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

[Houndy]

Awesome how you retired their numbers. They both deserved it

[rise]

BIRDMAN!!!

[Andrew]

Well earned and a nice touch for the Dynasty, nice work on the retired jersey banners.

[megarover]

Well earned and a nice touch for the Dynasty, nice work on the retired jersey banners.

Ditto

[kibaxx7]

Both well-deserved.

[Kenny]

Great to see my man Chauncey's number retired. He and the Birdman (besides Ty and T-Mac's epic 'stache) are the true icons of this dynasty, well-deserved for both players. Birdman showed that it is in fact possible to recover from drug use.

Awesome how you retired their numbers. They both deserved it

Well earned and a nice touch for the Dynasty, nice work on the retired jersey banners.

Ditto

Both well-deserved.

Thanks guys, I actually got the banner structure from the Chicago Bulls. I plan on doing every retired number at the end of this dynasty (including guys like English, Issel and Kiki). Got the template saved, so it should be relatively easy to replicate

BIRDMAN!!!

[Andrew]

Sounds like a plan.

[Kenny]

December 2019 Review

Denver are sitting on top of the league right now with a 23-5 record, but they're not runaways by any means, as the Bulls are right on their heels with 21-7. J.R. Smith moved his way up the scorers list and is now second in the league with 23.3 point per game. While Perko's scoring contributions have dipped a little, Durant's have increased and is now looking like he can co-exist with Smith and still get 20+ points in a game. Robin Lopez has fallen off the face of the Earth, but DeAndre Jordan and Aaron Watters have proven to be steals in the off-season. Both of their games are in contrast; Jordan is a defensive enforcer while Watters is a Euro-style centre that spreads the floor.

This month has proven that everything is relative; where one may decline, another comes up in it's place. One thing that has remained constant is Denver's dominance and will hopefully remain the consistent story of the year.

Monthly Awards

EAST Player: [CHI] Kelly Scott (23ppg 6.6apg 1.5spg)
WEST Player: [LAL] Stanley Alston (21ppg 3apg 2spg)
EAST Rookie: [NJN] Nicholas Schneider (13.3ppg 4.8apg 0.8spg)
WEST Rookie: [MEM] Nick King (4.6ppg 2.3rpg 0.5spg)

MVP Race

[LAC] Ollie Rose (27ppg 3.8apg 1.6spg)
[LAL] Stanley Alston (19.7ppg 2.7rpg 3.1apg)
[DEN] J.R. Smith (23.3ppg 2.1rpg 2.1spg)
[GSW] Rudolph Gibson (22.4ppg 3.6apg 1.5spg)
[CHI] Kelly Scott (18.5ppg 6.2apg 1.3spg)

Standings

EAST

Chicago 21-7
Detroit 18-11
Washington 18-11
Miami 16-12
Atlanta 17-15
New York 16-14
Toronto 16-14
Philadelphia 15-14
---
Charlotte 15-16
Boston 15-16
New Jersey 14-17
Indiana 13-17
Orlando 10-17
Cleveland 10-18
Milwaukee 11-21


WEST

Denver 23-5
LA Clippers 19-12
LA Lakers 19-13
Utah 16-12
Minnesota 16-14
Dallas 15-15
Golden State 15-15
San Antonio 14-15
---
Phoenix 15-17
Houston 13-16
Oklahoma City 13-16
New Orleans 12-16
Sacramento 11-17
Memphis 12-19
Portland 9-25

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This dynasty has officially hit the year 2020. This dynasty has spanned across 3 seperate decades, a John Salley-esque achievement. Next up will be the 5 game summary unless I can think of something else to go up before then

[Andrew]

It's a shame Lopez is having such a disappointing year, but Durant's steady play is an encouraging sign.

[Kenny]

It is disappointing about Lopez but I guess the positive is that it's not hurting the team since the centre depth is strong. I'm working on getting Smith and Durant both 20+ a game at the moment. They both seem to thrive when the other one is on the bench, so I've been constructing my rotations around both of them being primary scorers. It's taking a bit of a getting used to, but hopefully it'll pay off and I can justify giving Durant another contract.

