Real Player Ratings for the 2009 West Semifinal, Game 5: Nuggets 124 Mavericks 110

Editorial Notice: Quest for the Ring will be between now and the end of 2009 providing a complete Real Player Rating Series Report, like the one below, for each and every 2009 West Final game, for each and every 2009 East Final game, and for each game in the 2009 NBA Final Series. The Mavericks-Nuggets West Semifinal series is also being covered this way in full.

Following the posting of the Real Player Ratings Series Reports, we will post the Real Game Ratings Reports for all of these games. Following these Real Game Ratings, which were just created in the spring of 2009 and which have hardly appeared on Quest at all yet, we will pick some games to focus on for full scale text Reports. In the text reports, we will of course as appropriate make use of and link back to the completed performance measure reports.

Quest for the Ring, as of spring 2009, has realistically and strategically decided to concentrate its advanced performance measurement, reporting, and analysis capabilities on the games that matter the most each year in the NBA: the conference final games and the NBA Championship games.

USER GUIDE
The Real Player Rating User Guide is a necessary reference for anyone who wants to truly understand the value of, the validity of, and the ways you can use the following measures. Moreover, you should become a regular visitor to Quest for the Ring if you want to get the full advantage of reading and using Real Player Ratings Series performance measures. The more you visit and check out ratings, the more quickly and easily you will be able to evaluate what you are seeing.

WEST SEMIFINAL 2009 GAME FIVE
MAY 13, 2009 IN DENVER, CO
NUGGETS 124, MAVERICKS 110
NUGGETS WIN THE SERIES 4-1

BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
The adjustment for hidden defending is not valid for individual games

MAVERICKS BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Brandon Bass 0.986
Dirk Nowitzki 0.982
Antoine Wright 0.797
Jason Kidd 0.796
Jose Juan Barea 0.587
Erick Dampier 0.385
Josh Howard 0.175
Jason Terry 0.162

NUGGETS BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Chauncey Billups 1.443
Anthony Carter 1.002
J.R. Smith 0.964
Carmelo Anthony 0.922
Dahntay Jones 0.701
Nene 0.519
Kenyon Martin 0.492
Chris Andersen 0.410


COMBINED SORT BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 1.443
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 1.002
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.986
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 0.982
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.964
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.922
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 0.797
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.796
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.701
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.587
Nene, DEN C 0.519
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 0.492
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 0.410
Erick Dampier, DAL C 0.385
Josh Howard, DAL SF 0.175
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.162

EVALUATION SCALE FOR BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS FOR A SINGLE GAME
Perfect for all Practical Purposes / Major Historic Super Star 1.100 and more
Historic Super Star 1.000 1.099
Super Star 0.900 0.999
A Star Player / A Well Above Normal Starter 0.800 0.899
Very Good Player: A Solid Starter 0.700 0.799
Major Role Player / Good Enough to Start 0.600 0.699
Good Role Player / Often a Good 6th Man 0.500 0.599
Satisfactory Role Player 0.425 0.499
Marginal Role Player 0.350 0.424
Poor Player 0.275 0.349
Very Poor Player 0.200 0.274
Extremely Poor Player .199 and less

--------------------------------------------
REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Basic Real Player Production
The adjustment for hidden defending is not valid for individual games

MAVERICKS REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Dirk Nowitzki 44.21
Jason Kidd 35.03
Brandon Bass 24.65
Antoine Wright 11.96
Jose Juan Barea 10.57
Erick Dampier 9.24
Josh Howard 5.77
Jason Terry 5.50

NUGGETS REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Chauncey Billups 57.70
Carmelo Anthony 36.89
J.R. Smith 27.96
Nene 21.29
Kenyon Martin 19.19
Anthony Carter 17.03
Dahntay Jones 13.32
Chris Andersen 5.74


COMBINED SORT REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 57.70
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 44.21
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 36.89
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 35.03
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 27.96
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 24.65
Nene, DEN C 21.29
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 19.19
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 17.03
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 13.32
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 11.96
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 10.57
Erick Dampier, DAL C 9.24
Josh Howard, DAL SF 5.77
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 5.74
Jason Terry, DAL SG 5.50

============== SUB RATINGS ==============
OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
All Tracked Offensive Plays

MAVERICKS OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Brandon Bass 0.857
Dirk Nowitzki 0.850
Antoine Wright 0.710
Jason Kidd 0.682
Jose Juan Barea 0.497
Erick Dampier 0.360
Josh Howard 0.147
Jason Terry 0.106

NUGGETS OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Chauncey Billups 1.276
J.R. Smith 0.921
Carmelo Anthony 0.859
Anthony Carter 0.848
Dahntay Jones 0.442
Nene 0.377
Chris Andersen 0.358
Kenyon Martin 0.299


COMBINED SORT OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 1.276
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.921
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.859
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.857
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 0.850
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.848
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 0.710
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.682
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.497
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.442
Nene, DEN C 0.377
Erick Dampier, DAL C 0.360
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 0.358
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 0.299
Josh Howard, DAL SF 0.147
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.106

-----------------------------------
DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
All Tracked Defensive Plays
Does not include hidden defending because procedure is invalid at game level.

MAVERICKS DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki 0.133
Brandon Bass 0.129
Jason Kidd 0.114
Jose Juan Barea 0.090
Antoine Wright 0.087
Jason Terry 0.056
Josh Howard 0.028
Erick Dampier 0.025

NUGGETS DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dahntay Jones 0.259
Kenyon Martin 0.193
Chauncey Billups 0.167
Anthony Carter 0.154
Nene 0.142
Carmelo Anthony 0.064
Chris Andersen 0.052
J.R. Smith 0.043

COMBINED SORT DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.259
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 0.193
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.167
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.154
Nene, DEN C 0.142
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 0.133
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.129
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.114
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.090
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 0.087
Carmelo Anthony, DAL SF 0.064
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.056
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 0.052
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.043
Josh Howard, DAL SF 0.028
Erick Dampier, DAL C 0.025

-----------------------------------------
USER GUIDE
The Real Player Rating User Guide is a necessary reference for anyone who wants to truly understand the value of, the validity of, and the ways you can use the following measures. Moreover, you should become a regular visitor to Quest for the Ring if you want to get the full advantage of reading and using Real Player Ratings Series performance measures. The more you visit and check out ratings, the more quickly and easily you will be able to evaluate what you are seeing.

Real Player Ratings for the 2009 West Semifinal, Game 4: Mavericks 119 Nuggets 117

Editorial Notice: Quest for the Ring will be between now and the end of 2009 providing a complete Real Player Rating Series Report, like the one below, for each and every 2009 West Final game, for each and every 2009 East Final game, and for each game in the 2009 NBA Final Series. The Mavericks-Nuggets West Semifinal series is also being covered this way in full.

Following the posting of the Real Player Ratings Series Reports, we will post the Real Game Ratings Reports for all of these games. Following these Real Game Ratings, which were just created in the spring of 2009 and which have hardly appeared on Quest at all yet, we will pick some games to focus on for full scale text Reports. In the text reports, we will of course as appropriate make use of and link back to the completed performance measure reports.

Quest for the Ring, as of spring 2009, has realistically and strategically decided to concentrate its advanced performance measurement, reporting, and analysis capabilities on the games that matter the most each year in the NBA: the conference final games and the NBA Championship games.

USER GUIDE
The Real Player Rating User Guide is a necessary reference for anyone who wants to truly understand the value of, the validity of, and the ways you can use the following measures. Moreover, you should become a regular visitor to Quest for the Ring if you want to get the full advantage of reading and using Real Player Ratings Series performance measures. The more you visit and check out ratings, the more quickly and easily you will be able to evaluate what you are seeing.

