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

[Kenny]

Age Vs Ability



It's a question that every GM seems to have a different answer for: do you build a team full of young players to ensure a long term gain or do you construct a side with proven players who are older to get the glory now? For those of you who inquired, here is the age and overall ratings of the Denver Nuggets:

Age

Chauncey Billups 40
Chris Andersen 38
Carmelo Anthony 32
Mardy Collins 32
JR Smith 31
Brandon Bass 31
Taj Gibson 31
Shannon Brown 30
Robin Lopez 28
Patrick Mills 28
Nicolas Batum 27
Sam Conners 25
Taylor MacKenzie 25
Basil Richter 22
Borislav Perko 21
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Average Age: 29.4
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Player Rating

Carmelo Anthony 90
Chauncey Billups 85
JR Smith 79
Chris Andersen 78
Brandon Bass 73
Shannon Brown 71
Robin Lopez 71
Patrick Mills 70
Nicolas Batum 69
Mardy Collins 68
Taj Gibson 68
Borislav Perko 67
Taylor MacKenzie 65
Sam Conners 62
Basil Richter 61
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Average Rating: 71.8
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Last edited by Kenny on Wed May 05, 2010 5:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Your key players is old.

But still more than serviceable.

How awesome is it to have a player over 30 with an overall of 90.

You know this dynasty is really far when Taj Gibson is 31 YEARS OLD. Billups and Melo still have great rating too.

Billups has held up very well to still be rated 85 overall at the age of 40.

How did you get Brook Lopez? I thought he was on the Kings

Your key players is old.

But still more than serviceable.

Yes and yes, as long as someone can still play well, I don't care how old they are.

How awesome is it to have a player over 30 with an overall of 90.

Pretty awesome because it means that his peak has lasted longer and barring a massive drop, he will continue to be a very useful player til he retires.

You know this dynasty is really far when Taj Gibson is 31 YEARS OLD. Billups and Melo still have great rating too.

I know! I was really shocked when I read that he was that old too, but he was a freshman in college when he was 22.

Billups has held up very well to still be rated 85 overall at the age of 40.

He did but I actually think he'll hold up well in real life too... or atleast I'm hoping being a Denver fan.

How did you get Brook Lopez? I thought he was on the Kings

It's not going to be the last time I make that typo I think . And for the record, Brook Lopez is still with the Kings and is now joined by Dwyane Wade and Andre Iguodala... they have a rather dangerous team.

5 Game Summary

The Denver Nuggets have started off the season in reasonable fashion by going 3-2. It looked ominous for the competition in the first game where they blew away the 2015 champs the Indiana Pacers. However their winning run ended at only two after a loss to Andrew Bogut's Milwaukee Bucks. They got back on track with an overtime win over Dallas, but fell away against the New Orleans Hornetts. The game of the round is against the reigning NBA champs, the Cleveland Cavaliers:

Reunited partnership leads Denver to win



Denver proved that they have one of the most potent back courts in the league by downing the defending champs the Cleveland Cavaliers 86-80. JR Smith continued on his impressive start to the season, leading Denver's scoring with 31. But it was Carmelo Anthony who was named the player of the game, with a nice stat line of 24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Birdman was only just shy of a double-double with 9 points and 12 boards, as well as swatting away 3 shots.

For Cleveland, point guard sensation Jason Gardiner was the high point man with 30 points. The 2016 Finals MVP was also close to a double-double with 9 assists as well. OJ Mayo proved to be hard to handle with 24 points, while new recruit Amare Stoudemire was rather quiet with 10.

If this game is anything to go by, Denver have a team to contend for the title once again after three years of disappointment.

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DEN@CLE

DEN: 86 (Smith 31, Anthony 24, Andersen 9)
CLE: 80 (Gardiner 30, Mayo 24, Stoudemire 10)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Carmelo Anthony 24 points 3 rebounds 2 blocks 3 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Andersen 12
CLE: Lange 9

Assists

DEN: Billups 5
CLE: Gardiner 9

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Last 5 Games

@IND: 83-62 W
@CLE: 86-80 W
@MIL: 83-78 L
@DAL: 97-95 W (OT)
@NOH: 85-80 L

Denver are now 3-2

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Impressive comeback

JR Smith has started his second tenure for Denver with a bang. Here are his numbers in the first 5 games:

Vs Ind: 18 points
Vs Cle: 31 points
Vs Mil: 22 points
Vs Dal: 32 points
Vs NOH: 21 points

Still got it

Birdman has been outstanding on the defensive end. In the first 5 games of the season he averages 14.4 rebounds per game and 3 blocks per game. He had a particularly huge night against New Orleans, where he picked up 22 rebounds in Denver's loss.

