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

[Kenny]

Good to see you represented with three players at the event, hope Perko can make it back-to-back All-Star MVPs.

It's a sin for the league to not have Jesus start.

No surprise with Perko being an All-Star, but kind of surprising to see Howard continuing to be one this late in his career.

Perko will of course be my main focus on the weekend, but it's nice to have two other players in it as well. As for Dwight Howard, while it was a surprise to see him get a start, him making the game wasn't a shock for me. Centre depth is pretty shallow in the league and afterall, Shaq made the All-Star in every season of his career except the last 2 IIRC.

[Kenny]

Rookie Challenge

Rookies Upset Sophomores in OT



This season's Rookie class overcame the Sophomores in overtime by 86-84.

It looked like the Sophomores had the advantage when Thomas Scott got the hoop-and-harm in the dying seconds of the game. But his inability to convert the and-1 meant that the Rookies were able to tie the game up with a 2-pointer. Orlando's Larry Boctor was able to do this as he was left wide open at the top of the key. With two seconds left on the clock and no timeouts left, Thomas Scott threw up a prayer from beyond half court that would ultimately miss and send the game into overtime. In the end, despite the Sophomores being able to hit some desperation 3s, the Rookies had the best of the last few minutes, being forced to close the game from the free throw line.

It was an affair that saw a total of 9 double-digit scorers with Philadelphia's Nach Carlos leading the way with 18 points. He went on to win the Rookie Challenge MVP as he dazzled the crowd with highlight dunks and accurate 3-point shooting. ROY favourite Caleb Vick had a quiet regulation, but he came to life in the extra period, hitting a game-tying 3 pointer that took his tally to 13. Denver's representative Jesus Carlos made an impact off the bench with 12, while Orlando's Ian Nolan tallied 10 to be the last of the meaningful Rookie point contributors.

For the Sophomores, Portland's Dilbert Roy was the high scorer with 17 points. Former Rookie Challenge MVP Nicholas Schneider had another strong outing in the game with 16 points and 5 assists, an effort that was also mimmicked by Clippers second year man Thomas Scott. Will Walter was the only player to register a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Sacramento's Alexander Popescu scored 10.

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Rookies Vs Sophomores

(OT)

Rookies: 86 (N Carlos 18, Vick 13, J Carlos 12)
Sophomores: 84 (Roy 17, Schneider 16, Scott 16)

Rookie Challenge MVP: Nach Carlos 18 points 1 rebound 3 assists 6 steals

Rebounds

Rookies: Alexander 10
Sophomores: Walter 13

Assists

Rookies: Alexander 6
Sophomores: Schneider, Scott 5

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Denver's Representative

Jesus Carlos had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists.

Portland's New Roy

Dilbert Roy showed his incredible athleticism in the game, scoring 17 points.

And-1... Well, almost

Thomas Scott had the opportunity to put the Sophomores up by 3 with this play. But he missed the following free throw.

And he arrives!

Until this moment, Caleb Vick was having a rather forgettable outing.

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Next up will be the All-Star Game.

[Kenny]

All-Star Game

Derrick Blows East Away; Perko Wins Second Consecutive MVP



The West All-Stars continued their dominance over the East in the All-Star game, with an 85-71 win in the 2021 All-Star game. In his first appearance in a West All-Stars uniform, Derrick Rose was simply unguardable, scoring a game high 28 points. Zach Pearson was causing problems for the East himself, as the 7'6 giant had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Alejandro Carlos started the game well and ended up with 14 points, but the MVP of the night was the league's most overachieving role player, Borislav Perko. To follow up on his previous all-star performance, he seemed to once again effortlessly put up another triple-double with 10 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists. He is currently at the top of the MVP race and potentially has the chance to win all three MVP trophies if things go Denver's way this season.

For the East, Tristan Lehmann was the only player to really cause the West problems, as he scored 20 points. Former Nuggets championship player Kevin Durant was the next best, with 14 points, while Ollie Rose had an unusually quiet game with 12.

