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

At the very least, give Billups the start in the deciding game of the NBA Finals.

And it's a fairly realistic move on top of that. So long as it works, it's all good.

I don't mind the added pressure either, as I've said before I wonder whether that's all it is or whether a winning streak acts as a trigger for the AI to ramp up the difficulty in subsequent games. I also agree about state of mind as well, get too casual and blase about the game and it's much easier to let it slip away. Play a few games in a row and you tend to stay in the zone as well, unless you're feeling a bit tired in which case your mind can wander and your effort gets a bit half-hearted.

The games can still be very competitive despite my dominance at the moment. I remember when I played NBA Live 08, I played on Superstar and tweaked the sliders and it still felt like it was way too easy. I guess with any NBA game you can get to know all the quirks of it, but atleast with Live 10 I always have the opportunity to take the game up to Superstar. Might let this season play out first before I contemplate that though

Only reason Miller didn't start all of last season was because of Nate McMillan's boner for Steve Blake. (No wonder Pritchard was fired soon after trading him away!) I'd keep starting Chauncey, then let Jennings take the starting reins next season, since this is the year of Chauncey.

If you start to burn out on playing full games, I would definitely recommend sim intervention. It's my favorite feature in Live, and I sim-intervened all 82 games of my Hawks dynasty.

The funny thing was, I never really liked the Blazers much at all until they acquired both Dre and Camby. I also think Nicolas Batum is a great player as well (hence he's on my team). I guess I always liked Miller because he's not a great shooter but he's still a pretty good scorer and a great passer. Pretty much what I look for in a point guard. I think starting Billups is definitely on the cards, but at the moment it's a bit too hard to ignore Jennings' form at the moment. Billups will always be the man in the 4th though

I'll keep the sim intervene in mind, but at the moment the only issue with my dynasty is getting the time to play it. To add an old cliche, one game at a time.

At the very least, give Billups the start in the deciding game of the NBA Finals.

Oh that would be a given... particularly if it was against the Pistons

Young Nugget gives you about 10 more years in this dynasty. This was the first dynasty I read, it's the one that convinced me to join the forums

Young Nugget gives you about 10 more years in this dynasty. This was the first dynasty I read, it's the one that convinced me to join the forums

Thanks Houndy66, it's really gratifying to hear that you were inspired by something I wrote

Browsing through the top quality stories in the Hall of Fame section really inspired me to get this started, so it's always nice to hear when someone gets something from mine

December 2017 Review

Denver were undefeated in the month of December, and why not? J.R. Smith was named West player of the Month averaging over 30 points a game. Brandon Jennings tied Kobe's record of 12 threes in a game and despite accepting a smaller role during the month, Melo showed in patches that he can still be a driving force behind this Nuggets team.

The Nuggets are by far and away the best team in the competition. The next best is Phoenix; who might feel hardly done by coming second with a record of 23-8 and 2 MVP candidates in the race. Denver though is a team of more than two, they are arguably one of the deepest rosters to ever compete in the NBA. The question is, after a perfect month, where can they go from here? Only time will tell.

Monthly Awards

EAST Player: [CHI] Matthew Clement (18.5ppg 6.5apg 1.5spg)
WEST Player: [DEN] J.R. Smith (31.3ppg 3.2rpg 1.8spg)
EAST Rookie: [ORL] Quint Meyers (6.4ppg 3.4apg 1spg)
WEST Rookie: [UTA] Todd Griffin (10.1ppg 3.8rpg 1spg)

MVP Race

[OKC] Stanley Alston (26.6ppg 4.8apg 1.9spg)
[PHX] LeBron James (21.6ppg 4.2rpg 4.5apg)
[PHX] Stephen Curry (21.6ppg 7.2apg 1.6spg)
[DEN] J.R. Smith (23.2ppg 2.9rpg 1.9spg)
[SAN] Rudy Gay (23.7ppg 6.7rpg 1.8apg)

Standings

East

Miami 15-9
Milwaukee 16-13
Chicago 17-14
Detroit 15-13
Washington 15-13
Cleveland 15-15
Charlotte 13-14
Toronto 14-16
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New York 13-16
New Jersey 14-18
Atlanta 13-17
Orlando 11-18
Boston 12-20
Indiana 10-20
Philadelphia 10-20


West

Denver 28-2
Phoenix 23-8
Minnesota 17-10
New Orleans 19-12
San Antonio 19-12
Oklahoma City 17-12
Memphis 17-13
LA Clippers 16-14
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Dallas 14-16
Houston 13-15
LA Lakers 15-18
Utah 11-16
Sacramento 12-20
Portland 10-18
Golden State 10-22

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January is going retro!