Promising start

First round draft pick Borislav Perko registered his first career double-double against Dallas with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He may have just earnt himself a start, with Brandon Bass struggling in the initial stages of the season.

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Next 5 Games

@NOH
@SAN
@MIN
@MIN
GSW

Being the first home game of the year, the feature will be against Golden State.

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Well, an interesting start to the season back from simulation. Hopefully the Nuggets can get a better run going in the next 5 games. Next 5 games will be up soon.

Not too bad out of the gate, hopefully you can put together a bit of a winning streak and have some 4-1 stretches to get on top again. How's the roster like to play with after all the simulation?

As for the real Billups, I think he'll be one of those players that just keeps rolling. He won't be quite as spry, those rare dunks he'll occasionally break out will likely get even rarer, but he'll remain effective.

Not too bad out of the gate, hopefully you can put together a bit of a winning streak and have some 4-1 stretches to get on top again. How's the roster like to play with after all the simulation?

As for the real Billups, I think he'll be one of those players that just keeps rolling. He won't be quite as spry, those rare dunks he'll occasionally break out will likely get even rarer, but he'll remain effective.

Still a lot of fun to play with. I forgot how great it is to be able to throw alley oops up to JR Smith, and having a great point guard in Billups makes sure they connect most of the time. Melo's got a great mid-range game, while defending with the Birdman keeps me entertained as well. I'm all about blocking shots

5 Game Summary

After starting off the season 3-2, the Nuggets had a better run this round going 4-1. Denver started out with an emphatic win over New Orleans, while the San Antonio game was a bit closer. Minnesota offered little resistance in the first game Denver played against them, but came back with a vengence in the second game. Which leaves the feature game against Golden State. It's Denver's first home game of the year and they'll want to put on a good show for their fans. Here it is:

Denver backcourt smash Golden State



In an impressive team effort, the Nuggets inflicted a crushing victory over the Warriors in a score of 87-69. Denver had 3 scorers over 20 points, with league leading scorer JR Smith once again scoring the most with 29 points. After a disappointing start to the season, Chauncey Billups had a Sprite Performer of the Game Performance with 23 points, 8 assists and 4 steals. He proved that he can still match it with the best of them, even at the age of 40. Carmelo Anthony was the other big scorer, netting 20 points on the night.

For the luckless Warriors, power forward Vince Rousseau led the way with 23. Travis Outlaw had his moments, scoring 15 points, while main-stays Jordan Farmar (12) and Monte Ellis (10) had relatively quiet games for their standards. They both picked up 5 assists a piece as well.

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GSW@DEN

DEN: 87 (Smith 29, Billups 23, Anthony 20)
GSW: 69 (Rousseau 23, Outlaw 15, Farmar 12)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Chauncey Billups 23 points 8 assists 4 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Andersen 7
GSW: Biedrins 11

Assists

DEN: Billups 8
GSW: Ellis, Farmar 5

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Last 5 Games

@NOH: 89-67 W
@SAN: 104-98 W
@MIN: 113-92 W
@MIN: 96-83 L
GSW: 87-69 W

Denver are now 7-3
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JR the Superstar

JR Smith is leading the league in points per game. He followed up his 42 point game against San Antonio with 50 points against the T-Wolves. Earl is on fire!

Impressive Debut

After years in the NBA wilderness, Mardy Collins made his Denver Nuggets debut against the Hornets. He came off the bench and had a stat line of 11 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks... better than a punch in the face by Melo isn't it? (okay, that's the last reference I'll make to that... I promise)

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Next 5 Games

LAC
PHX
SAC
@UTA
@UTA

The feature game will be against Lebron James' Phoenix Suns

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After a better 5 game run, the Denver Nuggets are now sitting nicely in the Western Conference. With some tough games up next, they'll have plenty of tests to see whether they have what it takes to make a real run for the NBA title. My annual 10 game player review will be up next.

10 Game Review



15 players is a lot of team members to write about and not everyone has the opportunity to get air-time; so every season I do a player review after 10 games to give you an idea of how everyone is doing. And here it is:

Chris Andersen

The Birdman is once again having another impressive season. Many would have thought he would have slowed down after the simulation and being 38, but that's simply not the case. He leads the league in rebounding with 11.6 rebounds per game and is coming second in blocks with 2.6 per game. As well as having 1.1 steals per game, you could say statisically he has the all-round defensive game. Could he score a second Defensive Player of the Year in what could possibly be his final campaign?

