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

[The X]

Interesting to see what Durantula can do for you

[dare]

I spoke too soon, well Durant is younger you can use him a lot more especially the age of your team.

[Bucket]

Durantula He is only 28 years old?

[Alpha_]

Nice move!

[.PorkyJoker.o6]

badreligionau, Sure thing man, but guess what, he's back for action thou. and thanks for liking my Dynasty.

[Andrew]

Wow, didn't expect that! I'm sure Durant will help you keep up your winning ways and should give you a few more years that Melo might not have. A shame to see Melo go of course, maybe their can be a reunion a la JR Smith at some point, perhaps a retirement tour.

[.PorkyJoker.o6]

well overall, Great trade! coz Durant is younger than Melo in which Durant can play a little bit more aggressive than Melo, but really i love the TRADE!!!

[Houndy]

This dynasty just got a shot of 7 more year energy. Great trade! Durant is a beast

[Axel The Great]

Very unexpected trade. I think it's a good one though, you're basically getting a younger Melo that plays good defense.

[George7]

Durant will sure give some freshness instead of Melo

[kibaxx7]

Reading through your stories, it's hard to gauge what kind of team you like. I reckon an expansion team would be right up your alley since you don't really have a favourite.

I did once with a team based in GTA's Liberty City, but it was a mess

I have to applaud for everything Melo did for your city. But KD, nice move.

[Martti.]

A new era starts in Denver now. Durant-Jennings - Title tight there.

[Murat]

I wouldn't trade Melo for Durant. Early job. At least I could sign someone at FA. But you know, good luck with KD.

[megarover]

Durant is on the house. With a guy like Durant you might honestly score 80

[Kenny]

Interesting to see what Durantula can do for you

I'm hoping he'll take the role as the first scorer, but with J.R. Smith, he might end up being my second option on a lot of nights.

I spoke too soon, well Durant is younger you can use him a lot more especially the age of your team.

Durantula He is only 28 years old?

Apparently he's 29 in the game. For me, 29 is by no stretch old when it comes to a basketball player (considering I've had 3 players eclipse 40 in this dynasty already).

Nice move!

Thanks King Dee, I really like it as well

badreligionau, Sure thing man, but guess what, he's back for action thou. and thanks for liking my Dynasty.

No worries, it's got a nice layout and a great team with a lot of history that needs to be rebuilt.

Wow, didn't expect that! I'm sure Durant will help you keep up your winning ways and should give you a few more years that Melo might not have. A shame to see Melo go of course, maybe their can be a reunion a la JR Smith at some point, perhaps a retirement tour.

To be honest, I wasn't even thinking about it til the trade rumours came out. I put Melo on the trade block and when I saw Durant come up with not only less years on him, but 3 million less in his salary, it became a deal that really made sense in the end. As much as I love Melo, doing this seemed like a real no risk situation.

My sentimental side might get Melo back to the Nuggets later down the track, although I tend to think Durant will do as good of a job as him, maybe even better in some aspects.

well overall, Great trade! coz Durant is younger than Melo in which Durant can play a little bit more aggressive than Melo, but really i love the TRADE!!!

That's what I was thinking as well. Durant pretty much has the same skills as Melo in this game and I'm actually a big fan of him in real life as well.

This dynasty just got a shot of 7 more year energy. Great trade! Durant is a beast

Durant is a beast indeed. He's one of my favourite young superstars in the game at the moment and if the trade came up in real life, I'd probably tell Denver to pull the trigger on it... if they'd listen to me

Very unexpected trade. I think it's a good one though, you're basically getting a younger Melo that plays good defense.

Plus the trade has given me cap relief as well. It gives me a great opportunity to make a play at one of the bigger free agents in the next off-season.

Durant will sure give some freshness instead of Melo

He'll definitely give me a new challenge, since I've played with Melo for... this is the 6th season I've played. I'm hoping Durantula has a better perimeter shot.

Reading through your stories, it's hard to gauge what kind of team you like. I reckon an expansion team would be right up your alley since you don't really have a favourite.

