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

[Kenny]

Too bad Jakov plays like that...or I would've given him the nickname "Bronco".

It is a shame... he's also a pretty epic looking dude as well.

Interesting that your sixth man is leading the team in scoring, reminds me a little of the situation with Ricky Pierce on the Bucks back in the 80s (or possibly early 90s).

It is an interesting situation. I've always like the idea of having someone come off the bench that can flat out score, even if they have defensive flaws (which surprisingly Taylor doesn't really have).

Perko's stache is creepy

I know... but hey, it's Movember at the moment, so it seems appropriate

So why isn't T-Mac starting?

I was wondering that myself. I was sure after his play last season that he'd get the starting nod this season.

I'm guessing it's kinda hard to bring LeBron off the bench. Seems he's still got it.

I meant in place of Griffin, not Lebanon.

I guess I've always seen him as a great scorer who is inefficient. He shoots low 40s from the field because he jacks up so many threes and I always thought having someone like him as a starter would be a recipe for disaster. But he's actually been my most efficient wing player this season so far, so a promotion is in order I think.

As for LeBron, he doesn't come into the equation as a wing player anymore. I've always loved the idea of having a tall point guard like him (or Livingston as I mentioned earlier). If a smaller, quicker lineup is needed, he might get slotted into power forward as well.

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

After a massive blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings, the Nuggets made sure no side even got close to them in this 5 game summary. The closest any team got to the Nuggets was Atlanta, who lost by 12 points, but even in that game Denver were clinical in their victory. Standout Taylor MacKenzie also saw his first start of the season against the Hawks and don't be surprised if he ends up keeping the role with how he's performed so far. The feature game is the last of the summary against the New Jersey Nets:

Nuggets Undermine Woeful Nets



The Nuggets registered their 5th striaght win with a 73-59 victory against the New Jersey Nets. In his third start of the season, Taylor MacKenzie top scored for the Nuggets once again with 32 points. Bartholomew Myer made the most of LeBron's foul trouble and had his best game for Denver, with 16 points and 7 assists. But the story of the night was Borislav Perko. He came within 3 blocks of a quadruple-double to put up an incredible stat-line of 15 points, 12 rebounds, 17 assists and 7 blocks. He looked poised to pick up the rare achievement as he had 7 blocks by three-quarter-time, but was unable to get a single swat in the final quarter.

For the Nets, their offense was attrocious, with their best contributor being centre Phillip Wells with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Dan Garcia was the only other player who scored in double figures for the Nets with 10, while Dickey Hogan and a hurt Nicholas Schneider contributed 8 each.

It was a strange encounter, with LeBron James receiving 5 fouls in 5 minutes to basically bench him for the rest of the game, while the normally prolific scoring Alejandro Carlos was held to just 4 points.

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NJN@DEN

DEN: 73 (MacKenzie 32, Meyer 16, Perko 15)
NJN: 59 (Wells 12, Garcia 10, Hogan 8)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Borislav Perko 15 points 12 rebounds 17 assists 7 blocks

Rebounds

DEN: Howard 13
NJN: Wells 12

Assists

DEN: Perko 17
NJN: Schneider 5

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Last 5 Games

MIN: 85-62 W
POR: 85-72 W
ATL: 88-76 W
MIL: 95-76 W
NJN: 73-59 W

The Nuggets are currently 12-3

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Late Bloomer

Taylor MacKenzie may be 30 years old, but he's never played better. He was rewarded with the starting position agains thte Atlanta Hawks, where he scored 33 points. His next two games he had 33 against the Bucks and 32 against the Nets. Is he in for an All-Star season?

Back To It

After registering only 2 triple-doubles in his first 10 games, Perko got 2 in this summary. Before his almost quadruple-double effort against the Nets, he had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists against the Trail Blazers.

An Almost Superman Achievement

Perko's almost quadruple-double wasn't the only almost of this round of 5. Against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dwight Howard was 1 steal away from a 5x5. His stat-line read 16 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and 5 blocks. Denver don't rely on him as much as the Magic or the Pacers did, but he's still finding a way to impact the game.

Flashes of Brilliance

In what's been a relatively lackluster season, Alejandro Carlos showed what he could do against the side that drafted him first overall. Against the Bucks he scored 25. Once again though, he was outdone by T-Mac, who scored 33 that same night.

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Next 5 Games

TBA (Okay, I forgot to write them down )

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I'm pretty sure the next 5 games will be split by the monthly review, so that should be up next... unless I'm wrong about that.

[Andrew]

Much stronger round this time, good to see Perko up to his old tricks. So close to a quadruple double, perhaps he can get there by the end of the season.

