Denver Stiffs

Denver takes vacation in Miami (Nuggets/Heat Recap)

2009-11-07T04:42:56Z

Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets revert back to isolation and one-on-one basketball and it results in their first loss of the season. But the biggest story coming out of the game is Kenyon Martin's injury that kept him out of the second half in Miami.

Just wanted to share with you all that today signifies the 6-year anniversary of SB Nation. I started writing under Pickaxe & Roll for SB Nation back in January of 2009 and I'm approaching my one-year anniversary with the company. It's been a pleasure to be able to blog here and it's been even better since merging with Andrew and becoming Denver Stiffs. You the readers have made things awesome this season and just wanted to share my gratitude with you all and with SB Nation. Check out how things started way back when with just one blog: Athletics Nation: Baseball Country.

On to the game ...

Martin played just 12 minutes and suffered what the team is calling a left leg contusion that head coach George Karl said will keep Martin sidelined for a "week or two" and Martin will undergo further tests on his leg. Hopefully K-Mart will be okay or else the Nuggets might be wishing they still had a few more days to pull out "big Bertha."

About all you need to know about this game is that the Nuggets combined for a total of 10 team assists. When the Nuggets do not share the ball on offense, they struggle to win games. Melo was 12-22 shooting on the night (54%) but his play sort of set the tone for how the night went. As soon as Melo got the ball he was looking for his shot and it looked like he forgot he had four other guys on the floor wearing the same uniform as him. His play seemed to be contageous as the team put up shot after shot without the thought of passing the ball.

All the one-on-one play resulted in difficult shots and bad positioning. The bad positioning led to 19 turnovers and the Heat took advantage with 19 points off those bad possessions. This was definitely a forgettable game for the Nuggets, but after the starters went to the bench in the fourth quarter the Nuggets' bench made a little run and made the score respectable. The 96-88 loss does not tell you how bad the Nuggets played tonight.

The good news ... the Nuggets no longer have to worry about the 1972 Dolphins undefeated record, 82-0 is no longer a possibility for Denver. Perhaps the team will rally around the injury to Kenyon Martin and the absence of J.R. Smith and pull out a win in Atlanta tomorrow evening. Denver holds a 2-1 record on this roadtrip and they get to face an Atlanta Hawks team that just lost by 20 points to the Charlotte Bobcats tonight.

Both teams will be looking to redeem themselves after an embarrassing loss and Ty Lawson will learn a new lesson ... in the NBA you have to have a short memory.

ntimmons73@yahoo.com

Photo courtesy of AP Photos: Mel Evans

Game 6 Preview & Thread: Nuggets at Heat (5:30pm MDT)

2009-11-06T19:17:29Z

The Nuggets have started the season off in blazing fashion, tonight they are in Miami to face the Heat. The Nuggets are riding an eight game winning streak against Dwayne Wade's team, their longest against any Eastern Conference team, and have a chance to even up their overall series record against Miami tonight (22-23 all-time).

Records:
Denver: 5-0 (Key wins: vs. Blazers and Jazz)
Miami: 4-1 (Key wins: vs. Wizards and Bulls ... loss vs. Phoenix)
Time and TV: Game starts at 5:30 p.m. Mountain and can be seen on Altitude 2
Injuries: Denver - Joey Graham: Day-to-Day with a sprained toe (was inactive against the Nets)
Miami - Daequan Cook is questionable for tonight's game (shoulder)

First things first ... The J.R. Smith countdown ... ~~1, 2, 3, 4, 5,~~ 6, 7. Smith will be returning to action after just two more games.

Let's break this preview down old school style ... some head-to-head matchup breakdowns!

Point Guard: Chauncey Billups vs. Mario Chalmers
I liked Chalmers coming out of Kansas and while he is developing nicely in Miami, he's not Billups ... not yet. The Alaskan born Chalmers is scoring 8 points per game on the season and is not asked to do too much for Miami on the offensive end. Chalmers is big enough at 6'1'' and 190 pounds to have a nice size matchup with Billups, but the savvy veteran should get the best of this matchup. Advantage: Nuggets.

Shooting Guard: Anthony Carter vs. Dwayne Wade
Um ... uh ... Carter used to play for the Heat!
Advantage: Heat.

Small Forward: Carmelo Anthony vs. Quentin Richardson
Q-Rich is playing out of position here ... at 6'6'' and 228 pounds Q could be in for a long night on the defensive end if he's matched up on Melo for extended time. Richardson used to be an athletic freak, but injuries have slowed him a bit and Melo's quick first step could set up for some nice blow-by plays and wide open jumpers. Look for Miami to double-team Melo tonight. On offense, Q is mainly a catch-and-shoot guy ... unless he feels like he can dominate his defender, then we'll see Q get out and run a little bit and even start taking his man to the rack. Quentin is starting to gel in Miami. In his last two games he's put up 18 and 19 points and he's connecting on and putting up a lot of three-point attempts (4-9 vs. Phoenix and 5-7 vs. the Wizards). It'll be important for Denver to not leave Q open, but Melo should dominate this guy who was traded roughly 46 times this offseason. Advantage Nuggets.

Power Forward: Kenyon Martin vs. Michael Beasley
This is a perfect matchup for K-Mart. Beasley isn't a beast on defense and he's not ultra-aggressive on the offensive end. Martin should dominate Beasley on the defensive end ... Kenyon should used his superior strength to bully the youngster and could make him a non-factor if he can get him out of the game from a mental standpoint. It will be fun to see how the recently troubled Beasley reacts to K-Mart's style and how much fight he has tonight. Advantage: Nuggets.

Center: Nene vs. Jermaine O'Neal
O'Neal, like K-Mart, has been talking about how much better he feels physically this season. It has showed early as O'Neal or HEAD as I call him (guy's dome is massive) has played with more quickness and hops than he has the past few years. But O'Neal suffered a broken nose against the Suns on November 3rd and has complained about stamina issues with the injury. Nene has had success when he gets involved in the game early and Denver tries to work the ball into him knowing this. I think Nene is playing at his best after a quick fast break dunk or two and really starts feeling like part of the offense. This is a nice matchup for Nene as O'Neal, with good size, is not a physically dominating guy. For some reason whenever I see O'Neal play he looks like a left-handed player ... it's strange to me that he's right-handed - I'm not sure what this means, but figured I'd throw it out there. Advantage: Even.

Bench:
Here are the names Miami is going to throw at Denver off the bench: Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem, Carlos Arroyo and Dorell Wright. Haslem is leading the bench by averaging 12 points per game. Basically, Miami doesn't have a bench. Joel Anthony can block some shots, Haslem can score and rebound a little bit, Arroyo isn't going to kill you and Wright isn't either. Not having last season's NBA All-Star's Three-Point shooting champ Daequan Cook hurts the Heat ... James Jones, making $4.3 million this season, can't seem to stay healthy or get into the game. The Nuggets feature Ty Lawson, Double-A and Birdman off the pine and they have been playing very well thus far for the Nuggets. Lawson is coming off his new career high of 23 points and Afflalo has found a rhythm as well. It'll be interesting to see if Graham plays and who Karl will turn to ... BALKMAN ... if Graham doesn't play. Advantage: Denver.

The Nuggets have had success in Miami (winners of their last four) and ~~now that I've officially jinxed the team~~ I expect the Nuggets to win again tonight. Keeping Wade under control will be key and this game will be Denver's first true test of this six-game roadie.

Opposition's take: Peninsula is Mightier

ntimmons73@yahoo.com

Photo courtesy of Getty Images: Scott Cunningham

Golden Nuggets...

2009-11-06T15:42:39Z

Some morning links for you to browse through ...

The Denver Post's Chris Dempsey talks about Ty Lawson turning heads with his play ...

Lawson figures to turn heads all season long in his NBA debut, including that of his coach, who detests the reputation he has for not playing rookies, although three weeks ago he defended his right not to play Lawson.

Chris Dempsey was busy last night ... Catching up with Eduardo Najera

Chris Dempsey: What were your emotions facing the Nuggets?

Eduardo Najera: It’s actually the first time I played against them. Obviously I have feelings about the Nuggets. I still know most of the guys on the team, coaches, organization. Playing against the Nuggets was weird at the beginning, but I was excited.

A couple days old, but Dempsey talks about Renaldo "The Crimestopper" Balksman's extension:

(This is a pretty good article ... talks with George Karl and Balkman about his role with the team ... essentially the Nuggets seem him as a "rookie-ish" player ... for now.)

In a moment of honesty, Balkman admitted he was a bit surprised that he was extended. His new deal is three years, more than $5 million.

"It was a surprise that they did it because I haven’t been playing," Balkman said. "My minutes do go up and down at times. But they know, too, that whenever I get on the court I give my all. Anytime he calls my name I play basketball to my fullest potential. Whatever I do on the court, it’s always at 100 percent and they know that. I’m the type of guy that all I want to do is win. I hate to lose. So, I’m a fighter till the end. And if all I do is get my teammates hyped up to win the game, then that’s what I will do."

David Thrope of ESPN ranks the rookies (you have to have insider I think to view this) and has Ty Lawson ranked #3 behind fellow point guards Brandon Jennings of Milwaukee and Jonny Flynn of Minnesota.

3. Ty Lawson, Nuggets
The truth is, a few of the point guards on this list could do what Lawson is doing, if they were on the Nuggets. Well, almost. Lawson's time at North Carolina has him well-prepared for how he needs to play in Denver. But he does not have to apologize for his good fortune' after all, he has made much of it himself.

Watching him rush up the floor, being quick while not hurrying (it's a John Wooden reference), is to see exactly what most NBA coaches want in their backup PG. Make easy plays, help teammates get good shots, and do not ever turn the ball over.

It likely won't happen this season, but Lawson has the makings of a perennial Sixth Man of the Year award winner.

Chris Tomasson of Fanhouse discusses the possibility of the first female NBA head coach ... Nancy Lieberman?

If there ever will be a female NBA head coach in my lifetime, I'm thinking Nancy Lieberman has got a shot. Lieberman took the first step toward that Thursday when she was named head coach of the Dallas Mavericks' D-League team in Frisco, Texas, that will begin play next year.

