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

[Kenny]

First Round: Denver Nuggets Vs Utah Jazz

The Teams

Denver Nuggets

The Starters


| DeAndre Jordan | Borislav Perko | Kevin Durant | J.R. Smith | Brandon Jennings

The Bench


| Taylor MacKenzie | Robin Lopez | Pat Mills | Adrian Young | Ed Reed | Aaron Watters | Rudy Fernandez |

IR


| George Power | Crispin Erwin | Dennis Da Conceicao |

Utah Jazz

The Starters


| Julian Howard | Ken O'Farrell | Todd Griffin | Evan O'Shea | DJ Augustin |

The Bench


| Jack Cunningham | Luther Ridley | Phillip Schwarz | Adrian Carroll | Bobby Kelly | Dennis Anderson | Brad Russo |

IR


| Bart Harvey (bone spur in foot) | Whitman Coles |

denotes injury

Keys

Denver Nuggets

Obviously the way the big three play will decide how the series goes (and how long it goes), but lately Taylor MacKenzie has been on fire. If he can help out J.R. Smith with the scoring, then Utah's time in the playoffs could be cut down to 4 games. In saying that though, T-Mac 2.0 hasn't turned up to a playoffs series in a long time.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz will need everything to go perfectly just to take a game or two away from Denver. DJ Augustin will have to play the best basketball of his career, Todd Griffin will have to take his potential and perform on the big stage and Ken O'Farrell will have to live up to the All NBA First Team reputation he now has. The Nuggets are heavy favourites in this series, but if Utah put all the pieces together, who knows. They should watch the first three games of Denver's series against Houston last playoffs for inspiration.

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The Playoffs are here! Will Denver stroll through the first round as suggested, or will Utah put up a spirited fight? Could they even pick up one of the greatest upsets in NBA history? First 4 games will be up next.

Last edited by Kenny on Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Seeing as I know nothing about 99% of Utah's team, I'm going to say you take it in 4.

Putting previews together must be quicker with all those generated players using the same picture.

Nice work as always on the player review. I'll also take the Nuggets in four games in the first round.

I'm a Perko fan. The NBA could use a star player like him... not scoring so much, but a triple double man.

He's pretty unique. Because of that, and I guess cause he's so blindingly white too.

Nuggets in 4, come on

I would like to see a 40-point game from Jennings. Thanks. (Triple-double for the series by Perko would be even more awesome!)

Seeing as I know nothing about 99% of Utah's team, I'm going to say you take it in 4.

Putting previews together must be quicker with all those generated players using the same picture.

I guess it's hard for readers to gauge how good a team when it's full of generated players, but with the way the game trades players and moves free agents, scouting every team would be so hard and relatively unrewarding. But Denver in 4 would be a pretty good guess I think

And doing the previews is so quick. Copy and paste are definitely my friends

Nice work as always on the player review. I'll also take the Nuggets in four games in the first round.

Thanks Andrew, the results will be up next.

I'm a Perko fan. The NBA could use a star player like him... not scoring so much, but a triple double man.

He's pretty unique. Because of that, and I guess cause he's so blindingly white too.

I think that's what I like about him; he's not a guy who demands the ball, but gets some ridiculous stat-lines despite that.

Nuggets in 4, come on

COME ON!!!

I would like to see a 40-point game from Jennings. Thanks. (Triple-double for the series by Perko would be even more awesome!)

The first one might be a bit of a tall order, but I'll try my best to have atleast one great moment with Jennings this playoffs

Denver Vs Utah

Game 1: Denver Rocks Utah



The Nuggets started their 2020 Playoffs campaign in an emphatic way, destroying the Jazz with the final score being 91-71. With a second MVP trophy to his name, J.R. Smith made sure he came to the playoffs prepared. He dropped 34 points on Utah and was the Sprite Performer of the Game. Kevin Durant scored 16 points, but out of Earl's sidekicks, Adrian Young and Borislav Perko were probably the most impactful. A seemingly clueless Utah team left Adrian Young open on 3 attempts from behind the arc. They ultimately paid all three times and Young tallied 11 on the night. The new triple-double king Borislav Perko came agonisingly close to yet another one, with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. He was arguably the player of the game and probably would have won the honour if he had of gotten 1 more in both the rebounds and assists category. Taylor MacKenzie was the last of Denver's meaningful scorers with 10 off the bench.

