Denver Nuggets 2.0 [S2: 55-19]

[Kenny]

November 2014 Summary

The Nuggets were the surprise team in the West, as they currently rank 5th in the conference with a record of 9-7. Even though they still lack the consistency to get back the "fringe contender" label, the Nuggets have made great strides on both ends and look like they could be a bogey team come Playoff time.

As expected with the post-Melo Nuggets, there hasn't been one standout player. The offensive load has been handled pretty equally by the likes of Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, Arron Afflalo and various other players. By playing in a system where the ball doesn't stick, the Nuggets are looking to emulate a team like the Spurs. So far, it appears to be working, but we all know that the success of a system isn't judged by regular season accomplishments.

Standings

East

Atlanta 12-3
Chicago 12-5
Miami 11-5
Brooklyn 9-6
Indiana 10-7
Cleveland 8-7
Milwaukee 9-9
New York 9-9
---
Detroit 8-9
Toronto 8-9
Philadelphia 7-9
Charlotte 7-11
Washington 5-10
Boston 4-10
Orlando 2-17

West

Memphis 12-5
San Antonio 11-5
Oklahoma City 11-6
Houston 10-7
Denver 9-7
LA Clippers 9-7
Dallas 10-8
New Orleans 8-7
---
Portland 9-8
Golden State 7-9
Sacramento 7-10
LA Lakers 7-10
Minnesota 6-9
Phoenix 7-11
Utah 4-13

Monthly Awards

Player
East: [NYK] Carmelo Anthony
West: [OKC] Russell Westbrook

Rookie
East: [MIL] Jabari Parker
West: [MIN] Andrew Wiggins

League Leaders

PPG

[NYK] Carmelo Anthony 27.9
[OKC] Russell Westbrook 26.5
[LAL] Kobe Bryant 25.4
[CLE] LeBron James 24.5
[LAC] Blake Griffin 23.6

RPG

[DET] Andre Drummond 1.5
[CHA] Al Jefferson 10.9
[LAC] DeAndre Jordan 10.6
[MIN] Nikola Pekovic 10.3
[BOS] Jared Sullinger 10.3

APG

[DEN] Ty Lawson 11
[NYK] Jose Calderon 8.2
[PHI] Michael Carter-Williams 8.1
[ORL] Elfrid Payton 8.1
[MEM] Mike Conley 7.9

SPG

[DEN] Ty Lawson 2.5
[LAC] Chris Paul 2.4
[CHI] Jimmy Butler 2.2
[LAL] Jeremy Lin 1.9
[CHA] Kemba Walker 1.9

BPG

[NOP] Anthony Davis 2.2
[LAC] DeAndre Jordan 2.2
[IND] Roy Hibbert 2.1
[CHI] Joakim Noah 2
[GSW] Andrew Bogut 1.9

Transactions

Wizards trade Drew Gooden
Mavs trade Richard Jefferson

Minnesota trade Chase Budinger
Orlando trade Willie Green

Retro Jerseys in December!

Over the month of December, NBA teams will be embracing their franchise history by wearing retro jerseys. Get ready for some ugly rainbows, Nuggets fans!

[Andrew]

Good to see that the Curse of the Ankles has been broken!

[Kenny]

Andrew, I couldn't believe it when I saw the injury report. I'm still wonder where the anklegate sweet-spot is on the sliders.

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

The Nuggets started the new month emphatically with blowout wins against the Jazz and the Trail Blazers. They were brought back down to Earth when they traveled to the nation's capital, as they lost a close one against the Wizards. They split the last two games of the summary, beating the East's top team, the Atlanta Hawks, but losing to the underachieving Toronto Raptors.

The feature for this summary is the game in Atlanta.

Nuggets Bounce Back in Atlanta

The Denver Nuggets recovered from their close loss against the Wizards with a 95-91 win over the Hawks.

Wilson Chandler had a huge game for the Nuggets, registering a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Danilo Gallinari was also productive for Denver, scoring 16 off the bench. Kenneth Faried (12 points, 16 rebounds) added another double-double to his season tally, while Arron Afflalo and Randy Foye added 11 points each.