I did once with a team based in GTA's Liberty City, but it was a mess

I have to applaud for everything Melo did for your city. But KD, nice move.

That's a cool idea, but I reckon it would have been better with San Andreas

Melo did a lot of great things in this dynasty, but I guess there comes a point where it's time for a change.

A new era starts in Denver now. Durant-Jennings - Title tight there.

I hope you're right about the title. It definitely is an end of an era, but hopefully the start of an equally great era.

I wouldn't trade Melo for Durant. Early job. At least I could sign someone at FA. But you know, good luck with KD.

I was reluctant to do it, but in the end it made too much sense. A younger, equally capable and cheaper player... I find it hard to see where it could go wrong.

Durant is on the house. With a guy like Durant you might honestly score 80

Well you never know; I read an article on the NBA facebook page that people think Durant could be the greatest scorer of all time. With that kind of wrap, anything is really possible.

[Kenny]

January 2018 Review

After a flawless December, Denver showed a few signs of weakness in the month of January. That's not to say that they were bad though, they're still the top team in the league with a record of 38-6. January 2018 was not only a start of another year, but a new era for the Denver Nuggets, as they traded stalwart Carmelo Anthony for former All-Star MVP Kevin Durant. While Durant has had an excellent start with his new team, he has been outscored by both Brandon Jennings (vs Washington) and J.R. Smith (Vs Dallas). The stats will be up in the next 5 game review.

George Power wins rookie honour

Nuggets rookie sensation George Power has capped off a brilliant month by receiving the January 2018 West Rookie of the Month. For the month he had averages of 18 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game.

Monthly Awards

East Player: [MIA] Nach Carlos (21.9ppg 5.7apg 1.7spg)
West Player: [OKC] Stanley Alston (26.8ppg 4.3apg 2spg)
East Rookie: [ORL] Quint Meyers (4.4ppg 2.1rpg 2.4apg)
West Rookie: [DEN] George Power (18.2ppg 8rpg 2.1bpg)

MVP Race

[OKC] Stanley Alston (26.6ppg 4.6apg 2spg)
[PHX] Stephen Curry (22.1ppg 6.9apg 1.4spg)
[PHX] LeBron James (21.3ppg 4.1rpg 4.4apg)
[SAN] Rudy Gay (23.5ppg 7.2rpg 1.6apg)
[LAC] Ollie Rose (24.5ppg 3.5apg 1.6spg)

Standings

EAST

Milwaukee 28-15
Miami 25-13
Chicago 25-18
Toronto 23-21
Charlotte 21-21
Washington 21-21
Detroit 21-22
Cleveland 20-23
---
Atlanta 19-24
New York 19-24
Philadelphia 18-26
New Jersey 18-27
Orlando 16-27
Boston 15-29
Indiana 14-31


WEST

Denver 38-6
Phoenix 33-12
Oklahoma City 27-17
San Antonio 28-19
LA Clippers 25-19
New Orleans 25-19
Minnesota 25-19
Memphis 25-22
---
Dallas 21-22
Portland 20-21
LA Lakers 21-25
Houston 18-24
Sacramento 18-28
Utah 13-27
Golden State 14-32

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Well, I have one game to play before the next 5 game summary, so that will hopefully be up pretty soon.

[Andrew]

Good to see Power get Rookie of the Month honours. Hope you can get Durant into the MVP talks.

[Kenny]

Good to see Power get Rookie of the Month honours. Hope you can get Durant into the MVP talks.

The draft classes in this game are pretty weak, but I enjoy the award none the less. It'd be great if I can get him to the Rookie of the Year award, but there's so much depth on the team, it's a real balancing act. And hopefully Durant won't be too far away

[Lamrock]

Not feeling the trade at all to be honest. You were on course for a record season, and while Durant is a far better player than Melo (and younger), I don't like to see your franchise cornerstone dealt for the hell of it. Kind of sad, but whatevs. Good luck with KD.