It happens every season, so it shouldn't come as a real shock that I'm doing it again. Something about the tacky 80s Denver uniforms I kind of dig

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This dynasty goes 1 more year into the future. Hope I can grow a decent moustache by 2018

The next 5 game summary will be up soon.

No surprise to see Smith take Player of the Month honours given his scoring outbursts and your record. Looks like some stiff competition for the MVP trophy though.

Who's Stanley Alston? he's kinda good..

28-2 man. Just incredible. And on to one more year we go!

That Stanley Alston must be a huge talent. Congrats on getting Smith player of the month. Hope you can pass 72 wins.

Who's Stanley Alston? he's kinda good..

Generated player.

Stanley Alston is my idol

No surprise to see Smith take Player of the Month honours given his scoring outbursts and your record. Looks like some stiff competition for the MVP trophy though.

Yeah, there's a lot of players on that list that are good across the board. Hopefully I can get someone competing for it the entire season.

Who's Stanley Alston? he's kinda good..

That Stanley Alston must be a huge talent. Congrats on getting Smith player of the month. Hope you can pass 72 wins.

Who's Stanley Alston? he's kinda good..

Generated player.

Stanley Alston is my idol

During the 3 generated seasons, Stanley Alston won the MVP award 3 times and the Defensive Player of the year twice, so yeah, he's a pretty big deal. He's one dude you just cannot leave open no matter what.



That's him back in his rookie season (2010-2011). He has a lot more hair now.

28-2 man. Just incredible. And on to one more year we go!

Thanks Thierry. You do know that one day I wanna see you have a team that makes it to 2018

And not just because it'll be NBA 2k18

It'll happen one day man, I have faith in you!

5 Game Summary

In this report, I come to the conclusion that all great things must come to an end. I am of course referring to the winning streak I had. Denver are now third on the all time list, with 21 wins in a row. The streak came to an end at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers. Strangely enough, the Nuggets are now in fact on a 2 game slide after also going down to the LA Clippers.

But apart from that, it was the thing I (and LeBron James) love the most... WINNING! The Games were closer this round, as Denver didn't win by anymore than 8 points in any given game. It was a round that saw Yao return to Houston and J.R. back at Memphis, but the feature game is against San Antonio:

Denver hold on in Texas



The Denver Nuggets narrowly avoided ended their winning streak at 18 with a 95-91 win over the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs led at the end of the first two quarters thanks to an inspired effort by POTG Rudy Gay. Gay had a double-double with 32 points and 10 rebounds. Alejandro Carlos also proved to a thorn in Denver's side as he had 20 points and 7 assists. Johnny Gibson chipped in with 15, while usual high scorer Aaron Brooks was relatively quiet with 10.

Despite some formidable resistance, Denver always have weapons of their own, this time led by Anthony who has 30. J.R. Smith scored 19, while Billups made the most of his start, scoring 16 points and hitting the game seeling free throws. Borislav Perko rounded out the scorers with 13 points and 7 assists.

Despite the close game, the Nuggets have started January off the right way, continuing on their unbeaten run from December. The further they get into the streak, the more teams are going to bring their top game, so this one was a good yardstick to where they're at.

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DEN@SAN

DEN: 95 (Anthony 30, Smith 19, Billups 16)
SAN: 91 (Gay 32, Carlos 20, Gibson 15)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Rudy Gay 32 points 10 rebounds 2 blocks

Rebounds

DEN: Yao 14
SAN: Robertson 17

Assists

DEN: Perko 7
SAN: Carlos 7

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Last 5 Games

@SAN: 95-91 W
@HOU: 83-75 W
@MEM: 87-79 W
@POR: 103-95 L
LAC: 89-85 L

Denver are now 31-4

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Epic Return

It was a highly anticipated game on the calendar; the day Yao returns to Houston... and he did not disappoint. He had a massive game with 16 points and 18 rebounds.