The Hawks relied heavily on the sharp-shooting Kyle Korver for a lot of their offense. Korver scored 20, while DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague (13 assists) both provided 13 points each, while Al Horford fought hard in the paint for his 12 points and 12 rebounds.

DEN@ATL

DEN: 95
(Chandler 23, Gallinari 16, Faried 12)
ATL: 91
(Korver 20, Carroll 13, Teague 13)

Jordan Performer of the Game: Wilson Chandler 23 points (9-17 FG) 10 rebounds 3 assists 1 block

Rebounds

DEN: Faried 16
ATL: Horford 12

Assists

DEN: Lawson 10
ATL: Teague 13

Last 5 Games

@UTA: 108-67 W
POR: 109-85 W
@WAS: 100-97 L
@ATL: 95-91 W
@TOR: 93-83 L

Overall: 12-9

Highlights

It's always nice to have a good game against the team that traded you, and JaVale McGee managed to do that. Against the Wizards, he had 15 points and 16 rebounds.

Randy Foye had best performance of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers. He had 21 points and 5 assists off the bench.

Gary Harris has been solid so far in his rookie campaign and he had plenty of playing time to showcase his talents in the blowout against the Jazz. He had 17 points, which including 5-7 from beyond the arc. With the likes of Arron Afflalo and Randy Foye ahead of him, Harris is creating yet another rotation dilemma for Brian Shaw.

Whether the Nuggets win or lose, one thing you can always count on is that Kenneth Faried will give 100%. In the loss against the Raptors, Faried had 11 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks.

Injuries

Arron Afflalo - Back Spasms, Day-to-day (Hurt)
J.J. Hickson - Sprained Ankle, Day-to-day (Hurt)

Next 5 Games

MIA
@HOU
SAN
HOU
LAC

[Kenny]

Trade News: Former Second Pick Acquired by Denver

The Denver Nuggets agreed to a trade which will see Derrick Williams and a 2016 second round pick for Timofey Mozgov and Alonzo Gee. There were rumours from various sources that Timofey Mozgov wanted to be traded away from Denver after he fell out of the centre rotation. The Kings expressed interest in the Russian centre, believing he would be a solid backup to their franchise player, Boogie Cousins.

Initially the trade talks were stagnant. The Kings offered Jason Thompson, but the Nuggets front office declined, citing the length of Thompson's contract as an issue. When the Nuggets inquired about Derrick Williams, it was realised that an extra player was needed for the transaction. The only two players that could fit in the deal were Alonzo Gee and Erick Green.

Denver will be the third destination of Williams' rookie contract, as the former second overall pick previously spent time in Minnesota and Sacramento.

Trade Summary

Nuggets Receive: Derrick Williams, 2016 second rounder
Kings Receive: Timofey Mozgov, Alonzo Gee

What the Nuggets get

The blunt way of looking at it: the Nuggets get the expiring contract of a lottery bust. However, Williams is an athletic player who can play both forward positions. He will probably spend most of the season warming the Nuggets' bench, but he could also find a niche in Denver's uptempo offensive system.

The second rounder could end up being an asset the Nuggets could use in another trade situation.

What the Kings get

The Kings get depth behind their two stars, DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. Timofey Mozgov is an upgrade over Ryan Hollins, while Alonzo Gee is a nice backup for Rudy Gay.

Note: I completed this trade before I posted my Player Review. Currently I'm 7 games ahead of the post schedule. Hopefully I can catch up to that pretty soon.

[2K Kobe]

it's really simple to take screenshots on the PS3.

PS button > Photo > Save screenshot

[Phil89]

Nice to see those rainbow jerseys back

It's an interesting trade. I like the idea of giving formerly highly rated players a second (or third) chance to prove they can be good NBA players. Hopefully Williams can be a solid role player for you.

[Andrew]

Interesting "spare parts" trade there. Nice to see you doing a little better than the real Nuggets!

[Lamrock]

Mozgov is underrated in 2K, so this isn't too bad of a trade. Williams isn't my favorite player, but he might prove useful if you can find a place for him in your rotation. Don't think it'll be your last trade this year.

