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

[Andrew]

Congrats indeed on making the final cut, it was well-deserved.

[Kenny]

I'm hoping you get to make it to 2019 with your association so I can see something similar on yours

Then light some candles and pray to every god and/or saint you know

Well it's been great so far, just do your best not to burn yourself out... maybe trade for Scola to keep you interested for longer

Congrats indeed on making the final cut, it was well-deserved.

Thanks Andrew; it was definitely nice to be placed with the elite stories of this year.

[Kenny]

The Wait Is Over!

5 Game Summary

The 10th season of TNL started unusually with a loss in the first game against Phoenix Suns. However the Denver Nuggets flexed their muscles against the Lakers and the Warriors, while winning their first home fixture against the Chicago Bulls. The feature game of the round is the 4th game that was played against Sacramento and here's how it went:

Kings Dethroned by Heir Apparent



Despite being down after 3 of the 4 quarters in the game, the Denver Nuggets recorded a 81-75 win thanks to a dynamite 4th quarter display from point guard Brandon Jennings. After scoring only 2 points in the previous 3 quarters, Yung Gold exploded with 31 points in the final period to surge Denver past the Kings. He upstaged the likely hero in Kevin Durant, who scored 20 points. It was a quiet night for Denver's season leading scorer in J.R. Smith who scored 12.

For the Sacramento Kings, Gonzalo Carlos led the way with 23 points. Donald Cunningham supported well with 18, while Gheorge and Chapman both scored 10 points each.

It was a great effort from the Kings, leading by 10 at the end of the first half. However through Jennings and Durant, the Nuggets once again proved to be excellent closers even without their clutch man. Jennings 31 point effort was only 2 points shy of the NBA record shared by George Gervin and former Denver player Carmelo Anthony.

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DEN@SAC

DEN: 81 (Jennings 33, Durant 20, Smith 12)
SAC: 75 (Carlos 23, Cunningham 18, Chapman 10)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Kevin Durant 20 points 7 rebounds 2 assists 4 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Lopez 14
SAC: Chapman 11

Assists

DEN: Smith 3
SAC: Cunningham 7

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Last 5 Games

@PHX: 94-83 L
@LAL: 84-65 W
@GSW: 81-69 W
@SAC: 81-75 W
CHI: 84-77 W

Denver are now 4-1 to start the year

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Stepping Up

After many seasons in the Birdman's shadow, Robin Lopez has been giving the starting role and his first game of the season was a beauty. He scored 22 points, along with 16 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks.

The Mac is Back

After basically sitting the last season on the sidelines, Taylor MacKenzie is back this season in a bigger role. He scored 20 points against Chicago, as well as grabbing 6 rebounds. He's not the most efficient player, but he's very mercurial.

Yao's successor?

Andrew Bogut has been a great asset in defense off the bench. Against the Lakers he grabbed 13 boards and he's averaging 7.2 rebounds per game so far. He might not be as tall as Yao, but he can be just as effective.

New careers begin

Rookies Ed Reed and Crispin Erwin both had their first taste of the NBA competition this round. Reed was impressive against the Warriors, scoring a team high 24 points and stealing the ball 3 times. Erwin however proved to be a little clumsy, with 2 points, 3 rebounds and 3 turnovers in his limited time on the court.

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Next 5 Games

MIA
ORL
TOR
@HOU
@HOU

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Basically my plan this season is to play the first 10. After this, I'm thinking about simulating all my away games of the season, since I can bare having a poor road record. Of course, knowing me I'll probably go against this in the end, but I figured it's something I might try anyway. Any away games of interest (Melo's Wolves, Phoenix Suns or even the Hornets now they have Jordan Hill) I'll probably play.

The next 5 games should be up shortly.

[Clutch]

Yung Gold exploded with 31 points in the final period to surge Denver past the Kings

whoa

BJ, Lopez & Reed look to be the new nucleus of the Nuggets... 4-1's a nice start

[Axel The Great]

Great start. BJ's 31 points in the final quarter is just amazing. Anyways, if you feel like simming, go ahead and do so, but just make sure the quality of this dynasty remains the same.

[megarover]

I'm impressed with the rook Ed Reed being so successful against the Warriors.

[Houndy]

Ed Reed is officially a boss in the NFL and NBA

[kibaxx7]

Young Buck! Also nice to see Bogut contributing.

[Lamrock]

Good start. Nice to see T-Mac 2.0 back into the spotlight, and Bogut playing well.

[Andrew]

Strong start and a fantastic clutch performance by Jennings against the Kings. Good idea for getting through the season too, though as you noted you might feel like changing that up a bit as you go which is fine. Whatever keeps things interesting and helps you get through the 82 games.

[dare]

The two rookies look like twins to me

[Warlock95]

Nice "retro season"...would the Thunder be wearing Sonic's uniforms?

[The X]

I'd be simming too if I had to wear those unis for 82 straight games

[.PorkyJoker.o6]

Its nice to see how well your guys are playing even with some of your leaders retired.