[Cruzerr]

Carlos as sixth man.

[Houndy]

T-Mac went from Bench Warmer to In his prime in 3 years. What a beast

[Mavs4Life]

Perko may be the 1st to get 10 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds, 10 steals, and 10 blocks in a game . I hope T-Mac gets an All-Star appearence too, but Perko is just amazing.

[kibaxx7]

Dwight always finds the way to contribute Great job man.

[Axel The Great]

Triple-doubles are just way too easy for Perko, so quadruple-doubles should be the way to go for him. Great to see you guys have a perfect round this time, and that T-Mac got a well-deserved starting nod.

[Warlock95]

Carlos as sixth man.

That may sound good, but considering he used to be astarter, that's definitely a downgrade. Maybe T-Mac decided to show this newcomer who's boss?

[Lamrock]

Nice to see your rebuilding season going so smoothly so far. I see redemption coming for the Nugs in the 2022 (?) playoffs.

[qfrmcpt310]

Holy hell I missed a lot.

Nice job running the table, this team seems to be like a lot of fun to play with

[Kenny]

Much stronger round this time, good to see Perko up to his old tricks. So close to a quadruple double, perhaps he can get there by the end of the season.

It's definitely something I'll try and go for. It'll be the toughest challenge yet because that 4th statistical category is hard to get 10 in, whether it's steals or blocks. I've come close a few times though with guys like Birdman and Jordan Hill I believe.

Carlos as sixth man.

That may sound good, but considering he used to be astarter, that's definitely a downgrade. Maybe T-Mac decided to show this newcomer who's boss?

Right now the 6-man duties are between Todd Griffin and Bartholomew Myer. Right now, there's no definitive 6th guy.

T-Mac went from Bench Warmer to In his prime in 3 years. What a beast

Want to know something crazy? This is his 10th season on the roster. As it stands, he has 5 rings

Perko may be the 1st to get 10 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds, 10 steals, and 10 blocks in a game . I hope T-Mac gets an All-Star appearence too, but Perko is just amazing.

I'm going to aim for the quadruple-double before I think about 5x10... even 5x5 remains untouched in this dynasty so far. I hope T-Mac makes it too

Dwight always finds the way to contribute Great job man.

Thanks Thierry, he's always a defensive presense, so he'll always have a role on my team. My centres historically haven't been big scorers anyway.

Triple-doubles are just way too easy for Perko, so quadruple-doubles should be the way to go for him. Great to see you guys have a perfect round this time, and that T-Mac got a well-deserved starting nod.

It seems like I can get them without even trying sometimes because of how I play. I still really like directing traffic in the post. And I think the only reason I haven't started T-Mac before is that I knew he'd get pushed back to the bench as soon as I started simming. But at this point in time, another 82 played games isn't entirely out of the question.

Nice to see your rebuilding season going so smoothly so far. I see redemption coming for the Nugs in the 2022 (?) playoffs.

Yep, it's the 2021-2022 season. I'm secretly hoping at some point that my team becomes bad and that I could revisit the "Thuggets" era, but as long as Taylor MacKenzie and Borislav Duncan Perko are on my team, it's hard to see the Nuggets slip below .500.

Holy hell I missed a lot.

Nice job running the table, this team seems to be like a lot of fun to play with

It is a lot of fun to play with so far. Trying to find out where the new guys fit in has been a challenge I've been wanting for a while. It just never seemed to be the right time to cut J.R. Smith loose since he's basically been the best player of this dynasty team so far. Pretty sure if he hasn't done so yet, Perko will top him at some stage.

[Kenny]

November 2021 Review

The first 16 games of the new era and not a whole lot has really changed. The Nuggets are currently equal top of the league with the Philadelphia 76ers, as both teams have a win-loss record of 13-3.

With prolific TNL scorers Carmelo Anthony (retired) and J.R. Smith (Oklahoma City) elsewhere, the Nuggets signed two wing players they expected to pick up the slack. However, in his 10th season with the franchise, Taylor MacKenzie is proving to be the stud on the offensive end. His 22.1 points per game is not only a team high, but he's coming 5th in the league in that category.

Even though T-Mac is having a career season to date, it's Borislav Perko who's once again getting the attention in the MVP race. He might not be averaging triple-double figures, but 9.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game would suggest he's not far away from replicating his incredible feat last season. Added to that, he's found himself to be a leader in another category as you'll find out below.

With T-Mac and Perko the heart and soul of the team, it's up to the rest of the supporting cast to help take them to that championship level the Nuggets have now become used to.

