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

[Larvae]

Man, you have the sickest Roster EVAAAAAA!!!

[Andrew]

Agreed, that should be a fun lineup. At the very least, play enough to ensure you make the Playoffs with a decent seed and then the entire postseason. Complete the Drive for Five.

[Gamebreaker]

How much are you payin Perko?

[Warlock95]

Nice, I love the mix of 3pt shooters, dunkers and defenders in your roster.

It's funny because the Atlanta Hawks have a guy named Milan Divac and he kinda looks like Vlade... I've been so tempted to acquire him one way or another

Vlade's son, perhaps? Like how I said your Ed Reed is the son of the NFL's Ed Reed.

Not sure what I'd change Bing's number to, so maybe he'll wear 00. The only player I had wearing that was Lou Williams IIRC.

Sounds reasonable.

[The X]

Your starting lineup is great with one exception (Brandon Jennings).

I'm disappointed that you dealt both Lopez & Jordan. Couldn't you have kept one of them? Who's your backup to Dwight?

[Kenny]

Do 82! This lineup is probably the best you've had all dynasty!

Damn, that lineup.

Most amzing lineup EVER. Play every game, this season will be great.

Man, you have the sickest Roster EVAAAAAA!!!

Agreed, that should be a fun lineup. At the very least, play enough to ensure you make the Playoffs with a decent seed and then the entire postseason. Complete the Drive for Five.

It's looking very likely that season 12 will be another 82 game effort. It's just far too much fun playing with this team at the moment. I've never had so many legit superstars on my team at once, so playing the games should be a breeze.

How much are you payin Perko?

A ridiculously low amount for what he does for the team. His rating actually fell back to 67 after the season and the rating of the player seems to have more effect on their salary than their actual performance. Something I wouldn't mind changed for the next EA game.

Nice, I love the mix of 3pt shooters, dunkers and defenders in your roster.

It's funny because the Atlanta Hawks have a guy named Milan Divac and he kinda looks like Vlade... I've been so tempted to acquire him one way or another

Vlade's son, perhaps? Like how I said your Ed Reed is the son of the NFL's Ed Reed.

Not sure what I'd change Bing's number to, so maybe he'll wear 00. The only player I had wearing that was Lou Williams IIRC.

Sounds reasonable.

Definitely an interesting mix of stars, role players and young talent. This season is going to be a lot of fun.

I actually made a mistake, Milan is playing for the Blazers; he was drafted by Atlanta IIRC. I'll have to check when Milan was born, but him being Vlade's son could be interesting

I pretty much live on the Denver Nuggets wikipedia page, so I'll make sure Nathan Bing doesn't disrespect anyone else

Your starting lineup is great with one exception (Brandon Jennings).

I'm disappointed that you dealt both Lopez & Jordan. Couldn't you have kept one of them? Who's your backup to Dwight?

My backup for Dwight is the rookie Jakov Branco. Outside of him, I have a couple of makeshift centres in George Power and Adrian Young. I didn't want to give up both Jordan and Lopez, but was the only combination I felt right in dealing that would work for Indiana's and my cap situation. I actually thought about trading Jennings and either Lopez or Jordan, but I factored in that Howard's backup wouldn't see significant minutes. I also put in the first rounder as good faith; Lopez and Jordan for Dwight would be robbing the pacers and it's not like the drafts have been that strong over the last few seasons.

If needed, I can always trade for another centre during the season. I have a few players in the side that won't see much action this season, so I could give one of those guys up.

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

With the high profile player acquisitions of the off-season, the expectation for Denver to succeed has become even greater. But like a champion side would, they responded with 5 wins in their first 5 games. In fact, three of the games were absolute laughers as they dealt with Cleveland, Philadelphia and Oklahoma City in an emphatic fashion. Kevin Durant did everything in his power, but the Heat also lost a close encounter.

After his impressive performance in the playoffs, Borislav Perko's triple-double tally for this season currently stands at 2, with one against the Cavaliers (10 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists) and one in the feature game against the Bulls:

Nuggets Grind Out Opener



It what many predicted would be the NBA Finals matchup of last season, the Denver Nuggets overcame the post-Rose Chicago Bulls, winning by 75-69. It was an impressive debut by the new recruit Dwight Howard, as he dominated the paint with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. J.R. Smith (15) and Carmelo Anthony (12) both had reasonably quiet nights by their standards, but in a story that headlined last year's playoffs, Borislav Perko registered a triple-double to be the Performer of the Game. He had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, proving that all the offensive fire-power added by the Nuggets won't stop him from getting his numbers.

