered a strong lineup and given them solid direction. Carmelo laments that they are the Rodney Dangerfield of the National Basketball Association and feels the talent is there to beat the Lakers and move on to the NBA finals.

What he does not lament if being a member of next year’s free agent class. Carmelo Anthony wants to remain a Nugget for life.

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How can it be possible to have the Nuggets go this far in the playoffs? Some say it is all Chauncey Billups and maybe they have something there, because this would put Chauncey in his 7th straight Conference finals. Now that is some kind of record.

“It’s absolutely been a storybook, and I couldn’t write a better script — hopefully, I don’t wake up anytime soon,” said Chauncey Billups, the pride of Park Hill, who finished with 28 points, seven rebounds and a game-high 12 assists. “The win is for all the guys who have been here, haven’t been able to get out of the first round and carried that weight. And it’s for the city, for the fans.”

And so, with an electrifying 124-110 victory, the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 24 years.

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Now for those of us that assume the Los Angeles Kobe’s will be in the finals against the Nuggets, and that is not sure thing, we can no longer assume that LA will automatically defeat the Nuggets and go on to create the storybook matchup of LeBron vs. Kobe.

Carmelo is not just laying down, he is ready!

David Stern may not be too happy if it is Paul Pierce vs. Chauncey Billups, not quite the drawing power there. Carmelo in the finals, who would have thought it would happen this fast and maybe it won’t, but the Nuggets have a solid chance now. In fact, where are the Lakers? Denver is already waiting for them.

Oh yes, Denver is for real

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Dallas is struggling to figure out how to stop the Nuggets. There just does not seem to be any one or two players that need stopping. There appears to be a whole bus load.

With the Mavericks moving back home, maybe they can stem the tidal wave of buckets and pull out a couple of victories.

On Tuesday, for the second straight game, Denver’s top two scorers, Anthony and Billups, struggled at the start. But, once again, the Nuggets found others to step up.

Smith, an athletic guard, scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half, and Nene scored 14 of his 25 as the Nuggets took a 58-55 lead. That made up for Anthony and Billups combining for just 10 first-half points.

In Sunday’s Game 1, Anthony and Billups combined for just seven first-half points. But Nene scored 18 of his team-high 24 before intermission, and the Nuggets led, 51-47, en route to a 109-95 win.

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Carmelo is thinking Defense!

This is a confident Nugget team held together by ex-Piston Chauncey Billups and fueled by the high scoring Carmelo Anthony. George Karl has crafted a team that can score easily and defend when it has to. Even Carmelo was talking about playing defense when interviewed before the half. Yes, you are in trouble when Carmelo is talking defense.

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The New Orleans Hornets needed game 3 in their series with the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets were starting to believe in themselves with Chauncey Billups showing them the way to win in the playoffs.

The Hornets were at home and ready to perform. Chris Paul led the way and the Hornets pulled it out. Carmelo Anthony had a chance to win it at the end, but missed a jump shot with 3.2 seconds left in the game.

Chris Paul puts on a playoff performance of excellence

Chris Paul, who only rested for a hiccup, had game highs with 32 points and 12 assists. David West had 19 points and nine rebounds.

Anthony led Denver with 25 points. Chauncey Billups, who had score 30-plus points in the first two games of the series, finished with 16, eight of which came on free throws.

“I don’t think anybody in the world thought we’d win them all,” Nuggets Coach George Karl said.

Game 4 is Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at the New Orleans Arena.

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It must be mentioned that James Posey played a huge role in this victory. Yes, that is the same Posey that played a big role in the Celtics winning it all last year. After the title with Boston, James Posey signed with the Hornets and continues his off the bench heroics. Posey had 13 points and played some tough defense.

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Denver is rejuvenated with elder statesman Chauncey Billups taking the reins and teaching the Nuggets how winning is done. Now Carmelo wants to restore the luster to his image by proving he can win.

The big knock on Carmelo is that he only plays at one end of the floor and here are two hints as to which end that is, offense, offense. Yeah, Carmelo likes to put it up.

My first look at Carmelo Anthony was years ago in 2002 when his 15th ranked Syracuse team took on my might Spartans of Michigan State University. Kelvin Torbert guarded Carmelo for most of the day. Kelvin was giving away a few inches, but was a pretty tough defender. Didn’t matter. Carmelo put up 25 on my Spartans going 5 for 5 from downtown. Syracuse won by one point.