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EAST VS WEST

WEST: 85 (D Rose 28, Pearson 18, A Carlos 14)
EAST: 71 (Lehmann 20, Durant 14, O Rose 12)

All-Star Game MVP: Borislav Perko 10 points 14 rebounds 13 assists 1 block

Rebounds

WEST: Perko 14
EAST: Conners 9

Assists

WEST: Perko 13
EAST: O Rose 7

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The MVP

Even though Derrick Rose had the points, Perko's all-round game won the votes. He had 10 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 1 block.

The Veteran

Dwight Howard didn't get a lot of minutes, but he was still able to entertain the crowd with this dunk. He had 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks and 1 steal.

The Former Vs The Current

Kevin Durant played for the Easts for the first time in his career.

The Surprise Selection

That's right people, that's now former All-Star Byron Mullens to you!

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Controlling Derrick Rose was so much fun; it makes me wish I made an attempt to pick him up during the off-season... oh well. The next 5 game summary will be up shortly.

[Phil89]

The Surprise Selection

That's right people, that's now former All-Star Byron Mullens to you!

Seeing that makes me kinda regret having released Mullens from my team as backup center. Shaq is decent but has the mobility of a house, Mullens though was surprisingly fast.

Good to see Perko still dominating.

[kibaxx7]

Byron Mullens with a ASG jersey... that burns my eyes

[Andrew]

Sounds like a good one, nice to see Rose dominant and Perko make it two in a row.

[Houndy]

Byron Mullens is actually good? Wasn't he called BJ Mullens at one point

[Axel The Great]

Yep, controlling Rose is awesome, his speed makes it so easy to drive and score at will. West had such a strong lineup this year, the final score gives justice to the amount of talent it had.

[Kenny]

Seeing that makes me kinda regret having released Mullens from my team as backup center. Shaq is decent but has the mobility of a house, Mullens though was surprisingly fast.

Good to see Perko still dominating.

NBA Live 10 must have identified him as having a lot of potential. I'm really curious to see what it's like to control him. Hopefully he'll make the move to the Western Conference at some point.

Byron Mullens with a ASG jersey... that burns my eyes

Is it as bad as Tyler Hansbrough winning the All-Star MVP?

Sounds like a good one, nice to see Rose dominant and Perko make it two in a row.

It was a lot of fun playing Rose off Perko and vice-versa. His quickness and ability to get to the hoop make it amazing to control him in Live 10.

Byron Mullens is actually good? Wasn't he called BJ Mullens at one point

In the game he's actually BJ, but I decided to go with Byron because I think that's what he's called now professionally... plus I have a personal preference to calling him Byron.

He didn't make much of an impact in the game, but he must be one of the Bobcats best players at this point.

Yep, controlling Rose is awesome, his speed makes it so easy to drive and score at will. West had such a strong lineup this year, the final score gives justice to the amount of talent it had.

Absolutely, him and Dwight Howard rank right up there as far as the most entertaining real players to control. Rose's speed and Dwight's ability to complete alley-oops would have been a great combination... but at the same time, I'm not sure I had the cap room to get both at once, so at this point, I probably prefer Howard.

The gap in talent between East and West is absolutely enormous, even with Ollie Rose and Kevin Durant crossing over.

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

Since three of the five games were before the All-Star break, the contrast of results this round is really quite incredible. Before they went on the weekend, the Nuggets looked shakey, dropping 2 of the 3. They lost a close one to the Lakers and after a tight finish against the Warriors that went their way, they went on to get beaten by the Worst in the West, the Sacramento Kings. J.R. Smith returned after the All-Star break and his impact was immediate in the feature game against Orlando. This led to Denver getting on a roll, destroying Philadelphia in the last game.