For the Bulls, the scoring load was shared by Igor Martin (26) and Kelly Scott (23), with the next highest scorer being Gabriel Harris with 8. They put up a great effort, but against the Nuggets they simply needed more scoring options.

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DEN@CHI

DEN: 75 (Howard 21, Smith 15, Anthony 12)
CHI: 69 (Martin 26, Scott 23, Harris 8)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Borislav Perko 10 points 10 rebounds 11 assists 1 block

Rebounds

DEN: Howard 11
CHI: Harris, Martin 11

Assists

DEN: Perko 11
CHI: Scott 7

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Last 5 Games

@CHI: 75-69 W
@CLE: 101-82 W
@PHI: 101-65 W
@MIA: 97-92 W
OKC: 100-63 W

Denver is currently undefeated with a record of 5-0.

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Raining On Durant's Parade

Kevin Durant was the player of the game with 30 points and 16 rebounds, but Taylor MacKenzie made sure his first game against the Nuggets wasn't a winning one. MacKenzie scored 43 points as well as grabbing 6 rebounds and 4 steals.

Perko's Biggest Threat

It seems like the only person that could possibly keep Perko from having a triple-double average season is Dwight Howard. He has arguably been Denver's best over the last 5 games and against the Thunder he had 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Like He Never Left

After a relatively average first game back, he lit up for 34 points against the Cavs. He's currently the Nuggets' leading scorer.

Back To Second Fiddle?

The 2020 playoffs proved one thing: J.R. Smith is no longer the man for the Nuggets. Despite 25 points against the Sixers and 28 against the Thunder, he's going to have to share the wealth this season. We'll see how it affects his numbers.

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Next 5 Games

DAL
NOH
SAN
POR
UTA

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If I can't think of an article to post up, the next 5 game summary will be up soon.

[Bucket]

Damn, awesome team Not surprised about blowouts. Win all games, with this lineup it's possible.

[Andrew]

Excellent start.

[Houndy]

Dwight with the ownage!

[kibaxx7]

That's what I'm talking about Despite all the stars in the roster, nice to see T-Mac score like that too.

[Cruzerr]

Now you have a problem: Who is going to lead the team ?

[Axel The Great]

Great to see the Howard acquisition is working well. You definitely have a bunch of scoring options to work with, good luck handling all that.

[Andrew]

Now you have a problem: Who is going to lead the team ?

Not necessarily a bad problem to have, of course.

[Cruzerr]

Now you have a problem: Who is going to lead the team ?

Not necessarily a bad problem to have, of course.

Of course no. If you have 5 guys on the starting floor + MacKenzie, who can lead the team, how can that be bad ?

[Larvae]

Durant got owned!
Its pretty interesting on how your lineup dominate the NBA!

[qfrmcpt310]

Wow, another title, you get D12, and you get Melo(again) lol. Here's to a 5th straight title

[Kenny]

Damn, awesome team Not surprised about blowouts. Win all games, with this lineup it's possible.

I'd definitely like to break my own record of 73 wins, but we'll see how it goes. 82 would be massive...

Excellent start.

It definitely has exceeded my expectations so far.

Dwight with the ownage!

Every single dunk pic I take of Howard just looks fantastic. It's going to be a fun season throwing him alley oops.

That's what I'm talking about Despite all the stars in the roster, nice to see T-Mac score like that too.

He's actually doing better than I expected. Currently 3rd in the team in scoring.

Now you have a problem: Who is going to lead the team ?

Not necessarily a bad problem to have, of course.

Of course no. If you have 5 guys on the starting floor + MacKenzie, who can lead the team, how can that be bad ?

With all the talent I have right now, it can only be a problem if the shots are distributed to the people who are missing constantly. If someone keeps missing shots, I generally just end up passing it to someone else; I've always been lucky to have enough shooters to be able to do that. With Howard in the paint, defense isn't much of a problem at the moment... not much goes by him.

Great to see the Howard acquisition is working well. You definitely have a bunch of scoring options to work with, good luck handling all that.

Having them all score at a rate in which I'm happy with is a challenge within itself. Having Howard as a 3rd or 4th option is just incredible really.