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

This 5 game summary is a momentus one, because it's the first one that will involve Kevin Durant. Overall, the Nuggets went 4-1 this time around, losing their "limbo" game to New York. Why do I call it the limbo game? Well, Carmelo Anthony departed and Durantula was yet to arrive, hence the Nuggets were left in limbo. Apart from that, the Nuggets were dominant with wins over Miami, Washington and Dallas. That brings us to the feature game against Houston:

Durantula spins Houston in a web of defeat



Kevin Durant has come up with the game of his current season, helping the Nuggets smash the Rockets 95-77. Durant was unstoppable as he netted 52 points. Brandon Jennings was the only other Denver player in double figures with 11 points. It proved to be a night of lofty numbers for Denver, as Yao Ming was within a whisker of a double-double with 8 points and an amazing 21 rebounds. Chauncey Billups would also register double figures in a field other than points, with 10 assists.

For the Rockets, Jon Hunt had a nightmare defensively against Durant, but he top scored for Houston with 28. Armando Ferrer was solid with 13 points, while Liam Koch provided energy off the bench with 10.

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DEN@HOU

DEN: 95 (Durant 52, Jennings 11, Yao 8)
HOU: 77 (Hunt 28, Ferrer 13, Koch 10)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Kevin Durant 52 points 6 rebounds 3 assists

Rebounds

DEN: Yao 21
HOU: Carroll 8

Assists

DEN: Billups 10
HOU: Lowry 4

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Last 5 Games

MIA: 100-86 W
NYK: 92-87 L
WAS: 93-66 W
@DAL: 95-73 W
@HOU: 95-77 W

Denver are now 39-6

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ROY contender

George Power is firming as the man to beat in the race to the Rookie of the Year. Before the Melo trade took place, he scored 35 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks against the Heat.

Upstaging the new guy

Kevin Durant may have scored 29 in his first game for Denver, but Brandon Jennings out-scored him, netting 37.

...and again

Durant scored 20 in his second game for Denver, but this time, J.R. Smith out-did him with 33 against the Mavericks.

Remember this guy?

In the limbo game against New York, Nicolas Batum started at small forward. However, the big news was that Taylor MacKenzie was activated in the game. He scored 23 off the bench and showed improved defense, but his offensive efficiency is still proving to be a problem. In the last year of his contract, the career of this once top of the class prospect looks to be in jeopardy.

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Next 5 Games

@NOH
@ATL
@WAS
@PHI
@MIL

The All-Star weekend will come after the Washington game.

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League News: Top MVP candidate traded

In a move that shocked the NBA community, Oklahoma City has traded it's MVP Stanley Alston to the LA Lakers for Power Forward Luther Rutherford.

It seems that Oklahoma City have taken Denver's lead in trading away a star to maintain team chemistry... but how will this work out for both teams? Only time will tell.

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So up next will be the selections for the All-Star Game and Rookie Challenge. That will be followed by the weekend, which I'll be splitting into two different posts this time around. After that, everything will be back to normal.

[Kenny]

Not feeling the trade at all to be honest. You were on course for a record season, and while Durant is a far better player than Melo (and younger), I don't like to see your franchise cornerstone dealt for the hell of it. Kind of sad, but whatevs. Good luck with KD.

As far as the story is concerned, it doesn't make a lot of sense. I put Melo on the block in light of his current circumstances to see what kind of scenario it would create. When I saw I could get Durant for less money, the same contracted time and the fact that Durant is younger, the trade made a whole lot of sense to me in that way.

Plus his trade request in real life doesn't make much sense to me either, but that's a whole other discussion I guess.

[.PorkyJoker.o6]

badreligionau, Looks like Smith is taking the spot light from Durant

[kibaxx7]

T-Mac 2.0 is back. Also great to see KD with 50+.

[Alpha_]

aw. OKC just traded their franchise player I don't really like that trade. anyway, where's Ty?

[Houndy]

Yeah, what happened to T Mac and Tys careers. Durant killed for ya