The feature as mentioned was against Orlando:

Magical Return Leads Nuggets to OT Win



After having some time off from the game, J.R. Smith came back to carry the Nuggets to a 105-97 win against the Magic in OT. With the scores were locked at the end of regulation, Earl proved to be the difference maker in the game, registering a season high 45 points on his return. Borislav Perko locked in yet another triple-double for the season with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists. Long serving point guard Patrick Mills continued on his career revival with 13 points in the starting role, while Dwight Howard also had a solid game, with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Magic had two outstanding scoring performances, with MacKenzie MacMahon (29) and Austin Pearson (25) both causing headaches for the Nuggets defense. Eli Buck had 14 and Fred Carroll scored 10 to round out an impressive scoring effort from the Orlando Magic; but often this game is about individual brilliance and the Nuggets had that with the return of J.R. Smith.

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ORL@DEN
(OT)
DEN: 105 (Smith 45, Perko 14, Mills 13)
ORL: 97 (MacMahon 29, Pearson 25, Buck 14)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Borislav Perko 14 points 16 rebounds 12 assists 2 blocks

Rebounds

DEN: Perko 16
ORL: Francis 11

Assists

DEN: Perko 12
ORL: Myers 7

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Last 5 Games

@LAL: 86-84 L
@GSW: 89-86 W
@SAC: 76-67 L
ORL: 105-97 W (OT)
PHI: 88-65 W

The Nuggets are currently 39-11

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Still Eying Oscar

Borislav Perko continues to dominate the stats sheet, with his triple-double count standing at 22 after 50 games. Against the Warriors he had 11 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists. His other two were against Orlando (14 points, 16 rebounds, 12 assists) and Philadelphia (10 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists). If he goes on to win the MVP, he would be one of the most unique players to win the award.

A Mile High

Taylor MacKenzie was the first of three players to register season highs this round, with 45 points in the Nuggets loss to the Lakers. J.R. Smith was the next one after him and then it was the guy below.

Dwight Vs Hawes

Expect any less than pure dominance from Dwight Howard as he went against Spencer Hawes? Well, he was the third player to get his season high this round, with 39 points against Philly. He also had 11 rebounds for good measure.

Pensioner Pat

Coaches often look for positives in losses and Patty Mills provided that against the Kings. Mills had a double-double off the bench with 14 points and 11 assists. He was considered that last person to be the starting point guard in this side... perhaps that was an oversight.

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Next 5 Games

WAS
PHX
SAC
SAC
@DET

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The review of February will be up after this.

[Andrew]

That's a welcome return from Smith. Outstanding effort with Perko, looks like it's going to happen.

[Axel The Great]

JR showing no signs of rust, the time off must have really helped. Wasn't a very good 5-game round this time with the uncharacteristic 3-2, but at the very least you're miles ahead of the competition and everyone continues to produce great numbers.

[Houndy]

If Perko doesn't get MVP, something's wrong

[Andrew]

Sounds like he's the frontrunner though. Like I said, that's going to be quite an achievement.

[Kenny]

That's a welcome return from Smith. Outstanding effort with Perko, looks like it's going to happen.

With all the stars on my team, it's easy to underrate a single player's impact on the side, but J.R. is extremely important as I found out playing without him. I don't think I'd ever underrate Perko's efforts though.

JR showing no signs of rust, the time off must have really helped. Wasn't a very good 5-game round this time with the uncharacteristic 3-2, but at the very least you're miles ahead of the competition and everyone continues to produce great numbers.

It's funny because I think the only thing that stopped Nathan Bing from being an effective shooter for him was his release. I've thrown up so many shots with J.R. Smith that his shooting action is second nature to me now... Bing's has too much of a wind-up with it; I don't like it

I don't mind a loss here and there, because it reminds me that I have to try, but it was definitely nice to get back on winning terms.

If Perko doesn't get MVP, something's wrong

Sounds like he's the frontrunner though. Like I said, that's going to be quite an achievement.

Currently the only player who could steal it from Perko is Kevin Durant. I'm hoping NBA Live 10 will recognise the triple-double at the end instead of Durant's high scoring numbers.

[Kenny]

February 2021 Review

It's safe to say that the Nuggets have seen happier months. J.R. Smith wasn't with the team for most of the month and this saw the dynasty become very vunerable. All the sudden, perimeter shots that would usually go down where bricking out and they found it hard to string wins together. But it turns out that the All-Star break was a blessing for them and they're now on a five game win streak post break.

