But A.I. was not quite on his game, and San Antonio quickly gained the upper hand.
For most of the second quarter, Carmelo Anthony was the focus of the offense. Taking Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley into the low-post, knifing through the Spurs' collapsing defense, and popping an occasional jumper. A.
I. contributed a bucket or two and Denver managed to stay in touch with the Spurs.
..to Tony Parker.
(Bob Owen / Associated Press)
Count them all! But, for the most part, Iverson and Anthony took turns hooping it up. Yes, Nene was given a few more plays to soften up Duncan: Two dive cuts for layups.
Plus a nifty assist pass. Yet, even though Iverson overhandled and forced several shots, Anthony was Denver's main man. Unfortunately, the Spurs extended their lead to 17.
In the fourth quarter, however, Denver finally got its offense figured out. Steve Blake, Nene, and Linas Kleiza augmented the efforts of Iverson and Anthony with critical scores. At last, the Nuggets were able to establish a sense of balance in their offense.
botched a total of six layups, he still must be the Nuggets' go-to scorer.
R. Smith's defense is so bad that it's difficult to keep him in the game. Manu Ginobili sliced him up so badly it's a wonder that Smith is still in one piece.
and Anthony, Eduardo Najera, Blake, and Smith each missed one; Marcus Camby missed two; and Nene missed three. If the Nuggets learn their lessons, the series will still be up for grabs. Despite blowing four layups, Fabricio Oberto has evolved into the Art Carney of the NBA the ultimate garbage man.
He always makes the correct cut, the correct pass, and sets the correct screen. If he lacks the athletic ability to compete on even terms in the rebounding department, Oberto has mastered the art of tipping missed Spurs shots out to his guards. Overall, he contributes much more than Francisco Elson.
While Duncan was 0-for-3 on high-post jumpers (including an air-ball), he drove past Nene for a layup, and made three nifty dive-cuts that resulted in a dunk, another layup, and a pair of free throws. He also scored on a dribble-drive from the left wing, on a dunk on the receiving end of a S/R, and still another layup when he trailed a fastbreak. The point being that TD doesn't have to be planted in the low post to create problems for Denver's defense.
And, removing himself from the pivot prevents Denver from two-timing him. Unless Ginboli can generate offense when TD is resting (which didn't happen in the first half), the Spurs offense stutters badly. Without Duncan's inside presence, Finley, Bowen, and Barry can be pressured, which leaves Ginobili as the only shot-creator and play-maker.
During Duncan's sojourn on the bench in the second half, however, the Spurs' defense generated enough breakouts to pick up the slack. What else should the Spurs have learned from Game 2?
The odds are he cannot.
Also, Duncan provided the same kind of help when referee Danny Crawford was bowled over. How much would Riley demand for thusly aiding one of the devil's minions? The overriding lesson to be learned from these two seemingly trivial incidents is that, even at the highest level, basketball is much more than five good guys battling against five bad guys.
In fact, the truest reality of NBA competition consists of ten men playing one game. And, ultimately, that's much more important than who won and who lost. Charley Rosen is FOXSports.
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