WEST SEMIFINAL 2009 GAME FOUR
MAY 11, 2009 IN DALLAS, TX
MAVERICKS 119 NUGGETS 117, Nuggets lead the series 3-1

BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
The hidden defending adjustment is not valid for individual games

NUGGETS BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Carmelo Anthony, SF 1.280
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.910
Dahntay Jones, SG 0.742
J.R. Smith, SG 0.605
Nene, C 0.376
Linas Kleiza, SF 0.138
Anthony Carter, PG 0.081
Kenyon Martin, PF -0.063

MAVERICKS BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 1.321
Jason Kidd, PG 0.912
Josh Howard, SF 0.700
Brandon Bass, PF 0.665
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.590
Jason Terry, SG 0.407
Antoine Wright, SF 0.351
Erick Dampier, C -0.320


COMBINED SORT BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 1.321
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 1.280
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.912
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.910
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.742
Josh Howard, DAL SF 0.700
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.665
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.605
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.590
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.407
Nene, C DEN 0.376
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 0.351
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF 0.138
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.081
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF -0.063
Erick Dampier, DAL C -0.320

EVALUATION SCALE FOR BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS FOR A SINGLE GAME
Perfect for all Practical Purposes / Major Historic Super Star 1.100 and more
Historic Super Star 1.000 1.099
Super Star 0.900 0.999
A Star Player / A Well Above Normal Starter 0.800 0.899
Very Good Player: A Solid Starter 0.700 0.799
Major Role Player / Good Enough to Start 0.600 0.699
Good Role Player / Often a Good 6th Man 0.500 0.599
Satisfactory Role Player 0.425 0.499
Marginal Role Player 0.350 0.424
Poor Player 0.275 0.349
Very Poor Player 0.200 0.274
Extremely Poor Player .199 and less

--------------------------------------------
REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Basic Real Player Production
The adjustment for hidden defending is not valid for individual games

NUGGETS REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Carmelo Anthony, SF 55.04
Chauncey Billups, PG 36.41
J.R. Smith, SG 16.95
Nene, C 15.81
Dahntay Jones, SG 12.61
Linas Kleiza, SF 2.77
Anthony Carter, PG 1.21
Kenyon Martin, PF -2.07

MAVERICKS REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 58.14
Jason Kidd, PG 37.39
Josh Howard, SF 23.78
Brandon Bass, PF 18.62
Jason Terry, SG 12.62
Jose Juan Barea, PG 10.03
Antoine Wright, SF 7.37
Erick Dampier, C -7.35

COMBINED SORT REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 58.14
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 55.04
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 37.39
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 36.41
Josh Howard, DAL SF 23.78
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 18.62
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 16.95
Nene, DEN C 15.81
Jason Terry, DAL SG 12.62
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 12.61
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 10.03
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 7.37
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF 2.77
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 1.21
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF -2.07
Erick Dampier, DAL C -7.35

============== SUB RATINGS ==============
OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
All Tracked Offensive Plays

NUGGETS OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Carmelo Anthony, SF 0.885
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.817
J.R. Smith, SG 0.548
Dahntay Jones, SG 0.493
Linas Kleiza, SF 0.142
Anthony Carter, PG 0.127
Nene, C 0.063
Kenyon Martin, PF -0.015

MAVERICKS OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 0.841
Jason Kidd, PG 0.522
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.495
Jason Terry, SG 0.484
Brandon Bass, PF 0.428
Josh Howard, SF 0.412
Antoine Wright, SF 0.370
Erick Dampier, C -0.251


COMBINED SORT OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.885
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 0.841
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.817
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.548
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.522
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.495
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.493
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.484
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.428
Josh Howard, DAL SF 0.412
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 0.370
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF 0.142
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.127
Nene, DEN C 0.063
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF -0.015
Erick Dampier, DAL C -0.251

-----------------------------------
DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
All Tracked Defensive Plays
Does not include hidden defending because procedure is invalid at game level.

NUGGETS DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Carmelo Anthony, SF 0.395
Nene, C 0.314
Dahntay Jones, SG 0.249
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.093
J.R. Smith, SG 0.058
Linas Kleiza, SF -0.003
Anthony Carter, PG -0.046
Kenyon Martin, PF -0.048

MAVERICKS DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 0.480
Jason Kidd, PG 0.390
Josh Howard, SF 0.288
Brandon Bass, PF 0.238
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.095
Antoine Wright, SF -0.019
Erick Dampier, C -0.069
Jason Terry, SG -0.077

COMBINED SORT DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 0.480
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.395
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.390
Nene, DEN C 0.314
Josh Howard, DAL SF 0.288
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.249
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.238
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.095
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.093
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.058
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF -0.003
Antoine Wright, DAL SF -0.019
Anthony Carter, DEN PG -0.046
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF -0.048
Erick Dampier, DAL C -0.069
Jason Terry, DAL SG -0.077

-----------------------------------------
USER GUIDE
The Real Player Rating User Guide is a necessary reference for anyone who wants to truly understand the value of, the validity of, and the ways you can use the following measures. Moreover, you should become a regular visitor to Quest for the Ring if you want to get the full advantage of reading and using Real Player Ratings Series performance measures. The more you visit and check out ratings, the more quickly and easily you will be able to evaluate what you are seeing.

Real Player Ratings for the 2009 West Semifinal, Game 3: Nuggets 106 Mavericks 105

Editorial Notice: Quest for the Ring will be between now and the end of 2009 providing a complete Real Player Rating Series Report, like the one below, for each and every 2009 West Final game, for each and every 2009 East Final game, and for each game in the 2009 NBA Final Series. The Mavericks-Nuggets West Semifinal series is also being covered this way in full.

Following the posting of the Real Player Ratings Series Reports, we will post the Real Game Ratings Reports for all of these games. Following these Real Game Ratings, which were just created in the spring of 2009 and which have hardly appeared on Quest at all yet, we will pick some games to focus on for full scale text Reports. In the text reports, we will of course as appropriate make use of and link back to the completed performance measure reports.

Quest for the Ring, as of spring 2009, has realistically and strategically decided to concentrate its advanced performance measurement, reporting, and analysis capabilities on the games that matter the most each year in the NBA: the conference final games and the NBA Championship games.

USER GUIDE
The Real Player Rating User Guide is a necessary reference for anyone who wants to truly understand the value of, the validity of, and the ways you can use the following measures. Moreover, you should become a regular visitor to Quest for the Ring if you want to get the full advantage of reading and using Real Player Ratings Series performance measures. The more you visit and check out ratings, the more quickly and easily you will be able to evaluate what you are seeing.

WEST SEMIFINAL 2009 GAME THREE
MAY 9, 2009 IN DALLAS, TX
NUGGETS 106 MAVERICKS 105, Nuggets lead the series 3-0

BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
The hidden defending adjustment is not valid for individual games

NUGGETS BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.859
Carmelo Anthony, SF 0.691
Dahntay Jones, SG 0.600
J.R. Smith, SG 0.511
Kenyon Martin, PF 0.449
Chris Andersen, FC 0.397
Nene, C 0.375
Linas Kleiza, SF 0.361
Anthony Carter, PG 0.234

MAVERICKS BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 1.318
Brandon Bass, PF 0.805
Jason Kidd, PG 0.653
Jason Terry, SG 0.431
Josh Howard, SF 0.318
Antoine Wright, SF 0.259
Erick Dampier, C 0.213
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.127
Ryan Hollins, C 0.032
Gerald Green, SG -0.788


COMBINED SORT REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 1.318
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.859
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.805
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.691
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.653
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.600
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.511
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 0.449
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.431
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 0.397
Nene, DEN C 0.375
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF 0.361
Josh Howard, DAL SF 0.318
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 0.259
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.234
Erick Dampier, DAL C 0.213
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.127
Ryan Hollins, DAL C 0.032
Gerald Green, DAL SG -0.788

EVALUATION SCALE FOR BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS FOR A SINGLE GAME
Perfect for all Practical Purposes / Major Historic Super Star 1.100 and more
Historic Super Star 1.000 1.099
Super Star 0.900 0.999
A Star Player / A Well Above Normal Starter 0.800 0.899
Very Good Player: A Solid Starter 0.700 0.799
Major Role Player / Good Enough to Start 0.600 0.699
Good Role Player / Often a Good 6th Man 0.500 0.599
Satisfactory Role Player 0.425 0.499
Marginal Role Player 0.350 0.424
Poor Player 0.275 0.349
Very Poor Player 0.200 0.274
Extremely Poor Player .199 and less

--------------------------------------------
REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Basic Real Player Production
The adjustment for hidden defending is not valid for individual games

