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

Glad to see you back. You had some really good seats.

I'm jealous man. Really good seats you had! Great to have you back, can't wait to see Ty in action.

5 Game Summary

In this 5 game stretch, Denver went 3-2 as their winning streak ended at 8 when they were beaten by the T-Wolves. Of course, the game before that marked a huge game for both Ty Maximilian and The Birdman. Ty scored 37 points against the Sixers, while Chris Andersen grabbed an impressive 21 rebounds. Denver managed to dominate Golden State once again, while the two games against the Clippers caused the Nuggets headaches. The feature game is the first one they played against LA.

Denver escapes with a win



Denver managed to overcome a surging Clippers side to win 70-68. Denver were up by as many as 10 in the forth with Taylor MacKenzie scoring 29 points for the game. Ty Maximilian supported him nicely with 17 of his own. However the sharp shooting of Eric Gordon (22) and the brute strength of Blake Griffin (23) kept the Clippers in the hunt in the dying stages.

The game was tied with the last possession belonging to Denver. A breakdown in the play saw the ball go to Ty Maximilian for the winning shot, where he was blocked by Blake Griffin. However, it was judged that the contact he made with Ty on the way down was too much, which sent Maximilian to the line with 0.1 seconds to go in the game. A noted struggler from the line, Ty Maximilian managed to have no troubles with these two free throws, proving that he is a big game player.

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LAC@DEN

DEN: 70 (MacKenzie 29, Maximilian 17, Anthony 9)
LAC: 68 (Griffin 23, Gordon 22, Thornton 6)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Ty Maximilian 17 points 8 rebounds 3 assists 1 block

Rebounds

DEN: Andersen 11
LAC: Griffin, Humphries 12

Assists

DEN: Andersen, Billups 4
LAC: Davis 8
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Last 5 Games

PHI: 104-87 W
MIN: 81-70 L
GSW: 79-66 W
LAC: 70-68 W
LAC: 86-77

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Ty comes up big

Ty Maximilian had a big game against the 76ers with 37 points

Hitting the boards

The Birdman grabbed 21 rebounds against the 76ers

A thing of beauty

Ty blocks the shot of Kevin Garnett

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Next 5 Games

LAL
@CHI
@PHI
@MIA
DAL

The feature game will be against Dallas
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Next update will be the November summary. Can Taylor MacKenzie win the West Rookie of the Month? Find out soon!

Kevin Garnett in Warriors singlet lol. Love the great performance by the Birdman.

Birdman is reaching 'Rodman'-like levels of board domination in your dynasty - very cool!

Both MacKenzie and Ty are having huge games. Anthony even had 9 points!

The new guys are taking over.

Yea the young guys are having nice games. You must be really good at drafting

Great finish in the featured game.

Glad to see this one still going. Reminds me a little of the Live '04 Dynasty that I had with the Nuggets where the generics became the team's best players

Glad to hear you go to an NBA game. When I was in the States back in late '05 I caught a Clippers-Suns game. Although A'mare was out for season injured, it was great to see the immortal Steve Nash dominate. That was back when all Clippers' fans loved Easy E (Brand) & they had Sam (I Am) Cassell & Cuttino Mobley. I remember that game I think Kaman had a monster game & it surprised many, but those are more the norm for him now.

Glad you got to some Ducks' games. I was in Anaheim for about 3 or 4 days, but didn't get to see any NHL games, which was gutting. Maybe next time when I get across to Canada.

Did you get to Las Vegas?

Kevin Garnett in Warriors singlet lol. Love the great performance by the Birdman.

First Shaq, now KG... The Warriors are getting the hall of famers, whether it's too late or not

Birdman is reaching 'Rodman'-like levels of board domination in your dynasty - very cool!

Thanks, he's pretty much on my team for his rebounding/shot blocking ability. His offense is pretty much non-existent.

Both MacKenzie and Ty are having huge games. Anthony even had 9 points!

The new guys are taking over.

Yea the young guys are having nice games. You must be really good at drafting

It's nice to be overachieving with those guys. I have a thing about making guys in the low 60s play at an all-star level

I think I'm just lucky with drafting. Since Josh Childress isn't in the game, I have to find other unlikely players to fill the void.

