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

[Warlock95]

LeBron James once again finds himself without a team at the start of the 2023-2024 season. When he finds one, it'll be his 21st season in the NBA.

Yet he still hasn't gotten himself a ring. Ouch.

[Kenny]

I'm guessing Griffiths will work his way into the starting five sooner or later, or at least see starters minutes off the bench...perhaps another rookie Sixth Man winner? Hopefully Perko will have some better performances outside of simulation.

At worst, he'll probably be the 1st or 2nd player to come off the bench. I am hoping ease him into the starting lineup, with either him or Perko playing the centre position. It's very possible he could replicate T-Mac's Rookie/6th man effort, but at the moment, Simon Sampson is proving to be quite capable of stealing the 6th off him.

LeBron James once again finds himself without a team at the start of the 2023-2024 season. When he finds one, it'll be his 21st season in the NBA.

Yet he still hasn't gotten himself a ring. Ouch.

I guess it's the ongoing theme with this dynasty. He's holding onto the dream though; gotta give him credit for that.

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

Despite some big individual performances, the Denver Nuggets seemed to have a hangover from last season with a record of 2-3 to start 2023-2024. After losing their opening game in OT against the Lakers, they went on to win a tight one against the Warriors. But while they haven't had a losing streak yet, they haven't strung two wins together either. They lost against Sacramento, won against the Celtics in their first home game, but then lost a tough defensive grind against the Bulls.

The feature game is of course their first win of the season against the Golden State Warriors:

First Pick Impresses In Win



In just the second game of his career, Stan Griffiths led the Denver Nuggets to a 100-96 win over the Golden State Warriors. Griffiths was selected as the Performer of the Game with 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal. However, this game wasn't without a scare; after he completed a dunk, Duncan Werner grabbed Griffiths' leg in mid air, causing him to land awkwardly. Luckily, no injury was sustained. Simon Sampson followed up his 43 point effort against the Lakers with 23, while Taylor MacKenzie had a much better game this time around with 23. Steven Hunt ran the floor beautifully with 12 points and 11 assists, while Borislav Perko almost had his second triple-double of the season with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

The Warriors also had 5 double digit scorers, but none of them surpassed 20 points. They were led by Kerry Bird and Johnny Williams, who scored 19 and 17 respectively. Duncan Werner had a good game off the bench with 15, but it was overshadowed by the controversy of his leg grab on Griffiths. Thomas Scott scored 13 and Amos Brauer recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

This was the Nuggets first win of the season and the second game they've played that was decided by 4 points.

-------------------------------

DEN@GSW

DEN: 100 (Griffiths 24, Sampson 23, MacKenzie 21)
GSW: 96 (Bird 19, Williams 17, Werner 15)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Stan Griffiths 24 points 7 rebounds 4 assists 3 blocks 1 steal

Rebounds

DEN: Perko 9
GSW: Brauer 11

Assists

DEN: Hunt 11
GSW: Williams 8

-------------------------------

Last 5 Games

@LAL: 110-106(OT) L
@GSW: 100-96 W
@SAC: 89-80 L
BOS: 94-75 W
CHI: 71-69 L

The record is currently 2-3

-------------------------------

Simon Says: Count to 43

Simon Sampson has been the surprise player so far this season, leading Denver in scoring with 19.4 points per game off the bench, including 43 points in the overtime loss against the Lakers. If he keeps it up, someone will have to give up a starting spot to him.

The Hunt Is On

Steven Hunt has been averaging almost a double-double at the start of this season with 10 ppg and 9.2apg. His biggest game was against the Bulls, where he could have been the first to register a quadruple-double. He had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists and 9 steals.

It's All Good

Nicklas Good's size has been a serious plus for the Nuggets. He's been grabbing his fair share of rebounds and had a great game against the Celtics with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

For Real?

DeMar DeRozan hasn't been getting much PT, but he got a little against the Kings. He scored 6 points and registered a rebound and an assist. He's the last real one in the team... will he be the last one the team ever has?