Durant got owned!
Its pretty interesting on how your lineup dominate the NBA!

I wouldn't say he got owned; he had a really good performance himself. I'll be interested to see how the Heat go this season, that's for sure. Hopefully Denver can dominate for another year.

Wow, another title, you get D12, and you get Melo(again) lol. Here's to a 5th straight title

Here's hoping; I like to think with the talent I picked up that my chances of doing so are very high.

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

With ten games played, the Denver Nuggets achieved the perfect 10. While the first two games were challenges against the Mavericks and the Hornets, the last three were comprehensive wins to the defending four-peat champs. Easy wins against San Antonio, Portland and Utah were done so by an average of 20 points. It seems the Nuggets are perfectly in sync and everybody knows their role.

The feature game is against the New Orleans Hornets

Late Denver Run Stings New Orleans



After trailing for most of the second half, the Denver Nuggets ended the game on a 9-0 run to beat the Hornets by 95-90. Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony did most of the damage on the offensive end, as Dwightmare completed another double-double with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Melo scored 25 to continue his career revival after a forgettable tenure with the T-Wolves. Nathan Bing came to life off the bench with 10 points, while Borislav Perko was the Sprite Performer of the Game with his 4th triple-double of the season. He had 10 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists.

New Orleans had 3 players that scored 20 or more with Hobbes MacDonald leading the way with 25 points. Pablo Carlos reached his double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Rufus Baylor (20 points, 8 assists) narrowly missed out on his.

This win was the Nuggets 7th from as many starts.

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NOH@DEN

DEN: 95 (Howard 30, Anthony 25, Bing 10)
NOH: 90 (MacDonald 25, Baylor 20, Carlos 20)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Borislav Perko 10 points 12 rebounds 13 assists 2 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Perko 12
NOH: Carlos 11

Assists

DEN: Perko 13
NOH: Baylor 8

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Last 5 Games

DAL: 91-83 W
NOH: 95-90 W
SAN: 88-65 W
POR: 91-72 W
UTA: 101-81 W

The Nuggets are currently on a 10 game winning streak.

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New Look, But Same MVP

Borislav Perko might look a little more like Bam Margera now than he did last season, but he's still producing the same quality performances that saw him win the Finals MVP. Perko's triple-double counter is currently 6 from 10. To add to his triple-double in the feature game, he had 14 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists against Dallas, as well as triple-doubles against Portland (12 points 10 rebounds 10 assists) and Utah (10 points 10 rebounds 10 assists). He could very well become the king of the modest triple-double... if there is such a thing.

Still Finding The Basket

J.R. Smith's points per game might have dropped from last season, but he's still scoring at a decent rate. Against the Trail Blazers he scored 28 points.

Rejuvenated

It seems like Melo has refound the form that made him Denver's franchise player. He scored 26 points against the Spurs and leads the Nuggets scoring in the first 10 games.

JESUS!

All puns aside, Jesus Carlos was selected with the last pick of the NBA draft as a project from Fresno State. However, the 19 year old proved in only his 3rd NBA game that he has great potential. He saw extended minutes against the Jazz and recorded 25 points, 6 assists and 2 steals. Not sure how many great ballers have gone ot the NBA from Fresno, but with continued play like this, Jesus could be the biggest.

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Next 5 Games

@LAC
@GSW
@SAC
@MIN
@POR

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I'd like to apologise to the X for my feature game picture; I know how much you hate the wide open mouths in this game, but that one genuinely made me laugh out loud. Next up will be the 10 game player review.

[Warlock95]

Wow! 10 straight! Only 72 to go!

...I know how much you hate the wide open mouths in this game...

But at least Howard was dunking there, it only seemed appropriate to scream "YEAH! TAKE THAT!" when you dunk.

Besides, he doesn't have that "tooth-decay" problem Erick Christian has. Remember him?

[Larvae]

Jesus Carlos!

[Bucket]

Man, awesome start, 72 more and time to retire Jesus looks like a young fat Melo

[Cruzerr]

Why the fuck isnt Jesus a mexican ?

Awesome week.

[Mavs4Life]

Jesus Carlos looks like Melo in the early days. Nice grab w/ him.

[Warlock95]

Why the fuck isnt Jesus a mexican ?

Because it isn't only Mexicans who name their kids "Jesus". Also, it depends on whether you pronounce it "JEE-zus" or "he-SUS".