Few matchups at the Pepsi Center are more scintillating than Carmelo-LeBron — except for last season, when a banged-up Carmelo Anthony scored just 13 points, one more than Anthony Carter.
But Melo missed his third consecutive game Tuesday night with a bruised right knee, and now he's unsure whether he will play Friday night against James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"It's more motivation to get back, but regardless of how much I want to play in that game, or how big of a game that is for our team, I won't risk myself," Anthony said Tuesday. "I've been hurt since last Monday and haven't had any practice time, so I would never go out there and try to play without practice. I'll practice the next couple days and see how it goes. Some days feel better than others." In his place, Joey Graham has started at small forward. Though he's known for his defense, Graham scored eight points in the first quarter Tuesday against Golden State. "He's good at running (the floor). He creates a lot of easy opportunities," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "I think he's more of a committed runner than Melo is, and with the personality of our team right now, running is important. We want to get the ball in the point guard's hand, and Joey has helped us do that. His toughness adds a physical- ness to our (defense). Consistency to our defensive aggressiveness and attitude has been a problem all year long." Point guard Chauncey Billups also is questionable for Friday. Reserve center Chris Andersen likely won't play. Fitness first. The league is running a cool campaign called the "NBA Fit Week," which encourages children to practice good fitness and nutrition fundamentals. Nuggets such as Anthony and J.R. Smith will join 100 students at West Middle School today. They will go through several fitness workouts with the Denver players and Steve Hess, the team's strength and conditioning coach.
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