Anthony Carter has been benched. But he's not complaining about it. "It's just about playing my role and waiting on my time to come," Carter said. "I just look at it as a time to get some rest so when stress time comes, I'll be ready." Carter, the Denver Nuggets' trusty backup point guard last season behind Chauncey Billups, has been demoted for the time being to third string due to the quick development of rookie Ty Lawson.
Carter hasn't played in eight of the past 10 games, although two he didn't dress out for due to a left hip strain. In the two he has played, he's only gotten in for garbage time.
"I'm still getting paid," Carter said. "I get to sit in the front row and cheer my teammates on. I can't complain; I know what my situation is and what my role can be. If something happens (to Billups or Lawson), I know the system and can come right in and fit right back to where I started, where I left off."
Nuggets coach George Karl insists that Lawson playing ahead of Carter isn't necessarily something that will be the case all season.
"We've got an All-Star, we've got probably one of the best backups in basketball and we've definitely got the best third point guard in basketball," Karl said about the point guard situation, with the All-Star being Billups. "Put the names in the right places. It comes in different packages. In different times of the year, it might be different than right now. I'm not guaranteeing that Ty has won the battle. An injury to either Ty or Chauncey, we're in a great place. That's the positive energy."
In 11 games, Carter is averaging 3.0 points and 2.3 assists. In 19 games, Lawson is averaging 8.8 points and 3.5 assists.
NUGGETS 114, HEAT 96: Dwyane Wade has an NBA title but not a win in Denver.
The Miami star, who led the Heat to the 2006 crown, is 0-6 in his career in Denver. The latest defeat was Thursday in a game that wasn't close.
The Heat fell behind 58-42 at halftime. And the Nuggets continued to pour it on in the second half.
"Obviously, we as a team are doing something really, really good out there," Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said of yet another win over Wade and the Heat.
Anthony led the Nuggets with 22 points. Wade did have a game-high 25 points, but didn't get nearly as much help as Anthony.
Only two Miami players scored in double-figures. The Nuggets had six reach double digits, with guard Arron Afflalo being Denver's second-leading scorer with 17 points.
The Nuggets are on a mission to restore their homecourt edge after last Sunday's stunning loss to Minnesota, which came in with a 15-game losing streak, stopped their regular-season winning streak at the Pepsi Center at 17. Since then the Nuggets are 2-0 at home while winning by an average margin of 23 points.
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