Borislav Perko

After some solid play off the bench, Borislav Perko has earnt a spot in the starting side for now. He hits the offensive glass as well as anybody and he has shown that he can keep the defense honest with his perimeter shooting. He's not setting the world on fire, but right now he would be on the course for possible All-Rookie Second team selection.

Carmelo Anthony

To say Melo is a second fiddle player would be a rather sweeping statement, but right now, he is. But in saying that, he's probably the best "second" option in the game. He still averages 21.3 points per game, which just about anyone would take as a second scorer of a team. Later in the year, he'll probably have the opportunity to assume first scorer's duties, but right now, it's JR's time to shine and Melo is playing great in backing him up.

JR Smith

Well, JR Smith is the man of the moment. It's very impressive that he has come into the team after being away for 5 or so seasons and not only leading his team in scoring, but the whole league with 29.8 points per game. This to go with the fact that he's shooting 40.2 percent from beyond the arc is making Earl just about unguardable at the moment. If he can keep this up, The Next Level could see it's first MVP trophy go to the prodigal son.

Chauncey Billups

Okay, so Mr Big Shot is 40. He only averaged 3 points per game in the first 9 and really, he was struggling. Game 10 however he managed to score Sprite Performer of the Game honours with a stat-line of 23 points, 8 assists and 4 steals. He's not going to be as consistent as he was 10 years ago, but in his 19th season of the game he proves that he can still be a good third option on a given night.

Shannon Brown

It's easy to overlook the efforts of Shannon Brown with the performance of JR Smith, but the fact is he still has a lot to offer Denver off the bench. Assuming the role of 6-man, he scores at 8.5 a game with a 3 point percentage of 37.5 . He's a possible contender for the end of year award... let's just hope he stays interested while sitting in the shadows.

Brandon Bass

It's going to happen; some players will struggle when traded to a new club, and Brandon is one of these players. He hasn't established any rhythm to his offensive game and has often been out-hustled on the defensive end. On the plus side, he has provided some good picks for his point guards.

Patrick Mills

He's fell away a bit since his impressive first two seasons, but is still a solid backup for Chauncey. He's as quick as anyone in the league which makes him deadly off pick and roll situations and has the ability to get to the foul line regularly. With Billups surely giving the game away within the next two seasons, he will be a nice fill-in for the great man.

Robin Lopez

His defense has proven to be a bit suspect at times, but he's a good shot blocker and hits the offensive glass well. He provides Denver with great size off the bench while having enough finesse around the basket to be a threat offensively.

Taylor MacKenzie

Ouch... this guy still plays for Denver? He has seen limited minutes and has struggled in each one. I really hate to draw this comparison, but if Adam Morrison won Rookie of the Year, his nickname would be T-Mac 2.0 . There's still enough time for MacKenzie to come good, but with the players in front of him, the odds are against him in Denver.

Nicolas Batum

Nic Batum doesn't see many minutes, but when he does he's a very effective player. His length causes matchup problems and he has pretty good range. If Melo wasn't in the side, he'd be a far more prominent player.

Taj Gibson

Gibson has been a great defensive weapon and hits the boards as hard as anyone. However, with an emerging Borislav Perko and Brandon Bass, it's often hard for Denver to find minutes for this great defensive presense. But if Bass continues to struggle and he stays consistent, it might just force George Karl to make a decision.

Mardy Collins

Mardy has played one game and it was impressive. 11 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks... not the stats of a guy that's been out of the game for oh, 7 years is it? Collins' size at the point provides matchup problems, which previously Shaun Livingston had claim to in Denver. He could find himself with a regular spot on the Denver bench.

Basil Richter

Has played two games in his career and... well not a whole lot to say. He pulled off one dunk from the transition, showed he has some good moves... he also has proved that he can be quite a clumsy ball handler. A natural small forward, he doesn't have much of a shot with this team, but if he keeps at it, he might prove me wrong.

Sam Conners

Possibly the scariest looking man in the NBA hasn't seen any playing time this season so far. Barring an injury to one of the centres, he probably won't see a lot of time this season.

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Next will be a 5 game summary. It's great to be playing again

Good stuff, it's been a very welcome return for JR Smith so far. Nice to see the Birdman rejuvenated under your control.

I've never seen a team play its first 9 games of the season on the road! Birdman is huge for you.

Having Melo playing 2nd fiddle must feel weird huh?

I've never seen a team play its first 9 games of the season on the road!

Yeah, those random schedules can be weird sometimes. I believe Phil89 had a nine or ten game road trip in his Dynasty using a random schedule.

