Mike Finger: Thanks to addition of Iverson, these Nuggets sure look scary
Web Posted: 04/23/2007 12:20 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
There still are moments when Carmelo Anthony has to remind himself that he isn’t alone anymore, that double-teams don’t always mean disaster, that he has alternatives other than a forced shot or a defeat.
Anthony’s options multiplied recently, and he realizes it’s important to keep track of them. So every now and then, he makes sure he knows exactly where on the court Allen Iverson is going to be when he needs him.
“I just tell him,” Anthony said, “to stay opposite of me.”
On Sunday at the AT&T Center, the Spurs found themselves in the middle. And now, with Anthony on one side and Iverson on the other, they’re the ones feeling trapped.
It isn’t losing Game 1 that should worry the Spurs. After all, they began all three of their NBA championship runs by dropping either their first or second playoff game. Anthony and the Denver Nuggets, 95-89 winners Sunday, know that as well as anyone.
But as Anthony repeatedly pointed out after the game, the Nuggets are different now. He bragged about Denver’s defense, which was indeed improved, but the Nuggets won’t win the series by expecting Nenê to shut down Tim Duncan four times.
It’s not Denver’s mentality that’s changed, as much as coach George Karl would like it to be so. It’s the personnel. With Iverson sparking the offense and Anthony hitting shots as he did Sunday, there simply is no sure way to keep the Nuggets from scoring.
Gregg Popovich’s opening plan was to assign Bruce Bowen to Iverson, and such an approach has worked against small guards before. In fact, Bowen’s defense against Steve Nash was critical to the Spurs’ success against Phoenix this season.
In that matchup, though, the Spurs could double the Suns’ other big threat — center Amare Stoudemire — and not feel especially vulnerable anywhere else. But against the Nuggets, if you put Bowen on Iverson and double-team Anthony, you’re just begging for Denver’s big men to exploit the middle of the defense.
And that’s exactly what the Nuggets did. Nenê and Marcus Camby combined for 21 points and 22 rebounds, and every time the Spurs tried to slow them down, either Anthony or Iverson made them pay for it.
Anthony, who had been held below 50 percent shooting in 13 of his previous 15 meetings with the Spurs, made 10 of 18 shots for 30 points. Iverson, who called it a “luxury” to have another scorer like Anthony on the floor, scored 31.
The Nuggets seemed to have an answer for everything, and maybe that’s why Karl seemed so upbeat before the game started. Then, in the hallway outside the Nuggets’ locker room, he raved about all the subplots reporters and fans had to digest in an opening-round series.
“There’s a lot of interesting stuff,” Karl said. “A lot of interesting ‘what-ifs.’”
Those “what-ifs” only grew Sunday night. What if Anthony keeps knocking down 3-pointers? What if Iverson gets hot the way he used to do against the Spurs in Philadelphia? What if Nenê really has figured out how to handle Duncan?
Then maybe Anthony’s days of feeling isolated are numbered. And it’ll be the Spurs looking for a way out.