Thunder take a 3-0 lead over the Nuggets ~ My 1st visit to the Pepsi Center

I finally made it to the Pepsi Center for Game 3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder v Denver Knicks game (i.e. just kidding!!!).  Actually, it's the Denver Nuggets.  I couldn't resist making the joke. 

I arrived at the Pepsi Center early and decided just to park close to the arena for $15. As I waited with other NBA fans til about 6:45PM to get into the building for an 8PM start, the smell of buttered popcorn wafted outside.  Yes, I was sold.  I bought popcorn the minute I walked in.  A girl has to eat, right?

Sporting my new Nuggets hat (i.e. less than $20 from the team store) I went to my seat.  Everyone in the arena had a light blue Nuggets rally towel waiting for them on his/her seat.  Nice.  I save those towels and use them as kitchen towels.

As I watched the pre-game shoot around and warm-ups, I watched J.R. Smith and his teammates shoot trick shots.  Smith's final shot was a full court heave towards the basket and it went IN.  Ending on a high note, Smith ran into the tunnel to get ready for the game.  ****  Who knew this would foreshadow the outcome of the evening's game?

As the pregame festivities went on, I was reminded that the cartoon, South Park, is set in Colorado by Cartman on the jumbotron.  Too funny!

Nuggets fans are passionate about their team.  They cheered as the Nuggets battled the Thunder, but there were a good number of Thunder fans present at the game.  It was good to see all the Nuggets old school jerseys and T-shirts with "English" on the back.  ****  I met NBA Legend, Alex English, a couple of years ago during the All-Star break, and he was a nice guy.

Whenever I looked at the scoreboard it always seemed as though Kevin Durant and the Thunder were up about 6-8 points.  Whenever I looked towards the court, it seemed like either Russell Westbrook or Kevin Durant was talking to a ref and complaining.  I like Durant and Westbrook, but nobody likes a whiner.  Sorry.  I call it like I see it.  Maybe that's why BOTH Durant and Westbrook were called for technical fouls. 

Regardless, the game was a little chippy and there was a good degree of physicality during the game.  However, physical basketball and a good degree of banging on the court is to be expected ~ especially during the NBA playoffs.

Nuggets fans (i.e. sitting near me in the lower bowl) were convinced the Denver was going to nab Game 3.  Unfortunately, for them, this wasn't the case.  I disagree with the 4 guys in their 20s who were sitting in front of me.  I don't believe that you can blame the Nuggets' defeat on the George Karl's rotation.  I believe that you can attribute the loss to the lack of effectiveness from Al Harrington, Raymond Felton, and anyone else who didn't grab an offensive rebound.

As the Nuggets fought back to close the Thunder lead, the fans at the Pepsi Center were on their feet.  With about 40 seconds left in the game, and the Thunder up about 6-8 points, some Nuggets "unfaithful" started to exit the building.  I find it ironic that the girl behind me (i.e. who looked like she was in her mid-20s) was the one who said, "I don't know why everyone is leaving.  40 seconds is a lot time in the NBA."  THAT is a girl who knows her stuff.

Final thought: The Nuggets fought back and cut the lead to 3 in the final seconds of the game.  The refs should've called the foul against the Thunder, as J.R. Smith took his final 3-point shot in the closing seconds of the game.  A foul is a foul, REGARDLESS of when it occurs during a game.  Nuggets' fans seemed to agree with me, since the "Boos" were very loud and lasted for a few seconds when the game ended.

Smith deserved to shoot 3 free throws.  He was fouled.

The Nuggets had balanced scoring with numerous high scorers with 15 points.  Scott Brooks' Thunder squad is definitely gelling and Serge Ibaka was the player that really stepped up his game for the night.  Durant led the Thunder with 26.  Westbrook contributed 23, and Ibaka added 22. 

Final score 97-94.  The Thunder won.

Great all-around game for the Thunder!  It goes without saying that the Nuggets have their work cut out for them for Game 4, which is tonight at 10:30PM ET.