-------------------------------

Next 5 Games

ORL
PHI
@DAL
@HOU
@SAN

-------------------------------

For those of you who want stats on Griffiths and Perko, here's how they're going so far:

Griffiths: 15ppg 5.4rpg 2.6apg

Perko: 9.6ppg 8rpg 9apg (including a game of 19 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists against the Lakers).

Not a great start to the season, but there have been some promising signs. Some great individual performances... now I just need to put it all together.

[Kenny]

LeBron and Dan Reunite



In a stunning twist in the ongoing LeBron James saga, LeBron decided he wants to spend his 21st (and possibly final) season back with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The split was hardly amicable, with a war of words errupting between James and Gilbert, including the notorious letter where Dan (correctly) predicted that the Cavaliers would win a championship before LeBron and the Suns.

But all seems well between the two now, as Gilbert commended LeBron's maturity, while James reiterated that his heart has always been in Cleveland.

[Andrew]

Now there's a surprising twist in the story around the league for this Dynasty. Somehow, I don't think it'll happen in real life...despite one writer's recent speculation.

Also, five game suspension for Werner for that play, at least. No call for that.

[Warlock95]

Aww... Lebron's back as a Cav, probably not as Number 23.

Oh, and that Griffiths bloke is proving the Nuggets got lucky with the first pick. "Lucky Nine" as a nickname, perhaps?

[Lamrock]

Weird to see a slow start for the Nuggs, but cool seeing LeBron end up back in Cleveland here.

[kibaxx7]

Yeah man, suspension for Werner! Flagrant right there. Also nice to see Bron in Cleveland

[Houndy]

Wow, dirty play by Werner

[Mavs4Life]

BREAKING NEWS:

Ducan Werner fined $ 5,000 and suspended 3 games for leg grab You're still doing good IMO with all your losses under 10.

[Kenny]

Now there's a surprising twist in the story around the league for this Dynasty. Somehow, I don't think it'll happen in real life...despite one writer's recent speculation.

Also, five game suspension for Werner for that play, at least. No call for that.

I wouldn't count out the possibility, but I really see it more as something he'd do at the end of his career, like AI did with the Sixers. Of course, by then LeBron will probably have at least 1 ring.

It's funny because originally I was just looking to take a photo of Griffiths dunking on him, but in the end, I found an interesting picture in the aftermath.

Aww... Lebron's back as a Cav, probably not as Number 23.

Oh, and that Griffiths bloke is proving the Nuggets got lucky with the first pick. "Lucky Nine" as a nickname, perhaps?

Probably not, but that's possibly something I can change before I play them.

The fact that he chose 9 isn't without controversy... look at the player in my signature

So I think any nicknames involving 9 would be possibly temporary in the grand scheme of things.

Weird to see a slow start for the Nuggs, but cool seeing LeBron end up back in Cleveland here.

It's getting harder and harder each season because every player I sign, I know next to nothing about how to control them. Shot releases and there range is always a problem for me. I've seen Steven Hunt nail a few threes against me, but he's proving to be like Rondo so far for me.

I'm liking the LeBron move too.

Yeah man, suspension for Werner! Flagrant right there. Also nice to see Bron in Cleveland

I would have loved to have seen when the animation would have looked like if it was a 2k game. I remember I did a drive with Evan Turner in 2k11 and he basically did a flip over the defender

Wow, dirty play by Werner

Yeah really; Bruce Lee Bowen would have been proud

BREAKING NEWS:

Ducan Werner fined $ 5,000 and suspended 3 games for leg grab You're still doing good IMO with all your losses under 10.

The games are certainly getting tougher for a combination of reasons. It's keeping things interesting.

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

The Nuggets added two wins at the start of this summary against Orlando and Philadelphia. However, the road proved to be tricky for them once again, as they went 1-2 in Texas. The feature game is against Houston, but before I get to that, here's a rant:

The 5 Game Simulation Failure

If you wanted to know why it's taken me a while to post another update, it's because I was feeling deterred. Much like I expected, the simulation wasn't kind to me, as I went 0-5. However, the most insulting part of this was the last game. The Nuggets played against the Timberwolves and over a 40 minute again, Denver only scored 28 points. Minnesota not only won with a score of 55 points in 40 minutes, but they flatout destroyed the Nuggets. Before this, I thought that EA could use NBA Live 10 as a template, but I was reminded how much work needs to be done on their behalf.

