Denver Nuggets....Championship contender?
they pushed the Lakers harder then anyone last post season. If Smith steps up his game and consistency, then they could contend for a title. Afflalo and Lawson should help the backcourt. Nene and Birdman are still getting better. And Melo and Billups are still all-stars. I would'nt put them as favorites by any means, but they are definitely in the conversation. But I doubt they are gona do much to improve their roster at this point.
He is decent against smaller more perimeter oriented bigs like Dirk. But when you put a true big man with low post skills like Duncan or Gasol against him, he does'nt have much going for him. And his offense is poor. It will be a bright day in Denver when his contract comes off the books.
Look I think Denver isn't as good as they were last year. They will take a step back.
They added: Afflalo, Lawson, Malik Allen
They lost: Dahntay Jones, Sonny Weems, Kleiza, & maybe Anthony Carter
Plus factor in Billups & Kenyon getting a little older.
Lawson will be able to replace Kleiza and I doubt he'll get much playing time behinds Billups unless Carter is gone for sure and even then it won't be too much. Dahntay Jones is also better then Affallo besides Shooting...and even then it isn't too great of an advantage. They didn't get worse by much, but I wouldn't say they improved unless you count a year together and experience built up upgrading.
to gatorheels-I think Afflalo and Lawson will be better then Jones and Carter. Kleiza really hurts, but if Smith and Nene can pick up their games, then the team might improve slightly.
to Rubio- Rockets took lakers to 7, but the lakers were coasting because they knew they were the better team. The last 2 laker home wins in games 5 and 7 were both end to end blow outs. The Lakers were never in danger of losing that series, and everyone knew the Lakers allowed it to go 7 much more then the Rockets pushed it to 7. Denver on the other hand outplayed the Lakers through the first 4 games. If they could have inbounded a basketball, then who knows what could have happened. Kobe Brynat and the Lakers played by far their two best games of the entire post season in games 5 and 6 because they knew if it went to a game 7 anything could happen against an explosive and confident Denver team.
I'm back. Gatorheels??? "No way this team has a chance at the title."
Come on now, as I've been saying on this site for months now, Denver needed a backup point guard and a big man/bruiser. They drafted Ty Lawson, who I don't care for much, but he's a good point guard to come off the bench for Billups. The Nuggets' problem is that they need another big, bang body like Nene. Birdman is a great high-energy guy, but's he's a little slim. K-Mart ($98 mil) is 6'7 3/4 for those of you who remember is official draft measurments. Although K-Mart is the enfocer and he intimidates people. Denver needs a 7 footer (not Steven Hunter) who can push players around in the paint. A perfit fit would be Eddy Curry at $10mil per. It would never work but in a hypetheical senario: Don't let Curry shoot the ball, but rebound and push players down when they driver to the basket.
Dhamp...the greatest basketball mind in the world. Next to Hubie Brown anyway.
How is Lawson & Afflalo going to be better than Jones & Carter? plus losing Kleiza. I'm sorry but there is no possible way this team got better. If they couldn't win it last year then no way in he** they can win it this year. Nuggets get worse, Lakers get better, Spurs get a lot better, Blazers get better. Cmon people wake up
Afflalo and Lawson are both better offensive players then Carter or Jones. Also, Lawson can push it in transiion better then Carter, and Afflalo is just about Jone's equal on defense. Besides, team improvement is'nt just about roster changes. They should grow from their run to the confrence Finals together. And like I said, Smith, Birdman, Melo, and Nene are all still at a point in their careers where they should only get better. Losing Klieza hurts, but if 3-4 other key players tep up their games, then why does that mean they automatically get worse? And no need to tell people to wake up because they don't agree with you.
Good Points, that team isn't contending with the Lakers and Spurs for sure...maybe Portland, but I still think Portland beats them out. So I guess you do call the experience built up and a year together as an upgrade to the team. I just don't think you can count on so many players stepping up all at one time
Illperez, yeah I said Eddy Curry. It would never work, but in a hypethetical situation, Curry was never a high rebounder because he focused on scoring. I guarantee, I curry wanted to lead the league in rebounding he could. Heck, he could box out D Howard.
Anyway, I can also care less for Afalo. Melo will lead the NBA in scoring and Smith will start, so that will offset Linas and his offense. Yeah, the bench takes a hit, but we have a lot of scoring power. Nene will get more shots and he led the league in filed goal percentage.
