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

[Kenny]

Jennings still got it.

Congrats on getting 72, I think you'll finish with 74.

Amazing season.

I actually thought maybe you'll lose one of the two, but I though nah..

Oh well, losing that last one wasn't a big deal. It's actually always fun to play with my IR guys, I just can't justify doing it on a more regular basis.

Nice

Although I said you'd take last game, I was right with my 73-9 pick

First team ever to go an entire 82 game season with single digit losses. Truly an epic season

Now it's time to go fo-fo-fo-fo


EDIT: Do you think at some point you (or somebody else) can go back & give a season by season listing/record/playoff win-losses? Would be nice to see. Doesn't need to be in depth or anything.

You were indeed correct with that final win-loss tally and that deserves some applause, particularly as I was about 7 games out at that point Thanks for the kind words as well.

I never really thought about doing that, but if I was to compile something along those lines, I might save it for the preview of my 10th season. I'll have to remind myself when it comes to that point, because it's a good idea.

First team ever to go an entire 82 game season with single digit losses. Truly an epic season

Actually the opposite of that 9-73 Sixers team.

It's kind of cool that the winning record and the losing record both mirror eachother now.

Oh snap. Hoping you to win those last two games, oh but well. Grats for the record! Go for the trophy now

The last one was a lot of fun none-the-less. T-Mac 2.0 sure knows how to turn it on when he wants to.

The trophy will be next with any luck

[Kenny]

2017-2018 Year Review

Denver Nuggets Team Analysis

My look on how players 1-15 performed in this season:

Chris Andersen: A starter by technicality only, Andersen's game time dropped dramatically this year with the introduction of Yao. While he was an effective rebounder and shot blocker still in his minutes (3rd in the team in both), if he was to come back next year, it'd be in a much reduced role.

George Power: An absolute steal! For a guy who was a second round pick to be the favourite for ROY honours, that's a pretty big deal. With an aging team, Power represents the future of the Nuggets organisation. Second in the team in rebounding (6.4), blocks (1.2) and 3rd in assists per game with 2.5, George Power has been a revelation.

Kevin Durant: The Durantula came into a tough situation for himself personally; he was coming in the place of a 4 time finals MVP. To his credit though, he simply made the team better. He was the Denver leader in points per game (21.6) and the league leader in steals per game (2). He's not as relied upon as he was in Minnesota, but he's a big part of Denver's success none-the-less

J.R. Smith: Earl saw a drop in his points per game this year after winning the MVP award with almost 30. He is a pretty damn good second fiddle though, with numbers of 18.8 points per game and 1.8 steals per game to be second in both categories for Denver. Come time for the playoffs, he'll be an important factor.

Chauncey Billups: Denver doesn't want anyone telling Chauncey that he's actually 41 years old. Throughout the year he was dominating guys who were toddlers when he started his career. He's of course first in assists per game for Denver (4.5), while coming third in steals (1.4) and points per game (11.4). Age is no excuse for anyone as he proved so well this season.

Yao Ming: Denver were tenative to even play him at the start of the season, with the risk of him aggravating what was a potential career threatening injury. Now? He's the defensive spearhead coming off the bench. When he's on the court, the Nuggets' paint presense is a force to be reckoned with. He led the team in rebounds (8.9) and blocked shots (1.3) in his new role.

Brandon Jennings: Young ummm... Nugget started the year looking to be a shoe-in for the 6th man award, but unfortunately a bit of inconsistency at points hurt him during the year. While he had moments of absolute brilliance, he also had the tendency of being a bit of a chucker. He played his best when he was looking for his team mates and attacked the rim more. If Billups were to retire at the end of the season, he would be a solid replacement at the starting point guard position, but he might still need some help.

Borislav Perko: Started the year off well getting a triple-double, but the arrival of George Power onto the scene led him to having a more "Louis Admundson" style role on the team. To his credit though, he was good at it. Probably the best offensive rebounder in the team, he can block shots and at times had big scoring nights. Him and Power have a big future in this league, but how long they can co-exist for will be telling to whether they're both the future of this team.

Garth Vine: An inconsistent shooter, but a great perimeter defender. Would often take charges for his team, dive on loose balls and other things that aren't neccessarily measured by stats.

Nicolas Batum: He had a quiet year with all the attention focusing around Carmelo Anthony and later on, Kevin Durant. Managed to score 34 against the Jazz in a half, so he proved he's still an offensive weapon, but is one of those guys who is just slipping between the cracks.

Jordan Hill: With the rise of George Power saw the fall of Jordan Hill. He didn't play badly at all... and I guess fall is a harsh word considering that fact, but going from the 6th man of the year to your teams 11 or 12 is a decline no matter which way you look at it.