There was no problems with Perko, as he picked up another Player of the Month for his conference. After 53 games, it looks as if he's poised to be the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double over the regular season. Him and Dwight Howard are currently the most feared frontcourt in the league as Dwight became a more primary scoring option towards the end of February. Possibly the biggest story of the month was the emergence of Pat Mills. Often considered as trade bait and a roster filler, he's now the next in the line of starting point guards and he might be the most effective so far. While he's not a great perimeter shooter, he has a great knack of getting to the line and works the pick and roll with Perko better than anyone in the team. Will he solidify his spot next month? Or will someone from the long list of contestants for the spot steal it from him?

Monthly Awards

EAST Player: [MIA] Kevin Durant (25.6ppg 8.3rpg 4.3apg)
WEST Player: [DEN] Borislav Perko (12.2ppg 13rpg 13apg)
EAST Rookie: [CHA] Patrick Vaughn (8.1ppg 1.2rpg 1.6apg)
WEST Rookie [OKC] Caleb Vick (17.2ppg 7.9rpg 1.9apg)

MVP Race

[DEN] Borislav Perko (11.3ppg 10.7rpg 11.2apg)
[MIA] Kevin Durant (22.7ppg 7.8rpg 3.9apg)
[NYK] Ollie Rose (22ppg 3rpg 4apg)
[DAL] Brady O'Leary (17.2ppg 6.7apg 1.2spg)
[LAL] Theo Hadson (23.8ppg 4.5rpg 1.2spg)

Standings

EAST

Philadelphia 36-17
Washington 33-22
Charlotte 34-23
Detroit 32-23
Toronto 29-27
New Jersey 28-29
Indiana 26-29
Miami 25-28
---
Boston 25-30
Chicago 23-29
New York 25-32
Cleveland 24-33
Milwaukee 24-33
Orlando 18-36
Atlanta 15-39


WEST

Denver 42-11
Houston 34-22
Memphis 33-22
Dallas 34-24
LA Lakers 30-21
Utah 30-25
LA Clippers 30-26
Golden State 27-25
---
Minnesota 28-28
San Antonio 27-27
New Orleans 26-28
Oklahoma City 23-31
Portland 22-32
Phoenix 20-33
Sacramento 19-37

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March Is Going Retro!



That's right, the ugly rainbow is coming back for an entire month! Here's a picture of Oleksiy Pecherov rocking the jersey next to NBA's tallest player, Zach Pearson

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Big trade news coming out of the deadline was that the Lakers Stanley Alston was moved on to the Dallas Mavericks for Archibald Sheehan and Boris MacNamara.

[Kenny]

5 Game Summary

Denver were back to their dominant ways this 5 game summary, extending the winning streak from the previous round to 7. They had no problem taking care of Washington and they also had a comfortable victory over the Phoenix Suns. After their most previous loss to the last placed Sacramento Kings, they took care of business in both games of the back-to-back, with the first win the most emphatic of this 5 game run.

The last game is also the feature. It was against the Pistons at the Palace:

T-Mac Joins Club in Win



Taylor MacKenzie became the newest member of Denver's 50 club in their 86-82 win over the Detroit Pistons. With no one else able to take command, T-Mac carried the Nuggets through the 3rd and 4th quarter. He reached 50 by hitting two pressure free throws that put the game away in the final moments. Dwight Howard was the only other Nuggets player in double figures, as he reached another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Borislav Perko once again flirted with a triple-double (9 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists) but like the rest of the team (except Taylor MacKenzie), he looked out of sorts.

Pistons perenial All-Star Tristan Lehmann was once again their star player with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Steve Lefevre also had a standout game with 20 points and 4 assists. New recruit Najabulo Nyoni scored 18 points.

