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

5 Game Summary

Here it is: the first 5-0 summary since the "TNL Lockout" (thanks Axel. ). The Nuggets were able to finish their 8 game home stand with wins against both the teams from Los Angeles. They started their East Coast tour with a win against Detroit, thanks to one man Cleveland used to call the King. The Boston game turned into a laugher, while the feature against Washington was arguably their most gutsy performance of the season so far:

Nuggets Turn Tide In Capital



Denver picked up one of their more miraculous wins of the season with a 99-81 victory against the Wizards. Even though the scoreline blewout to 18 points in their favour, this game was anything but straight forward for the Nuggets. In the first quarter, the Wizards started on an 8-0 run. Even more alarming was that they had a lead of up to 19 points before the first quarter even ended. Losing by 17 at the start of the second, the Nuggets reduced the margin by 14 as Washington held onto a 43-40 lead heading into the main break. The second half was a completely different story. Even though both teams basically went shot-for-shot in the third, the Nuggets pulled away in the final quarter, outscoring the Wizards 36-18.

With Taylor MacKenzie down on form, they needed someone else to step up, and admist the criticism that he doesn't score enough, it ended up being Borislav Perko. He was the high point man for the Nuggets, scoring 21 in what was arguably his most important performance of his season. He was awarded the Performer of the Game as he also got 17 rebounds and 7 assists. Cody Campbell continued to prove what a valuable acquisition he was as he scored 20, while Duncan Werner (16) and Dennis Da Conceicao (13). Taylor MacKenzie ended up with 12 and Dwight Howard registered a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) to round out a great team effort from the Denver Nuggets.

The Wizards took the ascendency early thanks to some sharp shooting from Barnaby North, who had 21 points. However, the best player for the Wizards was a former Nuggets player in Sam Conners. He dominated the middle with 18 points and 19 rebounds. Steven Hunt was 2 assists from a double-double with 13 points and 8 assists, while another former Nuggets player, Alejandro Carlos contributed 10.

Losing 31-14 at the end of the first, the Nuggets looked like they were going to have a long night. But as the old saying goes: cometh the hour, cometh the man. Borislav Perko proved why he is the favourite to win a second MVP trophy this season.

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DEN@WAS

DEN: 99 (Perko 21, Campbell 20, Werner 16)
WAS: 81 (North 21, Conners 18, Hunt 13)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Borislav Perko 21 points 17 rebounds 7 assists 2 blocks 2 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Perko 17
WAS: Conners 19

Assists

DEN: Perko 7
WAS: Hunt 8

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Last 5 Games

LAC: 75-68 W
LAL: 100-96 W
@DET: 91-83 W
@BOS: 104-81 W
@WAS: 99-81 W

The Nuggets are currently 53-12

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The Almost Feature

Taylor MacKenzie's 44 points and Denver's 100-96 win was almost the feature of this round.

The No Ring King

The man with the double entendre nickname had a retro outing against the Pistons. He scored 32 points and looked as dangerous as ever.

Taylor's Robin

On offense, Cody Campbell has embraced his role as second in charge. Against the Clippers he had another strong outing with 22 points and 7 rebounds.

He Finally Gets A Picture

Liam Leopold had an impressive performance against Boston off the bench. He had 20 points and 5 rebounds in the Nuggets emphatic win. He may look more like a small forward, but he is a solid centre.

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Next 5 Games

@ORL
@POR
DAL
HOU
NOH

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The month of March ends after the 4th game, so the monthly summary will be up next, with the 5 game summary up shortly after.

Strong round there, thanks to the usual suspects.

Dang, Phil Jackson's hair....

What's Phil Jackson anyway? 95 years old?

Phil Jackson still in the league and a guy named Liam on your roster. Glad this is back.

5-0 rounds are always the best to see. It's been a while since Perko has scored that much, great to see him do it when it was really needed. Looks like another 60-win season is on the way.

What's Phil Jackson anyway? 95 years old?