It was hard to find positives in Utah's performance, but Ken O'Farrell can hold his head up high in his team's embarrassment. He scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to complete his double-double. DJ Augustin was also solid with 17, while 6-man Jack Cunningham contributed with 13 off the bench.

Game one was decisive to say the least, but the series is far from over. The Nuggets need to take their momentum into the second game and hopefully go to Salt Lake City with a 2-0 lead.

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UTA@DEN

DEN: 91 (Smith 34, Durant 16, Young 11)
UTA: 71 (O'Farrell 18, Augustin 17, Cunningham 13)

Sprite Performer of the Game: J.R. Smith 34 points 2 rebounds 1 assist 1 steal

Rebounds

DEN: Perko 9
UTA: Howard, O'Farrell 10

Assists

DEN: Perko 9
UTA: O'Shea 5

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Game 2: Jazz Muted In Denver



After the disaster of the first game, Utah fell to an even more embarrassing scoreline in Game 2, going down 94-62. While J.R. Smith was the performer of the game once again with 28, the key to Denver's dominance was Taylor MacKenzie. He silenced is critics with a massive 32 point effort off the bench. After seasons of mediocrity, MacKenzie is finally starting to go back to that guy who was so impressive in his rookie season. Borislav Perko had a tidy stat-line once again with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists to be the last of Denver's double-digit scorers.

It was even harder in this game to find the positives in Utah's performance, but if there had to be one, it was the play of DJ Augustin. With his 19 points, he was the only player for the Jazz that scored over 15. Ken O'Farrell and Todd Griffin both scored 12 each. I suppose the other positive is that games 3 and 4 will be in Utah, but with the way they're playing right now, even that's a stretch.

Are the Nuggets really too good at the moment? Or did Utah come to the playoffs completely unprepared? Whichever way you look at it, it seems like Denver are going to stroll to their second round opponent.

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UTA@DEN

DEN: 94 (MacKenzie 32, Smith 28, Perko 10)
UTA: 62 (Augustin 19, Griffin 12, O'Farrell 12)

Sprite Performer of the Game: J.R. Smith 28 points 2 rebounds 3 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Perko 8
UTA: Howard 11

Assists

DEN: Durant, Perko 6
UTA: Augustin 6

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Game 3: Nuggets On The Brink Of Sweep



The Nuggets turned in another impressive display, going up 3-0 against the Jazz with an 89-76 win. J.R. Smith (33) and Taylor MacKenzie (21) led the way once again, combining for 54 of Denver's points. After a quiet game 2, Kevin Durant came back with 15 points and Borislav Perko came close to a triple-double once again. Perko was only 1 assist away, with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.

DJ Augustin led Utah once again, with 19 points and 8 assists. Ken O'Farrell registered his second double-double of the series with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Phillip Schwarz scored 14 off the bench. Apart from DJ Augustin and Ken O'Farrell, Utah have really struggled to find consistency in their scorers and it's a big reason to why they face a 3-0 deficit.

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DEN@UTA

DEN: 89 (Smith 33, MacKenzie 21, Durant 15)
UTA: 76 (Augustin 19, O'Farrell 16, Schwarz 14)

Sprite Performer of the Game: J.R. Smith 33 points 2 rebounds 1 assist 2 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Perko 10
UTA: Howard 13

Assists

DEN: Perko 9
UTA: Augustin 8

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Game 4: Nuggets Sweep Jazz



Despite this being a closer game, the Denver Nuggets completed the lopsided series against the Jazz with an 86-79 win in Utah. The Nuggets held a 1 point lead at the start of the 4th and from there, experience campaigners like J.R. Smith and Kevin Durant were able to close them out. Earl was the top scorer with 24 points, while Taylor MacKenzie (18) and Kevin Durant (17) both provided excellent assistance for the MVP. Borislav Perko came awfully close to a triple-double once again, this time, missing out by 1 point with 9 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. With 8 points in the game, he had his chance to get it at the stripe, but he missed the last free throw he took.