Bottom line. The Nuggets are 1 bigman trade a way from seriously challenging the Lakers.
Ok, I've already gone on the record to say the Lakers will win the next 2 championships, but the question is title contenders, which the Nuggets are.
Dhamp.....Hubie Brown
I don't think Lawson is going to score much as a rookie. Also Afflalo scored the same amount of points as Jones last year in the same amount of playing time. Sure Afflalo shoots better but I don't see a real offensive upgrade that is going to improve the team. Jones is more experienced is a better defender. Afflalo isn't ready to step up & guard Kobe like Jones tried to do in the playoffs ha. Also Anthony Carter was a descent backup who didn't make mistakes. Having a backup rookie PG in the playoffs is shaky.
i think losing lina kleiza is a pretty big loss to the nuggets. they had jr smith and kleiza coming off the bench last year. now they have virtually nuthing coming off the bench now that jr is sliding into the starting lineup. i think their chances have been hurt considerably
I think Afflalo and Lawson should cancel out the departures of Carter Jones. JOnes has never been anything special in this league, and since when did Carter become a top notch 6th man. Lawson might not be ready, but I don't think he's gonna be any worse then Carter. And Afflalo migh thave scored the same as Jones, but he is better offensively hands down. He just needs to be given an opportunity to play more consistent minutes. Plus he did'nt have th ebenefit of playing with all-stars who draw attention last year like Jones did.
And like I said, if other players, specifically Smith, step up their games, then how can you be so certain that the Nuggets will be a worse team?
You're right QHayes (formely Knicksboy). Wait and see. The Nuggets like the make major trades early in the season such as Andre Miller being traded for Iverson and Iverson being traded for Billups. It's what George Karl had become known for in Denver. After 10 games, look for the Nuggets to trade for a big man. lol.
Dhamp...the greatest basketball mind in the world. Next to Hubie Brown anyway.
Whoever said the Blazers will beat the Nuggets in the playoffs is crazy. Melo without Iverson will shoot a high percentage and lead the league in scoring. He'll bury Portland like he did the Mavericks and New Orleans.
Dhamp...the greatest basketball mind in the world. Next to Hubie Brown anyway.
How about Kenyon Martin's very attractive expiring contract. Don't quote me, but i think it's up. Either that or go over the luxury tax. Why not, the team is built for right now.
Dhamp...the greatest basketball mind in the world. Next to Hubie Brown anyway.
my team jordan guy said they wanted B.Bass but he wasn't going to sign because in the east he can make more of a personal impact on his future with the magic. He was they player they needed
Also they could get Leon Powe and wait for him
I disagree. They would be signed for the minimum. Both guys would be good depth. The Nuggets bench is pretty bad. Nuggets have Birdman & Malik Allen as backups in the post...thats it. I think they could use Hendrix. Coby Karl is a very smart player.
Losing Kleiza is big for the Nuggets. when he was shooting well and showing off his whole offensive game he was one of the team's best scorers. While he could be very inconsistent he showed up during big moments in the playoffs. Over in Europe he will be payed like one of the best players and if his scoring continues he will be one of the best players. He will be playing for the Greek team Olympiacos which is one of the richest and most successful teams in Europe and he will be playing with Josh Childress.
-Slam
If JR Smith Improved and with a full year of Billups they should be better but with all the other team getting better it may not matter. Malik Allen will help at Depth and they got Birdman back. They may pick up some cheap big men because there are still some available. Ty Lawson would be better served getting Carter's minutes but I dont see him starting because if Denver has a chance to get a better point guard in next year draft they will. I think Denver improved but the West improved more so they will be better but will not look as good as last year because they did not improve with the other teams. Dallas and Spurs has overtaken them. Dallas has actually the jury is still out on the spurs because their age and health is a big deal now that they are old.
ah... what made them so good last year was chauncey billups and a newfound interest in defense.... I personally think they'll be fine with an 8man rotation of billups-smith-melo-Kmart-Nene and then Bird-Afflalo-Lawson off the bench, I could even see them starting Afflalo like they did with Jones last year and just having JR come off the bench to provide the bench spark!
I was looking at team rosters when I saw the Denver Nuggets. I like the roster but I think they should add a big man. If they can add a big man to be in the rotation with Anderson, NeNe and Martin they can be a real good Championship Contender....what so you think?
Some players to consider- Troy Murphy, Tyson Chandler, David Lee, Al Harrington, Amare Stoudemire, Brad Miller etc.