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

Who is Luther Rutherford? Is he the new face in the Lakers franchise

It's hard to say really. The Lakers lost most of it's team pretty quick due to age and free agency. The only member from the original 2009-2010 squad is Andrew Bynum, but even he goes onto free agency this year. I've seen Vujacic around the league, I think he's with Dallas and as you'd know, Shannon Brown plays for me now

But yeah, I guess he's probably the franchise guy, along with shooting guard Theo Hadsen... I know they have Ryan Anderson and their point guard is Mike Conley

Congrats on the All-Star and Rookie Challenge selections. Hope you can take home the MVP for both games.

Thanks Andrew; although MVP in the Rookie Challenge isn't a huge goal of mine (since I've won it three times already), I think I'll still give it a good run with Perko. He's got the knack of racking up the rebounds and blocked shots. If I add an offensive game to that as well, he's every chance. All-Star MVP will get a lot of my focus though since I've only won it once... hell, even Tyler Hansbrough has won it in my game... with a lot of my help I must admit though

The East is completely computer generated. Only 1 started is Non generated is pretty hilarous. How come DJ Agustin made the All-Star team . What happened to all the great West Guards

After eight seasons, it's not that surprising.

Borislav Perko impressed me.. hehe

The East is completely computer generated. Only 1 started is Non generated is pretty hilarous. How come DJ Agustin made the All-Star team . What happened to all the great West Guards

After eight seasons, it's not that surprising.

I'm in pretty deep into the dynasty mode. The fact that the Lakers only have one original member of their squad (Andrew Bynum) would suggest the game is becoming overrun with these 70s porn throwback players.

As for DJ Augustin, I can only imagine the engine see him as someone who has great potential and his stats I guess probably progressed forward as the years went on.

But yeah, Chris Paul plays for Philly, Deron Williams is injured, Steve Nash is retired and Billups has been playing well, but obviously not to all-star level according to the game.

Borislav Perko impressed me.. hehe

Good to hear
He plays a good role for my team

All-Star Weekend 2017

The weekend that every player wants to be apart of is here once again. Of course there is two games to cover, which will begin with the Rookie Challenge, which features Denver's Borislav Perko:

Rookies edge out Sophomores



The Sophomores were unable to gain redemption on last year's loss, losing to the Rookies 85-80. Top ROY candidate Hobbes MacDonald picked up the MVP award for this game with 32 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals. He led an impressive team of Rookies, who also saw nice games from both Dan Garcia (14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Caleb Jackman (12 points, 6 assists). The Suns' Brad Bell was the other double figure scorer with 10 points.

For the Sophomores, Dan Carlos was the high point man with 21 points. He and Chuck O'Farrell (17) proved to be a handful in the back-court, but giant centre Zach Pearson was their standout player. He had a stat-line of 14 points, 17 rebounds and 2 blocks. Josh Gordon was the last of their double-digit scorers with 11 points.



Denver's sole representative in the game Borislav Perko had a solid performance with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. At times he was the main defensive focus for the Sophomores, being triple-teamed as pictured above.

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Rookies Vs Sophomores

Rookies: 85 (MacDonald 32, Garcia 14, Jackman 12)
Sophomores: 80 (Carlos 21, O'Farrell 17, Pearson 14)

Rookie Challenge MVP: Hobbes MacDonald 32 points 5 rebounds 5 steals

Rebounds

Rookies: Garcia 8
Sophomores: Pearson 17

Assists

Rookies: Jackman 6
Sophomores: Carlos 6

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Now onto the main event: East Vs West. The West have dominated the East over the course of this dynasty, but they now have a team that could possibly compete against their opponents. Will the East get one back? Or will the West continue the dominance? Denver have 3 players in this game, 2 of which are starting. Here it is:

Denver dominate All-Star game



It seems in this all-star game, the players of the Denver Nuggets were out to make a statement as the West defeated the East 85-74. With just two players named in the all-star lineup the past 3 years, the Nuggets players were out to prove that they deserved to be there as the West was led by JR Smith. He scored 32 points in the game, which was enough for him to wrap up his first (and possibly not the last) MVP trophy of the season. Not far behind him was Chris Andersen. Birdman had a huge game on the defensive end, grabbing an incredible 20 rebounds and 3 blocks to go with his 10 points. Carmelo Anthony was also a notable contributor for the West with 18 points. Ollie Rose was the only non-Denver player to reach double figure scoring for the West with 10 points.