It was the same story for the Jazz once again. Despite 20 points and 15 rebounds from Ken O'Farrell and a 19 point game from DJ Augustin, guys like Todd Griffin and Evan O'Shea were unable to be effective scorers on the night. Bart Harvey played his first game since his bone spur injury and recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Nuggets will now face the winner of the Rockets/Timberwolves series, which Houston currently leads 3-0. If the Rockets make it through, it'll be a rematch of last season's Western Conference Semi Finals that went to 7 games after Denver initially trailed 3-0.

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DEN@UTA

DEN: 86 (Smith 24, MacKenzie 18, Durant 17)
UTA: 78 (O'Farrell 20, Augustin 19, Harvey 12)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Borislav Perko 9 points 12 rebounds 11 assists 1 block

Rebounds

DEN: Perko 12
UTA: O'Farrell 15

Assists

DEN: Perko 11
UTA: Griffin, O'Shea 4

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Click here for a slideshow of this series.

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Denver got through that series easily, but their next one shouldn't be the same way. They will either face the Rockets, who can beat Denver multiple times as proven last season or the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have former Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony.

Up next will be the results of the first round and the preview of the Semi Finals. Can you feel it?!

That was pretty fast. Nice job, Melo beat you the last game around. Still, you at 5.

Sweeped!

I know this might be a stretch, but if Perko keeps up this play, I see him as the second best International player behind Dirk

As expected, you made short work of the Jazz. Seems Smith's postseason scoring struggles are a thing of the past.

Easy sweep. Ken O'Farrell had some great games against you, and so did DJ Augustin, but you just had more consistent scorers on your team, which is why you won. Triple-double is eluding Perko.

Nice to see Augustin still playing Told you, an easy sweep. Good luck against the Mavericks, I don't see the Rockets winning.

T-Mac Vol 2 really stepped up, Perko having near triple-doubles, missing out with the points.

That was pretty fast. Nice job, Melo beat you the last game around. Still, you at 5.

Thanks Cruzerr, I like to get through the playoffs relatively quickly no matter how many games I end up playing. Minnesota hasn't been confirmed at this point, but I'll take that prediction into account

Sweeped!

I know this might be a stretch, but if Perko keeps up this play, I see him as the second best International player behind Dirk

Call it Homerism, but I don't think it's that much of a stretch. Perhaps in a few seasons time there can be a definitive call on that.

As expected, you made short work of the Jazz. Seems Smith's postseason scoring struggles are a thing of the past.

I'm not sure how much team chemistry comes into account, but it seems that J.R. is doing a lot better without Melo on the team. I guess Melo was the main option in playoff time and Chauncey Billups would also get preference later on coz of his ridiculous clutch factor. But yes, Smith has been big since last post-season

Easy sweep. Ken O'Farrell had some great games against you, and so did DJ Augustin, but you just had more consistent scorers on your team, which is why you won. Triple-double is eluding Perko.

I actually thought Todd Griffin would have a better series than he did, but yeah, it ended up being Augustin and O'Farrell doing the damage (if you could really call it that). The funny thing is, Perko is almost averaging a triple-double at the moment without even getting one.

Nice to see Augustin still playing Told you, an easy sweep. Good luck against the Mavericks, I don't see the Rockets winning.

Augustin has developed into a great player. Not sure what the odds of him doing so in real life are, since the Bobcats now have Kemba Walker, but it'd be nice to see him have a similar career. And well done for spotting a glitch in my playoff chart (SMH). Surprised I didn't get called out on that earlier actually

T-Mac Vol 2 really stepped up, Perko having near triple-doubles, missing out with the points.

Both of them have been fantastic in different ways. I'm really enjoying how Perko has become a star role player.

NBA Playoffs: First Round Results

EAST

(1) Chicago 4 - 1 Philadelphia (8)
(4) New York 4 - 2 Cleveland (5)
(6) Toronto 4 - 1 Washington (3)
(7) Atlanta 4 - 2 Detroit (2)

Notes
- An NBA Finals 2019 rematch will not be happening, as Washington were upset by Toronto.
- Atlanta also came out with a win against the odds, taking out 2nd seed Detroit.