NBA Game Previews on InsideHoops.com ... Nuggets vs. Heat

Carmelo Anthony has cooled off since his red-hot start, but the Denver Nuggets keep winning. As they continue a season-high six-game road trip, the Nuggets look to match their best start in 24 years by extending their dominance over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Anthony averaged a league-best 37.7 points on 53.6 percent shooting for Denver (5-0) in its first three wins but shot 34.1 percent over the past two games, scoring a combined 47 points... The Nuggets, who haven’t started 6-0 since 1985-86, play a winning team for the first time Friday in the third game of their trip. They also face the league scoring leader from last season, Dwyane Wade. The Heat (4-1) bounced back from their first loss as Wade had a season-high 40 points in a 93-89 victory at Washington on Wednesday night.

ntimmons73@yahoo.com

Meadowlands Massacre in reverse... (Nuggets/Nets Recap)

2009-11-05T03:09:12Z

Between tonight's 28-point victory at the Izod Center and last season's 25-point win over the Nets at Pepsi Center, I'd say the Nuggets have properly avenged last February's debacle in New Jersey.

The Nets are one of the NBA's worst teams with All-Star point guard Devin Harris in the lineup. Without Harris (as they were forced to play tonight), they're a slight step above an NBDL team. For the Nuggets to win by 28 in spite of Carmelo Anthony having a horrid shooting night, it tells us that our Nuggets are either this good or the Nets are this bad. It's probably a bit of both.

In my recap of the Nuggets opening night win over the Jazz, I mentioned how the NBA will be made up of "haves" and "have nots" this season. But it's broader than that. The Nets - like their losing predecessors in Indiana last night - aren't just bad, but they're broke and cheap like nine or so other struggling franchises. Just another casualty of a worldwide financial crisis and poor (literally and figuratively) ownership. Take Bobby Simmons amazingly high $10.5 million contract off their books and the Nets entire roster combined would cost the same as having Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Chauncey Billups and Nene.

What this game got me thinking tonight is that we might see one of the greatest disparities in recent memory between the records of the good teams with stable ownership (the Lakers, Celtics, Magic, Cavaliers, Spurs, Nuggets...thank you thank you Stan Kroenke) and these shoddy outfits in New Jersey, Indiana, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Charlotte and so on. In other words, if you thought the Nuggets had an easy time last season feasting on sub-.500 teams, this season could be even easier.

Or...another thought...are the Nuggets just this good? Do the additions of Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo in particular, combined with the substantial upgrade in play by Carmelo Anthony, make the Nuggets even better than last season in spite of the dire financial situation affecting 30% of their opposition? Considering that the Nuggets are 5-0 with two pairs of back-to-back wins under their belts already and J.R. Smith hasn't even stepped onto the floor yet, it's fair to ask, wonder and dream about what could come of all this. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves until the Nuggets start racking up road wins like this against real NBA teams.

(Speaking of Afflalo, he's clearly getting more comfortable in the Nuggets "system" and I'm perplexed as to why he's not starting yet. Anthony Carter hasn't hurt us through five games, but I'd argue that he hasn't helped much either. With Afflalo kicking off games, at least we'd be playing five-on-five on the defensive end.)

Unlike last season when the Nuggets stepped onto the Izod Center floor and forgot to play basketball altogether, they handled tonight's game (second half anyway) like the pro's they're supposed to be night in and night out.

And we're all better off for it.

Photo courtesy of AP: Mel Evans

Game 5 Preview & Thread: Nuggets at Nets (5:30pm MDT)

2009-11-04T22:15:24Z

The Nuggets return to the scene of their February 7th massacre at the hands of the New Jersey Nets. It's time to exact some revenge.

Prior to February 7th, the Nuggets were on a roll. With Chauncey Billups on board, they hadn't lost a single game to a sub-.500 opponent (home or road), had won 14 of 18 games and were barnstorming their way to a division title and second place in the Western Conference. On Friday, February 6th, the Nuggets walked all over the depleted Wizards 124-103 with the Nuggets starters barely getting a sniff of playing time in the fourth quarter. With their starters rested and the team playing great, a back-to-back walkover was in the works as the Nuggets traveled just a few hours north to New Jersey.

And then this happened; an embarrassing 44-point loss to the lowly Nets.

It was such a shockingly awful game that the Nuggets coaching staff, the players and us fans just wrote it off as an aberration. It was as if the spirit of Dick Motta's 1996-97 Nuggets squad had inhabited the bodies of the 2008-09 edition and jinxed us for the night. Little did we know, however, that that 44-point drubbing would be the harbinger of bad things to come and test the Nuggets resolve in unforeseen ways.

After the Meadowlands Massacre (how's that for a nickname?) the Nuggets rolled off two straight wins over a Miami and Orlando team already checked out for All-Star Weekend and then returned from the All-Star break to knock out the 76ers in Philadelphia by 12. Meaning, the Nets loss was just an aberration after all, right? Not so fast...

Soon after besting the 76ers, the Nuggets succumbed to their first three-game losing streak of the 2008-09 season, losing at Chicago and at Milwaukee (two bad teams) and then punctuating it with inarguably their most pathetic performance of the season, a 38-point home loss to the Celtics who were playing without Kevin Garnett.

As the Jazz and the Trail Blazers suddenly caught up with the Nuggets in the standings, the fans (me first and foremost) pushed the panic button and things only got worse. Yes, the Nuggets beat the Hawks and Lakers just days after the Celtics debacle, but next they would go on lose five of six, including a second three-game losing streak - including a loss to the atrociously bad Kings - just two weeks apart from the first!

Had the Nets loss cursed an otherwise magical season? No. But it did test the Nuggets resolve and character and they responded with their best basketball of the season.

Somehow, some way the Nuggets dug deep and rediscovered what made them special in 2008-09 in the first place. The tough, aggressive defense. The frenetic pace. Getting to the free throw line. The heart. They got their mojo back by rattling off five straight wins against five bad teams - including a 121-96 win against the Nets at Pepsi Center - and would go on to win 14 of their last 16 games (excluding the meaningless "sit down" game at Portland at season's end). And we all know what happened next: the best playoff run in NBA franchise history.

Back to those pesky Nets, if I remember that game you better believe the Nuggets coaches and players do, too. I don't foresee the Nuggets posting a 40-point victory tonight but as bad as last season's Nets team was, this one's worse. Put simply, when Yi Jianlian goes down indefinitely and that's a bad thing for your team, your team sucks.

Nets Stiffs: Yi Jianlin (even before he went down with an injury, he was shooting just 40.6%...which is good for him), Bobby Simmons (getting paid over $10 million this season...and we thought Kenyon Martin's contract was bad).

Nets Non-Stiffs: Chris Douglas-Roberts (further proof that being a winner in college means something, CDR is off to a great start now that he's been getting some playing time), Brook Lopez (averaging over 17 points and almost three blocks per game to start the season), Devin Harris (led the charge against the Nuggets in last season's Meadowlands Massacre).

Go Nuggets!!

Photo courtesy of AP: Jim Mone.

"Big Bertha" stays in the bag...

2009-11-04T17:01:27Z

The Nuggets substantial trade exception - worth about $7.4 million - expired yesterday without so much as a whimper, so you can erase your hopes of a center like Marc Gasol or Jeff Foster wearing a Nuggets uniform anytime soon. Is this a good thing?

Two weeks ago, Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien was quoted as saying "If we get stuck, Big Bertha's coming out", referring to the Nuggets $9.8 million trade exception that the team took back in the Allen Iverson-for-Chauncey Billups trade last November 3rd. At the time, I wrote that the chances of Warkentien using the trade exception to bring back a high-priced, talented big man was beyond slim given that the Nuggets clearly remain in "financial prudence" mode, and that appears to still be the case.

As great as the Nuggets are playing right now - and they are playing great, make no mistake about it - it's indisputable that a legitimate center would help the cause in the long run. Four games into the young season, the Nuggets are a middle-of-the-pack rebounding team (not last in the NBA as Chris Marlowe erroneously reported during last night's Altitude telecast) and the Nuggets power forward-turned-center Nene still struggles a bit against much bigger players, as we saw against a gigantic Stiff like Roy Hibbert last night.

But given how well the Nuggets are playing, I question if such a move is as necessary as I thought it was over the summer when I strongly advocated for the Nuggets to acquire Gasol, Foster or even Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Marcus Camby, and take on the additional luxury tax costs that come with those deals. Yes, that Marcus Camby.

Perhaps the story of this season will be written in praise of continuity over change, but only time will tell. Nuggets head coach George Karl had a great quote during the ESPN telecast of the Trail Blazers game last week when asked about the Nuggets making no big moves over the summer. Karl cleverly retorted that he actually had three new players on board entering the 2009-10 campaign; an MVP candidate in Carmelo Anthony, an All-Star center in Nene and an All-Star shooting guard in J.R. Smith. I loved that quote and there's certainly something to be said about drastic changes that can go awry (see Cavaliers, Cleveland or Trail Blazers, Portland thus far). But it's still a big gamble to assume Nene and J.R. will suddenly evolve into All-Stars and carry the Nuggets to the promised land of an NBA title.

As the season wears on and teams become more financially desperate, a can't-miss-deal could conceivably fall into the Nuggets lap. Moreover, there's a big difference between paying a high-priced big man for an entire season versus a half season, and we can only hope that the Nuggets brass are amenable to pulling the trigger down the road if the opportunity presents itself.

That said, the Nuggets remaining trade exceptions of about $3.2 million (thanks, Chucky Atkins) and $3.7 million (ditto, Steven Hunter) don't give them the wiggle room required to steal Jeff Foster from what's sure to be a cash-strapped Pacers franchise (I mean, did you see how empty that barn in Indiana was last night?...wow) unless two other players are thrown in to make the money work, like Renaldo Balkman and Malik Allen. Not exactly "Pacers material." If only the Nuggets had a white guy getting paid about $3 million right now, a deal for Foster could be a slam dunk. And getting a guy like Gasol? Fuggedaboutit. Even though Memphis is guaranteed to be in dire straits financially, they're still not giving away an 18/10 guy who's paid just $3 million (still very cheap by NBA standards).