He'd be 76, turning 77 in 2022.

Damn, then he can go for another ten years at least.

Hopefully Phil will stick around for another decade

Or if he dies, they'll just implant his brain (along with all his coaching knowledge) into a robot coach. This is the future, baby!

Ten years to make it happen.

Strong round there, thanks to the usual suspects.

Definitely got some big performances there. That win against the Wizards was one of my favourite games of the season.

Dang, Phil Jackson's hair....

What's Phil Jackson anyway? 95 years old?

He'd be 76, turning 77 in 2022.

Damn, then he can go for another ten years at least.

Hopefully Phil will stick around for another decade

Next time I play the Warriors, I'll have to get Nellie in the shot

Phil Jackson still in the league and a guy named Liam on your roster. Glad this is back.

Thanks Lamrock, I thought you might appreciate the fact that I have a Liam. And yes, it's one of the many charming flaws in this game, the fact that coaches don't retire since there's no hiring/firing system

5-0 rounds are always the best to see. It's been a while since Perko has scored that much, great to see him do it when it was really needed. Looks like another 60-win season is on the way.

I thought it might have been his season-high, but looking through my archive, he actually had 23 against Toronto. Here's to hopefully another 60+

Or if he dies, they'll just implant his brain (along with all his coaching knowledge) into a robot coach. This is the future, baby!

Ten years to make it happen.

I'd have to make sure the robot has the nasal, smug voice as well.

On that note, I have thought about some ridiculous Futurama-esque scenarios, but more around analysts. For example, Stephen A Smith would be a sassy robot on ESPN with Zombie Skip Bayless.

[Kenny]

March 2022 Review

With the indifferent month of February behind them, the Nuggets got back to winning form, losing only 2 games and surpassing the 50 win mark in the process. Borislav Perko and Taylor MacKenzie firmed as MVP candidates, as they both had big performances during the course of the month. Perko actually came within one block of the dynasty's first quadruple-double. But it hasn't been a month about just two guys; the entire squad is clicking. Cody Campbell is firming as the third member of the big three as he's consistently provided a second scoring option for the Nuggets. LeBron is also picking up momentum as the season's going by, as he now looks at home in his role as the team's starting point guard. But the biggest surprise of the month has been from the bench. Dennis Da Conceicao appeared back in the rotation and is currently competing with Adrian Young for minutes at small forward. Young himself has had some meaningful contributions from the reserves unit, as his perimeter shooting continues to spread the floor.

After securing a place in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, the Nuggets now face a lengthy home stand after what seemed to be a horror road stretch earlier in the season. Hopefully they can get some momentum coming into the post-season so they can avoid a repeat of 2021's boilover.

Monthly Awards

EAST Player: [DET] Njabulo Nyoni (18.9ppg 5.7apg 1.7spg)
WEST Player: [MIN] Curt McNamara (23.1ppg 4.8rpg 1.7spg)
EAST Rookie: [MIL] Miguel Carlos (7.4ppg 1rpg 1.3apg)
WEST Rookie: [SAN] Quint Gray (5.4ppg 4apg 0.7spg)

MVP Candidates

[DEN] Borislav Perko (7.9ppg 10.1rpg 9.1apg)
[DEN] Taylor MacKenzie (25.2ppg 2.4rpg 1.9spg)
[LAL] Theo Hadson (23.6ppg 4.8rpg 3.4apg)
[NOH] Hobbes MacDonald (21ppg 4.5rpg 3.3apg)
[CLE] Corin Robertson (19.9ppg 6.6apg 1.6spg)


Standings

EAST

Philadelphia 47-21
Indiana 41-29
Washington 40-30
Detroit 40-33
Boston 39-32
Cleveland 37-32
Toronto 37-33
New York 36-35
---
New Jersey 33-36
Chicago 32-37
Miami 33-39
Atlanta 32-38
Orlando 31-41
Milwaukee 28-39
Charlotte 28-43