For the East, Detroit's Christian Lehmann was the high point man with 22 points. Chris Paul was impressive off the bench with 16 points and 7 assists. Dwight Howard played his usual game with a stat line of 14 points and 16 boards, but he was often troubled by the defensive presense of Chris Andersen. Al Horford rounded out the East's double-digit scorers with 12 points.

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EAST VS WEST

WEST: 85 (Smith 32, Anthony 18, Andersen 10)
EAST: 74 (Lehmann 22, Paul 16, Howard 14)

All-Star MVP: JR Smith 32 points 3 rebounds 3 steals

Rebounds

WEST: Andersen 20
EAST: Howard 16

Assists

WEST: Rose 6
EAST: Paul 7

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Other photos from the weekend

Swansong?

In what's possibly Birdman's last All-Star game, he picked up 20 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1 steal. He's still a defensive beast.

Second scorer

Melo has been the second scorer option all year long for Denver. He once again held down the role for the Western All-Star team with 18 points.

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Things will be back to normal after this. The next round of 5 games should be up fairly soon. Red Dead Redemption has been consuming most of my gaming time of late but I'll still get around to the updates... they might not be as quick as they usually are. Next 5 games will be up next.

Shame you couldn't get the Rookie Challenge MVP as well, but nice job getting Smith the honours in the main event. Good to see Melo have a fine game as well.

Wow DENVER definitely showed up. What season is Smith in btw. I'm wondering how he compares to guys who have won 2 MVP's in a season at this point.

If my calculations are correct, Smith would be in his thirteenth season and 32 years old. Michael Jordan swept the MVP awards in 1996 (his 11th season, age 33) and again in 1998 (13th season, age 35).

Red Dead Redemption surely takes time of your hands. Great ASG!

If my calculations are correct, Smith would be in his thirteenth season and 32 years old. Michael Jordan swept the MVP awards in 1996 (his 11th season, age 33) and again in 1998 (13th season, age 35).

Thanks Andrew, So I guess Smith plays the Nash role because it took them an awful long time to win one and he tended to stay under the radar

I'd say that's a fair comparison to what's happening with Smith in this Dynasty, yes.

Shame you couldn't get the Rookie Challenge MVP as well, but nice job getting Smith the honours in the main event. Good to see Melo have a fine game as well.

Yeah, I thought about really going for it with Borislav Perko, but him winning the MVP felt like the equivilent of Jonas Jerebko winning it over someone like Kevin Durant. Hobbes MacDonald is the much more complete player so I thought I'd be fair

Wow DENVER definitely showed up. What season is Smith in btw. I'm wondering how he compares to guys who have won 2 MVP's in a season at this point.

If my calculations are correct, Smith would be in his thirteenth season and 32 years old. Michael Jordan swept the MVP awards in 1996 (his 11th season, age 33) and again in 1998 (13th season, age 35).

He'll turn 32 in my off-season I think but yeah, it'd be quite an achievement. Definitely glad I made that trade.

Red Dead Redemption surely takes time of your hands. Great ASG!

That game is AMAZING. One of the best I've ever played.

If my calculations are correct, Smith would be in his thirteenth season and 32 years old. Michael Jordan swept the MVP awards in 1996 (his 11th season, age 33) and again in 1998 (13th season, age 35).

Thanks Andrew, So I guess Smith plays the Nash role because it took them an awful long time to win one and he tended to stay under the radar

I'd say that's a fair comparison to what's happening with Smith in this Dynasty, yes.