[Cruzerr]

Those next 5 games seem really difficult. I can see you grabbing a win against Miami but I have no clue how you against rest of them.

I am actually a bit surprised that you traded for Williams but ey, it is still a fairly good trade.

[mp3]

Shame that you had to let Moz and Alonzo Gee go for Williams but he could turn into something special for you... hasn't done anything yet in the league but 3rd team could be a charm !

[Kenny]

it's really simple to take screenshots on the PS3.

PS button > Photo > Save screenshot

I tried doing that but I couldn't get it working. Do I need anything in particular to be installed onto my PS3?

It's not a particularly big deal, really. It would just be nice to know for future reference.

Nice to see those rainbow jerseys back

It's an interesting trade. I like the idea of giving formerly highly rated players a second (or third) chance to prove they can be good NBA players. Hopefully Williams can be a solid role player for you.

It's cool because 2k has a bigger selection (although, only one retro away jersey for the Nuggets). I love the 90s Nuggets jerseys the most (the Mutombo era ones.)

I'm hoping Williams can be the Michael Beasley of this thread. If he can shoot more consistently, he can be pretty awesome.

Interesting "spare parts" trade there. Nice to see you doing a little better than the real Nuggets!

I like to think I'm inspiring the real life team, since they've strung together a few wins now. I'm pretty happy that the real life Nuggets are 6-7 at the moment.

Mozgov is underrated in 2K, so this isn't too bad of a trade. Williams isn't my favorite player, but he might prove useful if you can find a place for him in your rotation. Don't think it'll be your last trade this year.

Considering I have both Nate Robinson and J.J. Hickson demanding trades, it probably won't be my last. But I think if I make another, I'll do it towards the deadline. At the moment, I'm waiting for the ability to sign 10 day contracts. Admittedly, it was a reason why I wanted to clear up a roster space.

Those next 5 games seem really difficult. I can see you grabbing a win against Miami but I have no clue how you against rest of them.

I am actually a bit surprised that you traded for Williams but ey, it is still a fairly good trade.

It is a really tricky schedule. Each team on it can be a pain in the ass in 2k. Particularly the Rockets when Harden is in God mode.

I still think he can be a productive rotation guy. He just needs more of a chance to prove himself. Then again, I think I said the same about Beasley a few years ago.

Shame that you had to let Moz and Alonzo Gee go for Williams but he could turn into something special for you... hasn't done anything yet in the league but 3rd team could be a charm !

Definitely a trade for potential. He's a good fit for an uptempo system since he's athletic as hell. It's my hope that I can overachieve with him since I'm fairly good at running fastbreaks. If he doesn't work out, I can just hope that someone will sign him to an offer sheet as an RFA.

[Kenny]

LeBron and KD Lead Voting; Lawson in West Backcourt Top Ten

The first ballot results are in and LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony have eclipsed one million votes. For the backcourt, Kobe leads the West, while Rajon Rondo has a slight lead in the East over Derrick Rose.

Ty Lawson (6th amongst guards) is the only Denver Nuggets player to appear in the top ten for the West, leading three former All-Stars in Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday.

West

Backcourt

[LAL] Kobe Bryant 876,584
[OKC] Russell Westbrook 808,345
[HOU] James Harden 673,313
[SAN] Tony Parker 657,955
[LAC] Chris Paul 634,635
[DEN] Ty Lawson 597,476
[GSW] Stephen Curry 592,917
[PHX] Goran Dragic 567,683
[POR] Damian Lillard 561,717
[NOP] Jrue Holiday 495,359

Frontcourt

[OKC] Kevin Durant 1,069,759
[LAC] Blake Griffin 690,459
[POR] LaMarcus Aldridge 678,980
[SAN] Tim Duncan 626,246
[SAC] DeMarcus Cousins 608,557
[DAL] Dirk Nowitzki 591,707
[HOU] Dwight Howard 555,196
[NOP] Anthony Davis 526,894
[MEM] Zach Randolph 523,768
[GSW] David Lee 474,846