NUGGETS REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Chauncey Billups, PG 35.21
Carmelo Anthony, SF 29.01
Kenyon Martin, PF 17.07
J.R. Smith, SG 15.85
Nene, C 11.25
Dahntay Jones, SG 8.40
Linas Kleiza, SF 5.05
Chris Andersen, FC 4.36
Anthony Carter, PG 4.20

MAVERICKS REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 50.09
Jason Kidd, PG 26.78
Brandon Bass, PF 20.12
Jason Terry, SG 14.21
Josh Howard, SF 9.21
Antoine Wright, SF 5.17
Erick Dampier, C 3.62
Jose Juan Barea, PG 1.52
Ryan Hollins, C 0.38
Gerald Green, SG -7.09


COMBINED SORT REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 50.09
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 35.21
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 29.01
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 26.78
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 20.12
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 17.07
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 15.85
Jason Terry, DAL SG 14.21
Nene, DEN C 11.25
Josh Howard, DAL SF 9.21
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 8.40
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 5.17
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF 5.05
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 4.36
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 4.20
Erick Dampier, DAL C 3.62
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 1.52
Ryan Hollins, DAL C 0.38
Gerald Green, DAL SG -7.09

============== SUB RATINGS ==============
OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
All Tracked Offensive Plays

NUGGETS OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.817
Dahntay Jones, SG 0.686
Carmelo Anthony, SF 0.502
Kenyon Martin, PF 0.459
J.R. Smith, SG 0.339
Chris Andersen, FC 0.302
Nene, C 0.126
Linas Kleiza, SF 0.080
Anthony Carter, PG 0.071

MAVERICKS OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 0.793
Brandon Bass, PF 0.700
Jason Kidd, PG 0.530
Antoine Wright, SF 0.509
Jason Terry, SG 0.302
Erick Dampier, C 0.188
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.127
Josh Howard, SF 0.123
Ryan Hollins, C -0.388
Gerald Green, SG -0.454

COMBINED SORT OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.817
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 0.793
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.700
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.686
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.530
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 0.509
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.502
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 0.459
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.339
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.302
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 0.302
Erick Dampier, DAL C 0.188
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.127
Nene, DEN C 0.126
Josh Howard, DAL SF 0.123
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF 0.080
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.071
Ryan Hollins, DAL C -0.388
Gerald Green, DAL SG -0.454

-----------------------------------
DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
All Tracked Defensive Plays
Does not include hidden defending because procedure is invalid at game level.

NUGGETS DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Linas Kleiza, SF 0.281
Nene, C 0.249
Carmelo Anthony, SF 0.189
J.R. Smith, SG 0.172
Anthony Carter, PG 0.162
Chris Andersen, FC 0.095
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.042
Kenyon Martin, PF -0.010
Dahntay Jones, SG -0.086

MAVERICKS DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 0.525
Ryan Hollins, C 0.420
Josh Howard, SF 0.195
Jason Terry, SG 0.128
Jason Kidd, PG 0.123
Brandon Bass, PF 0.105
Erick Dampier, C 0.025
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.000
Antoine Wright, SF -0.250
Gerald Green, SG -0.333

COMBINED SORT DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 0.525
Ryan Hollins, DAL C 0.420
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF 0.281
Nene, DEN C 0.249
Josh Howard, DAL SF 0.195
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.189
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.172
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.162
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.128
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.123
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.105
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 0.095
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.042
Erick Dampier, DAL C 0.025
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.000
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF -0.010
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG -0.086
Antoine Wright, DAL SF -0.250
Gerald Green, DAL SG -0.333

-----------------------------------------
USER GUIDE
The Real Player Rating User Guide is a necessary reference for anyone who wants to truly understand the value of, the validity of, and the ways you can use the following measures. Moreover, you should become a regular visitor to Quest for the Ring if you want to get the full advantage of reading and using Real Player Ratings Series performance measures. The more you visit and check out ratings, the more quickly and easily you will be able to evaluate what you are seeing.

Real Player Ratings for the 2009 West Semifinal, Game 2: Nuggets 117 Mavericks 105

Editorial Notice: Quest for the Ring will be between now and the end of 2009 providing a complete Real Player Rating Series Report, like the one below, for each and every 2009 West Final game, for each and every 2009 East Final game, and for each game in the 2009 NBA Final Series. The Mavericks-Nuggets West Semifinal series is also being covered this way in full.

Following the posting of the Real Player Ratings Series Reports, we will post the Real Game Ratings Reports for all of these games. Following these Real Game Ratings, which were just created in the spring of 2009 and which have hardly appeared on Quest at all yet, we will pick some games to focus on for full scale text Reports. In the text reports, we will of course as appropriate make use of and link back to the completed performance measure reports.

Quest for the Ring, as of spring 2009, has realistically and strategically decided to concentrate its advanced performance measurement, reporting, and analysis capabilities on the games that matter the most each year in the NBA: the conference final games and the NBA Championship games.

USER GUIDE
The Real Player Rating User Guide is a necessary reference for anyone who wants to truly understand the value of, the validity of, and the ways you can use the following measures. Moreover, you should become a regular visitor to Quest for the Ring if you want to get the full advantage of reading and using Real Player Ratings Series performance measures. The more you visit and check out ratings, the more quickly and easily you will be able to evaluate what you are seeing.

WEST SEMIFINAL 2009 GAME TWO
MAY 5, 2009 IN DENVER, CO
NUGGETS 117 MAVERICKS 105
Nuggets lead the series 2-0

BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
The hidden defending adjustment is not valid for individual games

MAVERICKS BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 1.052
Ryan Hollins, C 0.711
Jason Terry, SG 0.614
Jason Kidd, PG 0.507
Antoine Wright, SF 0.492
Brandon Bass, PF 0.455
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.448
James Singleton, PF 0.144
Erick Dampier, C -0.003

NUGGETS BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
J.R. Smith, SG 1.262
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.986
Chris Andersen, FC 0.864
Nene, C 0.808
Anthony Carter, PG 0.793
Carmelo Anthony, SF 0.711
Kenyon Martin, PF 0.673
Dahntay Jones, SG 0.035


COMBINED SORT BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 1.262
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 1.052
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.986
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 0.864
Nene, DEN C 0.808
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.793
Ryan Hollins, DAL C 0.711
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.711
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 0.673
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.614
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.507
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 0.492
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.455
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.448
James Singleton, DAL PF 0.144
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.035
Erick Dampier, DAL C -0.003


EVALUATION SCALE FOR BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS FOR A SINGLE GAME
Perfect for all Practical Purposes / Major Historic Super Star 1.100 and more
Historic Super Star 1.000 1.099
Super Star 0.900 0.999
A Star Player / A Well Above Normal Starter 0.800 0.899
Very Good Player: A Solid Starter 0.700 0.799
Major Role Player / Good Enough to Start 0.600 0.699
Good Role Player / Often a Good 6th Man 0.500 0.599
Satisfactory Role Player 0.425 0.499
Marginal Role Player 0.350 0.424
Poor Player 0.275 0.349
Very Poor Player 0.200 0.274
Extremely Poor Player .199 and less

--------------------------------------------
REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Basic Real Player Production
The adjustment for hidden defending is not valid for individual games

MAVERICKS REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 42.09
Jason Terry, SG 23.94
Jason Kidd, PG 19.25
Antoine Wright, SF 14.77
Ryan Hollins, C 9.96
Jose Juan Barea, PG 8.96
Brandon Bass, PF 7.28
James Singleton, PF 2.01
Erick Dampier, C -0.06

NUGGETS REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Chauncey Billups, PG 38.47
J.R. Smith, SG 31.54
Carmelo Anthony, SF 29.86
Nene, C 27.47
Chris Andersen, FC 21.61
Kenyon Martin, PF 19.52
Anthony Carter, PG 15.85
Dahntay Jones, SG 0.52


COMBINED SORT REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 42.09
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 38.47
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 31.54
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 29.86
Nene, DEN C 27.47
Jason Terry, DAL SG 23.94
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 21.61
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 19.52
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 19.25
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 15.85
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 14.77
Ryan Hollins, DAL C 9.96
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 8.96
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 7.28
James Singleton, DAL PF 2.01
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.52
Erick Dampier, DAL C -0.06


============== SUB RATINGS ==============
OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
All Tracked Offensive Plays

MAVERICKS OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 0.840
Ryan Hollins, C 0.788
Jason Terry, SG 0.606
Brandon Bass, PF 0.561
Antoine Wright, SF 0.402
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.367
Jason Kidd, PG 0.258
Erick Dampier, C 0.122
James Singleton, PF 0.099

NUGGETS OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
J.R. Smith, SG 1.053
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.734
Chris Andersen, FC 0.723
Anthony Carter, PG 0.712
Nene, C 0.621
Carmelo Anthony, SF 0.584
Kenyon Martin, PF 0.461
Dahntay Jones, SG -0.367


COMBINED SORT OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 1.053
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 0.840
Ryan Hollins, DAL C 0.788
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.734
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 0.723
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.712
Nene, DEN C 0.621
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.606
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.584
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.561
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 0.461
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 0.402
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.367
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.258
Erick Dampier, DAL C 0.122
James Singleton, DAL PF 0.099
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG -0.367

-----------------------------------
DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
All Tracked Defensive Plays
Does not include hidden defending because procedure is invalid at game level.