//end rant

Anyway, here's the feature game:

Steven Hunts Rockets Down



The Denver Nuggets got back to winning ways with a 106-88 victory over Houston. Steven Hunt completely controlled the game, as his 13 assists helped Simon Sampson (28) and Taylor MacKenzie (21) to productive scoring nights. Hunt himself also put up 17 points, while Stan Griffiths also registered a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Although his assist tally was down for the night, Borislav Perko still had a solid game with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Ken O'Reilly was the Rockets only shining light with 30 points and 9 assists. Patrick Barnes was the next best with 11, while Waldo Bonner, Armando Ferrer and Marcel Turner all scored 10 each.

With this win, the Nuggets are one game above .500.

-----------------------

DEN@HOU

DEN: 106 (Sampson 28, MacKenzie 21, Hunt 17)
HOU: 88 (O'Reilly 30, Barners 11, Bonner 10)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Steven Hunt 17 points 1 rebound 13 assists 4 steals 1 block

Rebounds

DEN: Good 14
HOU: Bonner, Ferrer 8

Assists

DEN: Hunt 13
HOU: O'Reilly 9

-----------------------

Last 5 Games (Played)

ORL: 91-83 W
PHI: 110-90 W
@DAL: 83-78 L
@HOU: 106-88 W
@SAN: 91-89 L

Last 5 Games (Simmed)

@ATL: 79-65 L
@WAS: 84-67 L
@TOR: 70-67 L
@DET: 60-51 L
@MIN: 55-28 L

Before the simmed games, the Nuggets were 5-5, but are now 5-10 (thanks EA).

-----------------------

Back In Form

Although Steven Hunt has taken away a lot of his assists, Borislav Perko is still putting up some nice numbers. He had a triple-double against the Magic with 18 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. Perko has found a way to get himself more involved on the offensive end and is currently averaging 10.6 points per game.

Borislav MacKenzie

Taylor MacKenzie was hoping going from a Ben Wallace to a Borislav Perko look would help him improve on an average 2022-2023 season. The signs are good if you take the Sixers game into account, as he piled on 28.

Rising Star

Although there are obvious improvements needed in his game, Stan Griffiths has shown so far that he has great potential. In a losing effort against Dallas, he scored 20 points... but the telling stat would be his 2 rebounds. To be an elite player, he's going to have to get a lot stronger.

The Other Rookie

No one expected anything from Timothy Ullrich, but in his short career, he's momentarily become the Nuggets backup centre. He had his best performance against the Spurs, scoring 14 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. Much like Nick Collison, his stats don't jump out at you, but he does the little things right.

-----------------------

Next 5 Games

TBA

-----------------------

So I decided that I'm not going to sim anymore games. After that round, it showed me that I cannot trust the game's engine at all. Plus my players stats have taken a major hit from it. So for now, the play-5-sim-5 format has been abandoned.

[Phil89]

Wow, 28 points is ridiculous. That's like in my game during the playoffs. The cpu games are either really high or really low, like 160-156 or 56-45.

Good luck with your next five games.

[kibaxx7]

Only 28 points? That's a disaster. Good job EA

But you did win a great game at Houston. Hunt had a great game.

[Andrew]

Yeah, the sim engine in NBA Live 10 is close to being broken. It just doesn't work very well with a lot of the ratings they added or changed. Something they absolutely need to clean up for Dynasty Mode in this year's game.

Very tough round as a result, I definitely don't blame you for taking control again. It should hopefully be an interesting team to play with and coming back from a 5-10 start is a bit of a different scenario for you as well.

[Mavs4Life]

Tough man, the last game was BS. Good luck next week!

[Lamrock]

Some adversity thanks to your team's offensive ineptitude in simmed games.

[Houndy]

28? wow

[Kenny]

Wow, 28 points is ridiculous. That's like in my game during the playoffs. The cpu games are either really high or really low, like 160-156 or 56-45.

Good luck with your next five games.

