Character Disorder

I think I have one… seriously, I’m constantly filled with dread. Maybe you’ve noticed. I try to present my malfunctions as an earnest attempt to serve as an objective analyst, grounded in facts and observations we all share during the course of a game. If the truth were told, I tend to believe that danger lurks behind every corner, waiting to pounce on my ass and beat me into submission.

I live in the world of Saw… no one is safe, no one will be spared, WE ARE ALL DOOMED TO SUFFER SUCH HORRIFIC CONSEQUENCES FOR ENJOYING A SOLITARY MOMENT OF PEACE AND TRANQUILITY!!!

It’s not that bad, but it’s true. I tend to lean towards the role of pessimist and I am quick to point out the potential hazards that lie ahead.

Take the current situation with the Nuggets. They just trounced the Hornets and Mavericks out of the postseason with lethal efficiency. They are strong, they are peaking at the right time, and they are transforming into a team along the way, rather than a group of individuals. Meanwhile the clear and present danger otherwise known as the Los Angeles Lakers is fading. What looked like depth then the playoffs began now looks like a failing group of detriments. What looked like Andrew Bynum, the rising power in the NBA post, now looks like an experiment gone wrong. What looked like the team to beat in the NBA Playoffs now looks like an invitation to the Finals.

They are headed in the wrong direction, while Denver is traveling in the opposite direction. And if the Lakers should fall to Houston in tomorrow’s Game 7 showdown, the story gets better. Finding a Houston team minus Tracy McGrady AND Yao Ming in the Western Conference Finals? Sounds more like George Karl’s wet dream than any other scenario we could have conjured.

The series has been extended to seven games, giving our guys a prolonged vacation to rest weary muscles.

The world is showering the Nuggies with praise as folks across the globe scour for the entrance to the bandwagon.

And here I sit… drenched in worry.

What if we play the Lakers?
What has become an obvious downfall for the Lakers now stands as our greatest source of inspiration. The more damage Aaron Brooks, the undersized point man for the Rockets, can inflict, the more you understand just how horrific the defense will be on Chauncey Billups. The Lakers don’t have a single guy that can cover our team’s leader. It’s become clear that Kenyon, Nene,  and the Bird can hang and bang with any of the boys the Lakers – or any other team – bring to the paint. Melo has hit a zone and I don’t believe there is a defender left in these playoffs that can check him. Those are all bright spots on the board of debate should these west-coast powers tie it up in the finals.

Mamba is what concerns me. The Nuggets just endured a series where the final books may read victory by domination, taking Dallas 3-1 with a couple of sizeable wins, but those that watched understand the games were rather close. They were competitive due to the performance of Dirk Nowitzki, working to scoring high point totals in every game despite the physical beatings suffered in working against Kenyon and Co. The gameplan was simple: Let Dirk do his thing but make it painful so his energy will fade in the 4th quarter.

It worked, but Dirk still got the job done and he kept his team in contention. Now, against the Lakers, that role will be covered by Kobe, a 6-foot-6 assassin playing at the two with endless endurance and stamina. The downfall of being 7-foot tall at the four, you beat up much easier than the guy working around the floor and shooting the open J. Kobe won’t be wearing down in the 4th my friends… he’ll be at his peak, and those close games will suddenly be much more stressful as the results fall in the hands of those individual superstars. Junior and Dahntay aren’t going to check Kobe, and the potential ramifications of that fail to offer a positive symptom – either Chauncey takes the role and you disable him a bit on offense (thus ruining the unbelievable advantage he would carry on that end of the floor), or you let him go nuts and hope you can shut down the rest.

That was the gameplan with Dallas, and Dirk made it as entertaining as possible. With Mamba on the trigger, close wins could become close losses.

What if we play the Rockets?
I won’t lie… if we play the Rockets, my worries go running like Marion Jones with a fresh pot of BALCO’s best in the bum. Chauncey draws the edge once again and will put the defensive clamps on Aaron Brooks, Houston’s apparent weapon of choice while their stars are on the mend. Ron Artest will be a problem but should be held to reasonable advances by Dahntay. I have no worries that Luis Scola or the tandem of Chuckie Hayes and Carl Landry will put Kenyon, Nene, and the Bird in a bad way.

I do have worries about Shane Battier. He would represent the best defender… hell, the best overall player, Carmelo has seen yet in these playoffs. He is the kind of guy that will quietly destroy that confidence Melo has been building as he progresses through these playoffs. Those late-game daggers will find competitive opposition.

Understand he’s not likely to shut our man down… like I said, there isn’t a player left on the slate that can keep the Melo Man in check these days, and it would seem reasonable to suggest that Chauncey and the others will pick up the slack and insure victory even if Melo were to fall on hard times.

However, with The King laying in wait, you would want our deadliest weapon working forward rather than trying to recover – and yes, it’s wrong to look that far ahead… but if we draw the Rockets in Round 3, I’m going to be doing just that. But wait…

That may be the most concerning worry of all. The same plague that has befallen the Lakers could be laying in wait for the Nuggets. There is a fine line between “confidence” and “complacency” my friends, as the Lakers are learning against Houston. They figured it would be a walk in the park, especially after the Ming Dynasty was brought to an early end. Now they stand as jokes, as damaged goods, as a team without focus or purpose, and thus without confidence or swagger.

With the first two rounds going to smoothly, with the Lakers and Rockets struggling to formulate a worthy threat, with the pieces all falling into place in such quick order, and with SO MANY gathering in line to crown the Nuggets as the Western Conference Champs before we have learned which team will stand in their way, it would easy to envision our team falling into the same trap of supreme confidence run awry.

So much worry, so little time… enjoy Game 7.

Tags: Aaron Brooks, Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Chris Andersen, Dahntay Jones, Denver Nuggets, Kenyon Martin, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, NBA Playoffs, Nene, Yao Ming