MAVERICKS DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Jason Kidd, PG 0.249
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 0.212
Antoine Wright, SF 0.091
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.081
James Singleton, PF 0.044
Jason Terry, SG 0.008
Ryan Hollins, C -0.076
Brandon Bass, PF -0.106
Erick Dampier, C -0.125

NUGGETS DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dahntay Jones, SG 0.402
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.252
Kenyon Martin, PF 0.212
J.R. Smith, SG 0.209
Nene, C 0.187
Chris Andersen, FC 0.142
Carmelo Anthony, SF 0.127
Anthony Carter, PG 0.081


COMBINED SORT DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.402
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.252
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.249
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 0.212
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 0.212
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.209
Nene, DEN C 0.187
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 0.142
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.127
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 0.091
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.081
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.081
James Singleton, DAL PF 0.044
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.008
Ryan Hollins, DAL C -0.076
Brandon Bass, DAL PF -0.106
Erick Dampier, DAL C -0.125

-----------------------------------------
USER GUIDE
The Real Player Rating User Guide is a necessary reference for anyone who wants to truly understand the value of, the validity of, and the ways you can use the following measures. Moreover, you should become a regular visitor to Quest for the Ring if you want to get the full advantage of reading and using Real Player Ratings Series performance measures. The more you visit and check out ratings, the more quickly and easily you will be able to evaluate what you are seeing.

Real Player Ratings for the 2009 West Semifinal, Game 1: Nuggets 109 Mavericks 95

Editorial Notice: Quest for the Ring will be between now and the end of 2009 providing a complete Real Player Rating Series Report, like the one below, for each and every 2009 West Final game, for each and every 2009 East Final game, and for each game in the 2009 NBA Final Series. The Mavericks-Nuggets West Semifinal series is also being covered this way in full.

Following the posting of the Real Player Ratings Series Reports, we will post the Real Game Ratings Reports for all of these games. Following these Real Game Ratings, which were just created in the spring of 2009 and which have hardly appeared on Quest at all yet, we will pick some games to focus on for full scale text Reports. In the text reports, we will of course as appropriate make use of and link back to the completed performance measure reports.

Quest for the Ring, as of spring 2009, has realistically and strategically decided to concentrate its advanced performance measurement, reporting, and analysis capabilities on the games that matter the most each year in the NBA: the conference final games and the NBA Championship games.

USER GUIDE
The Real Player Rating User Guide is a necessary reference for anyone who wants to truly understand the value of, the validity of, and the ways you can use the following measures. Moreover, you should become a regular visitor to Quest for the Ring if you want to get the full advantage of reading and using Real Player Ratings Series performance measures. The more you visit and check out ratings, the more quickly and easily you will be able to evaluate what you are seeing.

WEST SEMIFINAL 2009 GAME ONE
MAY 3, 2009 IN DENVER, CO
NUGGETS 109 MAVERICKS 95
Nuggets lead the series 1-0

BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
The hidden defending adjustment is not valid for individual games

MAVERICKS BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 1.064
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.637
Brandon Bass, PF 0.535
Jason Terry, SG 0.503
Jason Kidd, PG 0.490
Ryan Hollins, C 0.354
Josh Howard, SF 0.151
Erick Dampier, C -0.032
Antoine Wright, SF -0.053

NUGGETS BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Carmelo Anthony, SF 1.193
Anthony Carter, PG 1.167
Chris Andersen, FC 1.021
Nene, C 0.983
J.R. Smith, SG 0.966
Dahntay Jones, SG 0.487
Kenyon Martin, PF 0.417
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.393
Linas Kleiza, SF -0.286

COMBINED SORT BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 1.193
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 1.167
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 1.064
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 1.021
Nene, DEN C 0.983
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.966
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.637
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.535
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.503
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.490
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.487
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 0.417
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.393
Ryan Hollins, DAL C 0.354
Josh Howard, DAL SF 0.151
Erick Dampier, DAL C -0.032
Antoine Wright, DAL SF -0.053
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF -0.286

EVALUATION SCALE FOR BASIC REAL PLAYER RATINGS FOR A SINGLE GAME
Perfect for all Practical Purposes / Major Historic Super Star 1.100 and more
Historic Super Star 1.000 1.099
Super Star 0.900 0.999
A Star Player / A Well Above Normal Starter 0.800 0.899
Very Good Player: A Solid Starter 0.700 0.799
Major Role Player / Good Enough to Start 0.600 0.699
Good Role Player / Often a Good 6th Man 0.500 0.599
Satisfactory Role Player 0.425 0.499
Marginal Role Player 0.350 0.424
Poor Player 0.275 0.349
Very Poor Player 0.200 0.274
Extremely Poor Player .199 and less

--------------------------------------------
REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Basic Real Player Production
The adjustment for hidden defending is not valid for individual games

MAVERICKS REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 43.64
Jason Kidd, PG 18.62
Jason Terry, SG 16.11
Jose Juan Barea, PG 14.64
Brandon Bass, PF 6.95
Ryan Hollins, C 6.01
Josh Howard, SF 4.99
Erick Dampier, C -0.70
Antoine Wright, SF -0.80

NUGGETS REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Nene, C 35.38
Carmelo Anthony, SF 34.61
J.R. Smith, SG 30.91
Chris Andersen, FC 28.59
Anthony Carter, PG 25.67
Chauncey Billups, PG 14.93
Kenyon Martin, PF 11.67
Dahntay Jones, SG 8.76
Linas Kleiza, SF -2.00


COMBINED SORT REAL PLAYER PRODUCTION
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 43.64
Nene, DEN C 35.38
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 34.61
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 30.91
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 28.59
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 25.67
Jason Kidd, PG DAL 18.62
Jason Terry, DAL SG 16.11
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 14.93
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 14.64
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 11.67
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 8.76
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 6.95
Ryan Hollins, DAL C 6.01
Josh Howard, DAL SF 4.99
Erick Dampier, DAL C -0.70
Antoine Wright, DAL SF -0.80
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF -2.00

============== SUB RATINGS ==============
OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
All Tracked Offensive Plays

MAVERICKS OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 0.702
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.567
Ryan Hollins, C 0.416
Brandon Bass, PF 0.388
Antoine Wright, SF 0.280
Jason Terry, SG 0.202
Josh Howard, SF 0.163
Jason Kidd, PG 0.163
Erick Dampier, C -0.028

NUGGETS OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Anthony Carter, PG 0.930
Carmelo Anthony, SF 0.902
Nene, C 0.752
J.R. Smith, SG 0.602
Dahntay Jones, SG 0.397
Chris Andersen, FC 0.355
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.221
Kenyon Martin, PF 0.108
Linas Kleiza, SF -0.143


COMBINED SORT OFFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.930
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.902
Nene, DEN C 0.752
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 0.702
J.R. Smith, SG DEN 0.602
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.567
Ryan Hollins, DAL C 0.416
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.397
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.388
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 0.355
Antoine Wright, DAL SF 0.280
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.221
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.202
Josh Howard, DAL SF 0.163
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.163
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 0.108
Erick Dampier, DAL C -0.028
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF -0.143

-----------------------------------
DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
All Tracked Defensive Plays
Does not include hidden defending because procedure is invalid at game level.