So as "Big Bertha" stays in the bag the reality of a season sans a legit center starts settling in. But if Warkentien and the Nuggets brass can somehow swing a deal for a big man with one of those other two trade exceptions, Warkentien just might win a second straight executive of the year award.

Photo courtesy of AP: Jack Dempsey.

Mirror images shine in hazy win (Nuggets/Pacers Recap)

2009-11-04T04:26:47Z

The Nuggets started their six-game road trip with a win, but I think the team got a bit confused along the way. Tomorrow is the second game of the back-to-back set ... not tonight. However, with energy levels down Denver got a much needed boost from Arron Afflalo (15 points) off the bench and Dahntay Jones led the Pacers with 20 points.

The Nuggets have been searching for a scoring threat off the bench not named Ty Lawson and tonight their off-season acquisition came through. Afflalo enjoyed his finest offensive game as a member of the Denver Nuggets ... going 6-10 (60%) from the field including 1-2 from three-point land.

It was great to see Afflalo do some different things on the offensive end. He has not been afraid to shoot the ball, but tonight he expanded his game past the deep ball. Afflalo hit some runners, off the ball jumpers, and drove the the lane effectively.

Denver fans have been waiting for Afflalo to look like an upgrade over former Nugget Dahntay Jones and he did just that against Jones' Pacers. Jones himself looked like an upgrade over his Nuggets version as well going 8-15 from the floor (4-6 from the foul line) and leading the Pacers in scoring. It was nice to see Jones have a good game against his former team, but it was even better seeing Denver get the 111-93 win and to get some of the starters some rest.

The lone Nuggets' starter to log over 31 minutes was Nene (36 minutes), hopefully Denver will have some fresh legs heading to New Jersey for tomorrow night's game. The Nuggets did however suffer a couple key injuries; Chris Andersen left the game in the fourth quarter with a bruised right knee and Joey Graham left the game a few minutes later with a sprained right toe. Not sure yet if the injuries will sideline the two for tomorrow night's contest.

Additional thoughts ...

-Ty Lawson's minutes continue to juggle as he saw just 13 minutes of action. On the season in four games Lawson has played 26, 17, 22, and 13 minutes in each game.

-Carmelo cooled off a little bit tonight going 6-17 from the field (11-14 from the charity stripe) for 25 points. But Melo's knack for getting to the foul line in bunches is paying off and so is his shooting from the line ... Melo is 47-55 on the season on his freebies -- good for 85.4% (career 79.6%). To compare Melo was just 26-31 at the foul line through his first four games last season.

-Renaldo Balkman is the absolute last man off the bench. When Birdman went down in the fourth it was Malik Allen who checked into the game, the only reason Balkman seemed to play was due to Graham's injury. My fear has come true ... Graham has taken the scraps of the leftover minutes I was hoping Balkman would get, as always, I need MORE BALKMAN!

-Nene had a nice double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds (6 offensive), but as we've been seeing ... he played a bit tentatively against the bigger Roy Hibbert. That pattern will have to change quick as 7'0'' 260 pound ultra-aggressive Brook Lopez waits to face Nene tomorrow night with the Nets.

All-in-all it was a nice easy win for Denver, although I was hoping they'd be a bit more crisp and convincing. Perhaps the best part of the game was Scott Hastings post-game interview with Double-A (Afflalo) for Altitude TV ... when this exchange occurred:

Hastings, "I'm gonna (sic) buy you dinner on the airplane tonight."

Afflalo, "You gonna (sic) buy me dinner on the airplane? What's that mean?"

Welcome to the Nuggets Afflalo ... your initiation is complete.

INJURY UPDATE:

The Denver Post has an injury update:

-Billups (sprained left ankle): will play tonight.
-Birdman (right knee contusion): will play tonight.
-Graham (right toe): game time decision

(http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_13707769)

ntimmons73@yahoo.com

Thumbnail image courtesy of Darron Cummings (AP Photos)

Game 4 Preview & Thread: Nuggets at Pacers (5pm MDT)

2009-11-03T13:15:11Z

The Nuggets find themselves at the outset of a six-game, season long, road trip. Things get under way tonight in Indiana where Denver will face an 0-2 Pacers team featuring high scoring star Danny Granger and a couple familiar faces in Dahntay Jones and Earl Watson. Oh, and Denver will have arguably the best player in the NBA going as well ... Carmelo Anthony.

"My game is speaking for myself. They see me out there hustling, diving on the floor for loose balls, playing defense, and they're going to do the same thing." -Carmelo Anthony, Denver Post

The true words of a leader. This is the play and the little talk that I've been waiting to see and hear from Melo for a long time. Just three games into a long season doesn't give us the ample sample size we fans need, but Melo couldn't have started the first three games better.

I don't know what kind of leader Melo will turn out to be, I've never thought of him as being a very vocal guy (but what do I know with my limited access?) ... but I knew that if Melo would lead by example then his teammates would follow. Just as he stated ... style of play is contagious. When you play basketball with guys who shoot the ball every time they touch it ... it forces you to do the same thing so you can get your shots. When you play with guys who are lazy on defense you tend to let up a little bit as well. But when you play with guys who are intense and going 100% ... it forces you to step up your level of play to match your teammates. We are all in for a wild ride and we're going to find out just how far Melo plans on taking us as the season unfolds.

The Nuggets will get a much needed energy boost on this six-game road trip as J.R. Smith will return to action and join the team Tuesday, November 10th in Chicago to face the Bulls. The current road trip will make stops in Indiana (tonight), New Jersey, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago and Milwaukee before returning home to face the Lakers in a nationally televised game on ESPN.

Smith's presence and scoring have been deeply missed by the Nuggets, even though Melo has made every attempt to mask the Nuggets offensive troubles with his brilliant play, and it'll be great to see what Denver can do at full strength. First though, the Nuggets face a Pacers team that can score in bunches, features a lot of movement on the offensive end, and has a legitimate 7'2'' Roy Hibbert patrolling the paint (I'm sure Ty Lawson remembers him).

These two teams are familiar with each other from their preseason games overseas, so there should be little in the way of surprises come tipoff.

Just two games into their season the Pacers identity has been: get the ball to Granger and let him go to work as he's averaging 19 shots per game and leading the team in scoring with 26.5 point per game (ppg). The Pacers second leading scorer, Troy Murphy (13 ppg), is a tough cover for the Nuggets. Last year Murphy averaged 18.5 ppg against Denver and shot 46% from three-point land in two games ... well above his 14.3 ppg average on the season. Murphy can stretch the floor and takes plenty of three-pointers ... sort of like what Raef LaFrentz should have been. Speaking of former Nuggets, Dahntay Jones will face his old teammates and has a new role with the Pacers.

Jones has been coming off the bench for Indiana as former Kansas standout Brandon Rush has earned the starting role at shooting guard. In just two games Jones is averaging 11.5 points on 6-18 shooting (11-11 from the foul line), but he has yet to launch his first three-pointer as a Pacer. In his debut against the Atlanta Hawks Jones played 26 minutes, scored 17 points and pulled down 5 rebounds.

Another couple of interesting players for the Pacers are form of Earl Watson (former Nugget) and Luther Head (who some fans of this site wanted the Nuggets to sign). But the guy I wanted to see, Jeff Foster, will miss the game with a high ankle sprain suffered in the first quarter against the Miami Heat on October 30th. Along with Foster, Mike Dunleavy (knee) and Tyler Hansbrough (right shin) will also miss the game, for those of you keeping track at home that's roughly $17.5 million in inactive payroll ... OUCH. So, Ty Lawson will not get to face his former North Carolina teammate as Hansbrough isn't expected to make his NBA debut until at least the end of the week against the Washington Wizards.

Speaking of Lawson, the quick guard will get a nice matchup as he should see some minutes opposite of 6'0'' 165 pound T.J. Ford. Guarding Ford should be a touch more favorable than facing the likes of 6'6'' wiry framed Rudy Fernandez. Ford has been a bit limited with a hamstring issue, but has played in both games this season averaging just 22 minutes per game.

On paper, Denver wins this game going away. The Pacers haven't played a game since last Friday (Oct. 30) and that could prove to make them rusty or it may provide for adequate rest for a team battling injury bugs already this season. But being at home and being the underdog is motivation enough. This is one of those games that Denver may have snuck up on teams in the past, but the Pacers will be gunning for the Nuggets as they are one of the five teams left in the NBA with an unblemished record.

The Nuggets should exploit the young Hibbert in the middle and try to get him into early foul trouble, which he's prone to. Outside of Hibbert and Murphy the Pacers don't have a lot of height or depth since Hansbrough and Foster are both hurt ... though 6'10'' Solomon Jones will play some meaningful minutes off the bench.

Melo will be tasked with covering Granger and it should be a heck of a matchup. Last year Granger poured 36 points on Denver in the lone game he faced the Nuggets. Melo's improved focus on the defensive end will be put to the test by Granger; this should be a statement game for Melo on the defensive side.

It'll be important for the Nuggets to start the road trip out with a win as this game marks the second set of back-to-backs for the Nuggets. Denver travels to New Jersey after the game for a matchup with the Nets the following night ... the first game is always key as it's always harder to win the second game of a back-to-back.

And as the saying got familiar last season ... In Billups We Trust ... it's Melo who is earning that slogan this season with his inspired play.

Opposition's take: Indy Cornrows

ntimmons73@yahoo.com

Image courtesy of AP Photos, Patrick Semansky

Melo's magnum opus continues... (Nuggets/Grizzlies Recap)

2009-11-02T05:10:10Z

As noted before the season started, when Carmelo Anthony shoots over 50% and gets to the free throw line at least nine times, the Nuggets are tough to beat. But when he shoots 58% from the field and gets to the line 12 times, the Nuggets are unstoppable.

