Byline: Aaron J. Lopez News Staff Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Hey, you! That's right, the tall dudes wearing the Denver Nuggets jerseys. Listen up. George McCloud has a few things to say.
Like put a body on someone. Deliver a hard foul every once in a while. In short, start acting like a 6-foot-11 NBA player with a mean streak.
McCloud, a team captain never shy about speaking his mind, excoriated Denver's big men Monday night after the Nuggets were outrebounded 61-35 in a 94-80 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
``It's one thing if you're oversized and outmuscled, but if you're not battling and not competing, it's another thing,'' McCloud said. ``As a big man, you should be embarrassed. It should be a hard night to rest, especially watching this (bleeping) tape on the way to Dallas.''
McCloud didn't name anyone specifically, but it hardly took much deductive reasoning to determine the targets: Raef LaFrentz (6-11, 240 pounds), Zendon Hamilton (6-11, 254 pounds) and Scott Williams (6-10, 245 pounds).
The trio combined for 10 rebounds. Charlotte forward P.J. Brown and center Elden Campbell had 40 rebounds between them. Brown's 22 were one short of the Charlotte record.
``I'm a small and I'm not going to let nobody just dominate me,'' McCloud said. ``They just have to take more pride. . . . It should be hard to stomach a 40-rebound night for two (bleeping) players.''
LaFrentz accepted much of the blame. He had four rebounds in 27 minutes before interim coach Mike Evans benched him for the game's final 18 minutes.
``I didn't get the job done,'' LaFrentz said. ``Considering the type of game I was playing, I don't blame him. I'd sit my (rear) down, too.''
Beyond LaFrentz, Williams and Hamilton, the Nuggets have few beefy options after releasing 6-11, 250-pound center Shawnelle Scott on Sunday.
While not a game-breaker, Scott had been averaging nearly five rebounds per game despite playing about 12 minutes a night.
McCloud questioned the management move and issued repeated challenges for those remaining.
``We don't have any 265-pound guys, so our bigs have to play with emotion and intensity,'' he said. ``A lot of times, they don't.''
Relegated to the bench for the first half, McCloud was part of a small lineup employed by Evans as the Nuggets tried to erase a 15-point halftime deficit.
`` . . . They put you in the game?'' Denver guard Nick Van Exel said jokingly when McCloud took the court.
The second-half starting lineup consisted of guards Van Exel and Voshon Lenard, small forwards McCloud and James Posey and LaFrentz.
``We thought by going smaller it would give us better shooters on the floor, better quickness,'' Evans said. ``We knew it would still be a liability as far as the rebounding was concerned but at that point, we had no choice.''
The strategy almost worked. A 10-1 run over the third and fourth quarters cut Charlotte's lead to 72-65 with 10:08 remaining.
Based on their play through three quarters, the Nuggets had no business being that close. Four minutes later, they weren't. The Hornets pushed the lead to back to 14 when Campbell grabbed an offensive rebound - appropriately enough - and dunked in one motion.
The Nuggets (10-22) never got closer than 12 points and lost their ninth consecutive road game. Denver has lost 17 of 21 overall and takes a 2-11 road record into tonight's game against the Dallas Mavericks.
If McCloud gets his wish, LaFrentz, Hamilton and Williams might take criticism to heart and start throwing their weight around against the Mavs.
``Our bigs haven't even got in altercations all year,'' McCloud said. ``I'm not saying you're supposed to make this game into a battle or macho type of thing, but you're supposed to stand up and play like a big - or at least act like a big.''
INFOBOX
NUGGETS AT MAVERICKS
When - 6:30 MST tonight.
Where - American Airlines Center, Dallas.
TV / radio - Fox Sports Net. KKFN-AM (950).
Probable starting lineups - Denver: Voshon Lenard (G), Nick Van Exel (G), James Posey (F), Scott Williams (F), Raef LaFrentz (C). Dallas: Steve Nash (G), Adrian Griffin (G), Greg Buckner (F), Juwan Howard (F), Dirk Nowitzki (C).
Injuries - Denver: Tariq Abdul-Wahad (knee) and Antonio McDyess (knee) are on the injured list. Dallas: Michael Finley (left hamstring) will not play. Shawn Bradley (knee), Donnell Harvey (ankle) and Evan Eschmeyer (ankle) are on the injured list.
Nuggets notes - Denver (10-22) lost 94-80 at Charlotte on Monday . . . The series between Dallas and Denver is tied 54-54, but the Mavs have won 17 of the past 22 meetings and seven of the past eight . . . Denver hasn't won at Dallas since April 19, 1997 . . . The Nuggets have gone 1-4 this season on the second game of games played on successive days and 0-3 on the road in such situations.
Mavericks notes - Dallas (22-11) lost at home to San Antonio on Saturday . . . Finley reinjured his left hamstring in Dallas' loss to San Antonio on Saturday. When he missed a game against Atlanta on Dec. 29, it ended the longest iron-man streak in the league at 490 games . . . Dallas ended a
10-game winning streak before its current two-game skid . . . The Mavericks are among the highest-scoring teams in the league, going 17-1 when they score 100 or more points.
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Photo
Charlotte center Elden Campbell, left, bumps Denver forward Scott Williams enough to draw a charging foul Monday night at the Charlotte Coliseum. By Rick Havner / Associated Press