Fans will sit up and take notice if Carmelo wins

Spartan fans will remember that as the game that Chris Hill went 10 for 18 from 3 point land and put up 39 points. By far the highlight of Chris’s career.

Right off the bat, you had to wonder if Carmelo could play defense, because Jim Boheim always has his team in a zone. Once Carmelo was in the NBA, we found out Carmelo does not like the dirty work of defense.

Now all that could be forgotten if only Carmelo can win in the playoffs.

The sports world has a way of forgiving its winners. A misplaced joint, one too many cocktails, even the occasional bar fight can be written off as youthful indiscretion, provided you perform on the court or on the field when it matters most. If you don’t win, you’re a Cincinnati Bengal.

So for all the mistakes Anthony has made during his six seasons in the NBA, nothing has worn on him more than his playoff failure.

“It’s still right here in my pocket,” he said last week. “It’s hanging on me.”

Anthony laughed. There isn’t a single player for whom these playoffs matter more. Win or lose, Kobe already has his three rings. LeBron will be able to hug his MVP trophy. Even Yao Ming, tormented by his own run of one-and-dones, can point to an unfortunate draw or Tracy McGrady’s absence if his Houston Rockets fail to advance.

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Allen Iverson gets a Michael Curry hug after game winner against Clippers

Allen Iverson a Piston.

Say it over slowly. Aaallleeennn IIIVvveerrsssoonnn aaa Pppiiiissstttooonnn. There, does that feel better?

Yeah, he is trying to fit in and be a good teammate. The Pistons are all about the no star concept. Joe D realized he could win with a bunch of good players or near great players without the superstars. Did he not want superstars? Heck no, he wants them bad, but they are hard to come by and even harder to harness.

Bring in Allen from stage left or Denver. AI wants a title. He can taste it. What better way to go for one than to fit in on a team that goes to the conference finals every year.

This team is the future for Rodney Stuckey, but the present for AI. Joe D may not give him a future in Detroit. His contract is worth too much. AI must win now, so no sacrifice is too great.

If Iverson is less spectacular, he’s also more intriguing than he’s been in a while. For a while he became so wrapped in controversy that we forgot about what he did right. He’s the shortest player among the top 10 career scoring leaders. He was picking himself off the floor and signing up for more punishment long before Dwyane Wade made an ad campaign out of it.

Allen Iverson is now just one of the guys.His presence also makes the Pistons a more compelling story. They aren’t just the same cast of characters we’ve been watching since 2004, give or take a Ben Wallace. And Iverson is trying to do what so many have said he could not: sacrifice for the good of the team. That presents a paradox: To get his place in history, he’ll have to give up his place in history.

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45 points in the game. Tied NBA record of scoring in a single quarter with 33. He tied with George Gervin.

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Uh oh.

“When you’re going through it you’re in the game, you’re making shots, the crowd is going crazy, your teammates are going crazy and you don’t really realize what you’re doing until you get in the locker room and it’s on TV and you’ve got everybody talking about it,” Anthony added. “I’ve never done anything like that or felt that way in one quarter.”

Leave it to your friendly columnist to rain on Melo’s parade, but I couldn’t help but ask him about the two free throws he missed in the quarter. At the time, they seemed rather innocuous. However, all it would have taken is one of those free throws for Melo to be alone in the record book.

“I did what I could do, man. My elbow was hurting during those free throws,” Melo quipped with a smile. “I wish I could have made them now that I look back like you said, but it is what it is.”

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Carmelo Anthony works on his Michael Jordan tongue moves

The Nuggets have signed J.R. Smith to a multi-year contract as a crucial piece to their team.

He shot nearly 40 percent from 3-point range, the best percentage in team history for players with at least 100 3-pointers.

Smith, 22, was acquired from Chicago in 2006 in exchange for Howard Eisley and two second-round draft picks. He was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round and 18th overall in 2004.

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Smith’s consistent play and 3 point shooting has slowly won Coach George Karl over to his side.

You gotta wonder though, with Denver easily giving up Camby and shopping Iverson if Denver is not on the downhill slope.

How much can Carmelo Anthony carry this team?

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