Nice... it's funny, I never used to like Steve Nash purely for the fact that he'd burn me in every single NBA Live game, but I have a new appreciation of him after seeing his vitamin water videos on youtube... that and he's just an all-round good guy. JR being compared to him is really something

I don't blame you, he's long been a nightmare to play against in NBA Live.

Playing against the CPU in NBA Live 10 is a nightmare itself.

I've followed this Franchise even before I've joined. It inspired me to continue my own NBA Live 10 Franchise. You're beastly man.

Playing against the CPU in NBA Live 10 is a nightmare itself.

Agreed, post-patch it's quite a challenge on All-Star (and not for all the right reasons...but we don't need to get into that again!) but there are some players whose abilities make it just a brutal experience.

Playing against the CPU in NBA Live 10 is a nightmare itself.

Agreed, post-patch it's quite a challenge on All-Star (and not for all the right reasons...but we don't need to get into that again!) but there are some players whose abilities make it just a brutal experience.

Fadeaway Threes: The thing that makes me chunk my controller at the ground. All-Star is really competitive, but I mean I lose to the Nets because of pointless fouls called, and then beat the Magic by 12.

Absolutely, definitely one of the CPU's most annoying tricks.

I don't blame you, he's long been a nightmare to play against in NBA Live.

Ever since 06 I've had problems with him, and I've owned 06, 08 and now 10. Both him and Kobe have been arch nemesis'

Playing against the CPU in NBA Live 10 is a nightmare itself.

Agreed, post-patch it's quite a challenge on All-Star (and not for all the right reasons...but we don't need to get into that again!) but there are some players whose abilities make it just a brutal experience.

Fadeaway Threes: The thing that makes me chunk my controller at the ground. All-Star is really competitive, but I mean I lose to the Nets because of pointless fouls called, and then beat the Magic by 12.

Absolutely, definitely one of the CPU's most annoying tricks.

The games I've lost in the current season have been frustrating. We've talked about it before Andrew about whether the AI ramps up the difficulty or whether it's psychological... I definitely get some dodgey decisions if I'm on an extended win streak

Fadeaway threes are annoying, but I get more insulted when I see Hasheem Thabeet hit a fadeaway shot from inside the perimeter.

I've followed this Franchise even before I've joined. It inspired me to continue my own NBA Live 10 Franchise. You're beastly man.

Thanks mate, it's an honour to think that I've influenced someone else's creation. Your dynasty is looking very nice so far and I hope you stick with it

Fadeaway threes are annoying, but I get more insulted when I see Hasheem Thabeet hit a fadeaway shot from inside the perimeter.

Yeah, stuff like that it almost as bad as the fadeaway threes. Basically it comes down to players doing things they shouldn't instead of resetting the offense with plenty of time left on the shot clock. As always, fingers crossed for NBA Elite 11.

fingers crossed for NBA Elite 11.

I'm just hoping they surprised us by releasing it in PC or else I would have to buy Xbox.


This has been all discussion so far need some updates

5 Game Summary

Well it's been a while since I've done one. This 5 game summary was split up by the all-star game and unfortunately Denver's winning streak ended at 10 before the weekend. It was once again at the hands of the Houston Rockets. Consequently, it was only Denver's second home loss of the season. Apart from that? Some pretty emphatic victories. The feature game is the one at home against the New Orleans Hornets that took place after the All-Star Weekend:

Team effort stings Hornets



Denver had 4 players in double figures as it posted an impressive 115-77 blowout victory against the Hornets. JR Smith was once again the high-point man with 27, but it was Carmelo Anthony who won the Sprite Performer of the Game with 23 points and 6 steals. Patrick Mills once again proved his value off the bench by scoring 16, while rookie Borislav Perko scored 10 after a solid outing in the Rookie Challenge.

For the Hornets, Batholomew Lloyd scored 24. Lucian Palmer and Myron Smith both scored 17, while centre Marc Gasol grabbee 13 boards. With Deron Williams injured, it was always going to be a tough task for the New Orleans Hornets, but a loss of 38 points wasn't what they expected. The Mile High City has proven an almost impossible mountain to climb for most teams this season, with only the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets coming away with the points while visiting.