This game added a chapter in what some thought was a dead rivalry between MacKenzie and Nyoni. Both top rookies of their class, MacKenzie and Nyoni had a close race towards the Rookie of the Year trophy, with MacKenzie coming out as the best overall. It's well known that Nyoni has probably had the better career after that initial season, but this game proves that MacKenzie is still one of the potentially one of the premier scorers in the NBA.

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DEN@DET

DEN: 86 (MacKenzie 50, Howard 14, Perko 9)
DET: 82 (Lehmann 22, Lefevre 20, Nyoni 18)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Taylor MacKenzie 50 points 3 rebounds 3 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Howard 12
DET: Richter 18

Assists

DEN: Perko 10
DET: Lefevre, Nyoni 4

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Last 5 Games

WAS: 90-63 W
PHX: 86-76 W
SAC: 93-65 W
SAC: 81-73 W
@DET: 86-82 W

The Nuggets are now 44-11

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Dwights Out! (Thanks Lamrock)

Dwight Howard had a monster stat-line against the Washington Wizards. He had 24 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 blocks.

Second 6-man Trophy?

Taylor MacKenzie seems destined to add to his trophy collection. He scored 22 against the Kings in the first game.

Retro Melo

Melo has had a bit of quiet time of late, but in the second game against the Kings, he showed some positives signs with 23 points.

Perfect Patty

Against the Suns, Pat Mills showed what advantage he has over every other point guard competing for the starting position; ability to get to the free throw line. 10 of his 16 points came from the charity stripe. He had a perfect 10 from 10 at the free throw line.


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Next 5 Games

@TOR
@BOS
@WAS
MIN
MIN

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Just a quick Perko update, he got two triple-doubles this 5 game summary. One against Phoenix (10 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) and one in the first game against Sacramento (10 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists). His count for the season is now 24.

Next up will be another 5 game summary.

[Lamrock]

For a second there, I thought T-Mac was Ty Maximilian and he magically resurfaced in the FA pool. Ah well.

[Axel The Great]

Better round this time. Seems like only the Pistons gave you trouble as T-Mac was the only one that had it going that game. Epic beard/stache combo strikes again.

[kibaxx7]

T-Mac is back. Noice

[Kenny]

For a second there, I thought T-Mac was Ty Maximilian and he magically resurfaced in the FA pool. Ah well.

Unfortunately there hasn't been such luck, but I'm about to post a possible solution to that.

Better round this time. Seems like only the Pistons gave you trouble as T-Mac was the only one that had it going that game. Epic beard/stache combo strikes again.

Tristan Lehmann is a pretty good defender and rebounder, so that could have been why. Some games offense doesn't seem to come as easily as it should, but luckily I was able to have one outstanding performance that game to help get me over the Pistons.

T-Mac is back. Noice

That he is; I'd almost say he's having a career season, but his first was pretty damn good.

[Kenny]

Spinning Off

I was not happy with the way Ty Maximilian disappeared from the NBA free agent pool. It's kind of been the one true thing I've kind of regretted in this dynasty and I've been thinking of ways to kind of tie up that loose end. Then I thought; how many games are played by each team in the Euroleague? Could an Olympiacos spinoff dynasty be the solution to my predicament? If Ty went on to play another 10 seasons of say, 30 games, that really only equates to 4 full NBA seasons.

Not only could it help wind up Ty's career the way it should, but guys like Josh Childress, Earl Boykins, Adam Morrison and any other NBA player who spent considerable time on the free agency could also be involved in the league.

Nothing is set in stone and I'll still give this dynasty priority, but I thought I'd put the idea out there. Let me know what you guys think

[Lamrock]

Ty Maximilian My Player would be great if 2K bothers to fix it this year.

[Martti.]

Ty was an interesting piece of your story, but I think you shouldn't go though the trouble. Perko and T-Mac 2 are very fun to follow.

Just say he decided to retire in Europe and focus on something else.

[Andrew]

Interesting idea but it might be spreading yourself too thin. Lamrock's My Player idea might be something to consider though, kind of an alternate universe thing.

Strong round this time, it's a good day when your sixth man can drop 50 points to lead you to victory in a tight game.