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

Nuggets in 4. Earl Smith is better than Josh Smith.

I'm guessing it's over in four, in your favour.

And another sweep for you. Don't see much power in that Mavs team.

Bring out the brooms now!

Another Sweep

Nuggets in 4. It's no wonder why the Mavs were so woeful without Smith, generated players and Sasha Vujabitch? That's certainly laughable.

Does anybody else smell a sweep?

Keep sweeping the floor!

Nuggets in 4. Earl Smith is better than Josh Smith.

Quite an overwhelming response on the sweep. The first 4 games will be up directly after this, so we'll see if you're all correct. And Axel; that's 2-time NBA champion Sasha Vujabitch

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Aww...Mavs got only 2 real NBA players left, and only Josh Smith is starting...

It's not too uncommon at the moment in the league. Most of the players are generated now.

Mavs in 7

Bold prediction; I like it

NBA Playoffs Round 1
The First 4 Games

Game 1: Nuggets go up 1 in Denver



Denver won the first game against Dallas 85-74 off one of Chauncey's career best games. He led the scoring for the game with 33 points as well as dishing off 14 dimes and grabbing 4 steals. With Melo gone and Durant scoring 17 in this game, he stepped up when his side needed. J.R. Smith also scored 17, while energetic bench player Borislav Perko picked up 10. Chris Andersen also had a strong night, but on the defensive end with 14 rebounds.

For the Mavericks, Corin Robertson scored the most with 19. Point guard Brady O'Leary was clearly out-shined by Billups but he managed to score 15 of his own while also registering 6 assists. Edmund Feehan achieved a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds and Josh Smith had a rather quiet night with 10.

Dallas managed to show a bit of resistence in this game, but when it comes to putting Denver to the line, there's not many better clutch free throw shooting teams out there.

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DAL@DEN

DEN: 85 (Billups 33, Durant 17, Smith 17)
DAL: 74 (Robertson 19, O'Leary 15, Feehan 10)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Chauncey Billups 33 points 1 rebound 14 assists 4 steals

Rebounding

DEN: Andersen 14
DAL: Feehan 13

Assists

DEN: Billups 14
DAL: O'Leary 6

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Game 2: Denver Victorious off Vine



A surprise shooting display from bench player Garth Vine saw Denver win a close game 2 against Dallas by 77-71. While Durant and Smith were struggling to find their range, Vine was simply on fire, putting up 26 points in a Performer of the Game display. He was supported by Chauncey Billups, who scored 17 and George Power, who reached a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Dallas had 4 players in double figures in a better performance away from home. Corin Robertson led the way with 21, along with Edmund Feehan who had 17. Brady O'Leary had a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists, while Garrick Casey only just missed out (10 points, 9 rebounds).

Overall this was a better performance from Dallas. They managed to catch Denver napping at points, even leading one stage through the 4th quarter (albeit by 1 point). Complacency is a killer and this game will be a good wake up call for the Nuggets

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DAL@DEN

DEN: 77 (Vine 26, Billups 17, Power 16)
DAL: 71 (Robertson 21, Feehan 17, O'Leary 11)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Garth Vine 26 points 2 rebounds 2 assists 1 block 1 steal

Rebounds

DEN: Power 10
DAL: Casey 9

Assists

DEN: Billups 6
DAL: O'Leary 10

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Game 3: Denver on the verge of another sweep



Chauncey Billups has once again led Denver to victory against the Mavericks with a final score of 84-73. Mr Big Shot was the top scorer of the game with 31 points. Kevin Durant came back to life with 20 points and Garth Vine hit some big 3s once again to score 12.

Dallas had great production from both Edmund Feehan and Brady O'Leary as they both scored 21. Feehan managed to earn himself a double-double as well with 14 rebounds to lead the category. However both these guys lacked support as the next best scorer was Corin Robertson, who was restricted to 10 points after being the tp scorer for the Mavs in the first two games.

The Nuggets now have a 3-0 lead. Dallas are going to have a hard time chasing Denver down and would have to make them lose almost half as much as they did this season over a 4 game stretch.

