by Its_asdf on Sat Aug 27, 2005 8:45 am
Denver's 5 Game Report Card
Some of you might remember from my '05 Raptors dynasty that I had a monthly report card and I would hand out grades to each player based on their performance to help people catch up on what's going on. Well, I've decided to implement it into this dynasty except I'll be doing it every 5 games, mainly because some months like January have like two games while other months like December have like 9 games, so I think that 5 games is a decent stretch of time that I can write about. And so.....
5 Game Recap
Overall Record: 3-2
Teams played: Spurs (L), Pacers (W), Clippers (W), Bulls (W), Timberwolves (L)
Overall Grade: B
Overall, Denver has made a pretty decent start, beating the teams that they should be beating (Indiana, Los Angeles Clips, Chicago), but lost by a large margin to top playoff caliber teams (San Antonio, Minnesota). This isn't really a bad sign, but if they are planning on doing something big in the future, then they'll have to grab some wins against the top-tier teams.
The Nuggets started the season with a pretty bad loss to the Spurs. Kenyon Martin scored 20 points and also showed some great interior defence on Tim Duncan by locking him down to only 4 points, but Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili managed to make-up for it.
The Nuggets stayed positive though, and they immediately bounced back with a hard-earned 4 point win over the Pacers. Reggie Miller and Stephen Jackson knocked down some huge shots down the stretch, but Dermarr Johnson surprised a lot of people and came up big with a 17 point performance in that game, and Marcus Camby nailed the game winning free-throws to finish the game. Carmelo Anthony also played an instrumental role by answering many of Stephen Jackson and Reggie Miller's jumpers.
Andre Miller came in the next game against the Clippers with an explosion; he scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and led the Nuggets with a 22 point, 5 assist and 6 rebound performace to prevent the Clippers from ever making a comeback. Kenyon Martin continued his strong defensive play by limiting Elton Brand to 12 points, while also scoring 18 points on almost 75% shooting from the field.
Denver also had a very tough time against the Bulls for three quarters, and even though they were without Eddy Curry and Luol Deng, Antonio Davis stepped it up for Chicago by giving them a monster 24 point 11 rebound effort. That effort was in vain though, as shooting guards Wesley Person, Voshon Lenard and Dermarr Johnson all came up huge in the fourth quarter by knocking down three point shots and Denver outscored the Bulls 39-15 in the final quarter for a surprising blowout win.
After three straight games of winning success, the Nuggets were ready to take on the powerhouse Minnesota Timberwolves, but they were easily taken out of the game and struggled mightily from the field. The three headed monster of Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell proved to be too much for the Nuggets to handle as they were the only players on the Wolves who scored in double figures. Cassell had 23 points and 8 assists while Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 9 rebounds.
The Grades
A: An extremely good player; this player is making a big difference whenever he's out there on the court. He's is playing at a very high level and has been playing almost flawlessly.
B: A good player; this player is playing well and is making a fairly large contribution to the team, but this player can make tiny improvements in some areas and step it up to take it to the next level.
C: A slightly below average player; this player isn't really focused or into it. He has some noticeable areas where he needs to work on, but it isn't a big deal, and hopefully he should return to a B type caliber player.
D: A bad player; this player is playing some pretty sloppy basketball and he really needs to snap out of it. He has been playing vastly underachieving basketball and definitely could use some improvement.
F: An NBDL scrub-type player. You should be asking yourselves why this player is even on an NBA roster (getting an F can be quite rare).
Players
Marcus Camby: C+ For the most part, Marcus Camby has played slightly below his normal stats, especially blocks, which are his forte. Camby has also yet to post a double-double either. This doesn't look like a bad sign though, since it's still very early in the season and Camby is probably just shaking off the off-season rust.
Kenyon Martin: B Kenyon has had some decent offensive games, but nothing special. Martin is currently second on the team in scoring (16ppg) and first in rebounding and blocks (9rpg, 2.2bpg). K-Mart is also making more than half of his shots (54%). Martin has basically mimicked his final year at New Jersey, but that doesn't really say much for a player that's getting paid a max contract.......
Carmelo Anthony: B+ Carmelo has continued to display his offensive talents and is the leading the Nuggets in scoring with 20.2 a night. His rebounding stats aren't too shabby either (6.2rpg). One thing that really stands out for Melo is his greatly improved shot selection (51% from the field and 47% from three). Carmelo could turn up his defence up a notch or three, because he's clearly letting opposing players get away with way too much scoring. Melo also needs to pass the ball some more for more assists, because he barely averages 2 assists per game.
Dermarr Johnson: B- Dermarr has had some ok games so far. His three point shooting is looking real sharp (50%), but he only averages 1.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds. He'll need to use his jumping ability and 6'9 frame a little more and try to get some rebounds. Johnson also needs to get more consistent and focused, because that 17 performance is still in the back of everybody's heads and won't be there for long.
Andre Miller: B+ Miller has been making this team run from behind the curtains. Carmelo and K-Mart are clearly the first offensive options, but Miller has been doing almost all of the decisions and play making. Miller has a fantastic 13 point-4 rebound-6 assist statline and is shooting 46% from the field. Very underrated. Very Andre Miller-esque.
NeNe: D NeNe has yet to prove that he can play behind Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby. He has been getting some pretty good minutes off the bench, but he has a horrific 3.4 points per game and only shoots 42% from the field. NeNe also averages 5 rebounds a night, but it clearly isn't enough to beat out Martin or Camby and win the coach over.
Early Boykins: C+ The little 5'5 point guard has been providing a lot of energy off the bench, but his 6.4 ppg and 37% field goal percentage is something that definitely needs some improvement. It also wouldn't hurt if Boykins bumped his assist average up, because he only averages 2.2.
Voshon Lenard: C- Voshon Lenard has been beaten out of the starting lineup and is shooting an attrocious percentage. 29% from three just won't cut it, and getting 1 rebound per game is just awful. Lenard does look like he's slowly getting back into shape though, and his stroke looks like it's coming back to him.
Wesley Person: C Person missed the first two games of the season, but he was instrumental in his second game against the Bulls. Person still needs to shoot a little more effectively though, (29% from the field, 33% from three) to get some big time minutes.
The Question Marks
These players have yet to play a game or even touch the court for that matter, so we can not properly give them grades. They'll just have to sit this one out like they always do.
Smush Parker, Bryon Russell, Eduardo Najera, Greg Buckner, Luis Flores, Francisco Elson.
Last edited by
Its_asdf on Sat Aug 27, 2005 11:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Yeah, he was a created player, so he looked really wierd.
... Shaun Livingston have a lot of potential... 14 points and 12 boards is an amazing number for a rookie PG... good luck in your next game