Robin Lopez: Lopez looks like a guy who's biding his time, waiting for one of the old guys to retire. At times during the season he offered great production off the bench and at points was the difference in the game. Next year could very well be his year... and if I was to put money on Denver's first MIP winner, it'd be him at the moment. We'll just have to see whether his patience will pay off.

Taylor MacKenzie: T-Mac was only used in 12 games this year as he was seen as an offensive liability. I guess he's a bit of a high risk player; he can reward you with big scoring nights, such as Denver's last game against the Spurs were he scored 29, but other times it's hard to get past the fact he's the most inefficient player on the Nuggets team. His last game might have secured him another contract with the team, but his role for the future still remains uncertain.

Patrick Mills: Patty suffered the most out of everyone this season. This is the same guy who was back-to-back Rookie Challenge MVP in his first two seasons and was just about robbed of the ROY honours in his first season. However with the arrival of Brandon Jennings, he played only two games this season. The off-season might see him make a move elsewhere.

Basil Richter: He played one less game than Patty this year... but it was actually a pretty good game. He scored 11 points against the Spurs and showed off his nice looking mid-range game. Definitely a prospect worth keeping your eye on, although it's hard to see where he'll get his opportunities next season.

The Standings

EAST

Miami 48-34
Milwaukee 48-34
Chicago 45-37
Cleveland 45-37
Charlotte 44-38
Washington 41-41
Toronto 40-42
New York 38-44

Note: The playoff seedings are actually different to this table. Toronto are the 4th seed, Cleveland are the 5th, Charlotte are the 6th and Washington are the 7th.

WEST

Denver 73-9
San Antonio 57-25
Phoenix 55-27
Oklahoma City 50-32
LA Clippers 46-36
New Orleans 42-40
Memphis 41-41
Dallas 40-42

Note: After going on a 6 game slide, Minnesota missed out on the playoffs all together.

[Kenny]

End of Season Awards

Power wins top rookie; Yao and Karl acknowledged too



George Power has capped off a memorable rookie campaign by winning the top award for his class. He was a landslide winner as the next best rookie Quint Meyers only averaged 5 points per game.

Yao Ming picked up the 6th man award while George Karl got his second consecutive Coach of the Year. Kevin Durant was named on both the All NBA and All Defensive Second teams, while George Power also was the first pick on the All Rookie First Team.

The Awards

MVP (previous winner- J.R. Smith): [PHX] Stephen Curry

Steph had a fantastic year with the Phoenix Suns, not only getting the starting All-Star spot in the West, but he was the main man (even ahead of LeBron James). This year saw him with averages of 22.1 points, 6.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

MIP (previous winner- Roderick Conners): [MEM] Andy Cooper

Cooper was the starting point guard for Memphis this year and as he saw more minutes, his production obviously went up enough to see him be the Most Improved Player in the whole league. He had averages of 15.2 points, 6.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

Defensive Player of the Year (previous winner- LaMarcus Aldridge): [OKC] Russell O'Connell

With Stanley Alston traded to the Lakers, Russell O'Connell stepped up as the defensive powerhouse for the Thunder. He averaged 3 combined steals and blocks along with almost 5 rebounds per game.

Rookie of the Year (previous winner- Hobbes MacDonald): [DEN] George Power

George initially wasn't seen as anything more as a bench warmer as Denver had their power forward rotation just about set in stone. But with an impressive debut and some huge games, he cemented his spot as the starting power forward on the best team in the league... not bad for a rookie. He had numbers of 10.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

6th Man: (previous winner- Jordan Hill): [DEN] Yao Ming

After missing all of last season due to a career threatening injury, Yao came back this year with a new role. Previously 6th men have provided great scoring assistance, but for Yao, it was all about defense. He only averaged 6 points per game, but he led his team in rebounding (8.9) and blocks (1.3) per game. If this is his last year, it's a great way for him to go out of the game.

Coach of the Year: (previous winner- George Karl): [DEN] George Karl

After narrowly missing out on the Bulls record last year, the Denver Nuggets went one better this season with 73 wins. Behind the great team is a great coach.