MAVERICKS DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Dirk Nowitzki, PF 0.363
Jason Kidd, PG 0.327
Jason Terry, SG 0.302
Brandon Bass, PF 0.147
Jose Juan Barea, PG 0.070
Erick Dampier, C -0.003
Josh Howard, SF -0.012
Ryan Hollins, C -0.063
Antoine Wright, SF -0.333

NUGGETS DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Chris Andersen, FC 0.666
J.R. Smith, SG 0.363
Kenyon Martin, PF 0.309
Carmelo Anthony, SF 0.291
Anthony Carter, PG 0.237
Nene, C 0.231
Chauncey Billups, PG 0.172
Dahntay Jones, SG 0.090
Linas Kleiza, SF -0.143


COMBINED SORT DEFENSIVE SUB RATINGS
Chris Andersen, DEN FC 0.666
J.R. Smith, DEN SG 0.363
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF 0.363
Jason Kidd, DAL PG 0.327
Kenyon Martin, DEN PF 0.309
Jason Terry, DAL SG 0.302
Carmelo Anthony, DEN SF 0.291
Anthony Carter, DEN PG 0.237
Nene, DEN C 0.231
Chauncey Billups, DEN PG 0.172
Brandon Bass, DAL PF 0.147
Dahntay Jones, DEN SG 0.090
Jose Juan Barea, DAL PG 0.070
Erick Dampier, DAL C -0.003
Josh Howard, DAL SF -0.012
Ryan Hollins, DAL C -0.063
Linas Kleiza, DEN SF -0.143
Antoine Wright, DAL SF -0.333

-----------------------------------------
USER GUIDE
The Real Player Rating User Guide is a necessary reference for anyone who wants to truly understand the value of, the validity of, and the ways you can use the following measures. Moreover, you should become a regular visitor to Quest for the Ring if you want to get the full advantage of reading and using Real Player Ratings Series performance measures. The more you visit and check out ratings, the more quickly and easily you will be able to evaluate what you are seeing.

Denver Nuggets vs. Dallas Mavericks in May 2009: the Nuggets' Defense Keeps the Mavericks' Offense in the Barn, Part 9

Editorial Notes: The following was largely written during the early May 2009 second round, West semifinal round playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks. This content was put on the independent Dallas Mavericks forum during the series. It is presented almost exactly as originally written here, with a very few minor additions here and there.

See the additional editorial notes at the end for more details about late postings and how they are not going to be a problem any longer.

FROM MAY 11, 2009, TWO DAYS AFTER GAME THREE OF THE EARLY MAY 2009 WEST SEMIFINAL SERIES BETWEEN THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE DENVER NUGGETS
Game Three was "won" by the Nuggets 106-105; the Nuggets took a 3-0 lead in the best of seven series with this win. For information about how and why this win was probably not really a win, see the previous Report of this series.

Many of the Mavs fans on the Mavs forum were saying that with the series 3 games to 0, game 4 and any subsequent games were meaningless. On the one hand, they had a valid point, since no team has ever come back from being down 3-0, out of roughly 60 such series. But my bleeding heart and my brain that kept repeating to me that the Nuggets are grossly overrated, wanted the Mavericks to at least win game four at home, which they did, and then hopefully game five in Denver, which they did not.

Originally Posted by DubOverdose
Not gonna happen. Won't matter either, we'd just be delaying the inevitable 2nd round loss to the Nuggets.

Oh ye of little faith. Nothing is inevitable in sports, a lesson which I have had to learn the hard way this year. When this season started, it was supposed to be inevitable that the Nuggets would either not make the playoffs at all, or be quickly bounced in the first round again. It wasn't just me; that was the outlook of a huge majority of basketball watchers.

So that did not happen, and the moral is that nothing is inevitable in sports. That's one of the reasons I do sports instead of politics and economics. Inevitable is boring after awhile.

What if the Mavericks were to win games 4 and 5 now? The series would be 3-2 Nuggets, and the Nuggets would almost certainly still win the series. But had game 3 been awarded to the Mavericks as it was supposed to be, the series would be 3-2 Mavericks, and obviously, you would never know in that case whether the Nuggets are legitimately in the West finals or not. Probably they would be illegitimate, illegal, whatever word like that you want to use.

Certainly were that to happen (Dallas winning the next two games) I for one would no longer consider the Nuggets as a legitimate West finals team, and although I probably would, I would no longer be under any real obligation to break down how they lose to the Lakers (or the Rockets, for that matter.)
----------------------

Someone opened a topic asking why the NBA admitted that game three was ruined by the botched non-calls on the pair of Antoine Wright intentional fouls on Anthony. My response was:

The main reason why the NBA admitted this was a mistake, whereas most calls or non-calls would never be stated to be a mistake by the League is because this was a special case.

It is a very long tradition in basketball that the team that is leading with just a few seconds left has complete freedom to foul intentionally, or not foul intentionally, whether or not they have a foul to give, as they choose. It's a sort of well deserved award for leading with very little time left.

You may not like that tradition, I may not like it, but it is an important tradition. The referees went against this tradition by not making the call; they in other words cheated the Mavericks out of the traditional advantage given to teams leading with just a very few seconds left.

So the NBA made the statement because they want to make it clear that even though it was botched in this game that the tradition will continue in other games.

FROM MAY 11, 2009, EVENING, DURING GAME 4 OF THE SERIES, WHICH DALLAS WAS TO COME FROM BEHIND AND WIN TO NARROW THE SERIES TO 3 GAMES TO 1.

By this point, virtually the entire Mavericks Board was completely aware that the Nuggets were using the failure of the referees due to laziness or who knows what to call a reasonable percentage of the way above normal (or ordinary) fouling the Nuggets were doing....

Some examples:

I'm sorry, but anyone who pulls the "you can't blame the refs" card is a complete and utter moron.

Is anyone still blaming Wright for not wrapping up Carmelo or shoving him out of bounds? I guess he was right thinking he would get a flagrant for that.

Hell, if Carmelo trips running down the court on a fast break we'll get a flagrant 2, even if no Mav is within 5 feet.

I love how people were defending the crap officiating by saying "it's the playoffs they let them make contact" or "it's the end of the game they don't call things." What's the excuse for this crap? There is none.

It's like that Bill Simmons article about everyone knows the officiating is crap, but none of the commentators or anyone can recognize it.

Was it Carter? I believe it was D. Jones who fouled Bass in that play.

Either way, this officiating is unbelievable. Not saying that the Mavs are playing well or better than the Nuggets, but come on now. Don't be so damn obvious. This is ridiculous.

So how was KMarts foul on Dirk in game 1 not originally called a flagrant?

Seriously...how often they slammed a Mav down like that to interfere a save basket?

And remember anyone Jones-Bass not being a flagrant in game 3?

Wow...its ridiculous.

I want to see Rick Carlisle grab the ball and punt it into the crowd on the next ridiculous call.

I wish the cameras would zoom in on the refs making the calls a little more. They're the true playmakers.

The NBA is rigged. I dk why some people think it's a "conspiracy theory". Just watch the games, the agenda is always discernible.

The worst reffed game, bar none, that I've seen since 2006.

Here is a double quote:

Quote:
Originally Posted by left texas
The officiating might suck, but I wish we would start playing defense like the Nuggets.
We cant? How many flagrants we would get?? NOW we are stopping the easy baskets like Denver did 3 games and now WE get hammered with flagrants for it.

I guess it wouldn't be classy if they refused to come out until that officiating crew is fired and replaced.

Maybe the Mavs can draft some guys straight out of prison or something. If that happens, it will be a shame that I won't be seeing it. The next Mavs loss is the last game of NBA basketball I watch.

lol Mark Cuban's Twitter currently: I just got called for a flagrant 1 for sneezing. Its 2 kleenex and the ball.

No way we could win this series at this situation guys, let em have this one and prepare for next season. But before that i want to have :
1. Carlisle to punt the ball into the crowd for a lame call as suggested by BPo001.
2. Dampier to body slam Kmart and give a kick on the face.
3. Wright to left KMart grimacing in pain with a torn ACL.
4. Hollins to squeez Nene's testicles.
5. Cubes rushing directly to KMart for a straight jab.