WEST

(1) Denver 4 - 0 Utah (8)
(4) Houston 4 - 0 Minnesota (5)
(3) LA Lakers 4 - 1 New Orleans (6)
(2) LA Clippers 4 - 1 San Antonio (7)

Notes
- The higher seeds went for a combined win/loss total of 16-2
- The semi finals involve a rematch and the battle of Los Angeles.

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Preview for the Rockets series will be up next.

[Kenny]

NBA Playoffs 2020: Western Conference Semi Finals
Denver Vs Houston

Both the Nuggets and the Rockets are currently undefeated in the playoffs so far. But if either team thinks they'll get through this round that easily, they have another thing coming. In the corresponding series last year, the Rockets went up 3-0 and looked to have it in the bag. However, the Nuggets came up with the biggest playoff comeback in the history of the game, winning the series in 7. Both sides know each other well and both know how to win against the other team. Will Houston avenge their Semi Finals heartbreak of last season? Or will Denver go through to the Conference Finals for the 4th season in a row?

The Teams

Denver Nuggets

The Starters


| DeAndre Jordan | Borislav Perko | Kevin Durant | J.R. Smith | Brandon Jennings

The Bench


| Taylor MacKenzie | Robin Lopez | Pat Mills | Adrian Young | Ed Reed | Aaron Watters | Rudy Fernandez |

IR


| George Power | Crispin Erwin | Dennis Da Conceicao |

Houston Rockets

The Starters


| Dennis Schmitz | Armando Ferrer | Carl Ellis | Liam Koch | Brice Alan |

The Bench


| Nathan Bing | Glenn Jordan | Walt Watters | Quentin Moller | Joe Alexander | Waldo Bonner | Clarence David |

IR


| Jamey Myers | William Coles | Zlatan Silva |

Keys

Denver

J.R. Smith, Borislav Perko and Taylor MacKenzie have been the best players so far for the Nuggets, but a key factor for this series will be Kevin Durant. Houston have one of the best three point shooting teams in the league and the Defensive Player of the Year will have to prove his credentials by locking down these guys. There is little-to-no doubt that J.R. Smith will get it done on the offensive end, but to avoid a scare on the same scale of last season's Semi Finals, defense will be a must.

Houston

Nathan Bing is on the bench and Dennis Schmitz has replaced Fred Carroll at centre... other than that, they have the same basic core as last year. Liam Koch is averaging 25 points per game so far in the 2020 post-season and he will be pivotal to Houston's success. Armando Ferrer needs to continue to hit the offensive glass and provide Houston with it's defensive toughness. A real game-changer in this one could also be their bench. Nathan Bing, Glenn Jordan and Walt Watters are all starting caliber players and Waldo Bonner is an All Rookie First Team selection. The Rockets are deep with talent and they'll need to use it to it's full potential to come away with this one.

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The first 4 games will be up soon. Please note that the Joe Alexander on the Rockets team is the real life Joe Alexander... he just doesn't seem to have a photo on ESPN anymore.

Last edited by Kenny on Mon Jun 27, 2011 4:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Bulls and Knicks renew their rivalry.

Last year's series certainly had plenty of drama but with your current momentum, I'm guessing you'll have an easier time...maybe five games, six tops and taking control of the series early.

Bulls/Knicks . Nuggets in 6.

Rockets in 4 this time. Good to see the Rockets have a deep squad, just like IRL.

Luvin' the Clips & Lakers are meeting in 2nd Round of playoffs. Only in a game could this happen

Yes, I'm aware it almost happened IRL about 5 years ago but it still didn't happen.

And well done for spotting a glitch in my playoff chart (SMH). Surprised I didn't get called out on that earlier actually

Did I spot a glitch? I don't know why I said Mavericks actually, it's Timberwolves

Sweep the Rockets!

You should try to horde all the remaining real-life players next season. Oh, and beat the Rockets.