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DEN@DAL

DEN: 84 (Billups 31, Durant 20, Vine 12)
DAL: 73 (Feehan 21, O'Leary 21, Robertson 10)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Chauncey Billups 31 points 1 rebound 5 assists 1 block 2 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Power, Yao 13
DAL: Feehan 14

Assists

DEN: Billups 5
DAL: Robertson, Smith 5

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Game 4: Dallas Stay Alive Off Smith Buzzer Beater



Dallas have pulled off a miraculous win in the dying moments of the game to hand Denver a 91-89 defeat. With the shot clock off, Denver tied the game 89 all off a George Power dunk. But with still enough time left in the game to win, Dallas called a timeout and here's how the play unfolded:

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Brady O'Leary (25) and Corin Robertson (23) led the way for Dallas, but the final play of the game will forever be remembered by the Dallas fans. Josh Smith ended up with 14 points after that shot was made. Sergio Soto came off the bench and scored 10 to round out a nice team effort from the Mavericks.

For Denver, Billups was sensational once again with 31 points and 9 assists. J.R. Smith had a meaningful performance with 22, while Durant struggled again with 11. Chris Andersen managed to get himself a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.

All the sudden with that win, the Mavs' fans have hope of pulling off the biggest upset in playoffs history.

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DEN@DAL

DAL: 91 (O'Leary 25, Robertson 23, Smith 14)
DEN: 89 (Billups 31, Smith 22, Durant 11)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Brady O'Leary 25 points 4 rebounds 7 assists

Rebounds

DAL: Feehan 10
DEN: Andersen 10

Assists

DAL: O'Leary 7
DEN: Billups 9

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It's always good to know my dynasty can still have a touch of unpredictability. Houndy's prediction is still in the hunt... anyone willing to change to Denver in 5?

I do.

That was just a LUCKY SHOT! LUCKY SHOT I tell you!!!

So close to the sweep and yet so far thanks to the late game heroics. Hey, at least it was a dramatic finish though. I'll pick you to wrap it up in five though.

He's Just WAY TOO LUCKY TO HIT THAT! IMPOSSIBLE!
NO ONE CAN STOP DENVER!!!!!!

GET ONE WIN BACK TO THE NUGGETS AND I TELL YOU IF U GET THAT U ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!

I'm still going with Mavs in 7

I'll say Nuggets in 5. Good to see Chauncey Billups with some very strong performances.

I don't think that was a lucky shot, I don't know what some of you guys are talking about. I sometimes find contested fadeaways easier to make than regular jumpshots in real life. At least J-Smoove's improved his outside shot in this dynasty.

Looks like Jennings won't have much of a shot when Billups is playing like that.

I dont see Dallas pushing it to 7 games. At best they lose in 6.

Again, Billups has no age Nuggets in 5, then. A lucky shot they had!

I do.

That was just a LUCKY SHOT! LUCKY SHOT I tell you!!!

That kind of reminds me of Vlade:

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So close to the sweep and yet so far thanks to the late game heroics. Hey, at least it was a dramatic finish though. I'll pick you to wrap it up in five though.

Even though I lost, I was happy it was in that fashion. I like the drama, whether it favours me or not

He's Just WAY TOO LUCKY TO HIT THAT! IMPOSSIBLE!
NO ONE CAN STOP DENVER!!!!!!

GET ONE WIN BACK TO THE NUGGETS AND I TELL YOU IF U GET THAT U ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!

Well we'll see what happens. Hopefully they don't do what Denver did a few years back... that was George Karl coaching the Supersonics if I remember correctly too... yikes.

I'm still going with Mavs in 7

It's nice to see someone going against the grain... but I hope you're wrong

I'll say Nuggets in 5. Good to see Chauncey Billups with some very strong performances.

I don't think that was a lucky shot, I don't know what some of you guys are talking about. I sometimes find contested fadeaways easier to make than regular jumpshots in real life. At least J-Smoove's improved his outside shot in this dynasty.

It kind of reminded me of that shot LeBron hit against the Magic a couple of seasons ago. When I saw it on TV I was like "Surely not..."

The computer seems to go better when they do fadeaways in this game.

Looks like Jennings won't have much of a shot when Billups is playing like that.

I've been giving him some minutes still. If Billups has been particularly hot in one quarter, I'll take Jennings and put him at the 2. I use Jennings more as a shoot-first point guard anyway so it's not a huge transition.

