Trash Talkin'

In his April 28, 2004 post, Gene offers some annoying basketball talk and extolls the virtues of Jon Barry. I couldn't agree more. Responding to one of my comments, he added:

To be honest, I think the Nuggets (and the Timberwolves, to some extent) are expending energy in the wrong way. The elite teams are sort of beyond displays of attitude; they operate with a certain level of cold arrogance.

He was referring, of course, to the war of words being waged by the Nuggets & Timberwolves. Barry tells Spree to shut the fuck up. Spree tells everyone that the series won't be coming back to Denver. Carmello and Camby tell Denver fans that they'll be playing in the Pepsi Center on Sunday (suggest a road win tonight). KG gives Fernando Escalade a shot below the belt (a nut shot for those keeping score), Fernando calls KG a low-class player (and apparently confronted KG after Tuesday night's game). Yesterday, the league contacted both the Nuggets and the Timberwolves and asked everyone to shut up. Marcus Camby had the final word: "I plan to be back here Sunday. For a game, not to clean out my locker.

All that I aside, I disagree with Gene about all the jabbering. If the Timberwolves are the elite team they claim to be, they shouldn't be affected by any of the distractions. The Nuggets on the other hand, an 8th seed and clearly not an elite team, have nothing to lose by talking a ton of smack. If they rattle the Timberwolves a bit, that plays to Denver's advantage. If they don't rattle them, nothing lost. Remember, the Nuggets weren't even supposed to be in the playoffs. As a fan, I'm thrilled to see my lowly Nuggets finally stepping up and getting a little nasty. Talk it up, boys!

My prediction for tonight's game: Minnesota 95 Denver 82. Sorry Nuggets, but I think this is probably the end. I'll be elated if you suprise me and take one on the road. Nuggets4Life!