MVP Race

[DEN] Borislav Perko (9.8ppg 9.5rpg 9.4apg)
[CLE] Corin Robertson (21.2ppg 6.2apg 1.4spg)
[DAL] Brady O'Leary (20.1ppg 6apg 1.4spg)
[NYK] Ollie Rose (20.2ppg 3.2rpg 4.2apg)
[MIN] Curt McNamara (23.3ppg 4.8rpg 2.7apg)

League Leaders

PPG

[MIL] Nathan Bing 28.1
[MIN] Curt McNamara 23.3
[LAL] Theo Hadson 23.3
[GSW] Johnny Williams 22.4
[DEN] Taylor MacKenzie 22.1

RPG

[LAC] Zach Pearson 11.1
[ATL] Bart Harvey 10.6
[LAL] Archibald Sheehan 10.4
[IND] Alec Snow 10.2
[UTA] Luther Ridley 10

APG

[DEN] Borislav Perko 9.4
[SAC] Kelly Scott 8.2
[SAN] Gavin Whitney 7.7
[IND] Murray Koch 7.6
[WAS] Steven Hunt 7.5

SPG

[DEN] Taylor MacKenzie 2.1
[CHA] Patrick McNamara 1.9
[DET] Njabulo Nyoni 1.9
[DEN] Alejandro Carlos 1.9
[TOR] Edmund Vincett 1.8

BPG

[DEN] Borislav Perko 2.4
[CHA] Vinny O'Connell 2.4
[LAC] Zach Pearson 2.2
[LAL] Dakota Kane 2.1
[MIN] Bongani Malinga 2.1

Standings

EAST

Philadelphia 13-3
Indiana 11-6
New York 11-6
Miami 10-7
Chicago 9-7
Orlando 10-9
Detroit 8-9
Boston 6-7
---
Washington 7-9
Cleveland 8-11
Atlanta 6-10
Toronto 6-10
Milwaukee 5-9
Charlotte 6-11
New Jersey 5-10

WEST

Denver 13-3
Oklahoma City 11-5
Memphis 11-6
LA Clippers 10-6
New Orleans 8-5
Dallas 10-8
Golden State 8-8
Minnesota 8-8
---
Sacramento 8-8
Houston 8-10
LA Lakers 6-10
San Antonio 6-10
Portland 5-10
Utah 5-10
Phoenix 4-11

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Sorry about the length between updates. I've been back and forth the last few weeks trying to get things sorted out. The next 5 game summary should be up within a day or so.

[Andrew]

Perko's all around brilliance continues. I'm not sure we'll ever see an MVP who averages under 10 ppg in real life though, even if he's pushing a triple double on the season. Nevertheless, that'd be awesome if he could make it back to back on both counts.

[Houndy]

Interesting, Perko needs to bump those numbers up

Who's the O'Leary guy for Dallas?

[Warlock95]

Brady O'Leary?

BOOM! The Nickname Machine strikes again, I'll call him Bro-Leary.
Bartholomew Myer will be "Bartman".

[Mavs4Life]

I'd also like to hear about the MVP-level O' Leary Guy. PERKO 4 MVP!

[Kenny]

Perko's all around brilliance continues. I'm not sure we'll ever see an MVP who averages under 10 ppg in real life though, even if he's pushing a triple double on the season. Nevertheless, that'd be awesome if he could make it back to back on both counts.

It is an interesting situation with him. I doubt anyone averaging under 10 would win the MVP, but on the same count, he's also leading the league in assists and blocked shots at this point. If I can sustain the blocks, who knows, perhaps a DPOTY isn't out of the question.

Interesting, Perko needs to bump those numbers up

Who's the O'Leary guy for Dallas?

Yeah, they need just a little bump at the moment.

Brady O'Leary is a combo guard I believe with more of a shoot first mentality that you'd see at the two. But in saying that, he is averaging 6 assists a game, so maybe he passes more than I give him credit for. He's probably getting better stats since Corin Robertson moved to the Cavs.

Brady O'Leary?

BOOM! The Nickname Machine strikes again, I'll call him Bro-Leary.
Bartholomew Myer will be "Bartman".

Bro-Leary; I like it! You could even alter that a little and make it "Brah Really?"

I was thinking El Barto for Myer, but Bartman works too

I'd also like to hear about the MVP-level O' Leary Guy. PERKO 4 MVP!

He seems to be a pretty good player. I think he's stepping up as the franchise guy since Corin Robertson is gone and Sergio Soto never really stepped up to the plate. I'll have to check how old he is (who knows, I could yet poach him )

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

With wins over Toronto, Dallas and Houston, the Nuggets winning streak extended to 8 before they went down by a solitary point against the New Orleans Hornets. Strangely enough, it ended up being a bittersweet round for Denver, as they also lost in overtime to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They went from having an 8 game win streak to a 2 game losing streak within 3 games.