Great finish in the featured game.

Thanks, I actually passed it to Ty by accident. I wanted to get it to Taylor, but I guess Maximilian was the closest.

Glad to see this one still going. Reminds me a little of the Live '04 Dynasty that I had with the Nuggets where the generics became the team's best players

Glad to hear you go to an NBA game. When I was in the States back in late '05 I caught a Clippers-Suns game. Although A'mare was out for season injured, it was great to see the immortal Steve Nash dominate. That was back when all Clippers' fans loved Easy E (Brand) & they had Sam (I Am) Cassell & Cuttino Mobley. I remember that game I think Kaman had a monster game & it surprised many, but those are more the norm for him now.

Glad you got to some Ducks' games. I was in Anaheim for about 3 or 4 days, but didn't get to see any NHL games, which was gutting. Maybe next time when I get across to Canada.

Did you get to Las Vegas?

Thanks for dropping in. Kaman had a really dominant game in the one I saw as well. 20-10 I believe. He and Drew Gooden were getting it done on the boards.

The Ducks games were amazing and it's definitely an experience you need to check out. I was about 3 rows away from the glass.

I didn't get to Vegas because of my budget. Plus I really liked Orange County that I didn't particularly want to leave there in a hurry.

Hope you keep following the story

November 2012 Review

MacKenzie picks up monthly award



For the first time in this dynasty, one of my rookies has picked up the West Rookie of the Month Award. Averaging 18.7 points per game, Taylor MacKenzie was far ahead of the field in the Western Conference and seems to be the overwhelming favourite to pick up the Rookie of the Year... at the moment anyway. He is causing dilemmas for not only the opposing sides, but for the Denver coaching staff. Right now he is competing with Ray Allen, Shannon Brown and Arron Afflalo for minutes. If Taylor keeps playing the way he's playing, the Nuggets management might have to make a mid-season trade with one of the shooting guards losing out on playing time.

Team Overview

Denver are sitting second in the West at this current point, with a record of 12-4. While Melo and Billups have been quiet, guys like Ty Maximilian and Taylor MacKenzie have well and truly stepped up. Ty is a player who plays the game as intensely as Kevin Garnett and he is in every play. If you look up hustle in wikipedia, there should be a picture of Ty Maximilian (make it happen someone! JK). As for Taylor, what he lacks in efficiency, he makes up for pure streakiness. When the guy gets hot, he is a nightmare for the opposition team. He has a pure shooter's mentality and has no conscience AT ALL.

On the defensive end, the Birdman has had some big nights on the boards. As reported before, he had 21 boards against the 76ers and he's currently second in the league in rebounds per game. When he goes to the bench though, the Nuggets lose absolutely nothing when Gortat or Hickson comes on. Both guys hit the boards hard and Gortat has also proven to be a great shot blocker.

Despite a great early run, Ray Allen has cooled off considerably. His three point shot has been erratic at best and it's looking more and more like it will be his last season in the NBA. Shannon Brown also tapered off a bit towards the end of the month, as his opportunities have been limited due to the breakout success of Taylor MacKenzie.

Matt Bonner is no longer a real go to guy off the bench, however he provides an X-Factor at times with his 3 point shooting. Arron Afflalo has only seen two games, while GH was only just recently activated for the first time. Erick Christian has played only one game, which was against the Rockets, while Lou Williams has been non-existent.

Around the League

Monthly Awards

I'm calling shenanigans on TJ Ford's stat line... it always happens to atleast one player in the first month.

