FanHouse Anthony Carter

DENVER -- Midway through Wednesday's game, Denver coach George Karl suddenly stopped writing "Rookie'' on his coach's board and instead wrote "Ty.''

Could it be that Ty Lawson, in his very first NBA game, dispelled the myth that Karl doesn't have an appreciation for rookies?

"Things might be changing,'' Lawson said. "Every day up until (Wednesday) he wrote 'Rookie.' But he changed it to 'Ty.' I don't know what that means.''

What it means is Karl has got himself one heck of a rookie. Lawson scored 17 points and handed out six assists to help the Nuggets to a 114-105 opening-night win over Utah at the Pepsi Center.

---

---

DENVER -- Kenyon Martin can joke a little about replacement officials. Overall, though, he doesn't think it's too funny.

In an interview with FanHouse, Martin said he believes games will be "terrible'' with the replacements.

"I joked the other day with [Tim Grgurich] and Jamahl Mosley,'' the Denver Nuggets feisty forward said about talking to a pair of assistant coaches. "I'm going to get suspended in the first month of the season. I'm going to have 15 technicals in the first month just for the simple fact [replacement officials] don't know how I run my mouth. They don't know how I approach the game.''

They might find out in a hurry. Martin and his Nuggets play Thursday at Utah in the NBA preseason opener and first game using replacement referees.

Three games into the Western Conference finals and we know a couple of things for certain:

One, that the Nuggets are giving the Lakers all they can handle; and, two, Lakers fans don't like it when you say their team feels like an underdog.

Here are five questions heading into tonight's Western Conference Game 4:

In both of the Lakers' Western Conference finals victories over the Nuggets, Trevor Ariza stole an inbounds pass late in the game that effectively sealed things for L.A. Since there were different players involved on the Denver side of things each time -- Anthony Carter was throwing to Chauncey Billups in Game 1; in Game 2 it was Kenyon Martin trying to get it to Carmelo Anthony -- maybe you just look at the one constant, which was Ariza, to figure out the reason why.

Or maybe, you look at something else -- like history. Because the fact is, before the arrival of Billups, George Karl and the Nuggets didn't believe in running plays to get the ball inbounds.

Cherry Picking recaps the previous day's NBA Playoff action.

After a grueling, physical seven-game series with the Rockets, there was some worry the Lakers might come out flat against the Nuggets (even if history suggested otherwise). And for the first 10 minutes, that's what happened as the Nuggets jumped out to a surprising 27-14 lead. All told, Carmelo Anthony finished with an impressive 16 points in the opening quarter.

Not to be shown up on their home floor, the Lakers spent the second quarter chipping away at Denver's lead, eventually going into halftime with a slim two-point lead of their own. Things continued to go back and forth in the second half until finally Kobe Bryant took over, scoring 18 of his 40 points in the fourth en route to a 105-103 victory.

The only lesson here, though, is that it's better to be a closer late than a front-runner early -- which we already knew. Nothing else should be taken from this game.

---

---

Allen Iverson had until today to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Denver Nuggets, and his agent Leon Rose just confirmed to the Rocky Mountain News that his client will play out his current deal, which will pay him more than $20 million in 2008-09. This was certainly expected -- Iverson has said he wanted to remain all season, and Marcus Camby predicted his teammate would return earlier this week -- but you can never take anything for granted.

Just because Iverson decided against opting out doesn't mean he'll necessarily be playing in Denver next year: his hefty expiring deal is an interesting bargaining chip for teams looking to make a move, and guys like Carmelo Anthony and Camby have also been mentioned in their share of rumors. Plus J.R. Smith, whom AI is essentially blocking from the starting lineup, is a restricted free agent -- while Denver's up-and-down style of play fits his game, he may be able to find a starting gig elsewhere.

Even if the Nuggets can't find a blockbuster to their liking, expect at least a small deal: ESPN's Chad Ford reported a rumor yesterday involving the Grizzlies sending Kyle Lowry and the 28th overall pick to Denver for Linas Kleiza. That deal coud. make sense for both teams, considering Grizzlies' glut of point guards and the fact that Anthony Carter, the Nuggets' starter last year, is now a free agent. Whatever happens, expect the Nuggets to be one of this summer's most active teams.

"Old School" is the College Football FanHouse's irregular look back at the rich history of college football, usually through the medium of embeddable flash video. Check out the Old School archive for more famous plays and infamous hair.

Michigan's #1 is perhaps the most famous number tradition in college football. Braylon Edwards, David Terrell, and Derrick Alexander all wore it en route to All-American status. But before them came the original #1, the guy who convinced Bo Schembechler that throwing the ball was not necessarily pure evil: Anthony Carter. In the 1981 Rose Bowl, Michigan played Washington:



Love that tearaway jersey. Very boy band, that. Michigan (shockingly) would win this particular Rose Bowl 23-6, one of only two victories for Bo in Pasedena. Carter would go on to star in the USFL and NFL; the #1 would become a traditional number for terrifying wide receivers to wear at Michigan and, eventually, around the country.