I noticed that there's no middle ground for this game. I simmed my season with 12 minute quarters and there were some ridiculous numbers.

Only 28 points? That's a disaster. Good job EA

But you did win a great game at Houston. Hunt had a great game.

The engine seems very disasterous to me now. Still, I simmed with worse teams and still had a record over .500... I don't get it.

Hunt was a great pick up. Hopefully he continues to ball.

Yeah, the sim engine in NBA Live 10 is close to being broken. It just doesn't work very well with a lot of the ratings they added or changed. Something they absolutely need to clean up for Dynasty Mode in this year's game.

Very tough round as a result, I definitely don't blame you for taking control again. It should hopefully be an interesting team to play with and coming back from a 5-10 start is a bit of a different scenario for you as well.

Being one of the mediocre teams in the league is definitely a new scenario. I'm hoping I can get back into a bit of a groove. I was feeling a little turned off after that series of events.

Tough man, the last game was BS. Good luck next week!

BS would be one term for it. I don't mind my team losing, but when my players' stats are getting destroyed like that, that's when I get annoyed. Perko's supposed to be in his prime afterall.

Some adversity thanks to your team's offensive ineptitude in simmed games.

Taylor MacKenzie even ended up getting a few DNPs in that run. Couldn't believe it... they kept wanting to start Bartholomew Myer at the two... the dude's 5'10 and can't shoot!

28? wow

I should have checked the field goal percentage... I bet it was absolutely abysmal.

[Kenny]

10 Game Player Review 23-24

After 10 games, the Nuggets had an indifferent 5-5 start... in hindsight though, it looked genius compared to where they sit after 15. Here's a player-by-player breakdown of the first 10:

The Starters

Nicklas Good

Good is a starter pretty much out of default. He's the only true centre in the team, with others being undersized (Timothy Ullrich and Axel Donnelly) or a little on the skinny side (Stan Griffiths and Liam Leopold). In saying that though, it's not the only reason he's there. Throughout his career with Memphis, he provided the Grizzlies with a defensive backbone in the paint and he's helping to establish that with the Nuggets. He's coming second in rebounds with 7.1 per game and with his 7'1 frame protecting the basket, other teams think twice before penetrating to the hoop.

Due to a few experiments with the younger players, Good's playing time might get cut into a little every now and then, but he'll play a big part in Denver's plans to be a relevant team again.

Borislav Perko

His previous season was disasterous, both on and off the court; but Perko looks like he's back this season... or at least the signs are positive at this stage. He's averaging 10.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.6 blocks per game; that's around about where he was when he was crowned MVP... give or take a few stats.

He's not getting as many assists as he used to, but that's because he's no longer the Nuggets primary distributor. Borislav is back!

Simon Sampson

Sampson is turning out to be one of the few feel good stories of the 22-23 season. Whether he was a worthy number 1 pick in the 2017 draft or not, he's been a steal with the mid level exception contract. He's second in the team in scoring (16) and equal first in steals (2.2). After a few big performances, he forced his way into the starting lineup, at the expense of the struggling Cody Campbell.

Taylor MacKenzie

Although he's not averaging 20+, T-Mac is still leading the Nuggets in scoring with 16.7 per game. The big stat for MacKenzie so far has been his 3 point shooting, hitting from beyond the arc 44.2 percent of the time. Much like Perko, he's looking to shake off a below par season. The signs are looking good for him as well.

Steven Hunt

Having a true point guard has been an adjustment for the Nuggets. Perko is no longer directing all the traffic... Hunt is even leading the assist tally with 9.3. His overall line doesn't look that impressive (8.5ppg 2.2spg) but the Nuggets are hoping he can add an element of organisation and be a key player on a possible championship run. Remember, he won a title with the 2021 Washington Wizards.

One noteable stat: At this point, Steven Hunt was 18 from 18 from the charity stripe.

The Bench

Stan Griffiths

With the number 1 overall pick comes a lot of expectation... particularly when you're a consensus number 1. Griffiths so far has done a good job, averaging 15.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He's very skinny and needs to work on his core strength, because every now and then he can get outmuscled under the basket. In fact, in just his fifth game he registered a "Bargnani Bagel". Despite his slenderness, there's undeniable potential there and at 21, he can be apart of a new Denver dynasty.