[Kenny]

Yung Gold exploded with 31 points in the final period to surge Denver past the Kings

whoa

BJ, Lopez & Reed look to be the new nucleus of the Nuggets... 4-1's a nice start

Jennings and Lopez are definitely providing me good service in their roles and Reed is a good prospect. Not sure how much game time Ed will see this year, but he's got a good perimeter shot, so that'll keep him on the team atleast.

Great start. BJ's 31 points in the final quarter is just amazing. Anyways, if you feel like simming, go ahead and do so, but just make sure the quality of this dynasty remains the same.

I'll do my best to uphold the standard of this dynasty, but at the moment I've got Fallout New Vegas eating up a lot of my time, along with 2k11... I have to work as well

The simulating is more or less to keep this going and to even out what would usually be a lopsided season for me. I can justify losing away games much more than losing a bunch at home.

I'm impressed with the rook Ed Reed being so successful against the Warriors.

He's definitely got a nice jumpshot on him. His NBA comparison was Ben Gordon and it's actually pretty accurate so far.

Ed Reed is officially a boss in the NFL and NBA

The NBA's Ed Reed has a lot of potential to go far, that's for sure.

Young Buck! Also nice to see Bogut contributing.

I love reuniting the two; one of my favourite big-man-little-man combinations in the league right now

Good start. Nice to see T-Mac 2.0 back into the spotlight, and Bogut playing well.

It's been nice getting him back in the game. I felt more inclined to use Garth Vine and Nicolas Batum last season, but this time I've been reminded how much of a threat T-Mac 2.0 can be for (no matter how inefficient he is).

Bogut is awesome as well

Strong start and a fantastic clutch performance by Jennings against the Kings. Good idea for getting through the season too, though as you noted you might feel like changing that up a bit as you go which is fine. Whatever keeps things interesting and helps you get through the 82 games.

As I said before, I feel better about losing away games and this is still a way for me to stay apart of the season and making the competition more even in the league. Having 70+ seasons are nice, but having them every season would be a stretch for me. That being said, I want a good shot at the 3-peat before I jump up to Superstar mode as well.

The two rookies look like twins to me

They essentially are; take away Crispin Erwin's headband and they're the exact same face.

Nice "retro season"...would the Thunder be wearing Sonic's uniforms?

Yes they will be

I'd be simming too if I had to wear those unis for 82 straight games

As I've mentioned several times before, I loved the 90s Nuggets uniform... and although I like the rainbow stripe on a kitsch level, they do look rather sickly and lose the novelty after a while... still, I love going retro.

Its nice to see how well your guys are playing even with some of your leaders retired.

It does keep me interested, that's for sure. I like to think I've taken the Spurs approach to building a team; although my core players are aging, there's a good foundation for the future.

[Kenny]

10 Game Summary

10 games; 5 played and 5 simmed:

5 Played Games

In the first 5 games played, Denver went 5 and 0, extending their winning streak to 9. Despite the perfect round, Denver didn't have it all their own way, with their biggest winning margin being 12 points against Miami. The rest were decided by 4 points or less, including an OT game in Houston. Despite two incredibly close games against the Rockets, the feature game is against the Orlando Magic... you'll see why:

Jennings' Magic Sinks Orlando



Any concerns of Jennings not being able to live up to his predecessor's reputation in the clutch may have been erased in Denver's 82-79 win against Orlando. Although he had only 8 points in the game, it would be Brandon Jennings who would decide it with exactly 1 second left on the clock with the scores tied at 79. Here's the play:

phpBB [video]

This would be the second time this season he has come up big in the 4th, adding to his previous 33 point effort against Sacramento. But apart from his late game heroics, the star for Denver was their renaissance man Taylor MacKenzie. T-Mac 2.0 added 25 points off the bench, continuing on a major comeback trail. Usual suspects J.R. Smith and Kevin Durant also contributed with 19 and 17 respectively.

For the Magic, Dwight Howard picked up the Performer of the Game with 18 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks to lead Orlando in all 4 categories. Deron Williams also looked likely to break Denver with 18 of his own. Former Denver guard Wilson Chandler chipped in with 17, while Josh McRoberts scored 10.

Despite their effort, Orlando remain winless this season.

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ORL@DEN

DEN: 82 (MacKenzie 25, Smith 19, Durant 17)
ORL: 79 (Howard 18, Williams 18, Chandler 17)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Dwight Howard 18 points 18 rebounds 6 assists 4 blocks

Rebounds

DEN: Bogut 8
ORL: Howard 18

Assists

DEN: Holiday 6
ORL: Howard 6

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Last 5 Games

MIA: 79-67 W
ORL: 82-79 W
TOR: 93-89 W
@HOU: 120-118 (OT) W
@HOU: 80-77 W

Denver are now 9-1

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With Authority

After a slow start to the season, Kevin Durant came out against Toronto with all guns blazing with 26 points and 7 rebounds.