The naysayers will (perhaps rightly) point to the Nuggets atrocious defensive effort tonight, giving up 123 points at home to the normally dormant Memphis Grizzlies. But even though the Nuggets only won by 10 and there were moments in the fourth quarter when the lead got within 10, I never got a sense that the Nuggets were in trouble. The Nuggets 133-123 victory tonight was an up-tempo, many possessions game that the Nuggets seemed to be in control of from the third quarter onward.

And again, when Melo performs as he did tonight, combined with his teammates dishing the ball out to the tune of 36 assists, I don't care what jerseys the opposing team is wearing because the Nuggets are winning that game every time (for the uninitiated, that's a shit load of assists...the Nuggets averaged an NBA sixth best 22.2 apg last season).

While I can appreciate a grueling defensive matchup in the NBA, I've always been an offense-first kind of fan (can you blame me? I grew up in the Doug Moe Era) and I just love watching games like this. High-scoring, lots of passing, lots of running, lots of shots made (the Grizzlies shot 57.8% from the field...and lost!). I'll take a game like this over a Celtics/Cavaliers 92-85 game any day of the week.

Here are some observations from the not-so-cheap seats...

...at this point it should be indisputable that if the Nuggets had Marc Gasol anchoring the center position they'd be the best team in the Western Conference. Gasol, limited by foul trouble, torched the Nuggets for 20 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

...Gasol's fine play and the marginal contribution from Grizzlies rookie Hasheem Thabeet shows us that the Nuggets will continue to struggle against genuine "bigs" as the season goes on. I don't foresee Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien pulling out "Big Bertha" (i.e. the Nuggets $9 million trade exception) before Tuesday's deadline, but if he does it better be for a guy who's over seven feet tall and not named Steven Hunter.

...when Hunter got inserted into the lineup, you could tell the knowledge level of the fans based on who sarcastically cheered him, who enthusiastically cheered him and who sat on their hands (I'll let you guess which fans are which).

...it took an entire half, but it was nice to see Zach Randolph finally remember that he's Zach Randolph; one of the biggest ball hogs in the NBA. I loved the sequence late in the third quarter when he chucked an awful turnaround jump shot despite being double teamed in the corner in front of the Nuggets bench and despite there being 10 seconds on the shot clock. Then, he miraculously got the ball back and chucked it up again. I know the Grizzlies are desperate to sell tickets, but I suspect having Z-Bo and Allen Iverson around can only be bad for their young stars O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay and Gasol.

...when the Grizzlies were playing the Nuggets neck-and-neck throughout the first half, I almost got nervous until I looked over at their bench and realized that the Grizzlies coaching "brain trust" consists of Lionel Hollins, Johnny Davis and Henry Bibby. Hollins and Davis' combined winning percentage as NBA head coaches is .324. That's like having Power Rangers in reverse. What, Bernie Bickerstaff wasn't available? (I just had to, sorry.)

...Ty Lawson is everything that Earl Boykins should have been but never could be. Like Boykins, he's a small, speedy pest that be disruptive to the opposition. But unlike Boykins, he's not desperately trying to be a shooting guard and being disruptive to his own team.

...Joey Graham seems to have supplanted Renaldo Balkman as George Karl's "hustle guy" off the bench. I'm not sure what Renaldo did to get himself so deep into Karl's dog house, or if this is just a matter of the Nuggets having too much talent on the roster. Denver Stiffs needs to investigate.

...Chris Andersen should never be allowed to shoot a jump shot unless there's absolutely no time left on the shot clock. I applied this same rule to Kenyon Martin two seasons ago but it never took.

...Chauncey Billups had a fabulous night. 12 assists against just two turnovers. I swear he gets smarter with every game, and he already starts each game being the smartest player on the floor.

...what more can be said about Carmelo Anthony? In his first three games, he's averaging 37.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 13.7 free throw attempts per game, is shooting well over 50% from the floor and is dishing out just over four assists a game. Wow. I just hope Nuggets fans (including me) keep this early season performance in perspective as this is not normal and can't possibly continue at this torrid pace. Can it?

...having watched Dwyane Wade and LeBron James play recently, kudos to the Nuggets coaching staff and Melo's teammates for making Melo's offensive play on the court come easy to him. It's getting painful watching how hard Wade and LeBron have to work to get points and a lot of that comes down to coaching.

...3-0 before we hit the road. Congrats to the Nuggets on a great start thus far and taking the sting out (a bit) from a tough Broncos loss earlier in the day...

Photo courtesy of AP: David Zalubowski

Game 3 Preview & Thread: Grizzlies at Nuggets (6pm MDT)

2009-11-01T17:32:23Z

It's looking like we won't be getting the reunion game we were hoping for tonight. And no, we're not talking about Steven Hunter's return to the Pepsi Center.

When I divvied up my season tickets a month or so ago, this was one of the key games I had penciled in my column. I really wanted to see Allen Iverson - in theory rejuvenated after a disastrous run with the Pistons and having had his "humble pie" when teams didn't line up to sign him this summer - return to Denver for a spirited fight against his former teammates. But according to Yahoo! Sports, Iverson "will likely miss facing his former team." Our loss.

After a horrid home opening performance in which the Grizzlies mustered just 74 points against the rebuilt Pistons, the Grizzlies showed some life the other night by beating the much improved Raptors 115-107. With or without Iverson, this Grizzlies team has some real offensive firepower in Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, Zach Randolph and even Denver Stiffs' targeted future acquisition for our Nuggets; center Marc Gasol. (I absolutely love the younger Gasol brother, by the way, and he's off to a great start. Had the Nuggets been able to steal Gasol over the summer somehow, we'd be neck-and-neck with the Lakers in the taking of the Western Conference.) The Grizzlies may not defend anyone, but they can score in bunches.

But this game just won't be the same without A.I. When A.I. came back to Denver last time, he led his Pistons to a 93-90 victory in a thrilling, hard fought contest. In that game, A.I. was out-dueled individually by the player he was traded for, Chauncey Billups, but A.I. was able to make some big shots down the stretch after shaking off an awful shooting night in the first half.

Speaking of Hunter, he's actually playing basketball this year. No, really, he is. In the Grizzlies two games thus far, Hunter has combined for two points (1-2 free throw shooting on both nights) and a blocked shot. Ok, so maybe he's not playing basketball this year.

On the Nuggets side of the ledger, it will be interesting to see if the Nuggets can maintain the intensity that we saw in Games 1 and 2 against division rivals Utah and Portland. If A.I. were playing, the Nuggets would undoubtedly have it. But sans A.I., the Grizzlies still shouldn't be treated as a walkover, especially after seeing them dismantle the Raptors on Friday night. Among the many things the Nuggets did great last season was win home games against sub-.500 teams. In fact, the Nuggets didn't lose a single game at Pepsi Center against a sub-.500 team. Assuming the Grizzlies ultimately become a sub-.500 team, it's games like these that you have to put away for the days ahead when you drop games against better opponents.

Maybe A.I. will make a last-minute, surprise appearance tonight, but I wouldn't count on it. It's looking ever more likely that we'll have to wait until April 12th to see A.I. on the Pepsi Center hardwood again. For now, if we want a reunion game we'll have to settle for Steven Hunter.

Nuggets Official Game Notes

Photo courtesy of AP: Lance Murphey

Playoff intensity in Portland (Nuggets/Blazers Recap)

2009-10-30T06:29:03Z

Who would have thought that the second game of an 82 game season would feel like a playoff game? Tonight was a slugfest ... a sloppy one, but with a happy ending for Nuggets fans.

So, in my preview of the game tonight I asked the question, "What's the kid going to do for an encore?" The question was referring to 21 year-old rookie Ty Lawson. What I didn't realize is that I should have directed the question at the 25 year-old kid who the night after pouring in 30 points; followed up that effort with an inspired and determined 41 points on the road ... in Portland ... in the second game of a back-to-back.

Of course I'm referring to the Superstar Carmelo Anthony. Yes, superstar. Melo has scored 71 points in the last two games and his performance tonight at the Rose Garden was nothing short of spectacular. Melo finished the game with the following stat line: 11-21 shooting, 18-19 at the foul line, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 41 points.

The Nuggets were not getting much help from their bench (13 points) or their frontcourt of Nene and Kenyon Martin. The night after the duo combined for 32 points Big Brazil and K-Mart could muster only 13 total points. So, Melo did what he needed to do to put the team on his back in the absense of J.R. Smith.

I've begun reading Bill Simmons' new book and in it he talks about getting to watch the career of Larry Bird play out and how special it was because it took place during Simmons' formative years. Now, I have watched a legend grow before my eyes in John Elway, but for much of the early part of his career I was too young to fully understand what it all meant. Getting to watch the rise of Melo has been something pretty special for us basketball fans trapped in what Jim Armstrong refers to as a dusty old cow town. Games like this one in Portland makes being a fan all the worth while.

I was watching the game alone and was on the edge of my (couch) seat for the entire fourth quarter. I found myself leaping up after questionable calls (there were plenty on both sides), fist pumping after clutch buckets (mainly free throws) and hoping Brandon Roy's last second attempt sailed wide (phew, it did).

I remember feeling that Melo was on the cusp of breaking through as a superstar during the first two games of the Western Conference Finals and I'm beginning to feel that way again ... and it's only game two of an 82 game season. The race for the Northwest division title started tonight and Denver has first blood with their 97-94 win.

What tonight's game meant ...

You don't want to read too much into a early season win, but you could tell that tonight both teams desperately wanted this game. Nate McMillan and George Karl were playing a chess game towards the end of the final period ... subbing offense for defense. Players were diving for loose balls, over acting on fouls, losing their minds on good plays, feeding off the crowd for the Blazers and wanting to silence the crowd for the Nuggets, doing all they could to get to the foul line, and making the extra effort in every aspect of the game. No doubt about it ... this was a early season playoff battle ... the older brother again beat the younger brother (so to speak.)

I hadn't been overly impressed with Brandon Roy until tonight. I have missed most of his big moments and when he's played Denver he hasn't shined like he did tonight. It was fun watching him and Melo battle a little bit. Roy's 30 points more than overcame his 13.8 average against Denver last season. He's a handful to defend and I'm not sure that Arron Afflalo is yet up to that challenge ... neither is Anthony Carter. I feel like I finally understand the buzz about Roy ... sorry I arrived unfashionably late to the party.