Still a leader

Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points in their loss to division rivals Portland. In a game where Smith and Jennings failed to fire, Melo led Denver to atleast keep it relatively close.

Big game, big prospect

Borislav Perko had a double-double with a stat-line of 12 points 10 rebounds and 4 assists against the Clippers. Even though Denver lost the game, signs were encouraging as Perko was proving hard to handle.

Chuck Hayes would be proud

Garth Vine scored 26 against the Memphis Grizzlies, but the big talking point was his Chuck-Hayes-esque free throw style. But hey, it seems to work for him, so why not?

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Next 5 Games

LAL
PHX
@OKC
@UTA
DET

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Well, the winning streak ends extremely close to second place, but the Blazers proved to be too good. Hopefully I can get back to winning ways with the next 5 game summary... it would somewhat be ironic if I ended up having a big losing streak though. Anyway, that'll be up next.

Yeah, sometimes when I'm on a win streak, I wonder "Am I going to lose" and just lose. Tough stretch

Wow, Garth Vine with his Chuck Hayes-like FT's. What's his percentage?

Anyways, tough to see the streak come to a halt, it was a good run, but you came so close to becoming 2nd all-time. You beat the Rockets by the largest margin of the 5-Game Summary, in this dynasty it'd probably be hard for me to cheer for the Rockets. Good luck on your next few games, hope those two losses are flukes.

Garth Vine likes Chuckvagon?

28-2 man. Just incredible. And on to one more year we go!

Thanks Thierry. You do know that one day I wanna see you have a team that makes it to 2018

And not just because it'll be NBA 2k18

It'll happen one day man, I have faith in you!

You really must have faith in me then. Still can't decide on a team!

Sorry to see the streak come to an end, I couldn't make it past sixteen in my Bulls Dynasty. Still plenty of season left for both of us, I say we give it another shot.

Off-topic, I'd highly recommend getting into Kevin Smith's podcast network. He's got a new one with Jason Mewes that comes out every Thursday (Friday our time).

Im Glad to see JR Smith in the MVP race and monthly awards. been following this since u started it! love ur dynasty.

Yeah, sometimes when I'm on a win streak, I wonder "Am I going to lose" and just lose. Tough stretch

Yeah, the pressure on each game as you progress into the streak does get higher for sure. Discussed it with Andrew a lot, there's definitely a psychological factor that sets in.

Wow, Garth Vine with his Chuck Hayes-like FT's. What's his percentage?

Anyways, tough to see the streak come to a halt, it was a good run, but you came so close to becoming 2nd all-time. You beat the Rockets by the largest margin of the 5-Game Summary, in this dynasty it'd probably be hard for me to cheer for the Rockets. Good luck on your next few games, hope those two losses are flukes.

Garth Vine likes Chuckvagon?

From my last check, he's shooting them at 68.8... as a perimeter player, I'd prefer it to be higher, but it's not an awful percentage.

Chuck taught him everything he knows

28-2 man. Just incredible. And on to one more year we go!

Thanks Thierry. You do know that one day I wanna see you have a team that makes it to 2018

And not just because it'll be NBA 2k18

It'll happen one day man, I have faith in you!

You really must have faith in me then. Still can't decide on a team!

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.

Sorry to see the streak come to an end, I couldn't make it past sixteen in my Bulls Dynasty. Still plenty of season left for both of us, I say we give it another shot.

Off-topic, I'd highly recommend getting into Kevin Smith's podcast network. He's got a new one with Jason Mewes that comes out every Thursday (Friday our time).

Absolutely; still plenty of time in the season to set some records. With Ben Gordon on your team, you can't go wrong

I will have to check it out. I want to hear the one he did with his brother. He talked about it when he was in Sydney and it'd be really interesting.

Im Glad to see JR Smith in the MVP race and monthly awards. been following this since u started it! love ur dynasty.

Thanks .PorkyJoker.06, always great to hear from someone who was here from the start. Your Knicks dynasty is looking great so far as well. I kind of laughed when Eddie Curry got injured so quickly; him not playing makes things really realistic

Carmelo Anthony "can win anywhere"

4 time Finals MVP Carmelo Anthony has spoken out against the Denver Nuggets after his in-game plays have been reduced. It has been rumoured that he has had a falling out with the organisation and the only reason he's stayed during the season was because of the team's success. Now the bubble has burst, he's been the first to criticize the way the Nuggets have been managed.