More than a role player?

Restricted to a role on the Denver side, Borislav Perko often shows that he can be so much more. Against the Rockets he had 26 points and 15 rebounds.

Down but far from out

Power so far has digressed from his rookie season, being down on basically every stat imaginable. But against the Heat, he had a game of 15 points and 13 rebounds and showed he's still more than useful to the team.

New Look, New Appreciation

3rd year player Basil Richter changed up his look in the off-season and it looks like he's also improved his game. In the second game against Houston, he scored 16 points off the bench. Is this the season where Basil finally gets noticed? Or will he go back to being the Sean Marks of the Denver Nuggets?

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Simmed 5 Games

@NOH: 80-75 L (Mills 15 points)
@CHI: 68-56 L (Smith 17 points)
@TOR: 82-78 W (Durant 34 points)
@NYK: 87-83 L (Durant 23 points, Mills 21 points)
@ORL: 75-61 W (Durant 30 points)

After this, Denver are now 11-4

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After a while of inactivity, there's 10 games in 1 post. Although the simulation could have gone better, I was happy with how close the games were. Next up will be my 10 game player summary.

[Andrew]

Shame the sim engine was a little unkind, but fine performances in the games you played. Nice to see Jennings is showing promise of being Big Shot Junior.

[.PorkyJoker.o6]

Nice start to the season!
Yeah i agree with Andrew, Jennings is showing Mr. Big Shot like performances

[kibaxx7]

Is this the season where Basil finally gets noticed? Or will he go back to being the Sean Marks of the Denver Nuggets?

Oh, X ain't gonna like that Great wins!

[Axel The Great]

Colossal game-winner, with the Ray Allen-like quick release!

Pretty weird that the Magic are winless despite having D-Wil and D-Howard, but there's Live 10's sim engine. The two games at Houston sounded epic.

[megarover]

Yung Buck is as clutch as ever. And hear I thought you'd miss Billup's performances

[Martti.]

Axel., well it is what, 2018? 2019? Both past their prime by then.

Awesome shut by Jennings, he da man.

[Axel The Great]

You got me there Martti.

[Kenny]

Shame the sim engine was a little unkind, but fine performances in the games you played. Nice to see Jennings is showing promise of being Big Shot Junior.

I'm kind of used to it being unkind, which is a reason I'm simming half my games this season. Things would get a little stale for me if I was winning 70+ every season and right now I'm not willing to jump up to Superstar. Jennings has definitely been filling in the void nicely.

Nice start to the season!
Yeah i agree with Andrew, Jennings is showing Mr. Big Shot like performances

Hopefully he'll continue to do so. I'm pretty happy with my point guard depth at the moment.

Is this the season where Basil finally gets noticed? Or will he go back to being the Sean Marks of the Denver Nuggets?

Oh, X ain't gonna like that Great wins!

Well I noticed he was commenting a lot more in the last few pages so I thought I'd make a reference to his favourite player

Colossal game-winner, with the Ray Allen-like quick release!

Pretty weird that the Magic are winless despite having D-Wil and D-Howard, but there's Live 10's sim engine. The two games at Houston sounded epic.

Those two games were definitely tough; Houston since the very start of this thread have caused me a problem or two. Actually, all the teams from Texas are really tough. As for the Magic... who knows what's going on there.

Yung Buck is as clutch as ever. And hear I thought you'd miss Billup's performances

Well, Jennings has proven himself to be huge in the 4th quarter, but whether he has the same Billups-like production in the post season still remains to be seen.

Axel., well it is what, 2018? 2019? Both past their prime by then.

Awesome shut by Jennings, he da man.

You got me there Martti.

Jennings has definitely been a steal considering I got him on the MLE. Probably underpaid for his talents but oh well, gotta take your wins where you can get them

I could imagine Howard declining quite a lot because of the way he plays and how much he relies on his athleticism, but I dunno about D-Will... I think he'll have a career that's Jason Kidd-like.

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Wow, it's almost been a month since I've posted here. Some of you may have known that along with playing Fallout New Vegas, I started a my player again. But now since my My Player has glitched out (hopefully will be fixed with an upcoming patch since I saved during a timeout) and I've finished Fallout New Vegas (spoiler: I sided with Mr House), this should hopefully get a bit of momentum going again.

Oh, and one thing I fixed was Jordan Hill's trade status. He was traded to the New Orleans Hornets, not the Charlotte Bobcats. I think I saw the Hornets and due to some 90s nostalga being retro year, I thought Charlotte. But yes, Crispin Erwin was acquired from the Hornets for Jordan Hill and Denver's second round pick.

[Andrew]

Good to see you posting in this section again. I know what you mean about New Vegas, it's been taking up my gaming time as well as of late. I'm pretty much at the point of no return, though I killed Mr House and will ultimately decide between the Independent/Yes Man and NCR endings on this playthrough.