Random thoughts during an important road game

1st Quarter:

11:44 mark ... Greg Oden picks up his first of what I hoped would be many fouls as Nene drove the baseline. You never want a seven-footer with shot blocking skills to get into the flow of the game. So far ... so good.
7:43 mark ... Nuggets score their FIRST POINTS OF THE GAME! Too many jumpers and nobody is attacking ... tired legs from the night before? Did the 4:00 a.m. arrival throw the team off?
Um ... can the Nuggets protect the glass? 8-0 offensive boards in favor of Portland. Oden had around four of them and their guards are getting position on K-Mart ... ?!?!
Denver finishes the quarter strong and has a 24-17 lead ... for a while it didn't look like the Nuggets would score double-digits in the quarter, but Melo's hot hand took over and Denver went on a 10-0 run.

2nd Quarter:

Arron Afflalo is wearing white shoes ... why did nobody tell him that Denver goes all-black with the alternative jerseys? Is this a prank? Is Afflalo pulling an opposite of J.R. (who wore black shoes all preseason.)
Ty Lawson is sporting a headband again. He did not wear a headband in college from what I remember... what does this mean?
The Blazers go on a 11-0 run ... is this going to be a game of runs? Is Pepto Bismol a secret sponsor tonight?
6:32 mark ... Greg Oden picks up his 3rd foul ... muhahaha! He's heading to the bench for an extended stay.
It's a good thing that Brandon Roy took up basketball and not boxing. I'm not saying he couldn't be a tremendous boxer, but the bone structure in his face would lead to a lot of easy cuts.
6:03 mark ... Portland is up 32-29 has found thier man to frustrate Melo ... his name: Martell Webster. He just swatted away Melo's dunk and Melo is mad! Hoping Melo doesn't stay frustrated for long. Oh and this Webster kid can ball a little bit.
Melo is committed to the defensive end. Looks like he's gunning to get his name in the MVP talk ... or perhaps he's adopted the hated Al Davis' Just Win Baby persona.
I am looking at Juwan Howard and thinking that he is OLD ... my buddy Mark texts me asking how hold Howard is ... well he was on the Fab-5 team at Michigan that basically invented the baggy shorts look. His teammates there ... Chris Webber (works for TNT and NBATV), Jalen Rose (works for ESPN), Jimmy King (playing ball still in Europe or New Mexico?), Ray Jackson (pretty sure he made me a late night burrito at Illegal Pete's the other night) are all out of basketball. Yes, Howard is old.
The half is over and Denver is down only one (43-42) after playing basically like garbage. The Blazers have taken 51 shots to Denver's 27 ... yes a difference of 24!!!! How is Portland only up by one?!?!

3rd Quarter:

Coming back to start the second half TNT reminds us that Portland is out-rebounding Denver 29-18 and their bench is outscoring Denver's 17-6. Things are not looking good. I could see Portland going on a run and breaking Denver's will ... then again Melo is playing some great basketball and trying to win this thing by himself.
9:40 mark ... Oden picks up his 4th foul and heads back to the bench. I guess the refs are trying to make up for the lack of whistle blowing they missed out on in the preseason. Pryzbilla is in and about a minute after checking in picks up his 4th foul on a great "Kobe-esque" move by Melo ... basically #15 ran into Pryz and acting as if he'd been sideswiped by a bus. About a minute later at the 7:15 mark Pryz picks up his 5th foul. More Juwan Howard please!!!
The Nuggets basically have one scoring option and he used to rock the corn rows. Melo is going to have to win this thing by himself. Melo just pulled down the Nuggets first offensive rebound and BRICKED the dunk. The TNT guys are saying Melo just looked over at them with a look of embarrassment ... don't worry Melo, I was only able to dunk dodge balls in high school.
Denver held Brandon Roy to just 7 points in the first half, but he's erupted with 11 in this quarter ... he just made Melo look all kinds of silly with a sick pull back jumper. Portland is up 58-54, but can't seem to pull away.
2:27 mark ... Roy just buried a three-pointer, Karl just took A.C. out for Afflalo and the game has a feel that it could slip away at any moment ... gut check time for Denver.
Denver goes on a mini 5-0 run thanks to Billups' three and Birdman's 2-2 clutch foul shooting. The camera is zoomed in on Bird and he looks heavy in the face. Am I nuts? Are other people seeing this? Birdman looking sort of like a penguin this year ... no flying!
What's with the three stripes shaved into the back of Roy's head? Anybody know what this is about? I used to put bars in the side of my head. I love the design shaved in the head look ... it started from what I remember with Anthony Mason of the New York Knicks and Ron Artest is trying his best to bring it back. Roy seems on board with this too.
0:57 mark ... Nene fouls his old mentor Juwan Howard. Howard looks like his cialis just kicked in as he celebrates the call. Seeing Howard and Nene out there together gives me chills ... like 17 wins kinds of chills ... go away Howard!
0:45 mark ... Nene goes 1-2 from the foul line ... he's 1-5 tonight from freebie territory and his jumper isn't working tonight. Forgettable game for the big fella thus far.
With seconds remaining Ty Lawson misses a floating runner from the baseline ... Roy is moving with the ball up the sideline and is getting ready to launch a desperation shot ... this shot is going to go in ... the shot goes in ... 67-62 Portland to end the third. Roy with a 28-foot heave ... could this shot be the difference?

4th Quarter:

Does Denver have enough firepower to overcome another 5 point hole? When is Portland going to pull away ... this is a dangerous game by the Blazers ... they can't seem to get a big lead and Denver is doing just enough to stay in this road game.
11:23 mark ... Afflalo is now using a very weird defensive strategy ... he's just hugging his man and drawing fouls!
10:56 mark ... Afflalo fouls Andre Miller. This guy is a fouling machine tonight!
Denver comes into the quarter 23-33 from the foul line ... if these 10 free points come back to haunt the Nuggets it won't be the first time ... 10 misses cost the Nuggets a few playoff games last season ... glad that's back!
10:45 mark ... Juwan Howard committs a loose ball foul and is upset about it. He lips, "That's not a foul!" ... in 2009 everything is a foul!
9:37 mark ... Bird swats Rudy Fernandez's dunk attempt ... Fernandez uses his off-hand to try to push Bird away ... foul on Bird! These refs are just "trrrble" ... both teams growing frustrated with the calls. Portland up 71-68.
7:18 mark ... Rudy Fernandez hits a big three pointer ... 10 points in about two and a half minutes for Rudy. Looking like J.R. Smith out there ... I miss J.R. ... Nuggets need his scoring. Portland is up 81-74 and the Rose Garden is rocking ... can the Blazers put the Nuggets away?
Nuggets go on a mini 4-0 run as Melo and Lawson both hit layups. Lawson is fast ... not sure if he can finish with his left hand, but man ... he's fast.
At the 5:03 mark with Portland leading 85-81 ... the game became crucial with every possession and here is how things played out from that point:
- The Blazers finished the game 1-4 shooting and in six trips to the foul line only converted 7-12 free throw attempts.
- The Nuggets finished the game 3-9 shooting and in five trips to the foul line they converted 9-10 free throws ... Melo going 7-8 out of those 10 attempts.
Denver found a way to win this game--very impressive considering Denver had no business even being in this game.
The play that showed me a lot of maturity and desire to win happened at the 0:12 second mark when Billups missed his 19-footer that would have given Denver a three point lead. Melo had the ball and instead of trying to force something he trusted his teammate to come through for him. We've seen the great players do this throughout their careers ... think Michael Jordan to Steve Kerr. On a night where Melo scored 41 points he was willing to defer to his teammate at the end of the game. If that's not a great sign of a winning attitude I don't know what is.

ntimmons73@yahoo.com

Thumbnail photo courtesy of: Don Ryan AP Photos

Game 2 Preview & Thread: Nuggets at Blazers (8:30pm MDT)

2009-10-29T19:19:19Z

What's the kid going to do for an encore? We'll quickly find out tonight how Ty Lawson, Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the Nuggets respond to their emotional opening night victory over the Utah Jazz. The Nuggets travel to the Rose Garden tonight to face their division rivals, the Portland Trail Blazers, in the Nuggets first back-to-back of the season.

Quick note: Blazers fans are plentiful on the internet ... please ignore any trolls, but feel free to get into some healthy debate and smack talk with opposing fans.

The "Rook" ...

I'm a stat man ... I love to look at numbers ... I don't know what they really mean, but they are always fun to look at. So, how did Ty Lawson's debut compare to the debut of another hearalded Denver rookie (Carmelo Anthony) ... let's see:

	Date	Min	Points	Shooting	Rebounds	Assists	Turnovers
Ty Lawson	10/28/09	26	17	7-13	4	6	1
Carmelo Anthony	10/29/03	29	12	4-15	7	3	3

Sure, Melo's numbers weren't great, but they came against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in a 80-72 win. The common theme here ... both Melo and Lawson helped their teams win the home opener and both guys started their careers a perfect 1-0. The other common thread ... Anthony Carter! A.C. started and played 10 minutes for the defending champs against the Nuggets in Melo's debut (Carter went 0-6 from the floor and had three turnovers ... no wonder he only played five games for the Spurs in the 2003-04 season.)

On the game thread last night I saw a couple of nicknames being discussed for Lawson. The name "Teleport" was being thrown around ... when Lawson enters the game one reader commented that we should call it, "Laying down the Lawson." In the game recap on ESPN they discussed Lawson's childhood nickname "Sparkplug" for his ability to come in and energize his teammates. Lawson commented in the story, "That might come back now."

(Feel free to toss out some nicknames in the game thread tonight ... let's see what sticks as the season wears on ...)

What's definitely coming is a big showdown tonight in Portland. Lawson will learn quickly that the NBA is a "what have you done for me lately?" business. The debut was great, but that was last night ... it's already time to look ahead.