Having Melo playing 2nd fiddle must feel weird huh?

I was thinking the same thing, but it's the kind of thing that can change as the season progresses. I had a Bulls Dynasty in 2005 where Curry and Chandler were scoring most of my points early on but as I got used to Gordon and Deng's game, they shouldered more of the load to the point where Gordon was my leading scorer. It's the sort of thing that happens in real life too, with a player deferring to another as the years go on so it's kind of cool when it happens in the game as well.

Good stuff, it's been a very welcome return for JR Smith so far. Nice to see the Birdman rejuvenated under your control.

Very much welcome, he's probably my favourite player on my team... I only gave him up because he was asking for more than I was willing to pay for him.

I've never seen a team play its first 9 games of the season on the road! Birdman is huge for you.

Yeah, Birdman's been pretty special He just seems to play beast-like in my system.

Having Melo playing 2nd fiddle must feel weird huh?

It does a little, but his role could alternate depending on whether Smith's form continues on the way it is.

I've never seen a team play its first 9 games of the season on the road!

Yeah, those random schedules can be weird sometimes. I believe Phil89 had a nine or ten game road trip in his Dynasty using a random schedule.

Having Melo playing 2nd fiddle must feel weird huh?

I was thinking the same thing, but it's the kind of thing that can change as the season progresses. I had a Bulls Dynasty in 2005 where Curry and Chandler were scoring most of my points early on but as I got used to Gordon and Deng's game, they shouldered more of the load to the point where Gordon was my leading scorer. It's the sort of thing that happens in real life too, with a player deferring to another as the years go on so it's kind of cool when it happens in the game as well.

I guess in general I'm not used to having one person who is my stand alone go-to man. It has often alternated between Anthony, Smith, Billups, Brown and even Maximilian in the playoffs that year... so I'm unpredictable that way, but I like to think that's what makes me dangerous

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Just a heads up guys, I made a series of mistakes involving player movement in my dynasty. It's not going to deter me from moving on with the story, but some moves might not make sense completely.

5 Game Summary

This 5 game stretch once again brought a 4-1 result, as Denver won it's first three games of the round, but fell to Utah in the 4th game. The Nuggets however managed to overcome the Jazz in the second game. The feature game of this round is against Lebron James' Suns. Here it is:

Smith and Nuggets thrash Suns



Despite a big game by Greg Oden, the Denver Nuggets managed to easily get past the Suns, winning 80-64. Greg Oden registered 12 points and 19 rebounds for the Suns in a dominant display. It was JR Smith that proved to be the difference once again though with 32 points. Chauncey Billups backed him up with 15 while Anthony scored 14.

For the Suns, Stephen Curry was the high point man with 16 points while Lebron James ran the offense with 15 points and 5 assists. Maciej Balazs was the other double-digit scorer with 13.

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PHX@DEN

DEN: 80 (Smith 32, Billups 15, Anthony 14)
PHX: 64 (Curry 16, James 15, Balazs 13)

Sprite Performer of the Game: JR Smith 32 points 5 rebounds 2 blocks

Rebounds

DEN: Andersen 14
PHX: Oden 19

Assists

DEN: Perko 5
PHX: James 5

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Last 5 Games

LAC: 106-84 W
PHX: 80-64 W
SAC: 90-68 W
@UTA: 107-92 L
@UTA: 82-72 W

Denver are now 11-4

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Finally!

Brandon Bass had a productive game against the Clippers with 20 points and 10 rebounds. It's a welcome sign.

Twin Towers

After Chris Andersen got into foul trouble, Robin Lopez had to go against his brother Brook.

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Next 5 Games

DAL
MEM
NOH
SAN
ATL

The feature game will be against Memphis

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Next up will be the November summary. Surely JR Smith's performances have warranted a West Player of the Month... right?

November 2016 Summary


JR Smith didn't win the West Player of the Month, but he is at the top of the MVP race.

Denver have started the year off wonderfully and are the top the league standings at 13-4. The reason for this? Well, Denver's backcourt have been on fire, led by JR Smith, who is the league leader in points per game with 30.8. Chris Andersen has been an asset on the defensive end leading the league in rebounds and coming second in blocked shots. His ressurgence along with the potent backcourt have been key.

On the other side of the coin, there has been instability in the power forward position. Denver have now had 3 starting power forwards in 17 games, with Taj Gibson being the recent change to the starting lineup. Borislav Perko has been solid without being spectacular, while Brandon Bass has been ordinary, with the exception of that one game against the Clippers where he had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Monthly Awards

I forgot about this glitch... turns out JR Smith wasn't a lock for it.