West Player: [SAN] TJ Ford (18.8ppg, 10.6rpg, 8.3apg, 5.3spg)
East Player: [CLE] Lebron James (30.2ppg, 6.2rpg, 1.4spg)
West Rookie: [DEN] Taylor MacKenzie (18.7ppg, 1.8rpg, 0.9apg)
East Rookie: [MIA] Frank King (6.4ppg, 4.6rpg, 1.1bpg)

MVP Race

[CLE] Lebron James (30.2ppg, 6.2rpg, 1.4spg)
[MIA] Dwyane Wade (26.7ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.6spg)
[IND] Danny Granger (22.5ppg, 7.7rpg, 5.5apg)
[NOH] Chris Paul (20.5ppg, 7.1apg, 1.2spg)
[NJN] Devin Harris (21.1ppg, 7apg, 1.9spg)

League Leaders

PPG: [CLE] Lebron James 30.2, [MIA] Dwyane Wade 26.7, [IND] Danny Granger 22.5, [SAN] Aaron Brooks 22.2, [UTA] Deron Williams 21.4
RPG: [HOU] Yao Ming 10.6, [DEN] Chris Andersen/[MIN] Al Jefferson/[BOS] Kendrick Perkins 10.4, [NYK] David Lee 10.1
APG: [CLE] DJ Augustin 8, [BOS] Rajon Rondo 7.9, [GSW] Jordan Farmar 7.5, [LAL] Reuben Glanville 7.4, [MIA] Reuben Walker 7.2
SPG: [NJN] Devin Harris/[ORL] Rashard Lewis 1.9, [DEN] Carmelo Anthony/[OKC] Tony Parker 1.8, [SAC] Kevin Martin 1.7
BPG: [CHA] Tyson Chandler 2.6, [BOS] Kendrick Perkins 2.3, [IND] Al Horford/[DET] Joakim Noah/[DEN] Chris Andersen/[NOH] Emeka Okafor/[DAL] Brice Bradford 2.1

Standings

EAST

Cleveland 12-4
Indiana 10-5
Charlotte 10-8
New Jersey 9-8
Detroit 8-9
Washington 8-9
Atlanta 7-8
Boston 7-8
---
Orlando 7-8
Toronto 7-8
New York 7-10
Miami 7-11
Philadelphia 5-10
Milwaukee 5-12
Chicago 2-12

WEST

Oklahoma City 14-4
Denver 12-4
Memphis 10-5
LA Clippers 9-5
New Orleans 11-7
Phoenix 10-7
Portland 8-7
Golden State 9-9
---
Dallas 8-8
Utah 8-9
Houston 7-8
San Antonio 8-10
Minnesota 7-12
LA Lakers 6-11

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No typo guys... the Lakers are at the bottom of the West right now... however, I don't expect them to stay there. They still have Bryant, Gasol, Odom, Bynum and Artest, plus they have a good rookie.

Anyway, the next update will be the 5 game one. Let me know what you think of my team overview. I decided to be more in depth for this month.

Good to see the Pacers up there And congrats to MacKenzie!

Check out the new T-MAC schoolin' the Lakeshow!

my hero already... where can i buy that guy's jersey?

Just love the screenshots in this one.

Lakers bottom of the West, how desirable is that for some people, but only in the world of video games.
You actually have a league leader in steals per game. That's the only category I have trouble getting someone to the top in dynasty mode.
Your team looks very kick-ass right now especially the youngsters.

Ford with an Oscar Robertson-type performance. Hopefully that'll even out over the course of the season. Nice write-up with the team overview and good job with the monthly review all around.

lol at Ford's numbers. KG looks great in that Warriors uniform. Too bad the team is only mediocre. Hopefully your generic rookie (are all the rookies white and last-gen looking in this game?) can lead your team to a three-pear.

Good to see the Pacers up there And congrats to MacKenzie!

Yeah, I like the fact the Pacers are up there too. Shame about the Knicks though... I'd love to see that rivalry come back to the playoffs

Check out the new T-MAC schoolin' the Lakeshow!

my hero already... where can i buy that guy's jersey?

T-Mac 2.0

As for his jersey, I'm sure the NBA shop could help you out

Just love the screenshots in this one.

Thanks mate, glad you're enjoying it and welcome to the board

Lakers bottom of the West, how desirable is that for some people, but only in the world of video games.
You actually have a league leader in steals per game. That's the only category I have trouble getting someone to the top in dynasty mode.
Your team looks very kick-ass right now especially the youngsters.

Yeah, I wouldn't call myself a Lakers hater... just a Nuggets fan . There's a bunch of players on the team that I like actually (Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Luke Walton).