I thought the most important thing for Lawson was getting his confidence going early on. When he first stepped on the floor he looked like he was trying to get rid of the ball as fast as he could. As the game wore on you could see that he was realizing that he belonged on the floor and he began to dominate.

Lawson will not face too many guards this season that he's matched up great with size-wise, but he is a strong kid. When he was covering Jazz shooting guard Ronnie Brewer in the post, Lawson was able to get under Brewer and wasn't allowing him to gain post position. Lawson may not be the biggest dog in the fight, but like the saying goes ... it's about the size of the fight in the dog and Lawson seems to have plenty. Steve Blake, 6'3'' and 175 pounds, and Andre Miller, 6'2'' and 200 pounds, will look to post up Lawson some, especially Miller who is a great posting guard. But Lawson will show us once again that his blinding speed and vision creates just as much of a mismatch.

I can't wait to see what Lawson does for an encore.

The Bigs

I was not overly impressed with the play of the Nuggets big men last night. Outside of Kenyon Martin's 16 points and 11 rebounds (6 offensive boards) I thought Nene and Chris Andersen could have played much better. Nene had a nice game scoring 16 points on 7-11 shooting, but his three misses could have been converted had he been more aggressive attacking the rim. Birdman got off to a slow start and he looks well ... slow. I know Bird was bothered early in the pre-season with a leg injury and that could be why he looked like he bathed in concrete before the game, but Denver will need him tonight against Portland's twin towers and athletic power forward.

Denver must control the boards tonight. In Portland's first game against the Rockets October 27th, they dominated Houston on the glass to a 51-33 advantage. Former number one overall draft pick Greg Oden grabbed 12 rebounds (4 offensive) and collected 5 blocks ... he also turned the ball over 7 times and committed 5 fouls. Denver must find a way to get Oden out of sync and must get a body on him as soon as shots are going up.

The Stars

Denver got 55 points from Melo and Chauncey Billups last night, 30 and 25 respectfully, which accounted for 48% of the scoring load. It'd be nice to see the bench catch a little fire outside of Lawson tonight and score more than a combined 25 points. But the stars are there to shoulder the load ... it'll be interesting to see how Portland decides to defend the Nuggets.

Reading the great work done by Ben Golliver over at Blazers Edge it appears the Blazers are concentrating more on defense this season and did a great job rotating to the ball against the Rockets. Oden commented that he felt like he was part of an energetic and cohesive unit. The Nuggets must get out and run and get themselves some easy buckets to combat against this "newfound" Portland defense.

And speaking of defense ... Brandon Roy didn't enjoy too much success against the Nuggets last season. Roy recorded his second lowest scoring average against the Nuggets with a modest 13.8 points per game last season. The only team he scored worst against was the Boston Celtics, but he played Boston only once and scored 12 points. Roy faced Denver four times and of the eight teams Roy faced four times last season, he put up his worst scoring numbers by far against Denver. To wit, Roy torched the seven other teams for a scoring average of 25.1 points per game (the Spurs and Jazz among them) ... nearly three points above his season average of 22.6 ppg. As Roy goes ... so usually goes the Blazers, it'll be important for Denver to continue to defend Roy well. (But who will get that assignment?)

Final Thoughts ...

It was great getting the first win out of the way early because the Rose Garden is a very difficult place to play in. The Blazers were 34-7 last season at home and are already 1-0 there this season. If Melo continues to play with the fire we saw last night and the team can rally around its star then a early season road win could be in the works ... a win could go a long way towards re-capturing the Northwest division title come April. To paraphrase Billups last season, every game determines playoff seeding.

Opposition's take: Dave at Blazers Edge

ntimmons73@yahoo.com

Welcome to the NBA, Ty Lawson (Nuggets/Jazz Recap)...

2009-10-29T06:08:55Z

I don't know how much you can really deduce from the first two nights of a still young NBA season, but it's already looking like this will be a season of the haves and have nots. And most fortunately for us, the Nuggets are one of the "haves."

There were some ghastly scores in the NBA tonight. Philadelphia got crushed by 14 at Orlando. The Knicks lost by 22 at Miami. The Kings mustered only 89 in Oklahoma City. The Grizzlies put up an unacceptably low 74 points in their home opener to a weak Detroit team. And worst of all, the Bobcats scored just 59 points against the Celtics who were playing the second game of a back-to-back.

The Nuggets opponent - the historically tough Utah Jazz - didn't fare much better than the NBA's other losers tonight as the Nuggets rolled over them 114-105 in front of a very energetic Pepsi Center crowd. (By the way, kudos to the passionate Nuggets fans who braved brutal weather conditions to come out and support the Nuggets in spite of the 8:30pm local start time!)

A few observations from the fan's perspective tonight...

...Starting Anthony Carter beside Chauncey Billups is doomed to failure. Not only was A.C. reckless with the ball on offense, but he might as well have defended Utah's Deron Williams while wearing a Matador's outfit and holding a red cape. It's no coincidence that the Nuggets big second half run came while A.C. was on the bench. I always have and always will defend A.C.'s effort on the floor, but he should be saved for garbage time only given how well Ty Lawson is already playing.

...Which brings us to Ty Lawson, who evidently is a quick learner. When I saw Lawson play in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, I swore he led the league in shots blocked. Clearly, Lawson has worked hard on manipulating his body to avoid getting his shot blocked and has learned a few more things as well in advance of tonight's game. Could he have played any better for a rookie debut? Welcome to the NBA, Ty Lawson!

...Carmelo Anthony is ready to play (and is going to make me look smart for drafting him in the second round of my fantasy league). Remember earlier this week when we pointed out how successful the Nuggets are when Melo takes at least nine free throw attempts, shoots 50% or better and grabs at least nine rebounds (he had eight tonight)? Those numbers are for real as are the Nuggets when Melo plays like he did tonight.

...Approximately 32 minutes per game might be the magic number for Chauncey Billups. When on the floor, Billups looked fresh and focused as evident by his 4-7 shooting from three-point range and having only one turnover.

...You had to love George Karl's beaming expression when Lawson came off the floor to a well-deserved standing ovation. Karl was like a proud father trying desperately not to overpraise his son's performance too early, but just couldn't contain himself.

Speaking of containing ourselves, let's not get too amped up over this first victory. But it certainly feels great seeing the Nuggets taking defense of their division title so seriously in Game 1. Now it's off to Portland where another one of those "haves" team awaits; the well rested Trail Blazers...

Photo courtesy of AP: David Zalubowski.

Game 1 Preview & Thread: Jazz at Nuggets (8:30pm MDT)

2009-10-28T22:41:18Z

Unlike our competitors in Los Angeles who hoisted up their 10th NBA Championship (in Los Angeles, 15th for the franchise) last night, our Nuggets will be hosting up a different type of banner tonight: our franchise's sixth division title. Whee!

I don't mean to make light of the Nuggets accomplishments from last season, but just want to put things in some perspective. The good news is that historically speaking, the Nuggets have played well (4-1) in games where said banner is lifted up to the rafters.

After winning their first Midwest Division title in 1976-77 (also the Nuggets first season in the NBA), the Nuggets crushed the Bucks 133-115 to kick off the 1977-78 campaign. The Nuggets would win a second straight Midwest Division title that season and open the 1978-79 campaign with a 118-117 squeaker of a victory over the Spurs at McNichols Arena.

Moving into the 80s, the Nuggets won the Midwest Division twice again. After besting their division in 1984-85, the Nuggets opened on the road in 1985-86 at Golden State and won, and then came back to McNichols to hoist up their banner and beat the lowly Kings 123-112. And to follow up on their 1987-88 division title, the Nuggets beat the Rockets 120-117 to kick off what became a disappointing 1988-89 season.

The Nuggets lone loss in games where they hoist a division banner came in 2007 when they lost to the Timberwolves at Pepsi Center 112-109. Kevin Garnett torched the Nuggets for 27 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks to spoil Denver's home opener. Garnett seems to have a habit of doing this as evident by his Celtics victory at Cleveland last night.

But pass success and/or futility has no bearing on the immediate future. And tonight, the Nuggets will hoist up that sixth division title banner followed by a grueling 48-minute affair against longtime division rival Utah. The Nuggets opened their 2008-09 season at Utah and lost, but went on to split the season series with the Jazz 2-2. With the Jazz's shooting guard corps decimated by injury (Ronnie Brewer could miss tonight with back spasms, C.J. Miles has a thumb injury and Kyle Korver just underwent knee surgery), I'm looking for the Nuggets to improve their banner-hoisting record to 5-1.

A victory tonight won't come easy, however, as it never does against a Jerry Sloan coached team. And the Jazz looked pretty sharp in the preseason, finishing 5-2 with victories over our Nuggets and division rival Portland. Keep an eye on Jazz rookie Eric Maynor who showed flashes of his talent during the preseason, and could potentially fill in the void left by Miles, Korver and even Brewer if Brewer has to sit out a few games.

It's Opening Night! I can't wait. Go Nuggets!!

Read the Nuggets official game notes here.

The mockery that is the Lakers schedule...

2009-10-28T15:30:03Z

While Nuggets Nation has obsessed over how the Nuggets will stack up against division rivals Portland and Utah, we've overlooked the tragic comedy (for the rest of the Western Conference) that is the Lakers 2009-10 schedule.

Discussed ad naseum on TNT last night was the fact that the Lakers will play 17 of their first 21 games at home, and their four road games are at Oklahoma City, Houston, Denver and Golden State. And those 17 home games? 12 are against teams anticipated to be .500 or worse. In fact, the Lakers toughest home opponent will be the Mavericks or the Jazz. I'm sure Kobe Bryant is quaking in his Nikes with fear right now. TNT analyst Reggie Miller went as far as to say that anything short of a 20-1 start for the Lakers will be shocking. I hate to admit it, but I agree with Reggie.

Pardon my language, but this is a fucking joke.

