Denver Nuggets - The Next Level [Game 3 + 4]

[megarover]

Well you sure do know how to steal the ball. 3 guys is pretty impressives. How much points does Lebron average and how many rebounds for Biendris u seemed to have left it out.

[Andrew]

The fact that Gordon rhymes with the great man would also prove to be a major temptation to make him a superstar

That too.

Surely, Smith has the MVP locked up at this point. Nice work getting Melo into the discussion too with him coming alive after the slow start. Looking at the rest of the West, I don't think you're going to run into much resistance on the way to the Finals. Looking at the East, I don't think you're going to be denied by whoever makes it through either.

[Alpha_]

wew.. too much J.R. Smith...

[Kenny]

Well you sure do know how to steal the ball. 3 guys is pretty impressives. How much points does Lebron average and how many rebounds for Biendris u seemed to have left it out.

LeBron averages the same as Durant and Biedrins averages the same as Horford. I use the / to symbolise that they're in a tie with another player.

The fact that Gordon rhymes with the great man would also prove to be a major temptation to make him a superstar

That too.

Surely, Smith has the MVP locked up at this point. Nice work getting Melo into the discussion too with him coming alive after the slow start. Looking at the rest of the West, I don't think you're going to run into much resistance on the way to the Finals. Looking at the East, I don't think you're going to be denied by whoever makes it through either.

I'm hoping to get through the playoffs rather unscathed, but you just never know... I have a tendency of getting taken to 7.

wew.. too much J.R. Smith...

Get used to it, Earl is going to be everywhere in this dynasty haha

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Just a heads up guys, this dynasty will be inactive atleast until Tuesday the 15th of June... I'm going off to Melbourne for a week, hence I won't get to my PS3. If you feel the need to comment on anything though, I'll still be browsing the forums on my iPhone.

Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to plug my NBA 2k10 My Player story. Young23 - A True Underdog Story is a bit of a vanity project since the player is based on myself. All the characteristics are fairly accurate, except I gave myself an extra inch in height (I'm 6'4 IRL). This dynasty will still be running, but for when I can't get to my PS3, I'll be updating my player.

[Andrew]

Enjoy your trip! I'm heading down to Canberra tonight for a friend's birthday bash and won't be back until next Tuesday myself, so while I'll have Internet access while I'm down there the timing works for me.

[Kenny]

Enjoy your trip! I'm heading down to Canberra tonight for a friend's birthday bash and won't be back until next Tuesday myself, so while I'll have Internet access while I'm down there the timing works for me.

Looks like we're both suckers for punishment when it comes to cold weather

[Andrew]

No doubt. Apparently it's -3 in Canberra today. Newcastle's been pretty cold as of late so Canberra's going to be brutal, but I'd hate to be coming from Queensland into those temperatures!

[Kenny]

No doubt. Apparently it's -3 in Canberra today. Newcastle's been pretty cold as of late so Canberra's going to be brutal, but I'd hate to be coming from Queensland into those temperatures!

I got off the plane in Melbourne and I was like "these guys are pussies, it's not that cold!"

...and then I walked down Swanston street on the way to the Strung Out gig... holy crap, I was hurting

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

While this 5 game round went 4-1, there was disappointment after the Nuggets went down to the Boston Celtics in a thriller. Denver's shot at 72-10 will go begging for atleast this year. It would also be only Denver's 3rd loss of the year at home.

But apart from that one loss, Denver were pretty comfortable for the most part, with the only exception being a close game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nuggets managed to get past them despite superstar point guard Chris Paul scoring 53 against them. The feature game is against Portland this time around:

Denver keep streak going in against Portland



The Denver Nuggets once again were triumphant at home, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 84-75, led by a red hot Carmelo Anthony who scored 33 points. J.R. Smith played an unfamiliar supporting role, scoring 20 points, while Taylor MacKenzie scored 10 in the 4th quarter. For Portland, the usual suspect Brandon Roy was their best player, scoring 20 points and dishing off 7 assists. Centre Josh Boone would prove to be key for Portland as well, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Dakota Barry chipped in with 10, but it was all about Melo and J.R. Smith in this game.