I tend to go for a lot of steals, but that also gets me a lot of fouls.

Ford with an Oscar Robertson-type performance. Hopefully that'll even out over the course of the season. Nice write-up with the team overview and good job with the monthly review all around.

With past experience in the dynasty mode, it has evened out. The first month always seems to have atleast one player with abnormal stats. Thanks for the positive feedback as well

lol at Ford's numbers. KG looks great in that Warriors uniform. Too bad the team is only mediocre. Hopefully your generic rookie (are all the rookies white and last-gen looking in this game?) can lead your team to a three-pear.

It does seem to generate a lot of rookies to that description. That and bald white guys tend to be around a lot (Erick Christian on my team fits that description).

KG does look good in Nellie's jersey

5 Game Summary

In this 5 game stretch, Denver went 3-2 once again. They lost their first game against the Lakers in a blowout, while the other game they lost was against Miami, which turned out to be closer. The Nuggets however managed to score convincing wins against Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas. Which brings us to the feature game against the Mavericks... this one is a bit different

Grant Hill makes a statement and destroys the Mavericks



It was only the second game of the season that he had been activated, but it didn't take long for Grant Hill to get back into the swing of things as he led Denver to an emphatic win against Dallas. The score ended up being 73-57. Grant Hill exploded off the bench, scoring 21 of his 33 points in the 3rd quarter. He took over from Carmelo Anthony, who had an abysmal night shooting 1/15 from the field. GH was supported by rookie sensation Taylor MacKenzie, who scored 12 of his own in this low scoring affair.

For Dallas, new acquisition Carlos Boozer top scored with 13 points. He was acquired from Minnesota in exchange for Kevin Durant and Andres Nocioni. Jeff Green chipped in with 12 points, while Brice Bradford had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

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DAL@DEN

DEN: 73 (Hill 33, MacKenzie 12, Brown 8)
DAL: 57 (Boozer 13, Green 12, Bradford 10)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Grant Hill 33 points

Rebounds

DEN: Andersen 12
DAL: Bradford 11

Assists

DEN: Billups, Chalmers 4
DAL: Barea, Boozer, Blatche 3

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Last 5 Games

LAL: 81-66 L
@CHI: 78-68 W
@PHI: 81-72 W
@MIA: 80-75 L
DAL: 73-57 W

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Birdman loves the Sixers

There's something about the sixers that Birdman seems to love. He picked up another 20 rebounds... this time in Philly.

Billups can hit the boards too

Chauncey shows some athleticism with this tip-in

Not just a shooter

T-Mac shows that he can also throw down a slam.
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Special Announcement: Camby's jersey to be retired



On the 26th of December, Marcus Camby's number 23 will be retired in the Pepsi centre when they play the Toronto Raptors. He will be presented with the honor by Denver Nuggets legend Alex English, who is an assistant coach of the Toronto Raptors.

Camby had two stints with Denver, winning the NBA defensive player of the year and named on 4 All-Defensive teams during his first run, while in his swansong, he earnt the ring he deserves by providing the Nuggets much needed defensive presense off the bench.

It seems fitting that his jersey will be retired in a game with the club he started his career with and the one he ended it with.

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Next 5 Games

HOU
MEM
ATL
CHA
IND

Feature game TBA... if anyone wants to make a suggestion, I'll be open to it.
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Well, next up will be another 5 game summary, unless something happens with my team before the 5 games are played. If anyone can find me the back of Marcus Camby's #23 in Denver, I'd very much appreciate it. Thanks for reading

Grant Hill what a game!

ol' man Hill showing the youngsters how it's done; bummed to see Camby retire but awesome he'll be honored and have his jersey in the rafters

Good to see Marcus getting his J retired Feature the Pacers!

Hill can still do his thing. Btw I would feature the ATL or HOU

Yeah, I wouldn't call myself a Lakers hater... just a Nuggets fan . There's a bunch of players on the team that I like actually (Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Luke Walton).

I kinda sounded like Laker hater when I said that, but I don't hate them, it's just that they are rivals with the Rockets (because of last year's amazing playoff series), so it would be a good laugh for me, though impossible, to see the Lakers at the bottom.