I got called for a flagrant because I just touched my Carmelo basketball card.

This great forum is here.

Laugh out loud at some of the above, especially the one about the Dallas owner Marc Cuban Twitter post and the one about how it could be smart for the Mavericks to draft straight out of prison and the one about how the Mavs could get a technical if Carmelo Anthony tripped and fell with no Maverick within five feet. Laugh out loud at these and more.

These numerous the referees are incompetent postings were made in the early part of game 4, which was eventually won by the Dallas Mavericks, despite the lame and basically insane early officiating that unfairly punished Dallas for the sins of Denver, 119-117. Dallas narrowed the series to 3-1 Nuggets with this win.

But in game five two nights later in Denver, the Nuggets played off their crowd and knew full well the referees in Denver were not going to mess with their high foul policy and thus not interfere with their closing down the series. And so Denver won a boring, predictable type of elimination home game over the Mavericks 124-110.

My contribution to the deserved hate fest against the zebras was my best estimation of what exactly was going on....

You see why I hate the way the Nuggets are playing basketball right now? They are trying to change basketball by making it more violent and less decided by skill. So they set a rough tone for this series from the beginning, when Kenyon Martin virtually threw Dirk to the floor.

So between that, the botched call at the end of game 3, and the general high level of roughness of the Nuggets, League headquarters is worried about the potential for payback, a fight, things like that, in game 4. So the referees in this game are given marching orders by NBA headquarters to call as many flagrant and technical fouls as necessary to keep tight control of this game.

So the referees do call a large number of technicals and flagrants in game 4. But who gets them? You guessed it, the Mavericks are hammered with technicals and flagrants, as they try to respond to the Nuggets' disrespect of basketball by getting rougher themselves.

You see how George Karl and the Nuggets are trying to snooker the NBA and basketball? You see how they are getting away with it? By the time the League has responded to the Nuggets' style, it's the Mavericks who are "caught.".

The Nuggets are getting away with trying to change basketball, until and unless the Nuggets are put down by the Lakers or the Rockets.

Only in George Karl's twisted mind was that a flagrant against Linas Kleiza. It was not a flagrant foul in any other series, only this one, for the reasons I just gave you.

ADDED NOVEMBER. 2009
So I ended up playing the fool for predicting, for several moons before the playoffs (as early as February, as I recall) that the referees would see through the Nuggets playing fast and loose with the foul rules, that they would call a lot more fouls on the Nuggets than on the other team in many of the playoff games. What actually happened, to my horror and to the eventual extreme dismay of the Mavericks fans that you just saw, was that the referees were often awed and possibly put into a trance by the Nuggets' fast, energetic, and aggressive defense, and so they cut break after break after break by not calling Nuggets foul after Nuggets foul after Nuggets foul.

New Orleans was unable to react at all to this Denver strategy, which could be called “defensive overdrive,” because they were banged up practically the whole distance up and down their entire roster.

Dallas finally, in game four, decided to do what I had recommended for months that a team do in case, which was supposed to be unlikely but turned out to be anything but, that the referees do come down in favor of the Nuggets' defense and against a reasonable upholding of the foul rules. But by the time Dallas was ready to, in game four, finally do the logical thing to try to offset how the refs were allowing themselves to be played by the Nuggets and thus skewing the game in favor of Denver, the League Office was worried sick that the series might explode into a brawl. So in an ultimate and truly horrible irony, it was Dallas and not Denver that took the brunt of the sudden total reversal of the officiating that occurred in game four, from not very far from “anything goes” to “don’t even think of getting overly rough.”. When the officials, most likely on orders from the League Office, decided to call technicals at the drop of a hat, and to in general call a much tighter game, it was Dallas and not Denver that took the brunt of this.

You think I'm exaggerating by chance? Check this toll out:

Flagrant Fouls: 2 DALLAS ( J Terry 1, J Howard 1 )
Technical Fouls: PLAYERS: 7 DALLAS ( A Wright 1, B Bass 1, E Dampier 1, J Terry 1 ) DENVER ( C Billups 1, C Anthony 1, L Kleiza 1 )

Holy (can't say it): 9 flagrant and technical fouls. There were also 58 regular personal fouls in this game. So there was a grand total of 67 fouls, laugh out loud, George Karl!

You will very, very rarely see an NBA playoff game with that many flagrant fouls, technical fouls, and personal fouls, simply because you will very, very rarely see an NBA coach who believes he can win a Conference or a Championship by intentionally operating a high rate of fouling defense. But George Karl is a reality, not a cartoon character. And he did in fact think that he might win the West and possibly the entire NBA by intentionally operating a high fouling policy. Thus the decision of the League to start raining flagrant and technical fouls when they became nervous that the series could blow up into brawl time.

But let's face it, at least as of the point in time when Denver finally defeated the Mavericks in the subsequent game back in Denver, the Denver Master Plan for 2008-09 had now worked beyond anyone's wildest imaginations. The Nuggets' coaches, including George Karl of course, had successfully played everyone and their uncles for chumps or fools or jerks or you pick a word. Everyone was playing the fool in the face of Karl and the Nuggets 2008-09 outsmarting the officials and eventually even the League.

But oh so fortunately and so sweetly, Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, the various decent Lakers' guards, and the outstanding young big Andrew Bynum were still out there waiting to defend basketball from being changed to a defensive, football type of sport. They would eventually (too slowly for this paranoid Reporter) refuse to be awed and refuse to be played by the Nuggets' defensive overdrive schemes and extreme reliance on fast pace and fast breaks on offense. Kobe Bryant and company, but especially Bryant, and this is an understatement, would tough it out game by game, especially in game three, one of the most masterful Lakers wins in the history of the franchise, when Bryant single handedly allowed the Lakers to survive 103-97 in Denver and take a crucial 2-1 lead in the series. Bryant earned his 4th ring and Phil Jackson his 10th ring in that game alone.

========== Editorial Notes ==========
--The above was largely written in early May, 2009.

--As promised, we are finally posting material written and posted on forums in the spring. Obviously, if you have your own site, you should be posting at least simultaneously on your own site when you for whatever reason post elsewhere. But there has been a bad habit of not doing so, a bad habit that is being beaten down due to new content sharing regulations that have teeth.

========== VIDEO PLAYERS ==========

DALLAS MAVERICKS 2009 MOST POPULAR VIDEOS PLAYER

iDesktop.tv

DENVER NUGGETS 2009 MOST POPULAR VIDEOS PLAYER

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Denver Nuggets vs. Dallas Mavericks in May 2009: the Nuggets' Defense Keeps the Mavericks' Offense in the Barn, Part 8

Editorial Notes: The following was written during the early May 2009 second round, West semifinal round playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks. This content was put on the independent Dallas Mavericks forum during the series. It is presented almost exactly as originally written here, with a very few minor additions here and there.

See the additional editorial notes at the end for more details about late postings and how they are not going to be a problem any longer.

FROM MAY 10, 2009, THE DAY FTER GAME THREE OF THE EARLY MAY 2009 WEST SEMIFINAL SERIES BETWEEN THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE DENVER NUGGETS
Game Three was "won" by the Nuggets 106-105; the Nuggets took a 3-0 lead in the best of seven series with this win. For information about how and why this win was probably not really a win, see the previous Report of this series.

Originally Posted by chumdawg
I disagree vehemently. That Denver team is GOOD. I'd be surprised if they didn't send the Lakers series to seven, if not win it. They are a very, VERY good team.

Yes, they are good, but also extremely lucky, and they still have not faced a team in the playoffs that is a true test.

The Hornets were just a MASH unit and Josh Howard was limping around for you (for Dallas).

The biggest lucky break of all for the Nuggets this year was getting Chris Andersen, who was unemployed and out of the League last summer. Chris Andersen is like one of the best bench defensive players in the history of the NBA, and yet the Nuggets picked him up for no money, because all the General Managers were asleep at the switch regarding this player. Either that or the Nuggets just plain lucked out.

You can not judge the Nuggets by their routs, because as I said, the way they are playing does have the effect of building big margins against teams that are not used to this extreme defensive style of play, especially if the teams being routed are banged up.