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POR@DEN

DEN: 84 (Anthony 33, Smith 20, MacKenzie 10)
POR: 75 (Roy 20, Boone 16, Barry 10)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Carmelo Anthony 33 points 3 rebounds 3 assists

Rebounds

DEN: Hill 13
POR: Boone 10

Assists

DEN: Billups 9
POR: Roy 7

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Last 5 Games

MIN: 83-74 W
POR: 84-75 W
BOS: 94-91 L
NJN: 81-72 W
PHI: 100-97 W

Denver are now 64-11

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Dynamic Duo

The bulk of Denver's scoring consistently comes from Melo and J.R. This round, both have been getting it done. Melo has in fact gotten more points than Smith in the first three games of this round. Here are their scoring numbers together

Anthony/Smith points

MIN: 32/23
POR: 33/20
BOS: 30/29
NJN: 22/23
PHI: 15/29

At the moment it looks like the only person who could possibly cost Smith his MVP award could be Carmelo Anthony.

Productive

After his initial boom, Jordan Hill went a bit quiet. This round of 5 games was quite productive though. He has seen more minutes and he's getting better numbers. Not only did he get 13 rebounds against the Blazers, but in the game against the Nets he had 12 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. He still remains to be an important piece to the Nuggets' championship puzzle.

Activated Centre

Denver activated big man Sam Conners against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After freakishly avoiding being waived, Conners unfortunately didn't prove much in this game. He had 4 points and 1 assist. He's still a bit slow for the NBA level.

Activated Swingman

After spending most of the year on IR, Basil Richter was given a chance to shine in the 4th quarter against the Sixers. He had 8 points, 1 rebound and 1 block. He looked exciting on the fast break. He took a number of bad shots, but there could be a future with him in the squad. He was apart of the deal that saw J.R. Smith return to Denver.

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Next 5 Games

LAC
PHX
UTA
@ATL
@ORL

The feature game will be against the league's second best LA Clippers.

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Well, the games are getting closer towards the end of the year. I dunno if the AI has picked it up or whether it's rust due to NBA 2k10.

7 games to go til the playoffs!

[Andrew]

I got off the plane in Melbourne and I was like "these guys are pussies, it's not that cold!"

...and then I walked down Swanston street on the way to the Strung Out gig... holy crap, I was hurting

Yeah, I generally wear shorts throughout Winter (except when I'm going out at night) and planned to do the same down there. Gave up on that pretty quickly.

Shame you'll fall short of 72-10 but you've still got a shot at hitting the 70 win mark.

[kibaxx7]

The league's second-best Clippers? Wow.

Tough loss against the C's...

[Axel The Great]

Your games against Boston and Philly sounded fun. This 5-game stretch must've been disappointing for J.R. since he didn't score 30+ points in any of the games.

[Martti.]

I can smell 70.

[Wyze]

The throwback blue jerseys are dirty!
And Zach Pearson looks like a beast D:
But congrats, on pace to 70

[Houndy]

Unbelievable job with this Dynasty. This dynasty is legendary

[cavs4872]

Another great week man, except for the loss against Boston of course. I'll be looking forward to these playoffs.

[Kenny]

I got off the plane in Melbourne and I was like "these guys are pussies, it's not that cold!"

...and then I walked down Swanston street on the way to the Strung Out gig... holy crap, I was hurting

Yeah, I generally wear shorts throughout Winter (except when I'm going out at night) and planned to do the same down there. Gave up on that pretty quickly.

Shame you'll fall short of 72-10 but you've still got a shot at hitting the 70 win mark.

Normally in Brisbane I can get away with shorts as well. It was definitely nice to get back in warmer weather

It is a shame, but as I stated previously, I don't mind the Bulls record staying in tact one more year since I loved that team a lot.

The league's second-best Clippers? Wow.

Tough loss against the C's...

Yeah, I love imagining the Los Angeles fans turning on the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers and going for the Clippers

But I think the Lakers will always been competitive because generally they have good management who are able to get great players to support their main star (Malone, Payton, Gasol, Artest and the list goes on really).

Your games against Boston and Philly sounded fun. This 5-game stretch must've been disappointing for J.R. since he didn't score 30+ points in any of the games.

They were fun actually. It's nice when computer teams take it to me... even if I get a bunch of bad calls. Can't steamroll everyone right?

Hopefully J.R. can still get the MVP

I can smell 70.

It is awfully close at the moment.

The throwback blue jerseys are dirty!
And Zach Pearson looks like a beast D:
But congrats, on pace to 70

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of those blue jerseys. As I said before, I'd prefer the 90s Nuggets jerseys... back when Mutombo was playing for them.

Zach Pearson is very beastly and he's got a jumpshot which makes him even more difficult.