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

Denver started and ended this 5 game stretch with a loss to go 3-2. The first loss came against the resurgent Lakers at Staples. The Nuggets however managed to back up that loss with an absolute blowout against Ollie Rose's Clippers. The feature game was a revenge win against the Phoenix Suns, while they won on their first game back home against the Miami Heat. A terrible loss to the mediocre Nets soured an otherwise great round for the Nuggets. Here is the feature game:

Dynamic Duo Burn Suns



After suffering a massive loss to Phoenix in November, the Nuggets extracted revenge on the Suns with a 93-79 win in Arizona. J.R. Smith and Kevin Durant were the catalysts for this win as they scored 27 and 23 respectively. This is the third consecutive game of this 5 game stretch where they both scored 20 or more each. Borislav Perko continued on his most recent role as the third scorer with 12 points, while gun off-season acquisition Rudy Fernandez was solid once again with 11 off the bench.

The Suns couldn't stay with the Nuggets, despite almost having two players 20+ themselves. Breakout star Brad Bell led the way with 20 points and 7 assists. Walter Boyer scored 19 and Greg Oden had yet another great game against the Nuggets with 16 points and 13 rebounds. If Denver had anything to improve on in this game, it'd be how they defended and boxed out Oden, as he at times asked some serious questions of Denver's strength defending the centre position.

This was the last game of their West Coast road trip.

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DEN@PHX

DEN: 93 (Smith 27, Durant 23, Perko 12)
PHX: 79 (Bell 20, Boyer 19, Oden 16)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Kevin Durant 23 points 2 rebounds 3 assists 3 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Watters 8
PHX: Oden 13

Assists

DEN: Perko 4
PHX: Bell 7

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Last 5 games

@LAL: 101-99 L
@LAC: 85-59 W
@PHX: 93-79 W
MIA: 90-73 W
NJN: 71-58 L

Denver are now 24-6

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Top of the Table Clash

While the Nuggets and Clippers are 1 and 2 on the Western Conference standings, Ollie Rose (27ppg) and J.R. Smith (23.3ppg) are also 1 and 2 in the scoring stakes. Smith took out the honours in this game with 29 points to Ollie Rose's 20. Earl has had a great 5 game stretch, but a big part of this story is also how Durant is getting involved. Here are their numbers over this 5 game summary:

Smith/Durant

Vs Lakers: 26/21
Vs Clippers: 29/21
Vs Suns: 27/23
Vs Heat: 22/23
Vs Nets: 19/18

Despite the two losses, Denver's dynamic duo are learning to co-exist, which in the long run could cause many teams a lot of heartache.

Handy 3rd Option

With Durant's current form, Borislav Perko has become the team's third option and it probably suits his game more. Against the Heat, he was one of three Denver players to score 20 or more points. His performance was judged the best though with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals.

The First 3x20

In Denver's loss to the Lakers, the Nuggets had 3 players with 20 or more points. One of them was Rudy Fernandez, who scored 21 off the bench. He might not have the athleticism he possessed 10 years ago, but he can still drive effectively and shoot the three ball.

Clutching at Straws

It was really hard to find a positive in that embarrassing game against the Nets, but DeAndre Jordan I suppose is the silver lining, aside from perhaps the two stars. He only scored 4 points, but he grabbed 10 rebounds and swatted away 2 shots. Might not sound like much, but in a game where the team only scored 58 points, there wasn't a lot of positives to report on the offensive end.

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Next 5 Games

TOR
WAS
@DAL
@DAL
@MEM

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Despite the two losses I thought this was a good round. I managed to get Durant involved a lot more, which is very positive. Provided he asks for a more reasonable contract (more reasonable than 17 million), he's a good chance of sticking around after this year if he continues to perform like he has. Once again, unless I figure out something else to post, next up will be another 5 game summary.

[Andrew]

The Nets loss aside, I'd agree that wasn't a bad round at all, not great but still pretty solid. Good to hear that you're working things out with Durant and Smith so that you can get the most out of them offensively.

[Phil89]

I must admit I'm confused by Durant's struggles. I got him to score 101 points against the Warriors in my old dynasty.

Is he still rated highly on your game?

[Axel The Great]

I'd have been cursing at the TV if my team only scored 58 points, win or lose. Great to see Durant and Smith are learning to co-exist, sooner or later, they may become the LeBron-Wade duo of real-life.