The feature is the first game against the Toronto Raptors:

Nuggets Withstand Late Attack



Denver escaped from their gaTaylor MacKenzie was the high point man once again for the Denver Nuggets with 36 points, but once again it was Borislav Perko who was named the Performer of the Game. He added to his triple-double tally with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. LeBron James was the only other Nuggets player to reach double figures with 10 points.

The Raptors had 4 double digit scorers, with Jesse Wolf leading the way with 27 points and 6 assists. New recruit Edmund Vincett had a stellar game with 21, while Quint Miller and Vince Rousseau both added 12 each. Rousseau was 4 assists away from a triple-double with 10 rebounds and 6 assists to lead his team in both categories.

Although the score says the Nuggets won by two, they were up by 5 in the dying seconds. It was a desperation halfcourt shot from Jesse Wolf that would make the game appear much closer than it really was.

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TOR@DEN

DEN: 90 (MacKenzie 36, Perko 12, James 10)
TOR: 88 (Wolf 27, Vincett 21, Miller 12)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Borislav Perko 12 points 10 rebounds 12 assists 3 blocks 1 steal

Rebounds

DEN: Howard 12
TOR: Rousseau, Wolf 6

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Last 5 Games

TOR: 90-88 W
DAL: 94-87 W
HOU: 86-78 W
NOH: 93-92 L
@CLE: 103-95 L (OT)

The Nuggets are now 15-5

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Denver's Offense

As highlighted in Denver's OT loss against the Cavs, this season they're having a tendency to lean on one guy for their offensive production. T-Mac scored 40 points against the Cavs and still leads the team in points per game with 23.6. It wouldn't be so bad if the next best scorers on the team were averaging more than 10 a game.



Hot And Cold

Alejandro has been uncharacteristically inconsistent since his move to Mile High City, but he's had his moments. Against the Mavericks, he scored 31. If only he could do this or close to it on a regular basis.



El Barto

Bartholomew Myer has had great impact off the bench for the Nuggets in some games. Against the Rockets, he had 26 points and 8 assists. He's fitting in well with Borislav Perko and he's even managing to manufacture more points for the reigning MVP.

Hedo 2.0?

Cyrus Banks scored 15 in the Nuggets loss to New Orleans. Even though his game isn't much alike at all, his face kind of reminds me of Hedo Turkoglu. Like Jesus Carlos, Cyrus Banks was taken with the last pick of the NBA draft.

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Next 5 Games

@PHI
@CHA
@MIA
OKC
MEM

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Interesting fact about the Philadelphia game, both teams currently sit on 15-5. Hopefully the next 5 games will be up soon.

[Warlock95]

Looks like the number change gave T-Mac a better scoring performance. Others say Perko for MVP, but as for me, I've been rooting for this guy all along.

Raptors Game: Players attempting desperation shots when their team's gonna lose. I get that all the time.
Cavs Game: "It would be so bad if the next best scorers were averaging more than 10 a game." Next best scorers in the team, or the league?
Mavs Game: Yes, Alejandro needs more good games like that. He needs to play like he's still the Spurs star.
Rockets Game: Thought Bart's number was 43...then I saw that pic. "Forty-Niner"...a reference to his fave NFL team, perhaps?
Hornets Game: Yeah, I kinda see the resemblance too. Who's this other Carlos?

[Andrew]

DPOY for Perko would be cool, a fine follow-up to MVP.

Tough end to that round but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Expecting you to be back to your winning ways over the next five.

[Houndy]

All really close games

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

After ending the previous 5 game summary on a two game losing streak, the Nuggets were quick to bounce back. In fact, the Nuggets had a flawless round. Even though they won against Charlotte, Oklahoma City and Memphis, both the Philadelphia and Miami games were seperated by a single point. With the more dramatic circumstances in which the game finished, the feature is the Miami game:

Carlos Cleans Up Mess, Wins Game



The Denver Nuggets escaped from Miami with a 77-76 win. After Reuben Walker hit a 3 to put the Heat in front by one, the Nuggets had the last play of the game. A nervous LeBron moment made this the play that could have given the Nuggets faithful plenty of reason to turn on him:

phpBB [video]

Despite hitting the game winning shot, it was another struggle for Alejandro Carlos, scoring 8 points off 3/11 shooting. His partner in crime had very little troubles though, as Taylor MacKenzie scored 29 to be named the Performer of the Game. Before the nervous moment, LeBron had a solid game with 16 points, while Dwight Howard was prominant with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

The Heat were able to stay with the Nuggets til the very end thanks to the efforts of Reuben Walker and Duncan Werner, who scored 23 and 16 respectively. Demitri Mullan helped out as well with 10 points.