THE WIRK

Nuggets in town to play the Mystics ~ Wait, that's not right?! Oh wait, it's the Wizards...

Hold onto your seats ladies and gentlemen, because tonight the Nuggets (36-18) play the Wizards (something little -something big)...  It's gonna be a real barn burner! And if you believe that, then maybe I can interest you in giving me some seed money so I can head to AC or Vegas and quadruple it...  Really?!?!  You're a little bit interested?!?!  Comment me with your email information, and I'll hit you with my paypal address.

The Nuggets are coming off of an overtime victory last night at the Q.  After the game, Carmelo Anthony "tweeted" that the game was an "instant classic".  I don't agree, but he played in it, so he's biased.  He finished with 40 points, 7 boards, and the game-winner.  He played 48 minutes, and the total game time was 53, since it went into OT...  My guess is that tonight he's going to be tired, since the game finished late (well after 1AM) and he played so many minutes. 

Anyway, back to tonight...  Not only are the Nuggets playing the Wizards tonight ~ they're set to play the NEWLY, GUTTED Wizards tonight...  What does that mean?  That means that the Nuggets could probably sit Melo, Chauncey, and KMart and probably still win.  I'm really hoping that that's not the case though because I'm headed to the arena for a multitude of reasons, and I want to see the "REAL" Nuggets on the court.

During NBA All-Star weekend, I saw George Karl a number of times.  Based on his press conference, George has known about his treatable throat cancer since December, but it seems he just notified his team on Tuesday.  Whether, treatable or not ~ cancer is cancer and that has to be scary.  My seats are near the Nuggets bench and I'll do my best to resist the urge to stare at George's throat...  BUT I know me ~ even though, it's not like I'm going to be able to see anything, I'm going to keep looking.  I am praying for his recovery.  It has to be tough, but at least its "treatable".

The Nuggets are the 2nd biggest threat in the West.  The Lakers are without a doubt the 1st.  At this point in the season, the Nuggets are 5 games back...  During NBA All-Star weekend, I was talking to one of the Nuggets and he stressed that his job was to focus on the remaininng 29 games (i.e. 28 now, since they just played last night).  I found that interesting ~ the fact that he knew exactly how many games were left in the season.  Ask me how many more days I have this year, and I'll laugh in your face.  Then again, I'm not an athlete nearing the end of the REGULAR season...  Will the Nuggets catch the Lakers?  I'm going to say, "No".  BUT I do think, that in the West, they can defnitely give the Lakers a run for their money, especially if Kobe continues to sit out.

It's true that people rise to the level of their competition.  Although unlikely, there's still a chance that the Nuggets could come out of the West and play for the NBA Championship.  Yes, I said it ~ and Yes, it CAN happen.  It's possible.  The Cavs were the favorite to come out of the East last year, and we all know what happened in that mess.  The Magic took the Cavs out of the mix.  If you said you "called it", then you're probably the same liar that says that you knew "all along" that Bruce Willis' character was dead in the movie, "The Sixth Sense" ~ I'm not buying it.  The most likely scenario is that a Nuggets surge will push the Lakers to perform even better 

The sad fact about tonight's game is that the Nuggets know that the Wizards are not even in their own league.  This game tonight should be a yawner...  I recommend that the Wizards adopt the WNBA's pricing model for the remaining games this season.  In addition to scouting the Nuggets and indulging in the nachos that have been promisd to me, I'm hoping Melo (i.e. since he is as close to home as he's going to get) still has some gas left in the tank for a great show tonight.

And yes, of course, I'm curious to see if Zydrunas is going to be on the bench or even if he's in the building.  I go where history is happening and if he's going to be on that Wizards bench, I'm not going to miss it for the world. 

“Right now I’m a Wizard,” he said. “I think eventually they’ll let me go, but that’s just my guess. They haven’t told me anything yet. First I’ve got to go to Washington, and hopefully after a couple of days they’ll let me go home.” <--- Zydrunas' quote...


THE WIRK