Current Projected Starters

G: Russell Westbrook
G: Kobe Bryant
F: Kevin Durant
F: Blake Griffin
C: LaMarcus Aldridge

East

Backcourt

[BOS] Rajon Rondo 611,654
[CHI] Derrick Rose 589,789
[TOR] Kyle Lowry 568,526
[MIA] Dwyane Wade 556,751
[TOR] DeMarr DeRozan 529,813
[CLE] Kyrie Irving 522,265
[WAS] John Wall 519,391
[BKN] Deron Williams 508,169
[DET] Brandon Jennings 491,809
[CHA] Kemba Walker 467,848

Frontcourt

[CLE] LeBron James 1,176,975
[NYK] Carmelo Anthony 1,017,856
[IND] Paul George 817,848
[CHA] Al Jefferson 661,006
[CHI] Pau Gasol 575,013
[ATL] Paul Millsap 556,949
[MIA] Chris Bosh 537,670
[CHI] Joakim Noah 510,103
[ATL] Al Horford 508,845
[CLE] Kevin Love 500,470

Current Projected Starters

G: Rajon Rondo
G: Derrick Rose
F: Paul George
F: Carmelo Anthony
C: LeBron James

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

Despite losing the first game to the Heat by the smallest of margins, the Nuggets went on a 4-game win streak. What's more impressive about the winning run is that every game they won was against teams that are considered to be contenders in the West. The Nuggets won two games against the Rockets, one against the defending NBA Champions, the Spurs, and an absolute blowout against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The feature is the second game against the Houston Rockets.

Nuggets Blast Rockets in Fourth Quarter

The Nuggets came back from an 11 point deficit in their 100-97 win against the Houston Rockets.

Ty Lawson was the main catalyst for the Nuggets. He scored 23 points off an impressive 9-13 from the field. He also assisted in 11 other scoring opportunities. Wilson Chandler played a great secondary role to Lawson, scoring 18 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Derrick Williams showed some flare off the bench with 11 points, while Arron Afflalo, JaVale McGee and Gary Harris all scored 10 each.

For the Rockets, Trevor Ariza was the top scorer with 18 points. James Harden was the key playmaker throughout the first three quarters with 17 points and 6 assists. Both Terrence Jones (14 points, 8 rebounds) and Joey Dorsey (12 points, 8 rebounds) both had solid games in Dwight Howard's absense, while Troy Daniels added 11 points.

HOU@DEN

DEN: 100
(Lawson 23, Chandler 18, Williams ())
HOU: 97
(Ariza 18, Harden 17, Jones 14)

Jordan Performer of the Game: Ty Lawson 23 points (9-13 FG) 2 rebounds 11 assists

Rebounds

DEN: Faried 8
HOU: Dorsey, Jones 8

Assists

DEN: Lawson 11
HOU: Harden 6

Last 5 Games

MIA: 93-92 L
@HOU: 107-95 W
SAN: 101-93 W
HOU: 100-97 W
LAC: 117-85 W

Overall: 16-10

Highlights

Gary Harris had an incredible performance against the defending champions. He scored a career high 31 points, along with 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a block. With Arron Afflalo injured, this performance earned Gazza the starting two-guard spot against the Rockets. Unfortunately his hot performance didn't really carry over to the feature game.

Ty Lawson had a great couple of games against the Rockets. Even though his feature performance earned him the POTG, his first outing against the Rockets was even better. He had 27 points, 4 rebounds, 17 assists and 5 steals.

So far Derrick Williams has been a great fit for the Nuggets. Against the Clippers, he had 21 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocks off the bench. One thing that's also noticeable is his improvement from behind the arc. With J.J. Hickson reportedly asking for a trade, Williams could very well take the reigns as the backup power forward if this form continues.

In a summary full of impressive numbers, Faried's 18-and-10 performance against the Heat seems fairly pedestrian in comparison.

