Day 5: Nuggets-Thunder (Game 2)

The NBA regular season is a long, sometimes predictable grind. The good teams will almost always beat the bad teams. Guys won't be playing as hard as they do in the Playoffs, and JaVale McGee will make you wish he was on your team and then quickly rescind that wish in a span of two minutes. To break the monotony, NBA followers and writers alike latch on to the exciting and unpredictable. What will Blake Griffin do next? Can the Spurs keep up their pace after the All-Star break? Anything having to do with the Miami Heat. These were all intriguing questions/issues because there were so many different ways to tell each story. They were consistent NBA stories, made better because of the thought that the way we felt about them could change drastically at any moment.
Then there was the Thunder -- a team that had a spectacular year, but fell short of the preseason hype surrounding them. Oklahoma City pushed the Lakers to their limit in last year's first round, and Kevin Durant led Team USA to Gold over the Summer in the FIBA World Championship. The Thunder were supposed to challenge for the top seed in the West and Durant was supposed to be the runaway MVP. That would have been a great, somewhat predictable, but ultimately intriguing storyline. A young, gifted player joins the ranks of the game's elite. He takes his team from an 8 to a 1 seed in the matter of one year and wins the MVP while doing so. Sound familiar? That was Derrick Rose and the Bulls. Chicago had the season Oklahoma City was expected to have.

Perhaps the bar was set to high. The Thunder did improve after all. They went from a 50-32 8-seed, to a 55-27 4-seed. Here are Durant's numbers this year compared to last:

2010-11: 27.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 46% FG, 23.7 PER
2009-10: 30.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 47% FG, 26.2 PER

His numbers were slightly lower, but not enough of a drop off to become an MVP afterthought like he was this year. The Playoffs are the great equalizer. In an ever-alternating Western Conference, the race to the Finals is wide open. The Thunder were one of many well-written drafts this year. Now they're a favorite to become the story.

What is wrong with Wilson Chandler? Denver's tattooed and scruffy small forward has contributed next to nothing on the offensive end. He scored nine points on just 4-10 shooting in Game One, and added only four points without converting a field goal in Game Two. The problem runs far deeper than shot selection. Chandler has always taken bad shots -- he just normally makes more of them. Chasing around Kevin Durant thirty minutes a game seems to be getting to him. Chandler likes to take his man off the dribble, begin to drive, then inexplicably step back for a fade away 18-footer. His legs aren't there for that shot, and unfortunately for Denver, they need more offense out of him to win.

James Harden's beard (and Harden too!) went off for 18 points in Game Two. Harden has to be one of the most frustrating players to watch in the NBA. He has the skills to be great. He can shoot from anywhere in the building, take his man off the dribble, finish in traffic, and defend when he wants to. Yet, the 4th overall selection in 2009 has reveled in mediocrity up to this point. I realize this is only his second year, but you never know what you're going to get on a night-to-night basis. Charles Barkley made a great point (shocking, I know) about Harden. He stated that Harden would be starting now, but his head coach Scott Brooks wants to bring him off the bench to provide a spark, similar to how the Spurs used to use Manu Ginobili.

Harden provided that spark in Game Two, showcasing all of the talents that I wish he could lay out on his kitchen table and super glue together. If the Thunder are going to contend, they need a reliable third scorer to take the pressure off Durant and Westbrook. They can't be expected to combine for 65 every night, let alone the 72 they posted in Game One. Harden is the only Thunder player capable of playing the third wheel. It's going to be difficult for anyone to beat them if Harden can efficiently give them 16-18 a night.

The Nuggets have become a fan favorite after the Melo trade. They dealt their big name/distraction that didn't want to be there and became a better team. All while the Knicks made little to no improvement after supposedly receiving the prize of the transaction. But sure enough, the Nuggets miss Carmelo Anthony. Not for the entire game, but they miss Carmelo Anthony in crunch time.

The Nuggets were the highest scoring team in the NBA. After trading Melo, they were off to the races, literally. Their uptempo style ran teams out of the gym. The Nuggets have a remarkable EIGHT players that averaged double figures for them this year. But that's part of the problem. The new-look Nuggets have not been in many close games during the season, but in games decided by 8 points or less, including Game One, they are 3-6. 

The Nuggets right now are a bullpen filled with guys that can throw 95 mph with movement, but none of them have a defined role. We've seen the Closer-By-Committee fail countless times in baseball and Denver's basketball version is doing the same. They don't have anyone they can count on to win a game for them in the closing seconds. Playoff games, or at least 4 out of 7 in a series are typically close. The Nuggets' success was fun because of what they represented, but they could really use a player like the one they dealt away.