Laugh at your own risk if you want, but this is just another George Karl scheme that is ultimately weak, that sooner or later will fall flat, but unlike most of his other schemes, this one has far more people fooled than previous ones. And this may be the best Karl scheme ever.

The only thing that has me even a little worried right now is that if you lose game 4, and the Rockets somehow push the other series to 6 or 7 games, (how they could do this with no Yao beats me) the Nuggets will be far more rested than the Lakers will be for that series.

So you can not judge the Nuggets until the LA series. The Nuggets were crushed by both the Lakers and the Cavaliers during the regular season, absolutely crushed (except they did beat the Lakers once in Denver when the Lakers were playing on back to back nights and the Nuggets were rested.

But bet, I'll be back here on this forum during that series and admit I'm wrong if I am, but I doubt I will be admitting anything.

FROM MAY 10, 2009, THE DAY FTER GAME THREE OF THE EARLY MAY 2009 WEST SEMIFINAL SERIES BETWEEN THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE DENVER NUGGETS
Game Three was "won" by the Nuggets 106-105; the Nuggets took a 3-0 lead in the best of seven series with this win. For information about how and why this win was probably not really a win, see the previous Report of this series.

There was a Nuggets fan on the Mavericks forum who thought I might be fronting regarding George Karl going off on Iverson with false justification...

Originally Posted by GoNugs
Your post lacks factual accuracy. To my knowledge, Karl never said that Billups was a better point guard then Iverson....I challenge you to find the quote where he did.....

Here you go:

Unquestionably, the Allen Iverson experiment produced some scintillating moments for the Nuggets and their fans. But the more coach George Karl watches Chauncey Billups run his offense — and watches Iverson lead the Pistons — it has become clearer that Iverson, well, wasn't the answer.

"There are less bad plays, more solid plays," Karl said. "I think the wasteful, cheap possessions that we used to have 10 to 15 a game, they don't exist very much anymore."

What always irked Karl was Iverson's inability to run the offense like a general. Arguably, Iverson shot too much, and like Karl said, Denver could outscore about half the teams in the NBA. But when it came to beating the elite teams, the Nuggets had too many questions with "The Answer" — about his shot selection, his dedication to defense and his ability/inability to trust his teammates.

"We have contested-shot charts, bad-shot charts and cheap defensive possessions," Karl said. "I would say that when A.I. was here, we had most games in the teens of contested, tough shots, sometimes in the 20s. And I don't think we've had a double-digit one since (Billups has) been here.

"I don't think there's any question coaching a team for many minutes, without a passing and point guard mentality, is frustrating for a coach. Sometimes I saw something, but I couldn't get it done on the court because I didn't have a playmaker out there."

But with Detroit, Karl thinks Iverson can thrive, because he is surrounded by more veteran playmakers and will trust his teammates, as opposed to forcing a shot he thought he had a better chance of making.

"A.I., at times, had trouble trusting the guy he's throwing it to," Karl said

The source of this is a Denver Post basketball article that is still up today, which is exactly one year after it was written and appeared on the site. To see it on the Denver Post site, visit the Post here.

There you go, there is your source, nicely still up on the internet.

What a twisted version of history Karl is creating here. In other words, he is lying.

Iverson was designated point guard by the Pistons upon arrival, but with a rookie coach who could not stop experimenting with the lineup the whole season long, and a now too old Rasheed Wallace, it was inevitable the Pistons were not going to have Iverson designated point guard for all season long.

For the record, the Pistons would have been much better off this particular season had they just kept AI at the point with Stuckey doing one more year as a backup. Stuckey was extremely inconsistent this year, hardly a starter. Roughly speaking, Stuckey was good enough to start in December and most of January, and then no where near good enough to start in February and most of March.

Anyhow, you can see from the above how Karl indirectly criticizes Iverson for not being as good a point guard as Chauncey Billups, though Karl never designated Iverson as a starting point guard the way the Pistons did from day one.

Karl implies that Iverson was asked to run the offense "like a general". Iverson was never asked to do that. Instead, Iverson was encouraged to shoot as much as he wanted.

And if Karl was so concerned about how many shots Iverson was taking, why did he not at least cut his minutes? Iverson played for more minutes than almost any other player in the NBA in 2007-08.

So Karl is trying to have it both ways: he is saying Iverson was not a playmaker, and that was why the Nuggets were offensively lousy even though they had offensive stars and superstars. But he never asked Iverson to be a playmaker.

Anthony Carter was the playmaker. Notice how Anthony Carter is not even mentioned in this article, either by Karl or by the clueless Post reporter. You would never know from reading this that Anthony Carter was the Denver point guard, not Allen Iverson. There is all this criticism of Iverson, yet Carter, who was the real life point guard, is not even mentioned!

All Karl is doing is taking himself off the hook, and mocking reporters and fans who do not understand basketball in detail to see through what he is doing. If you can not see that he is pulling the wool over your eyes, in order to dodge responsibility for his failure, there is nothing more I can do for you, because anyone who can think logically at a higher level can see through this.

Believe what he says at your own risk.

Of course, GoNugs wasn't going to give up yet, and I don't blame him, since the Nuggets looked like an actual threat to the Lakers at the time, and even I was paranoid (it's a known character flaw of mine) behind the scenes that I might end up half ruined as a basketball writer who is most often correct if the Nuggets defeated the Lakers in the West final that would follow the Denver-Dallas series...

Originally Posted by GoNugs
You said that he said Billups was a better point guard...he didn't say that anywhere in that quote.

He said the team made fewer bad plays...WHICH WAS A TRUE STATEMENT. It wasn't a lie. He wasn't make stuff up. The team was better with Billups....even you said this.

Believe what he says at our own risk? Why would we believe what you have to say?

The whole article is about how Chauncey Billups is a better playmaker than Iverson is. The title of the article is: "Point Guard Praise, Billups Over AI"! This is, assuming it isn't, as close to libel of Iverson as you can get.

No, neither Karl nor the Denver Post is stupid enough to come right out and say that Iverson was the point guard, they could theoretically get sued if they did that. But you have to be really dense if you don't understand that Iverson is being trashed by Karl (and the Post) in this article for not being a good point guard when he was never asked to be the point guard. Again, Anthony Carter was the point guard, not Allen Iverson.

If you don't get it now, there is nothing more I can do for you. I've done everything possible to make sure anyone who can understand this does.

Whether or not you understand Karl's Iverson bashing, and whether or not you like Karl, we will have to wait until the Lakers-Nuggets series to get to the bottom of this: to find out whether the Nuggets ways this year will amount to anything.

Because they have to win at least three games now in that series or the Nuggets were just fronting all along. Any team that blows out two teams in round 1 and round 2, with routs all over the place, should be able to at least take the West finals to 7 games. At a rock bottom minimum.

So we shall see.

========== Editorial Notes ==========
--The above was written in early May, 2009.

--As promised, we are finally posting material written and posted on forums in the spring. Obviously, if you have your own site, you should be posting at least simultaneously on your own site when you for whatever reason post elsewhere. But there has been a bad habit of not doing so, a bad habit that is being beaten down due to new content sharing regulations that have teeth.

========== VIDEO PLAYERS ==========

DALLAS MAVERICKS 2009 MOST POPULAR VIDEOS PLAYER

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DENVER NUGGETS 2009 MOST POPULAR VIDEOS PLAYER

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Denver Nuggets vs. Dallas Mavericks in May 2009: the Nuggets' Defense Keeps the Mavericks' Offense in the Barn, Part 7

Editorial Notes: The following was written during the early May 2009 second round, West semifinal round playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks. This content was put on the independent Dallas Mavericks forum during the series. It is presented almost exactly as originally written here, with a very few minor additions here and there.

See the additional editorial notes at the end for more details about late postings and how they are not going to be a problem any longer.