Injuries

Danilo Gallinari - Sprained Ankle, Day-to-day (Hurt)
JaVale McGee - Sprained Ankle, Day-to-day (Hurt)
J.J. Hickson - Sprained Ankle, Day-to-day (Hurt)

#ReturnOfAnkleGate

Next 5 Games

IND
@CHA
@BKN
MIN
TOR

[mp3]

Lmao @ ankle gate ruturning

[Andrew]

Could be worse with Gallinari, I suppose!

Nice to see those uniforms from the 90s again. Probably my favourite jerseys for both clubs.

[Lamrock]

Continuing to get nice results with your team. Pad Lawson's stats enough, and he may be able to sneak into the ASG. Pictures are also looking better too

[Kenny]

Lmao @ ankle gate ruturning

Me and bloody ankle injuries in 2k

Could be worse with Gallinari, I suppose!

Nice to see those uniforms from the 90s again. Probably my favourite jerseys for both clubs.

Absolutely. Considering his injury-plagued previous couple of seasons, I'd take a day-to-day ankle injury at this point.

They would be my favourite jerseys too (although I like the current ones a lot). It's just a shame there's not an away jersey to go with it.

Continuing to get nice results with your team. Pad Lawson's stats enough, and he may be able to sneak into the ASG. Pictures are also looking better too

I find it pretty easy to pad stats at the point guard position, particularly assists and steals (turnovers too, but oh well). Hopefully I can get him on the team.

[Kenny]

6 Game Summary

Even though they lost quite comprehensively against the Pacers in the first game, the Nuggets were brilliant otherwise. They managed to close out games against the Hornets, Nets and Timberwolves, while blowing out the Raptors and the Lakers.

I couldn't resist making a beat down of the Lakers the feature game, so here it is.

Nuggets Win Fifth Straight Game

The Nuggets continued to be one of the hottest teams in the league with their 102-87 win over the Lakers.

It was a statement game for Nuggets guard Nate Robinson. After receiving limited minutes for most of December, Robinson led the Nuggets in scoring with 23 points. He also collected 6 dimes on the night. Ty Lawson continued his push for an All-Star berth, scoring 17 points off 6-9 shooting, along with 12 assists. In the absence of JaVale McGee, Jusuf Nurkic proved useful with 12 points, while Kenneth Faried (17 rebounds) and Gary Harris (5 assists) both scored 11. Arron Afflalo added 10 points as well.

With Kobe Bryant struggling from the field (4-17), the Lakers had to rely on Wesley Johnson and new recruit Ian Mahinmi for offensive production. Both players led the Lakers scoring with 17 each. Jeremy Lin was the only other double-digit scorer for the Lakers, as he registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists.

LAL@DEN

DEN: 102
(Robinson 23, Lawson 17, Nurkic 12)
LAL: 87
(Johnson 17, Mahinmi 17, Lin 11)

Jordan Performer of the Game: Ty Lawson 17 points (6-9 FG) 1 rebound 12 assists 1 steal

Rebounds

DEN: Faried 17
LAL: Mahinmi 8

Assists

DEN: Lawson 12
LAL: Lin 10

Last 6 Games

IND: 100-86 L
@CHA: 90-83 W
@BKN: 97-90 W
MIN: 97-89 W
TOR: 106-80 W
LAL: 102-87 W

Overall: 21-11

Highlights

Kenneth Faried was unlucky not to be in the top ten in the West frontcourt votes. However, the game he had against the Timberwolves might convince fans to vote for him. The Manimal had 24 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Ty Lawson has been in great shooting form lately, but the Nets game was something else. He scored 25 points off 8-9 from the floor (7-8 from beyond the arc). He also had 10 assists, 2 rebounds, 4 steals and a block as well.

Jusuf Nurkic has seen extended playing time with JaVale McGee and J.J. Hickson both sitting out. He was able to register his first career double-double against the Hornets, as he contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Gary Harris flirted with his first career triple-double against the Raptors. He had 21 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, as well as a steal and a block.

There weren't a lot of positives in the Pacers game, but Danilo Gallinari had a pretty good game. He led the Nuggets scoring with 15 points.