WEST

Denver 56-13
New Orleans 42-26
Oklahoma City 39-30
Memphis 36-34
Dallas 35-36
Minnesota 35-37
LA Clippers 33-35
Houston 34-38
---
San Antonio 33-38
Golden State 31-36
Phoenix 30-39
Utah 29-39
Portland 28-39
Sacramento 27-42
LA Lakers 25-47

Last edited by Kenny on Sun Jan 08, 2012 10:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

5 Game Summary

The win streak ended at 6 games as the Nuggets went down in double-overtime to the Orlando Magic. Despite the loss, the game produced one of the dynasty's most dramatic moments, which I'll share later in the post. After that, the Nuggets went on to win their next three games rather comfortably. But once again, the win streak ended once again at the hands of the New Orleans Hornets. With this win, the Hornets completed the season sweep against the Nuggets and pose a big question for the Mile High City's championship credentials.

As tempted as I was to make the double-OT loss the feature, I stuck to my tradition of winning games. Here is a blowout for you (sorry Axel.):

Nuggets Annihilate Rockets



The Nuggets had one of their biggest wins of the season, defeating the Rockets 99-65 in Denver... and they were led by a surprise performer in this one. Consistently in-and-out of the starting lineup, Bartholomew Myer proved himself with a Performer of the Game display that included 20 points, 13 assists and 4 steals. He is currently the only point guard on contract for the Nuggets this coming free agency, so this game could be the one that makes his career with the Nuggets. The scoring was fairly evenly distributed amongst 4 other players, with Taylor MacKenzie (19), Cody Campbell (13), Adrian Young (13) and Borislav Perko (11) all getting in the act.

For the Rockets, they had very little to be excited about, but they remained consistent in the fact that Armando Ferrer was their standout player. He had 16 points and 11 assists on the night. Quentin Moller also had 16, while Betrand Hofmann had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

With this loss, the Rockets sit in a precarious position, just 1 game ahead of the Spurs in 8th place.

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HOU@DEN

DEN: 99 (Myer 20, MacKenzie 19, Campbell 13)
HOU: 65 (Ferrer 16, Moller 16, Hofmann 10)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Bartholomew Myer 20 points 13 assists 1 block 3 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Perko 7
HOU: Ferrer 11

Assists

DEN: Myer 13
HOU: Ellis 5

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Last 5 Games

@ORL: 118-115 L (2OT)
@POR: 89-75 W
DAL: 94-71 W
HOU: 99-65 W
NOH: 88-75 L

The Nuggets are currently 56-14

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The Favourite

Borislav Perko had another triple-double performance against the Blazers, with 12 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and 5 blocks. It's easy to see why he's the favourite for the 2022 MVP award.

Back Making An Impact

Adrian Young is arguably in the form of his career right now and it's probably because he's starting to play in his preferred position (SF). He scored 23 points in Denver's double-overtime loss to the Magic.

Before Myer's Game...

LeBron James had 18 points and 9 assists against Dallas.

Down, But Still On Top

In the loss against New Orleans, Taylor MacKenzie had a slightly off night. However, he was still the Nuggets top scorer with 19 points.

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Next 5 Games

CHI
DET
IND
PHI
LAL

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Okay, let me set this up: Orlando are up 103-100 and the Nuggets have the last play. They're looking for a game tying 3 from Taylor MacKenzie, but the basketball gods had different ideas:

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I remember taking the shot and I thought "there's no way in hell this is going in". As it bounced off the rim a few times, I saw it head back over towards the net and I thought "Holy crap, it really is going to go in!".

Thought the Vlade video was appropriate... Gotta love Vlade

But yes... unfortunately I lost the game. It was one hell of a moment though.

Damn, that's got to be the luckiest shot of this story, though it was just a regular-season game so it doesn't matter that much. You seem to have the West locked up anyway

Still sucks you couldn't win that one. 70 looks out of the question, but another 65-win season is within reach.