Before diving into my rant, let the record state that I understand some favoritism is warranted to the NBA's marquee franchises. And perhaps they deserve it for the tickets they sell, the sponsorship they draw and the TV ratings they improve. Frankly, I'm ok with some favoritism thrown their way. But 17 of 21 games to be played at home out of the gate - against sub-par competition no less - is blatant incompetence at best and collusion at worst. Is the NBA this desperate to get the Lakers into the Finals in a bad economy? Are you telling me that in 2009 there's not a software scheduling program available that takes into account arena conflicts and national TV games while also balancing schedules among the 30 NBA teams to be relatively even?

Before you say (as Charles Barkley noted during last night's post-game show) "everybody in the NBA plays the same teams" and "it evens out over 82 games" (my Benedict Arnold Lakers fan of a brother's favorite retort on this now annual topic) let me stop you right there. Yes, we all know that everyone in the NBA plays the same teams. But no, it doesn't even out. When you play certain opponents matters. Even against crappy teams. Try playing in Sacramento on a Saturday on the second of a back-to-back versus a Monday when you've had a full day's rest. It's a completely different game.

Here's why scheduling really matters, though: confidence. Confidence is the biggest X-factor in sports. And while an easy early schedule boosts a teams confidence, a tough early schedule can decimate it for the entire season. We only have to look to our own Denver Broncos as proof of this. A team that was deemed by the "experts" (and yours truly) to win somewhere between four and five games miraculously won its first game at Cincinnati and then had the benefit of two easy games - home against Cleveland and at Oakland - to end up surprisingly being 3-0. Suddenly, whether they were a legit 3-0 or not, the Broncos had the confidence and mentality of a 3-0 team and exhibited it against the Cowboys in Week 4. And they won. And then, entering Week 5 against the favored Patriots the Broncos played like a 4-0 team and won again. By the time Week 6 at San Diego rolled around, the Broncos were exhibiting the confidence of an undefeated team and remain so. It's all about confidence.

So while the 2009-10 Nuggets bear the weight of championship expectations with 13 of their first 23 on the road - including an opening season back-to-back against Utah tonight and then at Portland tomorrow - the Lakers get to work out the kinks with new acquisition Ron Artest from the cozy confines of the Staples Center 17 of 21 times.

And yes, there will be a stretch where the Lakers have to play an inordinate amount of road games to make up for their season-opening home stand. But by then they'll be so far out in front in the Western Conference that they'll play loose and confidently and never skip a beat. Meanwhile, should the Nuggets stumble just a bit as they hit the road continuously in those first two months, so much heat will be on the players and the coach that the rails could come off early. I don't foresee this happening as I believe the Nuggets are mentally stronger than they've ever been, but their schedule is set up for this type of scenario.

Call me a whiner, a homer, an excuse-maker, a loser, etc. All I'm asking for is a fair fight.

Photo courtesy of AP: Chris Carlson.

Denver Stiffs HOF Inductees and T-Shirt Winners Announced!...

2009-10-27T15:56:30Z

On the eve of the Nuggets' 34th NBA season, we present the second induction class into the Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame and announce the winners of our new Denver Stiffs T-shirts!

Revisit the 2008 Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame Induction Class.

First, I want to sincerely apologize for this taking so long as I know a lot of readers have been asking where the results are. We wanted the second annual Hall of Fame induction to coincide with the launch of our new Denver Stiffs T-shirts, and the shirts took a little longer than expected. But they're here at last and a few readers (announced below) will be getting them for participating in our balloting.

That said, let's announce the results...

FORWARDS

Bill Hanzlik (67 votes) and Ryan Bowen (50)
Others receiving votes: Rodney White (49), Mark Randall (23), James Earl Ray (13), Joe Kopicki (5)
Analysis: Unsurprisingly, Hanzlik dominated the forward balloting and will join Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Joe Wolf at the forward position in the Denver Stiffs HOF. Hanz's bust is being sculpted now, complete with a large mustache and shaggy hairdo. Bowen, on the other hand, barely edged out Rodney White for inclusion. I suspect Bowen made it in because he's more relevant to today's fans than White was. Others receiving votes were Randall, Ray and Kopicki, each of whom I'm confident will find their way into the Hall some day, even if they're not first-ballot caliber.

CENTER

Danny Schayes (68)
Others receiving votes: Dave Robisch (26), Anthony Cook (10)
Write-ins: Steven Hunter (5), Marcus Camby (2)
Analysis: Unlike last year when Scott Hastings squeaked by Blair Rasmussen, Schayes - the leading write-in vote getter last year - ran away with the balloting and never looked back. And frankly, I'm glad Schayes made it in. A Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame without Danny Schayes is not a true Hall of Fame.

GUARDS

Julius Hodge (66) and Junior Harrington (51)
Others receiving votes: Vincent Yarbrough (48), Rob Williams (22), Howard Carter (8), Eddie Hughes (7)
Write-ins: DerMarr Johnson (3), Earl Boykins (2), Anthony Carter (1)

Analysis: Gee, I wonder which Denver Stiffs reader wrote-in Anthony Carter on his ballot? For the guard spot, Julius Hodge was the clear favorite among the voters whereas Junior Harrington and Vincent Yarbrough - teammates on that memorable 17-win 2002-03 Nuggets team - seemed to alternate receiving votes, with Harrington edging out Yarbrough by less than a handful of votes. It was nice to see DerMarr Johnson get a few write-in votes, as well. This will ensure his inclusion on future Denver Stiffs HOF ballots.

And there you have it. Please join me in welcoming the esteemed 2009 induction class into the Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame. Here's how the Hall is shaping up so far...

FORWARDS

Tony Battie (inducted 2008)
Ryan Bowen (2009)
Bill Hanzlik (2009)
Nikoloz Tskitishvili (2008)
Joe Wolf (2008)

CENTERS

Scott Hastings (2008)
Danny Schayes (2009)

GUARDS

Tariq Abdul-Wahad (2008)
Junior Harrington (2009)
Julius Hodge (2009)
Mark Macon (2008)

And now to the prize giveaway! Just in time for the 2009-10 Denver Nuggets season, we're launching a few Denver Stiffs T-shirts featuring the site's logo. You can see the three T-shirts here, designed by my good friend Tobin Jones over at Crock Tees.

The winners are Denver Stiffs readers LACK, nohoops4u and JoelsOpinion. Each of you guys will be contacted so you can pick out which T-shirt you want. Congratulations!

That's enough looking into the past for now. Let's look to the future as a brand new Nuggets season starts tomorrow! As always......GO NUGGETS!!

Enemy at the gates...

2009-10-26T18:08:20Z

The Kamenetzky Brothers of the L.A. Times' Lakers Blog picked my brain on the upcoming Nuggets season in a Question & Answer format. Click here to give it a read and follow the jump for a snipet.

2) On the flip side, Chauncey ain't getting any younger and lost some steam as the postseason continued (especially against the Lakers). He's obviously still good, but perhaps a decline is in the works. Do you see him still being able to provide what the Nuggets need at a high level, particularly with nobody ideal to siphon his minutes?

        It always amuses me to talk about a guy being on the decline at 33 years-old from a "real world" perspective… Makes me worried to get that old! Yes, Billups did seem to tire as the Lakers series wore on and Denver needed him on the floor to remain competitive. A lot of the focus in Denver this offseason, especially on our blog, has been about Billups’ backup. Sometimes it seems that the fans have forgotten that Billups is even on the team with all the talk centering around Anthony Carter, 34, and Lawson.

        There is no secret why the Nuggets traded up into the first round to select Lawson (18th overall). This team needed a young and energetic point guard to groom for the future and to hopefully play some now. A.C. recently told the Denver Post that Karl promised him his minutes (22.9 mpg last season) would not be cut by the arrival of Lawson, but if that is the case there may be a riot at the Pepsi Center at some point this season. Lawson has looked impressive in limited preseason duty thus far and the fans feel the only thing standing between him and the backup point guard position is Karl’s false sense of A.C. as his security blanket.

        But back to Billups. He averaged 35.3 minutes per game with the Nuggets during the regular season and 38.8 mpg in the playoffs. It’d be ideal to see his workload lightened during the season because come playoff time, he’s going to have to shoulder the load at point guard once again. No doubt in my mind, Billups must be on the floor as he still gives Denver its most potent lineup.

Photo courtesy of: Denis Poroy of AP Photos.

It's your turn, Melo...

2009-10-25T22:25:35Z

There's only one path to an NBA Championship for our Denver Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony must play like a superstar every night.

Fair or not, the consequences of the Nuggets brass making the necessary moves over the summer to keep their Western Conference Finals team in-tact without breaking the bank means that to top last season's stellar performance - i.e. reach the NBA Finals - an upgrade in play must come from within.

And news to Nuggets fans: that upgrade isn't coming from Kenyon Martin, who will never live up to his max contract. Nor will it come from Chauncey Billups, who will age gracefully but age nonetheless. Nor from Chris Andersen, who we just hope will replicate his remarkable 2008-09 season even after receiving a comfortable contract. Nor will Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Carter and Johan Petro - whose collective effort is always sincerely appreciated - magically turn into anything better than the solid role players that they are.

I do foresee Nene playing better, but not turning into the 20/10 player he could be if he was stationed permanently at his natural position of power forward. And J.R. Smith should continue to improve even after serving a seven-game suspension, but he'll still be coming off the bench, will have minutes eaten into by Arron Afflalo and won't be appearing in Dallas in mid-February at the All-Star Game (maybe just the dunk contest).

And, as mentioned above, those fine new acquisitions - Afflalo, Ty Lawson, Malik Allen and Joey Graham - are solid enough to keep the Nuggets among the Western Conference's best.

But to be the Western Conference's best? That's up to Carmelo Anthony.

Simply put, when Melo is at his best the Nuggets might be the best. In Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers, Melo racked up 39 and 34 points, respectively, and shot a combined 22 free throw attempts. Moreover, Melo played the closest thing to "lock down defense" that we've ever seen from him and in Game 2 in particular had several crucial offensive rebounds. Had Nuggets head coach George Karl not foolishly decided to insert Anthony Carter on Game 1's final inbounds play and/or gotten the ball to Melo more in the final minutes of both Game 1 and 2 (near the end of both games, Melo inexcusably didn't have a field goal attempt), the Nuggets leave Los Angeles up 2-0.