I dont see Dallas pushing it to 7 games. At best they lose in 6.

Hopefully I can get it done in Denver

Again, Billups has no age Nuggets in 5, then. A lucky shot they had!

There's some kind of fountain of youth he's visiting, that's for sure

[Kenny]

1 Year Ago...

I started the first page of this dynasty. It was a humble start; I had no internet access from my PS3 and I was a relative newcomer to dynasty writing. 1 year later, the story has finished almost 9 seasons, activated 54 players, won 4 NBA Championships (with hopefully a fifth to come) and has gone for 29 pages so far. With all this in mind, I decided to make a tribute to the guys on my inaugeral squad on the one year anniversary of The Next Level:

The 2009-2010 Denver Nuggets

The Starters


Tenure: 2009-2010

Nene was not only a weapon on the offensive end, but with the inclusion of Chris Andersen in the starting lineup, he became more focused on securing the defensive boards. It would be the hardest decision at the time trading him away to the Miami Heat for Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers at the start of the 2010-2011 season.

Tenure: 2009-present

Much like the title of this dynasty, the Birdman took his defense to the Next Level in 2009-2010 as he was named on the All Defensive First Team. Along the way, he would earn that honour twice more along with the Defensive Player of the Year in 2010-2011.

Tenure: 2009-2017

Even though he got off to a slow start in the inaugeral season, like many that would proceed it, Melo came good towards the end near the playoffs. In his tenure he managed to earn himself 4 Finals MVP trophies and an All-Star MVP in 2010-2011.

Tenure: 2009-2011, 2016-present

The artist formerly known as Earl Smith III was the man when Melo was struggling. Early in the 2009-2010 season, he was a shock inclusion into the MVP race. It was in his second tenure with Denver that he won the MVP trophy; the first ever won by a Denver Nuggets player.

Tenure: 2009-present

Mr Big Shot was at the tender age of 33 when this season began. He was the first in dynasty history to win the West Player of the Month award. His clutch plays have become a feature of this story.

The Bench


Tenure: 2009-2010

Allen was a surprise winner of the 6th man award in 2009-2010. He would sub in for Nene and Denver lost absolutely nothing on the boards with him in there. He ended his career playing for the Washington Wizards.

Tenure: 2009-2011

Before Chalmers, Mills and Jennings, Ty Lawson was seen as the man to step up into Chauncey's shoes. Not only was he included in the Rookie Challenge, but he also was apart of the All-Rookie Second Team; the only Denver player in this dynasty to be selected for that team.

Tenure: 2009-2010

Johan came off the bench and provided the Nuggets size; something there were lacking at that point. Along with Malik Allen, he provided great interior defense for the second unit.

Tenure: 2009-2012

Lou was Earl's backup in season 1 and he did a pretty good job of it. Although his three point shot was erratic, he was good at getting to the hoop and came up with a big dunk during a game against the Rockets in the playoffs.

Tenure: 2009-2010

Backing up Melo, T-Will had limited opportunities in his rookie year, but in the minutes he got he showed great athleticism and potential to be a highlight reel player.

Tenure: 2009-2015

Arron didn't often get opportunities to play, but he was good at making the most of them. During his tenure with the Nuggets he was the quint-essential 12th man; ready to play any time and able to make an impact.

Tenure: 2009-2010

With Denver making it to the Western Conference Finals the previous year, Horry came to the Nuggets looking for an 8th ring. He didn't come up with any of his famous clutch plays, but he was able to do enough to justify his veteran's salary.

Last edited by Kenny on Sat Oct 09, 2010 3:09 am, edited 3 times in total.

Nice idea man. So little time ago, and so much time ago at the same time.

Cool flashback. You've sure come a long way with this.

Nice retrospective.

I always love a good retrospective

Awesome anniversary post. Like the player cards too.

Hope to see this going for another year! Congrats.

Time passes by so fast, congrats having a successful dynasty man

Awsome Dude! Like it so much!!

Remember first reading this, in awe. Great memories.

Bad, I was actually reading the whole thing when I decided to join this site. You inspired me.

nice post!
Congrats for the anniversary!

Bad, I was actually reading the whole thing when I decided to join this site. You inspired me.

Scary how I did the same exact thing