Cody Campbell

He was arguably the best player for the Nuggets last season... but this time around, he's basically done a reverse Perko. His 8.3 points per game is less than half of his 22-23 average of 17.8. Campbell has been reverting to his perimeter game more and he's missing the open shots he would have made 2 seasons ago. If he gets form back, he could make his way back to the starting lineup, but for now, he's getting outplayed by Simon Sampson.

Bartholomew Myer

Bartholomew Myer is getting less minutes this season. His biggest problem? He's too similar to Steven Hunt, but he's inferior in just about every aspect of the game. He's fast; but Hunt is faster. He's a great passer; but not only is Hunt a better passer, but he's a better overall decision maker.

Timothy Ullrich

Known as "the other rookie", Timothy Ullrich has quietly woked his way up the centre rotation. Although he's extremely undersized at 6'7, he does a lot of the little things right. He boxes out, takes charges and hustles for the loose ball. His draft day comparison to Nick Collison was a fair one at this point.

DeMar DeRozan

DeMar hasn't seen a lot of playing time so far and his opportunities are probably going to be limited. He's made some nice plays, driving towards the hoop, but his lack of perimeter game will probably be a big disadvantage for him.

Axel Donnelly

Donnelly's minutes have been scarce, but unlike DeRozan, opportunities should arise for Axel. Much like Ullrich, he's undersized at 6'8, but he manages to get the job done, whether at power forward or centre. He has a much superior offensive game to Ullrich though, which could be advantageous for him later on in the season.

Liam Leopold

Leopold registered a few DNPs in the last 5 games, thanks to the emergence of Timothy Ullrich. Pretty much in the same boat as Stan Griffiths as far as strength and build are concerned, but more limited on the offensive end. Leopold falls somewhere between Ullrich and Donnelly; he's better than Ullrich offensively and better than Donnelly defensively, but inferior the other way around.

IR

Vincenzo Russo

Only played one game for the Nuggets so far. Russo looks like he's still adjusting to the quickness of the NBA after a lengthy hiatus from the league. It's unlikely he'll find his groove with Denver though, as he's apart of a very talented wing rotation.

Ollie Stearn

He managed to hit a three on the fast break and that was his only basket of the season so far. Much like Russo, he's not going to see a lot of playing time this season.

Kitt Graham

He plays an attractive, high tempo game, but he's far too turnover prone. Behind Hunt and Myer, he's not going to see much court time.

[Lamrock]

Looks like you're getting excellent play at the 4. Do Perko and Griffiths play well together?

[Andrew]

Do Perko and Griffiths play well together?

I'm interested in that too. Seems there could be a possibility of an up-tempo, small ball lineup there.

[The X]

Yep, drop your centre to the bench & let the rook & Perko do the dirty work.

[Red Rocket]

Going to try to through the previous 58 pages, sometimes the NBA Live Sim Engine sucks. Good luck from the 5-10 frame.

[Kenny]

Looks like you're getting excellent play at the 4. Do Perko and Griffiths play well together?

I'm interested in that too. Seems there could be a possibility of an up-tempo, small ball lineup there.

Yep, drop your centre to the bench & let the rook & Perko do the dirty work.

It actually works really well because Perko draws a lot of double-teams and he's a great passer, so Griffiths gets a lot of baskets off Perko. The only concern with starting Griffiths is against bigger lineups, I have a tendency to give the opposition a lot of offensive rebounds and put back opportunities. Good gives me an advantage in rebounding, which is a reason why he's starting currently. I'm sure if there was another 7 footer in the league willing to play for peanuts, than he would be pretty expendable.

Going to try to through the previous 58 pages, sometimes the NBA Live Sim Engine sucks. Good luck from the 5-10 frame.

Cool; it'll be interesting to hear your take on my dynasty. I have my own archives on my computer, so I haven't particularly gone back through the pages all that much, but I'm sure I will at some point to see how things were when I first started. I just wish I had the foresight to collect more statistics on certain players and where they ended up in their careers.

Anyway, welcome to the thread