Dwight's clutch from 3

Shame you couldn't have picked up the OT win to cap off a great story but that was an awesome shot. Seeing as how shots so often either swish or miss with the occasional bank shot or rim in/out, it's fun to see one bounce around like that before dropping in.

Damn, that's got to be the luckiest shot of this story, though it was just a regular-season game so it doesn't matter that much. You seem to have the West locked up anyway

Still sucks you couldn't win that one. 70 looks out of the question, but another 65-win season is within reach.

I almost didn't take the shot, because I thought it'd be a futile attempt. But I guess there's some sort of luck stat or something in the Live 10 engine

My maths generally sucks, but I think with 14 losses, 70 is definitely out of the question at this point

Dwight's clutch from 3

It would appear so... still, I wouldn't want the NBA championship riding on that.

Shame you couldn't have picked up the OT win to cap off a great story but that was an awesome shot. Seeing as how shots so often either swish or miss with the occasional bank shot or rim in/out, it's fun to see one bounce around like that before dropping in.

I was a little annoyed that I didn't win it, but either way, it's a real great moment in the story. Full of suspense and one of the most memorable so far.

5 Game Summary

Denver are now in full stride as they picked up all 5 wins in this round. Detroit got within 3 points, but other than that, there were some pretty big blowouts this time around, including the East's number 1 seed, the Philadelphia 76ers. The feature game of this round is the biggest blowout against everybody's favourite league cellar dwellers, the Los Angeles Lakers:

Nuggets Destroy Lowly Lakers



At the end of March, the gap between these two teams in wins was 31... and the difference in score was almost the same, as the Nuggets pummeled the Lakers by a score of 107-77. Cody Campbell led the destruction with 29 points, but the Performer of the Game was LeBron James. He has come up with some big performances lately and this time he had 26 points and 10 assists. Dwight Howard also registered a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Taylor MacKenzie's scoring wasn't particularly needed on the night... but he still managed to pick up 15 points.

Finding positives in the night for the Lakers was extremely hard, but they had to be impressed with Archibald Sheehan. Even with his side getting blown out, he still had 24 points and 17 assists, in what seemed to be a lone hand. MVP candidate Theo Hadson had a relatively quiet night with 19 points, while both Steven MacMahon and Boris MacNamara had 14 points and 5 assists each.

Both teams were worlds apart in this game. Denver are looking to hit the playoffs running, while the Lakers will be the team that will likely get the number 1 pick next season.

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LAL@DEN

DEN: 107 (Campbell 29, James 26, Howard 17)
LAL: 77 (Sheehan 24, Hadson 19, MacMahon 14)

Sprite Performer of the Game: LeBron James 26 points 1 rebound 10 assists 2 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Howard, Perko 10
LAL: Sheehan 17

Assists

DEN: James 10
LAL: MacMahon, MacNamara 5

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Last 5 Games

CHI: 77-60 W
DET: 90-87 W
IND: 92-78 W
PHI: 87-68 W
LAL: 107-77 W

The Nuggets are currently 61-14 with 7 games left.

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Answering the Call

For those who wanted Perko to score more, he has risen to the challenge. Against the Pacers he had a season-high 26 points to go with 20 rebounds and 16 assists.

The Code To Success

Cody Campbell had a massive game in Denver's narrow win against Detroit. He scored 36 points.

Still Ballin

It seems like Taylor MacKenzie has been a little quieter lately, but he's still going strong. He scored 33 against Chicago.

Looking Dangerous

LeBron James has lifted his game to the superstar level we're used to seeing from him. Against the East's top seed, he had 27 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Will this translate to post-season success?

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Next 5 Games

PHX
SAC
@OKC
@OKC
@PHX

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Just one more 5 game summary before the double feature. With the top seed in the West wrapped up, I think I'm going to go for some individual glory. So hopefully there will be some big stats in the next round of 5.

Nice round there. Hoping to see some records and/or milestones in the next couple of recaps.