Heat fans wouldn't be blamed if they thought the basketball gods cheated them out of this one. With Walker hitting the go ahead three, they were in a great position to pick up the upset victory. Then LeBron's wayward pass almost sealed it for them, but it just goes to show that all it takes is a lucky bounce to decide a game.

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DEN@MIA

DEN: 77 (MacKenzie 29, James 16, Howard 10)
MIA: 76 (Walker 23, Werner 16, Mullan 10)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Taylor MacKenzie 29 points 2 rebounds 2 assists 1 block 3 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Howard 14
MIA: Banks, Gordon 11

Assists

DEN: Perko 9
MIA: Walker 4

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Last 5 Games

@PHI: 88-87 W
@CHA: 87-68 W
@MIA: 77-76 W
OKC: 80-66 W
MEM: 83-74 W

The Nuggets are now 20-5

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Eying A Title?

Taylor MacKenzie has 5 rings, but he may be going for the scoring title this season as well. He's currently third in the league in points per game and 43 points against the 76ers isn't hurting his cause. The current league leader is former Nuggets combo guard Nathan Bing.

Solid As A Rock

Perko hasn't been overly prominent, but he still managed two triple-double this summary. Against the 76ers he had 12 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists. The game directly after against the the Bobcats he registered 11 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. He's just quietly going about his game as T-Mac is getting all the attention.

No OKC Blunder

After a potentially disasterous blunder against the Heat, LeBron made a statement in the game right after it. Against J.R. Smith and the Thunder he had 22 points and 15 assists.

Still Struggling

Alejandro Carlos was initially expected to come into the side and take over the bulk of the offensive duties. However, his season has been underwhelming so far, which is highlighted by the fact that his highest score in the last 5 games is his 11 point effort against the Memphis Grizzlies. Nothing special, but 5 assists and 6 steals made it worth mentioning.

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Next 5 Games

MEM
SAN
SAN
@CHI
@TOR

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The month will end before the next 5 game summary, so another monthly report will be up fairly soon. I'm kind of on a tear at the moment.

[Kenny]

Trade Announcement

Griffin Sent To Miami; Denver Receive Werner and 2nd Rounder

The Denver Nuggets parted ways with struggling swingman Todd Griffin as they were offered combo guard Duncan Werner and the Heat's 2022 second round pick.

Todd will get the opportunity to resurrect his season after not fitting in with the Nuggets system, while Duncan Werner potentially brings a second scorer to the Nuggets team, as he's averaging 16 a game. He will likely start on the bench, but if he plays well with Taylor MacKenzie, the option to trade another struggler in Alejandro Carlos could also be on the table.

Werner will wear jersey #19.

[Kenny]

Looks like the number change gave T-Mac a better scoring performance. Others say Perko for MVP, but as for me, I've been rooting for this guy all along.

Raptors Game: Players attempting desperation shots when their team's gonna lose. I get that all the time.
Cavs Game: "It would be so bad if the next best scorers were averaging more than 10 a game." Next best scorers in the team, or the league?
Mavs Game: Yes, Alejandro needs more good games like that. He needs to play like he's still the Spurs star.
Rockets Game: Thought Bart's number was 43...then I saw that pic. "Forty-Niner"...a reference to his fave NFL team, perhaps?
Hornets Game: Yeah, I kinda see the resemblance too. Who's this other Carlos?

I've always had a soft spot for T-Mac myself, but he was never consistent enough for regular minutes until about 1 and a half seasons ago.

I've seen a bunch of those desperation shots go in... sometimes they've even been counted when they graze the other side of the rim.
I reworded that caption... but yes, the team has a bunch of guys averaging around 10.
Alejandro has been pretty disappointing this season.
To be honest, I never thought of that connection, it was more "what's a number that no one in their right mind would use?"
The other Carlos is Pablo Carlos. In NBA Live 10, Carlos is the most common last name in the league. So common I almost did an article on it once... still might.

DPOY for Perko would be cool, a fine follow-up to MVP.

Tough end to that round but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Expecting you to be back to your winning ways over the next five.

It would be a nice double, and I think it hasn't been done since Stanley Alston did it twice when I was simulating.

The losses were tough, but at least I kept them close. The Cleveland game ended up looking a lot closer because I was getting absolutely destroyed in OT.

All really close games

The less I play the game, the more tougher it is to pick back up it seems. Now I'm playing a lot more games this weekend, I'm getting on a roll.