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

5 Game Summary

Denver have continued off their flying start to the year with 5 wins this round. This extends their streak to 7, which makes them 9-1. Ray Allen has enjoyed a return to form with 35 against Portland and 42 against New Jersey in the feature game. Taylor MacKenzie had his first scoreless game of his career against Cleveland, crashing him back down to earth after a sublime start. Now here's the feature game, the NBA Finals rematch against New Jersey:

Allen and Anthony star as Denver hold on



Ray Allen has proved he is not past it yet, as he lead Denver to a 92-87 win against newly formed rivals, the New Jersey Nets. Allen exploded in the game with 42 points, as he managed to outscore Melo, who had 36 of his own. What kept New Jersey in the game was that they had a more even spread of scorers. While Allen and Anthony scored double figures, Ty Maximilian had the next high score for Denver with 9. New Jersey however managed to have 4 players in double figures, led by Devin Harris with 28 points. Stoudemire (22) and Stuckey (20) both managed to score 20+ points, while new acquisition Chris Kaman scored 13.

Despite the team effort from New Jersey, they ended up being overwhelmed by Melo and Ray-Ray. Both players were at the top of their form in this game, and Ray Allen proved that you still cannot leave him open... ever!

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NJN@DEN

DEN: 92 (Allen 42, Anthony 36, Maximilian 9)
NJN: 87 (Harris 28, Stoudemire 22, Stuckey 20)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Amare Stoudemire 22 points 12 rebounds 1 block

Rebounds

DEN: Andersen 5
NJN: Stoudemire 12

Assists

DEN: Chalmers 7
NJN: Stuckey 6

Double-doubles

DEN: none
NJN: Stoudemire (22 points, 12 rebounds)

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Last 5 Games

@POR: 82-68 W
@UTA: 84-74 W
CLE: 112-110 W (OT)
MIL: 83-63 W
NJN: 92-87 W

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Coincidence?

The same day in which Denver was taken to overtime by Cleveland in real life, was the same day I played this game, and guess what? It was taken to overtime! Melo had a double-double with 28 points and 10 rebounds.

Redemption

After going scoreless against the Cavaliers, Taylor MacKenzie came back the next game and scored a career high 32 against the Bucks.

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Next 5 Games

PHI
MIN
GSW
LAC
LAC

The feature game will be the first one against the Clippers, since I don't think I've done a Clippers game in a while.

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Next will be the 10 game review of the team. Stay tuned to see how I rate my roster in the year so far. Thanks for reading once again

10 Game Review



Like every year, this is my analysis on the way my players have performed so far:

Chris Andersen: Defensively, the Birdman is still a massive presense in the paint, leading the Nuggets in both rebounds (9.3) and blocks (2) per game. Offensively he doesn't make a big impact, but his role is to be an enforcer on the defensive end, and right now he's doing his job well.

Ty Maximilian: He's not in the form he was in during the playoffs, but he's still been solid. On a team full of scorers, he has managed to stay 4th in the team in points per game. Added to this that he is 3rd in both rebounds (3.8) and assists (3.5) per game, he is still having a good year and is a possible candidate for Most Improved Player.

Carmelo Anthony: Once again he has been the team leader, with the most points per game (20). He also comes second in steals (1.8) and blocks per game (1.1). Melo is having a great year so far, after the disappointing regular season of last year. Hopefully he can keep it up and earn his spot back in the All-star team.

Ray Allen: I have to admit, in the first 5 games I was skeptical. He didn't seem to shoot the ball that well and it looked like it was going to be a typical "get another ring on the way out" type season for Ray Allen. In the last 5 games however, he has well and truly proved me wrong. His highlights include 35 against the Blazers and 42 against the Nets. He is ranked 2nd in points per game, with 18.3.

Chauncey Billups: With an abundance of scorers, Chauncey's production has decreased in the points per game statistic. This however has caused him to be more of a distributor and leader of the team. He leads Denver in assists per game (5.6), while being a pest on defense with 2 steals per game to also be the statistical leader. He can still launch the odd three and he is yet to miss a free throw so far.

Mario Chalmers: Like Chauncey, he has been needed less as far as scoring points is concerned. However, he's been a little more non-existent, scoring less than 2 points per game. He has managed to be second in assists though with 3.9 per game. He has been less effective than Billups in the time he's been on the floor, but I still think he will be Denver's starting point guard when Mr Big Shot decides to call it a day.

Marcin Gortat: He's been providing the Birdman solid backup on the defensive end, with 6.2 rebounds per game (2nd) and 1 block per game (3rd). Non-existent on the offensive end, but once again, he's not a scorer.

Shannon Brown: Impressive in the minutes he has gotten so far, however with Ray Allen and now Taylor MacKenzie in the rotation, he is finding it even harder to get playing time. He has been a revelation behind the arc though, leading the team in 3 point percentage (40%). He still remains to be an excellent impact player.



JJ Hickson: I'm really impressed by this guy. He hits the boards hard and blocks shots. He is currently 4th in rebounds per game (3.7) and equal 3rd in blocks per game (1). Not bad for a guy playing behind Ty Maximilian.