Unbelievable job with this Dynasty. This dynasty is legendary

Thanks mate, always nice to hear people are enjoying my thread

Another great week man, except for the loss against Boston of course. I'll be looking forward to these playoffs.

I'm really looking forward to it too. It's when the real good stories come out. Plus I'm excited about the off-season as well. I have the potential of losing two very big pieces in Billups and Andersen. If Billups stays though, it'll be his 20th season in the NBA.

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

After flirting with the idea of a 70 win season, the Nuggets will fall short after going 3-2 this round. They lost their first two games against the Clippers and the Suns in close battles. The Clippers loss wasn't without controversy as more will be reported about that in the feature. After having their first losing streak of the season, they got back on course, winning against Utah and hammering Atlanta and Orlando away from home. The feature game as mentioned was against the second placed Clippers. Usually I'll put a picture with the headline, but for this, the video says it all:

Denver lose heated game

phpBB [video]

Denver may have found themself a new enemy to replace Kobe Bryant as they went down to the Clippers 75-67. Denver were ahead 50-46 in the fourth, when Chauncey Billups was called for this charge against Clippers Reuben Glanville. If you pause the video at the two second mark, it shows that Billups didn't even make contact with the Clippers point guard, causing a massive uproar in the Pepsi Centre.

Controversies aside, J.R. Smith had another dominant game with 41 points, but he had little help with Anthony (13) and Billups (11) the only other two to really trouble the scorers. The Clippers only had two double figure scorers, with MVP candidate Ollie Rose scoring 25 and new villain Reuben Glanville picking up 18. Josh Smith almost had a double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds.

With these two teams ranked 1 and 2, this could be the fiery prequel to a possible Western Conference Finals matchup.

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LAC@DEN

LAC: 75 (Rose 25, Glanville 18, Smith 9)
DEN: 67 (Smith 41, Anthony 13, Billups 11)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Ollie Rose 25 points 3 rebounds 7 assists 2 blocks 2 steals

Rebounds

LAC: Morgan 13
DEN: Andersen 15

Assists

LAC: Rose 7
DEN: Smith 5

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Last 5 Games

LAC: 75-67 L
PHX: 72-68 L
UTA: 73-64 W
@ATL: 92-78 W
@ORL: 85-60 W

Denver are now 67-13

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A lock?

Just when J.R. Smith might have looked to slow down, he scored 41 against the Clippers. But that was just a preview of what was to come against the Atlanta Hawks. He poured in a career high 64 points. He was 9-15 from beyond the arc and when the Hawks rushed him, he would take it to the hole. He'd have to be odds-on favourite for the award now if he wasn't before.

The darkhorse

Melo's recent play has seen him catapult up the MVP race. Against Phoenix he scored 28 on LeBron James, but his best performance of the round came against the Utah Jazz, where he scored 33. Some big time numbers for a second fiddle.

Block of the year?

Usually known more for his offensive game, J.R. Smith gave LBJ a dose of his own medicine by chasing him down for a highlight reel block that will surely end up in the end of season top 10. LeBron got the last laugh though, as the Suns won the game.

Shannon who?

With J.R. Smith the likely MVP and the return of T-Mac 2.0, Shannon Brown has been easy to forget about this season. He's spent a lot more time on the bench than anticipated, but against the Magic, he picked up 11 points in the 4th quarter.

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Double Feature

The last two games of the season will be covered in the next summary. They will be as follows:

Denver @ Philadelphia
Denver @ Boston

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Just two more games before the 2017 playoffs begin. With Denver grabbing onto the top seed, it might be a chance for IR guys to get some game time and possibly play for a spot on the deep bench. With any luck, the double feature should be up soon. Thanks for your patience

[dare]

What a flop, even Fisher can't nail that. Well goodbye to the 70 mark

[Andrew]

Tough break with that phantom charging call and missing out on 70 wins, though you're still in great shape heading into the playoffs. Nice block by Smith.

[Martti.]

Sucks about not reaching 70, but JR looks like a lock for MVP. Live usually uses PPG as the most important asset when choosing.

[megarover]

Its like J.R just can't stop scoring. Curse you Earl!

[Axel The Great]

J.R. Smith=MVP
Try to lose one of your last two games so you don't have a 69 ( ) win season.
Hope your team continues to rage through the NBA in the playoffs.

[Justine.]

MVP trophy for sure

[cavs4872]

Definitely some controversy there with Glanville's flop. How's the transition been going between this and your 2K10 story so far?