EAST Player: [MIA] Nach Carlos (20.1ppg, 13rpg, 9.8apg, 6.8spg)
WEST Player: [SAN] Rudy Gay (23.2ppg, 18.6rpg, 5.6apg, 6.5spg)
EAST Rookie: [BOS] Hobbes MacDonald (17.1ppg, 4.3rpg, 6.4apg)
WEST Rookies: [SAC] Caleb Jackman (9.8ppg, 6.1apg, 1.2spg)

League Leaders

PPG: [DEN] JR Smith (30.8), [MIN] Kevin Durant (26.6), [PHX] Lebron James (25.5), [SAN] Rudy Gay (23.2), [OKC] Stanley Alston (22.6)
RPG: [DEN] Chris Andersen (10.5), [PHX] Greg Oden (10.3), [TOR] Lawrence Coutts (10.2), [IND] Al Horford/[GSW] Andris Biedrins (9.9)
APG: [CHA] Reuben Walker/[SAN] Aaron Brooks (7.9), [PHX] Stephen Curry (7.6), Nach Carlos (7.4), [NJN] Rodney Stuckey/[MEM] Colton Fitzgerald (7.2)
SPG: [DEN] Chauncey Billups (2.4), [BOS] Von Wafer (2.2), [DEN] Carmelo Anthony (2.1), [PHX] Lebron James/[LAC] Ollie Rose (1.9)
BPG: [ORL] Dwight Howard (2.6), [DEN] Chris Andersen (2.5), [TOR] Lawrence Coutts (2.4), [SAC] Joakim Noah/[PHX] Amir Johnson (2.3)

MVP Candidates

[DEN] JR Smith (30.8ppg, 3rpg, 1.8spg)
[PHX] Lebron James (25.5ppg, 4.4rpg, 4.5apg)
[MIL] Walt Watters (19.5ppg, 5rpg, 6.1apg)
[OKC] Stanley Alston (22.6ppg, 3.5apg, 1.8spg)
[PHX] Stephen Curry (22.1ppg, 7.6apg, 1.5spg)

Standings

EAST

Milwaukee 12-5
Detroit 10-6
Miami 10-6
Charlotte 10-8
Cleveland 8-7
New Jersey 7-6
Chicago 8-8
Orlando 8-8
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Toronto 8-8
Washington 8-8
New York 7-9
Philadelphia 7-10
Atlanta 6-9
Boston 5-9
Indiana 4-14

WEST

Denver 13-4
LA Clippers 11-5
Phoenix 10-5
Oklahoma City 10-6
Minnesota 8-6
Memphis 8-7
Sacramento 8-8
New Orleans 8-9
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Houston 7-9
LA Lakers 7-9
San Antonio 6-8
Portland 7-10
Golden State 5-8
Utah 6-11
Dallas 5-11

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Up next will be the moves that were made. I'll do my best to rationalise them

Player Movement

Brandon Bass apart of 3 team deal



Struggling power forward Brandon Bass has been dealt in a 3 team trade, in which he is acquired by Utah. In exchange, Utah gave up centre Marcin Gortat, who went to Miami, while Oleksiy Pecherov is heading to Denver.

Mardy Collins waived



After a short stint with Denver, point guard Mardy Collins has been waived by the Denver Nuggets. It is believed that Chauncey Billups recent form has been the reason for this move. Mardy Collins played 2 games for the Nuggets.

Denver sign Jordan Hill



The Denver Nuggets have signed forward Jordan Hill for the rest of the year. He will most likely be third in the power forward rotation, with Taj Gibson and Borislav Perko likely to play in front of him.

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Okay, so what I meant to do was move on Brandon Bass, waive Sam Conners and sign Jordan Hill. However in a mix-up, I accidentally waived Collins instead of Conners . Don't worry, it's not enough to deter me... Mardy Collins was a nice backup, but I still have Patty Mills.;. whose higher in my rotation anyway.

A Great sign in Hill.

Another good stretch there, shame Bass didn't work out but hopefully your new rotation will have better success. That first month glitch is definitely annoying, though those are some amazing numbers by Rudy Gay.

EAST Player: [MIA] Nach Carlos (20.1ppg, 13rpg, 9.8apg, 6.8spg)
WEST Player: [SAN] Rudy Gay (23.2ppg, 18.6rpg, 5.6apg, 6.5spg)

Damn, some crazy-ass numbers.

Good that Earl is on his way to the MVP trophy.

Earl has been red hot and so has Gay lol