Shorthanded Nuggets come out of Minnesota with a win

The Denver Nuggets came into the Target Center on Wednesday down three starters and coming off a 95-77 victory the night before at home against Portland. Despite the odds seeming to stack up against them, the Nuggets, led by Chauncey Billups, pulled out a 119-113 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With Carmelo Anthony missing his fifth consecutive game following the death of his sister as well as Nene, Kenyon Martin, and Al Harrington sitting out due to injury, the scoring load fell on the shoulders of Billups. He answered the call brilliantly, saving his best effort for the fourth quarter, where he scored 15 of his 36 points.

"This was one of our better wins of the year," Nuggets' head coach George Karl said in a postgame press conference. "Chauncey was fantastic, but everybody had their moments."

Coming off the bench, Ty Lawson also chipped with 19 points. Chris Andersen filled the void of both Nene and Martin, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

Billups agreed with his head coach about the value of the victory.

"Relatively speaking, this is one of our best wins of the year, playing so short-handed, coming in on a back-to-back, getting in late. It was just a really good win."

The Nuggets improve their record to 18-13 and sit just three and a half games behind both Utah and Oklahoma City for the Northwest Division lead.

Blogging so far...

After posting my first blog really about the Nuggets, it's pretty fair to say I am excited for the next four weeks. I'm really looking forward to writing about my favorite team and I definitely don't plan on it being difficult. I don't anticipate having a lack of news, considering there are plenty of games to write about.

I think the most exciting aspect of writing this blog will be the fact that I will simply get to vent my feelings on a subject that I am very passionate about. It's fantastic that websites like this make it possible for even amateur students, like myself, can write about anything they want and have it be available to the public.

Over the coming weeks, I want to focus mostly on recapping the most recent Nuggets' games, but I also want to continue to keep an eye on the developing Carmelo Anthony story. There is a very real possibility that Anthony could be traded during the next three weeks. If that happens, I definitely want to be able to cover it and give my input.

No more "Melo"-drama

It seems like each time I tune into ESPN lately, the only time the Nuggets are mentioned is because of the ongoing drama involving Carmelo Anthony. Never mind that the team owns a 16-10 record despite missing two of their most important big men (Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen) for almost the entire season, it seems that Anthony is the only player on the team.

I'm tired of hearing about all of the trade rumors and talk that Anthony wants to play only for the New York Knicks. It's making it difficult to be excited about another winning season.

So let's just solve the problem. If Anthony wants out, why don't the Nuggets help him? The Baltimore native is a free-agent at the end of the season anyways, so why not get something for him? Some may argue that the team has no leverage and would have to give him away for pennies-on-the-dime, but isn't something better than nothing?

It's time the Nuggets get something done, before he replicates LeBron James' departure from Cleveland and leaves an entire fan-base bitter and disappointed.

Blogging for Me

The biggest reason I began this blog is to expand my journalistic horizons and to learn how to write in a blog style.

While my experience in the journalism industry has been limited, I have worked an internship in the Sports Information Department at the University of Northern Colorado for the past two years.

For me, picking a beat to cover in this blog was easy. I've been a passionate sports fan for as long as I can remember. Having spent my entire life in Colorado, the Nuggets hold a special place in my heart. I already watch every game, so writing about what I watch seemed to be a very logical step.

My biggest fear about beginning this blog is how vunerable I will be as a writer. Anybody will be able to read and comment on my blog. A disgruntled reader can make his or her feelings known to the rest of the world.