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NOH@DEN

DEN: 115 (Smith 27, Anthony 23, Mills 16)
NOH: 77 (Lloyd 24, Palmer 17, Smith 17)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Carmelo Anthony 23 points 3 rebounds 6 steals 1 block

Rebounds

DEN: Andersen 15
NOH: Gasol 13

Assists

DEN: Billups 6
NOH: Lloyd 6

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Last 5 Games

LAL: 87-74 W
SAC: 94-78 W
UTA: 94-47 W
HOU: 102-88 W
NOH: 115-77 W

Denver are now 43-7

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Beating LA

JR Smith made up for years of torment in the late 2000s by posting 42 points against the Lakers.

Big game against twin brother

Robin Lopez was the Sprite Performer of the Game when he played against his brother Brook. In one of the more memorable dynasty moments, Robin Lopez had a stat-line of 22 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals. Don't think Brook will let that deter him in future games.

No mercy

Melo threw down this mean poster dunk against former team-mate Brandon Bass. Unfortunately for the Jazz, it didn't get any better on that night, going down by 47 points in an embarrassment.

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Next 5 Games

SAN
@POR
@PHX
@LAL
@SAC

The feature game will be against the Kings. Hopefully the sibling rivalry will come to play once again.

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Next up will be the February report. After yet another outstanding month, hopefully someone from Denver will pick up one of the monthly awards.

Another impressive batch of games by J.R and co.

February 2017 Summary


What exactly is Robin Lopez doing there?

...anyway, Denver have once again had another strong month. Despite a few disappointing losses, the Nuggets have had some impressive displays against teams that looked darn-right helpless. The biggest win coming against the Utah Jazz, who the Nuggets almost won by 50 points against. While the starting 5 have been crucial, enough can't be said about the bench. Guys like Robin Lopez, Taylor MacKenzie and Patrick Mills have stepped up throughout the entire duration of February, while Nicolas Batum and Jordan Hill have had their moments as well. When it comes down to it, Denver are the deepest team in the league and that's why they're number 1 with a record of 46-8.

Monthly Awards

East Player: [MIA] Nach Carlos (19.4ppg, 7.6apg, 2spg)
West Player: [LAC] Ollie Rose (21.3ppg, 3.2apg, 2.1spg)
East Rookie: [BOS] Hobbes MacDonald (15.6ppg, 6.6apg, 5rpg)
West Rookie: [SAC] Caleb Jackman (11.2ppg, 5.3apg, 1.4rpg)

MVP Race

[DEN] JR Smith (29.8ppg, 2.7rpg, 2.1spg)
[LAC] Ollie Rose (21.7ppg, 1.6spg, 1.3bpg)
[HOU] Jon Hunt (22.9ppg, 7rpg, 3.2apg)
[MIA] Nach Carlos (21.5ppg, 7.1apg, 1.5spg)
[OKC] Stanley Alston (22.2ppg, 3.3apg, 1.6spg)

Standings

EAST

Cleveland 33-18
Toronto 35-20
Miami 31-23
Milwaukee 31-25
Washington 30-26
Charlotte 29-27
New York 26-27
Philadelphia 26-28
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New Jersey 25-27
Chicago 26-29
Orlando 25-32
Atlanta 22-33
Boston 21-31
Detroit 21-34
Indiana 20-34


WEST

Denver 46-8
LA Clippers 40-16
Portland 35-22
Phoenix 32-21
Houston 29-25
Oklahoma City 29-26
Minnesota 27-26
Memphis 27-28
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Sacramento 26-29
San Antonio 25-30
LA Lakers 24-32
New Orleans 21-32
Golden State 19-34
Utah 21-37
Dallas 17-39


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March to go retro!



To spice things up a bit, the NBA is going retro for the month of march. This image comes from the 4th year of the dynasty. Denver were on the way to a 3-peat and Taylor MacKenzie would win the NBA rookie of the year that season... ah memories.

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Next up will be another 5 game summary. 4 of the games will be from the previous month, so the feature game will be the one where March begins. That'll be up shortly.