Injuries

Danilo Gallinari - Sprained Ankle, Day-to-day (Hurt)
JaVale McGee - Strained Calf, Day-to-day (Hurt)
J.J. Hickson - Sprained Ankle, Day-to-day (Hurt)

Next 5 Games

@CHI
MEM
@MIN
ORL
@SAC

[Kenny]

December 2014 Summary

The Nuggets continued to exceed all preseason expectations. They will begin the new year at the top of the Western Conference standings.

December also saw the Nuggets acquire Derrick Williams in a trade with the Sacramento Kings, and so far, the former second overall pick has fit in straight away. As well as his athletic highlight reel plays at the rim, Williams has also shown great improvement in his perimeter shooting. He's been a great stretch-four off the bench and he may very well play himself into a multi-year contract.

The Derrick Williams trade seemingly set off a chain reaction across the league. Amongst the teams to pull off transactions that raised eyebrows were the Milwaukee Bucks. They traded away The Greek Freak for Marcus Thornton. The Heat parted with two-time championship winner Mario Chalmers in exchange for Mike Scott, while the Knicks got rid of a pair of Smiths.

The Nuggets success in December came despite the fact they were ravaged by injury. With one extra roster spot available, Denver could look to sign a couple of free agents to ten day contracts. Will the Nuggets pick up their 15th player in January? All will be revealed soon.

Standings

East

Chicago 24-8
Miami 20-13
Cleveland 19-13
Indiana 19-14
Toronto 18-14
Atlanta 16-15
Detroit 15-16
Brooklyn 14-17
---
Philadelphia 13-17
Charlotte 14-19
Washington 13-18
New York 14-20
Milwaukee 13-20
Boston 11-18
Orlando 8-27


West

Denver 21-11
Memphis 20-11
Oklahoma City 21-12
Houston 19-12
Dallas 20-13
LA Clippers 19-14
Phoenix 19-15
Portland 16-17
---
San Antonio 16-18
Minnesota 14-16
Golden State 14-16
LA Lakers 14-18
New Orleans 14-18
Sacramento 14-18
Utah 9-23

Monthly Awards

Player
East: [CLE] LeBron James
West: [OKC] Kevin Durant

Rookie
East: [PHI] Joel Embiid
West: [MIN] Andrew Wiggins

Transactions

Hawks traded: Mike Scott, 2016 second round pick
Heat traded: Mario Chalmers

Celtics traded: Vitor Faverini
Lakers traded: Wayne Ellington, 2016 second round pick

Nuggets traded: Timofey Mozgov, Alonzo Gee
Kings traded: Derrick Williams, 2016 second round pick

Mavs traded: Al-Farouq Aminu
Bulls traded: E-Twaun Moore

Pacers traded: Ian Mahinmi, 2016 first round pick
Lakers traded: Nick Young

Timberwolves traded: Corey Brewer, Robbie Hummel
Kings traded: Carl Landry, Eric Moreland

Knicks traded: Jason Smith
Hawks traded: Mike Muscala, 2015 second round pick

Milwaukee traded: Giannis Antetokounmpo (!)
Celtics traded: Marcus Thornton

Pistons traded: D.J. Augustin
Knicks traded: J.R. Smith, 2015 second round pick

[Kenny]

Award Races

The new year is here and so are the award races. While there are a few curious inclusions, a lot of early season predictions are currently on track.

MVP

It comes as little surprise that the reigning MVP is currently atop of the rankings. However, Durant is cuirrently being edged out of the scoring title by teammate Russell Westbrook. If KD loses the scoring title to his own teammate, his chances to get his second MVP trophy could be in jeopardy. Along with Durant, LeBron is once again in the list, while the reigning Most Improved Player Goran Dragic is an early bolter, along with Denver's floor general Ty Lawson.