Matt Bonner: So far this season he has only played 3 games... why do you ask? Well, in his 3 games, he has been 2/11 from the field. For a guy who was once the 6th man of the year, this is definitely a fall from grace.

Taylor MacKenzie: Currently the most talked about guy in this season... and why not? Scored the game winning shot on debut, he is the equal second leading scorer with 18.3 points per game and he scored a career high 32 against Milwaukee in his 9th career game. In the last 5 games, he has had a bit of a shooting slump, but he still manages to score points in high volumes. He seems destined to be Denver's first rookie of the year since the beginning of the Next Level. At worst, he'll be an All-Rookie First team selection with his form at the moment.

Arron Afflalo: He has played 2 games this season and when you look at the current shooting guard rotation, it's not hard to see why. While I still love Afflalo's game, it's hard to find him minutes when I have Ray Allen, Taylor MacKenzie and Shannon Brown playing the way they are. A valued member of my dynasty still, but he's unlikely to see many games this season.

Erick Christian: Undersized and undertalented. Barring a freak injury to one of my centres, his career with Denver will most likely be for one game. In this one game? 2 points and 2 rebounds... not too bad really, but when you consider that his 2 points came from a dunk that bounced off the backboard before going in, it doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence for the guy.

Yet to play

Grant Hill, Louis Williams

Shame the scoreless game by MacKenzie, but Ray Ray seems to be back on track!

Good stuff, fun coincidence with your Nuggets/Cavs game going into OT...and basically replicating the result, just a few points off the actual score. Did you catch the game on One HD the other day? Unfortunately I missed it.

Shame the scoreless game by MacKenzie, but Ray Ray seems to be back on track!

It is a shame, but he made up for it by scoring a career high in the next game. I suppose consistency is often a big issue amongst rookies.

Good stuff, fun coincidence with your Nuggets/Cavs game going into OT...and basically replicating the result, just a few points off the actual score. Did you catch the game on One HD the other day? Unfortunately I missed it.

I caught the last quarter and OT, and I watched a bit of the replay later that night. It never ceases to amaze me how often Chauncey Billups does come up with that big shot. He's probably my favourite point guard in the NBA. Melo and the King is always a great matchup as well... Lebron is just out of this world in real life. Great game, and as always it's nice to see Denver win

Dynasty Announcement: TNL to go on hiatus

As you might have read before, I'm going off to California for a holiday. My flight leaves tomorrow which means I won't be near my game for a month. I'll probably be able to respond to a few posts, but the dynasty itself won't be going forward until after the 20th of March. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and hopefully you will continue to do so. With any luck I will pick up my dynasty again next month and continue on the momentum of the 4th season.

Have fun on your trip!

What a long vacation, have fun man

Have fun on your precious vacation! catch ya later

Good luck in California, will you be attending any game during that time?

Have a great vacation man.

Have a good one.

Thanks guys. I'm currently in Orange County. There's a few games I'd love to check out at Staples, but I'd even be happy to see A D-League game of some sort. Anyway, so far so good

Visit Kobe for me

Good to hear you're having a fun time, if you can catch a game I reckon that'll be an awesome experience, regardless of who's playing.

Sorry dare, I decided that I'm an honorary Clippers fan on this trip

Speaking of which, I have a ticket to the Clippers/Jazz game on the first. Should be great. Nuggets and Lakers was sold out, but I'm just happy to see a game

As Andrew said, it doesn't matter who's playing, it'll be an incredible experience. I wish I could watch a NBA game!

With how the Jazz are playing as of lately, it would be even better.

Glad to hear you'll be taking in a game. Be sure to take some photos!

Damn you! Going to a Jazz game.

Sorry for a lack of comments recently but have been busy with stuff. I followed your latest championship run and was very impressed with your repeat. Just looking at your squad for this season the bench and the reserve unit is so strong that you really should be able to retain the championship. Have a great time on your trip.

TNL is back... again

After a lengthy vacation in Orange County, I'm back to the real world... which means my dynasty is back. As much as it's driven me mad sometimes that I couldn't play it, I had such an awesome time in California. Went to 3 Anaheim Ducks games, in which the Ducks only won 1. I also came really close to see Teemu Selanne's 600th goal... but anyway. As mentioned before I saw the Clippers Vs the Jazz. Apparently I had witnessed a rarity since the Clippers actually won the game. My favourite crowd comment of the game was from a Utah Jazz supporter, who said:

"Don't hurt Kyle (Korver), his legs are skinnier than mine!"

Anyway, here's some footage I got from the game. I have a few photos as well, but they turned out pretty blurry.

phpBB [video]

Anyway, expect some updates over the next week or so. It's been great to see some life in the section and there have been some great dynasties I've been reading in my down time. Here's hoping I still get a few readers

Looks like you had a great seat to watch your first NBA game. Looking forward to you getting your dynasty going again.

Welcome back man, hopefully you can update this real soon

Good to see you back and glad to hear you had such a great time on your trip. Nice seats.

great seats sounds like you had an awesome time; looking fwd to new updates