Thank you to reader RandyP for providing this Yahoo! link breaking down Game 1 and how the Hornets don't seem to like Denver's physical play.
I think the Hornets are probably not as irritated with Denver's physical style of play as they are just lobbying the officials to get some calls heading into tonight's game at the Pepsi Center.
Said Hornets coach Byron Scott of Dahntay Jones:
“I can appreciate anybody that plays hard, but when you get to the point where you’re being a little dirty, that’s the thing that kind of aggravates me,” Scott said Tuesday. “Being that I played in this league, I know how tough that is. But when you get to the point where you’re being a little dirty then I don’t appreciate that—and I don’t respect it.”This probably isn't the first time in Dahntay Jones' career where somebody has disrespected him. Heck, Jones is on this third team in his five year career. He's never averaged more than 7.5 points in a season and now he's carving out a new role for himself in Denver.
The role of the gritty nosed defender. Often when players are lauded for being "defensive minded" that's a nice way of saying "he lacks an offensive game." And we've all seen Jones' limitations this season on offense.
The 28 year-old guard has probably had to look himself in the mirror and realize who he must be in order to play a role on an NBA team. And like the great Scottie Pippen once said,
Sometimes a player’s greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team.
The 6'6'' guard has accepted his challenge with the Nuggets of being a defense first player willing to relinquish offensive touches and starter type minutes (even though he starts for Denver.)
As we all witnessed in Game 1 with Jones' effort on Chris Paul … sometimes that lesser role can be one of the most important ones.
Check out the Denver Post's (Dave Krieger) article on Jones vs. Paul here.
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