[OKC] Kevin Durant
24.1ppg 7.8rpg 6apg 1.4spg 1.3bpg .485 FG .459 3PT

[OKC] Russell Westbrook
24.2ppg 5.3rpg 7apg 1.8spg .519 FG .268 3PT

[CLE] LeBron James
24.1ppg 8rpg 5.4apg 1.4spg 1.1bpg .487 FG .394 3PT

[PHX] Goran Dragic
22.1ppg 5.1rpg 6.1apg 1.7spg .497 FG .405 3PT

[DEN] Ty Lawson
15.4ppg 2.7rpg 11apg 2.5spg .483 FG .463 3PT

Rookie of the Year

Parker versus Wiggins has been the talk of the 2014 Draft Class since they committed to college teams last season. Both players are well and truly in the hunt for the ROY trophy, but Parker's numbers are slightly better at this point. As a consolation to the Magic's poor season so far, Aaron Gordon progressed a lot faster than expected, while Elfrid Payton also finds himself in the ROY convesation.

[MIL] Jabari Parker
17.8ppg 6.7rpg 3.3apg 1.3spg .409 FG .354 3PT

[ORL] Aaron Gordon
13.2ppg 9.1rpg 2.5apg 1.2bpg .476 FG

[ORL] Elfrid Payton
7.3ppg 3.5rpg 7.6apg 1.5spg .368 FG .129 3PT

[PHI] Joel Embiid
14.9ppg 9rpg 1.1spg 1.5bpg .533 FG

[MIN] Andrew Wiggins
13.3ppg 6.2rpg 2.9apg 1.1spg 1.1bpg .408 FG .347 3PT

Sixth Man of the Year

With Manu Ginobili missing games, Boris Diaw has stepped up for the Spurs as the leader of their second unit. He is also the only frontcourt player on this list. A real surpris has been the play of Dante Exum. He has every chance to win the 6th man award as a rookie. On that note, Ben Gordon also finds himself on the list.

[SAN] Boris Diaw
8.6ppg 4.4rpg 3.4apg .466 FG .353 3PT

[UTA] Dante Exum
7.8ppg 2.8rpg 4.1apg 1.1spg .356 FG .243 3PT

[GSW] Shaun Livingston
7.7ppg 2.3rpg 4.1apg 1.3spg .471 FG

[MIL] Jerryd Bayless
9.4ppg 2.5pg 2.9apg .407 FG .372 3PT

[ORL] Ben Gordon
11.2ppg 1.9rpg 1.3apg .425 FG .405 3PT

Defensive Player of the Year

No real surprises with the top 3. We all knew Anthony Davis was going to be a beast this season, and Drummond and Jordan appear to be perenial candidates as well. The inclusion of Jefferson and Bosh may raise a few eyebrows, but it's not unusual for there to be a bias towards frontcourt players in the DPOY race.

[NOP] Anthony Davis
1.9bpg 1.1spg

[DET] Andre Drummond
1.5bpg 1.1spg

[LAC] DeAndre Jordan
1.6bpg 0.9spg

[CHA] Al Jefferson
1.5bpg 1spg

[MIA] Chris Bosh
1.4bpg 1spg

Most Improved Player

At this point of the season, the MIP candidates should be taken with a grain of salt, unless you consider Brandon Jennings shooting in the 40's for the first time since the 2011-2012 season a major improvement. Still, it would be amusing to see Kevin Durant and Goran Dragic swap honours this season.

[DET] Brandon Jennings
18.5ppg 3.3rpg 7apg 1.5spg .422 FG .286 3PT

[PHI] Michael Carter-Williams
16.8ppg 5.9rpg 8.5apg 1.6spg .471 FG .286 3PT

[LAL] Jeremy Lin
16.5ppg 4.3rpg 7.6apg 2spg .469 FG .387 3PT

[OKC] Kevin Durant
24.1ppg 7.8rpg 6apg 1.4spg 1.3bpg .485 FG .459 3PT

[PHI] Luc Mbah a Moute
9.5ppg 7.4rpg .423 FG .485 3PT

[mp3]

The Bucks trade The Greek ??

Trade engine still broke then lol

Who did the knicks get for JR and Jason Smith out of interest?

[Kevin]

Jennings sure is killin' it. 2 Thunder players as MVP candidates.

[Martti.]

Giannis gets no love from 2K.

[kibaxx7]

Lots of retro jerseys, nostalgia all around! Nice to see you with a new thread, Kenny.