FROM MAY 9, 2009, THE AFTER GAME THREE OF THE EARLY MAY 2009 WEST SEMIFINAL SERIES BETWEEN THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE DENVER NUGGETS
Game Three was "won" by the Nuggets 106-105; the Nuggets took a 3-0 lead in the best of seven series with this win. However, the "win" was largely due to the referees' failure to call two obvious intentional, non-shooting fouls (in an obvious intentional foul situation) that Antoine Wright put on Carmelo Anthony with Dallas up by a bucket and only a few seconds left in the game. Dallas was not in the penalty; it had a foul to give, so had either of the fouls been called, Denver would have had to inbound with just 6 or 7 seconds left, and Dallas if they chose could have fouled again after the inbound and avoided any possibility of losing due to a made three.

After the referees failed to call either of the Wright fouls on Anthony, the actually fouled but officially not fouled Anthony made a slightly off balance three with five seconds left, giving Dever a 106-105 lead. Dirk Nowitzki's desperation 30-foot three was way off the mark, so Denver had come up with another totally unexpected and probably undeserved win, and now had a 3 games to 0 stranglehold on the series.

Later that evening, the NBA President later admitted that the referees blew the call, thus admitting that Dallas was denied the win or at least denied overtime in what was in effect an elimination game, because no team in the history of the NBA has ever won a series after going down 3 games to 0. So technically, the series was botched, although since Dallas probably should have narrowed the series to 2 games to 1 after game three.

For even more detail than that on what happened, you can check out the game recap at ESPN.

On the other hand, Quest for the Ring reluctantly but honestly admitted that Dallas probably still would have lost the series even if the series had been officially narrowed to 2 games to 1 in favor of Denver. Carmelo Anthony broke out of the box that George Karl has been trying to put him in and partially had him in during the 2008-09 regular season, and the old Carmelo Anthony was doing serious and largely unstoppable damage to the Dallas defense and their hopes to play the Lakers in the West final.

But probably is not definitely, and we will never know whether Dallas could have won the series against Denver, had they been awarded game 3, and had they won game 4 in Dallas, which they actually did, so that the series was 2-2 and now a best of three. Even in that scenario, Denver would probably have won. But not for sure.

Originally Posted by Thomas86
Ok so Howard grabs Billups arm and it's a foul and at the end of the Wright grabs Melo and no foul is called?....F*** David Stern and his "SuperStar" leauge, the Rockets or Lakers better watch out Beacuse Stern is gonna make sure he has a Melo vs. Lebron for the finals.

I was royally pissed off:

I can't quit watching games but I wish I could at this moment. No, on second thought, I can not wait until the Lakers defeat these Nuggets, who think they can win an NBA Championship by committing more fouls than any team ever did including the Pistons Championship teams. More generally, they think they can win an NBA Championship by using strategy right out of the Pittsburgh Steelers system for winning Super Bowls.

I have been saying "laugh out loud, Denver," to this scheme, but quite frankly I'm not going to be laughing anymore until the Lakers put this madness to rest. The Nuggets are attempting to change basketball at this point, to make it much more like football, to spoil it in other words, and I want it stopped.

I honestly think there will be at least several flagrant fouls in the LA/Denver series, and am half expecting a fight at this point. The Lakers will not be intimidated and they will not go down without a fight. They will not let Chris Andersen do whatever he wants, let alone Dahntay Jones (spelled it right). If these Nuggets want to fight, they will get a fight from the Lakers. Literally.

I will grant you that Denver was using more defensive skill and less fouling in games 1 and 2 than in many regular season games, but nonetheless, in game one, fouls just were not being called to any extent, period. Which made it impossible for Dallas to win. In game two, Dallas but not Denver was being called for too many touch fouls. Once again, it was impossible for Dallas to win that game.

Now as for game 3, this is the kind of game that needs to be watched probably three times from start to finish before making many summary judgments. But having said that, I knew for a fact that the referees were going to go much harder on the Nuggets in Dallas than they were on them in Denver. Because the refs might as well not have been there in Denver.

They obviously did stand up for the game more in game 3. However, even so, the game apparently gets decided on some bizarre non-call. And an even more bizarre decision by Dallas not to run out the clock? I just saw the play by play, which seems to indicate that, but I can’t believe it, so did it really happen? I mean, if you have the lead with less than 24 seconds left, you are supposed to wait to get fouled and then make your free throws.

What an ugly, stupid game that was. How many fouls would the Nuggets need to beat the Lakers? 60 fouls a game? Yes, it would be about that many, with only half of them called.

Just screw George Karl and Denver at this point. Trying to win a Championship while basically disrespecting the game of basketball, by for example having no offense separate from the defense. Denver, you would still be a punk franchise compared to Boston, Los Angeles, Detroit, San Antonio, Houston, many others even if you did win a damn Championship, which you will not.

Go back to the ABA if you want to play basketball as if it was football.

FROM MAY 10, 2009, THE DAY AFTER GAME THREE OF THE EARLY MAY 2009 WEST SEMIFINAL SERIES BETWEEN THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE DENVER NUGGETS

Originally Posted by MavsWiLLHaVeRinGs
George Karl's never had any class.

I was still royally pissed at Dallas being denied the likely win (overtime
at home at a bare minimum) so I pounced on the opportunity to go after Karl:

Every year he comes up with new ways to screw with the world of basketball.

Here's another classless thing Karl did earlier this season. In interviews with the Denver Press, he created the false impression that it was a real good thing for Denver that Allen Iverson was traded for Chauncey Billups, because Chauncey is a much better point guard than is Allen Iverson. Trouble is, Iverson seldom played point guard for the Denver Nuggets; it was Anthony Carter most of the time.

If you are a true basketball fan, you know that Iverson has been mostly a 2-guard in the NBA, due to Larry Brown.

So the main part of his statement, that it was a good trade, was true. But the reason was a lie. So overall, it was a lie.

Why did Karl lie in order to try to blame Iverson for the Nuggets' lacking offense last year, which resulted in a monumental blowout loss to the Lakers? Easy, Karl wanted to make sure that no one would ever even think of criticizing him for how bad the Denver offense was last year, when it was actually mostly his fault.

Now this year, apparently knowing he doesn't know how to coach playoff offense, or worse still, thinking it is not needed, he has come up with this scheme where the Nuggets offense is completely based on the fast breaks and in transition automatic scores coming off of uncalled fouls, long rebounds, and steals.

This is classless too, because although as long as the referees are not calling a lot of fouls, you can pound on the teams that are about as good as you are by doing this, you can not possibly beat the better teams such as LA and Cleveland by doing this. The Nuggets are still looking at a 4-0 sweep by the Lakers, or 4-1 at best.

Added Nov. 2009:
The Lakers, who seemed to be taking their responsibility to win a Ring (assuming Cleveland would blow it against Orlando in a lackadaisical way, because had Cleveland had the right formula to beat Orlando, they could probably have used it to beat LA also) took longer to win every one of their West Conference series than they should have. So the West Final was Lakers 4 Nuggets 2. However, before you think I made a gross mistake by saying "4-1 at best," consider also that the Nuggets were eliminated by being routed out of their own building, 119-92, a 27 point virtual humiliation.

Much more bizarre than how long it took the "we'll get around to winning when we're good and ready" Lakers to win two of their three West series was how the Nuggets organization reacted to being blown out in an elimination game in their own building. There were still claims that the Nuggets were actually better than the Lakers! And there were claims (based on God only knows what) that in 2010 the Nuggets would in fact defeat the Lakers for the West crown.

I don't know, were the Nuggets literally drunk because they had finally won a playoff series for the first time since 1994, when they defeated George Karl's SuperSonics 3 games to 2 in an 8th seed versus 1st seed mega upset? Or were they just making sure that out of misplaced adoration for him that George Karl would not have to answer for being blown out of his own building in an elimination game in the West Final?

In any event, George Karl survived another year with pretty good public standing, despite his inability to formulate and/or his disdain for using some strategy and tactics for pro basketball offense in NBA playoff games.

========== Editorial Notes ==========
--The above was written in early May, 2009.

--As promised, we are finally posting material written and posted on forums in the spring. Obviously, if you have your own site, you should be posting at least simultaneously on your own site when you for whatever reason post elsewhere. But there has been a bad habit of not doing so, a bad habit that is being beaten down due to new content sharing regulations that have teeth.

========== VIDEO PLAYERS ==========

DALLAS MAVERICKS 2009 MOST POPULAR VIDEOS PLAYER

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DENVER NUGGETS 2009 MOST POPULAR VIDEOS PLAYER

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