When asked to make a statement in response, GM Kenny Young made this statement:

The Denver Nuggets have stood by Carmelo Anthony through thick and thin, and for the most part, it has paid off for us. We have done everything to appease Melo to avoid a "LeBron-esque" situation occuring and we will continue to do so. If he needs to be moved to another team, then we will have to look at possible scenarios that will accomodate both the Nuggets organisation and Carmelo.

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So once again, this is my attempt to play out a real life scenario in my dynasty. How will it pan out? Well, in the next few posts, you shall find out.

Melo will stay

5 Game Summary

After losing two in row, Denver came back to win their next 4 by a margin of atleast 18 points in each game. However the game covered this round will be the loss against the Pistons:

Tristan's Pistons down Nuggets in Denver



Tristan Lehmann has inspired the Detroit Pistons in an upset 91-86 win over league leaders the Denver Nuggets. Lehmann was the performer of the game with 21 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Cornelius Richter helped consolidate the dominance in the paint with 14 points and 17 rebounds for his double-double. The high point man for Detroit was Donald Cunningham, who scored 22 points and had 8 dimes as well. Demetrius Russo was the other double digit scorer with 12.

For the Nuggets, in form rookie George Power was the top scorer with 25, while grabbing 10 boards. Carmelo Anthony and Garth Vine both scored 16, while J.R. Smith struggled with 12.

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DET@DEN

DET: 91 (Cunningham 22, Lehmann 21, Richter 14)
DEN: 86 (Power 25, Anthony 16, Vine 16)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Tristan Lehmann 21 points 17 rebounds 2 assists 2 blocks

Rebounds

DET: Lehmann, Richter 17
DEN: Yao 13

Assists

DET: Cunningham 8
DEN: Billups 8

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Last 5 Games

LAL: 92-70 W
PHX: 106-76 W
@OKC: 92-67 W
@UTA: 89-71 W
DET: 91-86 L

Denver are now 35-5

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Power Forward

George Power is continuing his rise in the NBA after having a huge round. In fact, with the loss being the exception, he was the Performer of the Game every time he played. He has forced himself in the starting lineup over Borislav Perko, and with the numbers he had, he deserves to be there. Here they are:

Vs Lakers: 22 points 4 rebounds 1 block
Vs Suns: 16 points 11 rebounds 2 blocks
Vs Thunder: 31 points 11 rebounds 3 blocks
Vs Jazz: 21 points 4 rebounds 2 blocks
Vs Pistons: 25 points 10 rebounds 5 assists

Love for the supporting cast

The blowout against the Lakers was purely the work of the supporting cast. No one from Denver's starting 5 scored double figures, but from their bench, 3 of them did. Led by George Power who had 22. Nicolas Batum scored 17, while the ever-improving Garth Vine had 11.

A Draft Class Rivalry

Brandon Jennings faced up against former Rookie of the Year Stephen Curry and the result? 25 points to Jennings and a 30 point win to the Nuggets.

Go the Fro!

Robin Lopez grabbed 7 rebounds in the 4th quarter against the Utah Jazz.

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Next 5 Games

MIA
NYK
WAS
@DAL
@HOU

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Trade to happen as early as next week?

It has been documented that the Nuggets are looking to move star Carmelo Anthony, but what will they get for him? All will be revealed very soon.

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Ok, so trading Melo isn't a rumour I've been setting up. It's something that has actually already happened in my game. Let's just say, the guy I got for him could fill his shoes quite well. The news will be up next

Melo will stay

In real life, I hope you're right

Trade News: Durant Arrives in Denver




The Denver Nuggets have traded Carmelo Anthony to the Minnesota Timberwolves for former All-Star MVP Kevin Durant. Although Durant is 4 rings short of Melo, he's also 4 years younger and gives Denver cap relief of 3 million dollars.

It's projected that after routine physicals, Kevin Durant will be due to play against the Washington Wizards.

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Well there you have it. I have traded away a 4 time finals MVP for a guy who really should have been MVP atleast once in this dynasty. Even though I love Melo and what he brought to the team, I think this trade has a massive upside to it. Can't wait to see responses to it

A monthly report will be up next