[Houndy]

Tough 3-2 stretch, but nice to see Fernandez giving a spark off the bench.

[Andrew]

I must admit I'm confused by Durant's struggles. I got him to score 101 points against the Warriors in my old dynasty.

Is he still rated highly on your game?

I'm guessing that's definitely a contributing factor, being over a decade later his ratings have probably taken a hit.

[kibaxx7]

Two tough losses, but you still have a great record Nice to see Rudy still contributing.

[The X]

Great to see you retire their jersey numbers. Looking forward to Melo, J.R. Smith and Durant all eventually getting their numbers retired

[Kenny]

The Nets loss aside, I'd agree that wasn't a bad round at all, not great but still pretty solid. Good to hear that you're working things out with Durant and Smith so that you can get the most out of them offensively.

I really enjoyed the round because I was able to get Durant involved without really negatively impacting Perko's production. I think I've got a nice balance at the moment and the wins will come in bunches eventually I believe.

I must admit I'm confused by Durant's struggles. I got him to score 101 points against the Warriors in my old dynasty.

Is he still rated highly on your game?

I'm guessing that's definitely a contributing factor, being over a decade later his ratings have probably taken a hit.

Durant is actually still the highest rated player on my squad at 88. I think as I've progressed through the dynasty, the second scoring wing player hasn't been as crucial to me. While Durant has been with the side, guys like Chauncey Billups and on occassions Borislav Perko and (although very rarely) Brandon Jennings have stepped up to the second scorer duties. Now I'm getting Durant more touches in better spots on the floor, I think his points per game average will climb.

I'd have been cursing at the TV if my team only scored 58 points, win or lose. Great to see Durant and Smith are learning to co-exist, sooner or later, they may become the LeBron-Wade duo of real-life.

It was a pretty frustrating game; one of those "get every foul and miss every shot" kind that aren't too unfamiliar in NBA Live 10. I really want Smith, Durant and Perko to become the super best friends of my dynasty. I always like when I can draw parellels with my dynasty to real life.

Tough 3-2 stretch, but nice to see Fernandez giving a spark off the bench.

Two tough losses, but you still have a great record Nice to see Rudy still contributing.

Rudy continues to be a real surprise for me this season. I thought he was going to be awful like Ray Allen was but he's doing exactly what I need him to. At an overall rating of 61 in the game, he's been overachieving big time.

Great to see you retire their jersey numbers. Looking forward to Melo, J.R. Smith and Durant all eventually getting their numbers retired

I'm really looking forward to those three as well. I think Melo's time might be coming up pretty soon, so who knows, that could be done within the next 2 or 3 seasons.

[Kenny]

International Players

With the signing of Rudy Fernandez in the off-season, not only was I thinking "How many Trail Blazers have I had here?" but I also wondered how many European players had played for the Nuggets over the 11 seasons. Expanding on this idea, I decided to list every international player that has been in the squad. Here they are:

Nationality	Name
Argentina	Ralph Patel
Australia	Andrew Bogut
Australia	Patrick Mills
Brazil	Nene
Canada	Sam Conners
China	Yao Ming
Dominican Republic	Ty Maximilian
England	Taylor MacKenzie
France	Nicolas Batum
France	Johan Petro
Germany	Dirk Nowitzki
Ireland	Aaron Watters
Kazahkstan	Borislav Perko
Lithuania	Dennis Da Conceicao
Poland	Marcin Gortat
Russia	Andrei Kirilenko
Scotland	Ray Warren
Scotland	Garth Vine
Serbia	Erick Christian
Spain	Rudy Fernandez
Tanzania	Hasheem Thabeet
Ukraine	Oleksiy Pecherov

[Andrew]

You're giving the Spurs a run for their money as far as importing talent is concerned.

[Axel The Great]

Seems like the Denver Docks have been busy these past ten years.

[Martti.]

When a rookie is from Estonia, which I have yet to see in a Live game (even though it is in the game), be sure to draft him. For me.

[rise]

I'm pretty sure I saw an Estonian in Live 2003 recently, but I'll have to go back and check.

[Houndy]

Just out of curiosity, how's Ty's brother doing?