Strewth, is everybody in your team a bloody beast? Great stuff mate

Nice round there. Hoping to see some records and/or milestones in the next couple of recaps.

I will admit, I definitely tried chasing a few. It's not something I'd really try to push generally, but with the top seed being a lock, I figured I may as well try and finish the season with some big numbers.

Strewth, is everybody in your team a bloody beast? Great stuff mate

After spending the initial few seasons getting a lot of role players, I've decided to be slightly more star oriented from about the 12th season. It's definitely kept everything interesting

5 Game Summary

In the last 5 game summary of the season, Denver were almost perfect. The first three games saw some big performances from Denver's veterans, as they had wins against Phoenix, Sacramento and Oklahoma City. They ended up winning the second OKC game of the round as well, but they fell short against the Phoenix. Later on, you'll notice that the Suns have a familiar face as well.

But the feature game of this round is the second game against the Thunder:

T-Mac Scores 50 In Win



The Denver Nuggets picked up a 104-96 in Oklahoma City thanks to another big performance from Taylor MacKenzie. T-Mac scored 50 points against former Nuggets star J.R. Smith after racking up a dynasty record 69 against him earlier in the season. He was supported by three players who registered double-doubles, who were led by LeBron James, with 16 points and 11 assists. Dwight Howard (12 points, 15 rebounds) and Borislav Perko (10 points, 13 rebounds) were dominant on the glass during the game and ended up being a decisive factor.

It ended up being the Nuggets night and even the Thunder were led by a former Denver player, as J.R. Smith top his team's scoring list with 24 points. Rufus Baylor was one assist away from a double-double with 14 points and 9 assists, while Roy Kohler (14) and Tom Coles (10) both contributed for the Thunder.

With this win, the Denver Nuggets picked up their 65th for the season.

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DEN@OKC

DEN: 104 (MacKenzie 50, James 16, Howard 12)
OKC: 96 (Smith 24, Baylor 16, Kohler 14)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Taylor MacKenzie 50 points 3 rebounds 2 assists 1 block 3 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Howard 15
OKC: Silva 13

Assists

DEN: James 11
OKC: Baylor 9

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Last 5 Games

PHX: 108-82 W
SAC: 86-79 W
@OKC: 95-80 W
@OKC: 104-96 W
@PHX: 79-76 L

The Nuggets are currently 65-15 with 2 games left.

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Someone's Having A Dwightmare!

Dwight Howard absolutely crushed the Phoenix Suns in the first game of the summary and joined the 50 club in the process. He flirted with a quadruple-double too, with 52 points, 17 rebounds, 8 assists and 8 blocks. You gotta love seeing Howard in this kind of form so close to the playoffs.

OMFG McGee!

The real shock of this round was JaVale McGee. It wasn't the fact that he registered a triple-double that was so shocking... it's that it didn't seem forced at all! He had 16 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists. Looks like he was taking a leaf out of Howard's book.

%@#&... Again!

LeBron James was just one steal away from the dynasty's first 5x5. He had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 15 assists, 5 blocks and 4 steals.

Look Who it Is

I know it's unusual to have an opposing player, but I thought it was noteworthy to point out that George Power is still in this league. Currently a bench warmer for the Suns, he showed glimpses of his unrealised potential against his old side. Here's hoping he can stick around the league for a few more seasons.

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The Double Feature!

The last two games of the regular season will be on a California roadtrip. They will be against the Clippers and the Kings.

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After getting 3 actual players in this summary, I thought "I'll try to get them all in there"... then I realised; that is all of them.

Anyway, two more games left in the season. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably be in the playoffs in a few hours time. The double feature will be coming up next.

It's odd that you have the big guys picking up triple-doubles (with assists), not the guards or the wing-players.

And by 'not forced', do you mean you noticed after the game? I can't do that, I usually check during the game, especially on Live. In 2K, LeBron picked those up without me noticing indeed.

Some big numbers there. Nice idea to feature George Power as something of a "Where Are They Now?".