But the next four games told a different story regarding Melo's performance. From Games 3 through 6, Melo shot an atrocious 32% and looked visibly sluggish. He got to the free throw line quite a bit, but his defensive effort lapsed and he had only two (two?!) offensive rebounds in those remaining four games. It was as if Melo had exerted all his effort through Game 2 and had nothing left in the tank. This poor performance allowed the Lakers to steal Game 3, lay down and rest up in Game 4, and then wallop the Nuggets in Games 5 and 6 to take the series 4-2.

Momentarily forgetting Melo's performance in those last four games, the Nuggets star player had a sensational playoff run. Prior to Game 3 of the WCF, Carmelo Anthony unloaded on his opponents for 28.6 ppg, shot well over 50% from the field and routinely got to the free throw line. Coincidentally, the Nuggets were 9-3 in those games. And the numbers don't tell the whole story. Melo didn't exactly pull a George Gervin (i.e. scoring most of his points through quarters one and three), but rather made big shots at the end of the shot clock, at the end of quarters and at the end of games. Just ask former Maverick Antoine "I fouled him, no I didn't, yes I did!" Wright.

Whether he likes it or not, Melo showed us just how good he - and therefore, the Nuggets - can be. Frankly, had the Lakers not acquired Ron Artest, the Spurs not acquired Richard Jefferson and the NBA not screwed the Nuggets with the worst schedule in recent memory, Melo could replicate last season's performance and the Nuggets would be one of the favorites to appear in the NBA Finals. But that's not reality. And thus, if the Nuggets are to reach the Finals for the first time in their NBA franchise history, replication from Melo isn't going to cut it. We've been teased, and now we want the real thing for an entire season.

We need the WCF Games 1 and 2 version of Melo for 82 games plus the playoffs. There will still be those 4-of-15 shooting nights here and there and inexcusable efforts where Melo only gets to the free throw line a handful of times. But over the course of the season, we need Melo filling it up much more so than he did last season. Consider these numbers from 2008-09...

...when Carmelo Anthony shot over 50% from the field, the Nuggets were 22-5.

...when Melo attempted at least nine free throws, the Nuggets were 20-7.

...when Melo grabbed at least nine rebounds, the Nuggets were 22-5.

These numbers aren't accidental and they paint a very clear picture: when Melo is smart and aggressive, the Nuggets win almost 75% of their games. This doesn't mean that if Melo racked up 29 ppg, nine rpg, shot 50% from the field and took at least nine free throws per game the Nuggets would win over 60 games. But I bet if Melo was able to put up these types of numbers, the Nuggets could repeat or exceed last season's 54-win total, repeat as Northwest Division Champions and be in position to exact revenge on the Lakers in the conference finals. From there, Melo would have to step up even more and put on a performance a la Paul Pierce from the 2008 playoffs to lead the Nuggets to the promised land.

In spite of the formidable opposition out West and the brutal schedule, Melo has the experience, the talent and enough quality players around him to take the Nuggets all the way. And if what we've seen from Melo in the preseason thus far is any indication, he's going to have a huge season. Perhaps his best ever. But anything short of that, and Denver Stiffs' prediction of a fourth-seed finish for the Nuggets comes true.

It's your turn, Melo.

2009-10 Nuggets Preview: Predictions and expectations...

2009-10-23T18:16:04Z

Denver Stiffs takes a close look at what the "experts" foresee for our Nuggets, makes some predictions of our own and sets the table for what's expected by the end of 2009-10.

As if you didn't think I was a big enough loser yet, I'm going to share with you a story from my childhood. When I was a kid, I'd conduct an annual exercise around this time year. I'd have my mother drive me to a few newsstands where I'd buy every possible NBA Preview magazine: Sports Illustrated, Sport magazine (now defunct), Inside Sports (also defunct), Street & Smith's (now owned by Sporting News), Sporting News, Petersen's, Lindy's and even gambling guru Jim Feist's annual NBA Preview. I'd also keep the Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News and USA Today's annual NBA Previews handy, typically written by Mike Monroe, Dave Krieger and David Dupree, respectively.

Once I collected all the magazines and newspapers, I'd create a spreadsheet by hand - I'm 34 years old, so there was no internet or even Microsoft Excel when I was kid - listing all the teams on the X-axis and all the "experts" names on the Y-axis. Then, in the spreadsheet boxes I'd write down the order that the teams were predicted to finish in by number per conference and average them out, thinking this would somehow predict how the Nuggets and the rest of the NBA would finish each season.

Yes, I was a dork and yes, I had way too much time on my hands.

In hindsight, this was a ridiculous exercise because back in the day these magazines had to be printed for distribution so early, that they would often miss key roster moves over the summer. For example, in the summer of 1993 many of these magazines still had Michael Jordan playing for the Bulls, rendering their predictions and forecasts worthless entering the 1993-94 season. Can you imagine reading an NBA Preview today that didn't have Shaquille O'Neal on the Cavaliers? That's what it was like back then. But hey, I was (and still am) an NBA degenerate, and just couldn't help myself.

Had I done this exercise last year, the Nuggets would have averaged just over a nine. Meaning, every so-called NBA "expert" had the Nuggets finished 9th and in some cases 10th in the Western Conference by the end of the 2008-09 season. I (not so boldly) predicted the Nuggets to finish 8th and very much like this year's Rockies and Broncos, last seasons Nuggets proved everyone - including me - completely wrong by finishing second. Seven spots ahead of what the "experts" collectively predicted. And thus, 2009-10 was deemed an incredibly successful season as it obliterated the expectations, which brings me to my next point.

As silly as this exercise might seem, this is how expectations are set, for better or for worse, by the media, fans and organizations. Jobs are kept and lost based on these expectations.

If you remember a while back, I had written a detailed column on what determines a good coaching job and it all came down to expectations. My thesis was simple: a "good" or "bad" coaching job is determined based on whether or not a coach's team exceeds, meets or does worse than what was expected of them entering the season (assuming the team is relatively healthy and management doesn't sandbag the coach by carving up the roster to save money). Hence why I thought George Karl did a great job last season - remember, they far exceeded what was expected of them - and a poor job the season before when the Nuggets were expected to finish second, third or fourth and instead plummeted to eighth in the conference.

So what's expected of our Nuggets in 2009-10? The fans seem to be expecting something between a repeat Northwest Division Title and Western Conference Finals appearance and a second place division finish and a second round playoff loss. When you see Nate and my rankings below, we represent the spectrum of fan with some accuracy, I believe.

But unlike the fans, entering 2009-10 the "experts" are much more mixed on the fate of the Nuggets. I'm seeing them ranked everywhere from second to (egads!) eighth in the Western Conference. But certainly no one is pegging them for 2010 NBA Champions. Here's a rundown of where the "experts" are predicting our Nuggets to finish...

2nd in Western Conference

Bethlehem Shoals, Sporting News
Travis Heath, HoopsWorld

3rd in Western Conference

Jemele Hill, ESPN.com
Chris Sheridan, ESPN.com
Mark Stein, ESPN.com
John Galinsky, FoxSports.com
Inside Hoops Preseason Power Rankings

4th in Western Conference

J.A. Adande, ESPN.com
Jon Barry, ESPN
Chris Broussard, ESPN Magazine
John Hollinger, ESPN.com
Jalen Rose, ESPN
David Thorpe, ESPN.com

5th in Western Conference

Chad Ford, ESPN.com
The Baseline, Sporting News

6th in Western Conference

Ian Thomsen, Sports Illustrated

8th in Western Conference

Bill Simmons, ESPN.com

It should also be noted that Chris Colston and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com and Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports Ball Don't Lie have the Nuggets finishing second to Portland in the Northwest Division, but don't seem to have made conference predictions yet. And AOL Fanhouse's Chris Tomasson previewed the Nuggets without making a prediction for where they'd finish.

Here are Nate and my 2009-10 predictions for the Western Conference...

Nate's Picks

1.) Los Angeles Lakers
2.) Denver Nuggets
3.) Portland Trail Blazers
4.) San Antonio Spurs
5.) Utah Jazz
6.) Dallas Mavericks
7.) Los Angeles Clippers
8.) Phoenix Suns
9.) New Orleans Hornets
10.) Oklahoma City Thunder
11.) Houston Rockets
12.) Memphis Grizzlies
13.) Golden State Warriors
14.) Minnesota Timberwolves
15.) Sacramento Kings

Andrew's Picks

1.) Los Angeles Lakers
2.) San Antonio Spurs
3.) Portland Trail Blazers
4.) Denver Nuggets
5.) Dallas Mavericks
6.) Utah Jazz
7.) New Orleans Hornets
8.) Los Angeles Clippers
9.) Phoenix Suns
10.) Oklahoma City Thunder
11.) Memphis Grizzlies
12.) Houston Rockets
13.) Golden State Warriors
14.) Minnesota Timberwolves
15.) Sacramento Kings

So there you have it. Between the "experts", Nate's and my predictions and what I've read in the comments on this site leading up to the new season, I think it's fair to say that the Nuggets are expected to finish at least fourth, if not third, in the Western Conference in 2009-10. Finishing fourth also means that at least one playoff series win is expected and hopefully two (i.e. another Western Conference Finals appearance). Anything worse than fourth and a playoff series win will deem the season to be a disappointment, and if the Nuggets somehow (oh please, hope, hope, hope) make it to the NBA Finals, then they'll have greatly exceeded everyone's expectations for the second season in a row.

I can't wait for the season to begin. Go Nuggets!!

Photo courtesy Francis Specker, AP

Preseason Game Thread: Nuggets at Lakers (8:30pm MDT)

2009-10-24T02:00:20Z

The Nuggets wrap up the preseason tonight in a rematch with the Lakers. George Karl had this to say in the Denver Post today about last night's game: "I thought our defense was pretty first-class for most of the game," Karl said. "And I thought our offense stunk." The regulars should see reduced minutes tonight and Karl plans on playing J.R. Smith a lot (it'll be the last we see of Smith for a while.) The game will be in my second favorite city, San Diego, as the Nuggets wrap up their California Tour.