The Teams

All NBA First Team

[ORL] Dwight Howard
[LAC] Stan Morgan
[SAN] Rudy Gay
[LAC] Ollie Rose
[PHX] Stephen Curry

All NBA Second Team

[IND] Al Horford
[OKC] Luther Rutherford
[DEN] Kevin Durant
[LAL] Stanley Alston
[NYK] Rajon Rondo

All Defensive First Team

[IND] Al Horford
[MEM] LaMarcus Aldridge
[OKC] Russell O'Connell
[LAC] Ollie Rose
[NYK] Rajon Rondo

All Defensive Second Team

[ORL] Dwight Howard
[OKC] Luther Rutherford
[DEN] Kevin Durant
[LAL] Stanley Alston
[MIA] Nach Carlos

All Rookie First Team

[DEN] George Power
[ORL] Quint Meyers
[UTA] Todd Griffin
[DAL] Archibald Sheehan
[PHX] Charles Woods

All Rookie Second Team

[IND] Austin Nolan
[NYK] Kurt Weir
[CLE] Alec MacMahon
[ATL] Vincenzo Russo
[MIN] Ambrose Schwarz

League Leaders

Points Per Game: [LAL] Stanley Alston (25.3)
Rebounds Per Game: [LAL] Andrew Bynum (9.8)
Assists Per Game: [SAN] Aaron Brooks (7.2)
Steals Per Game: [DEN] Kevin Durant (2)
Blocks Per Game: [ORL] Dwight Howard (2.3)

-----------------------------

Before I get to the playoffs preview, I'm going to be posting something tomorrow in recognition of this thread being 1 year old. Thanks to everyone who has been supporting it

EDIT: Actually, no I won't. The date will be the 8th of October; not the 4th... my mistake. I suppose that gives me a little more time to prepare something better.

[Andrew]

Called it. Still a fantastic season though, congrats on getting the record!

[Houndy]

I think I got it right..

Great season , now Fo-Fo-Fo-Fo em

[Axel The Great]

Sucks about the loss in San Antonio, but a big performance by T-Mac 2.0

Best season ever for the Nuggets! Good to see Power picked up ROY, even though he had no competition. Really looking forward towards the playoffs, and the anniversary post.

[kibaxx7]

Coach of the Year, 6th Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, season W/L record... just incredible man. Only one trophy left this year.

[megarover]

I'm suprised Smith didn't make an All-NBA team its not like he didn't just win an MVP

[Kenny]

Called it. Still a fantastic season though, congrats on getting the record!

That's why you're the webmaster

I think I got it right..

Great season , now Fo-Fo-Fo-Fo em

With any luck... although, one of the teams I'm coming against is the Mavericks... are you sure you want me to sweep them?

Sucks about the loss in San Antonio, but a big performance by T-Mac 2.0

Best season ever for the Nuggets! Good to see Power picked up ROY, even though he had no competition. Really looking forward towards the playoffs, and the anniversary post.

Better San Antonio than the Lakers right? T-Mac was absolutely on fire in that game.

Playoffs should be up pretty soon... whether it'll be up before the anniversary post, I'm not sure yet... possibly.

Coach of the Year, 6th Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, season W/L record... just incredible man. Only one trophy left this year.

The Finals MVP? Just kidding, I know what you're talking about

I'm suprised Smith didn't make an All-NBA team its not like he didn't just win an MVP

Well, that was a year ago and there was some stiff competition at shooting guard this year. Both wing positions are probably the most competitive in the league.

[Kenny]

Top 10 Plays

I managed to get 10 pretty nice plays out of this season. They're in no particular order here, but I'm always up for discussion/debate to which one is the best

Durant no look layup

Yao's only 3

J.R. posterises Blake Griffin

Power's Finesse

Air Jordan Hill

Jennings Hoop and Harm

Durantula Dunk

A Birdman Special

Batum Blocks Wade (AKA: The Lamrock Play)

Power D

Chauncey's Fab 5

Being the year of Mr Big Shot, I thought I'd compile his 5 best clutch moments. Once again in no particular order.

Taking the Lakers to OT

The Famous "No Look"

Clipping LA

The Stop and Drop

A Warrior Winner

[dare]

Wow did not follow this for a while and I missed the record breaking game. It looks like that there is no competition in the playoffs.

[Martti.]

Should have had the 'Jennings hoop and harm' as AKA Martti's play.

Anyway, great highlights, Billups sure had a great season, buzzerbeater-wise..

[Axel The Great]

By "Yao's only 3", do you mean his only three with the Nuggets? Because he's hit 2 threes so far IRL .

Anyways, a nice collection of plays, especially Chauncey. Not retiring his jersey would be a crime.

[Andrew]

Nice to see a recap of the top plays and Mr Big Shot's big shots. I think Smith over Griffin is my favourite of the top ten.

[Kenny]

Wow did not follow this for a while and I missed the record breaking game. It looks like that there is no competition in the playoffs.

I guess this dynasty has been pretty fast-paced the last month or so. Some of the teams are unknown quantities, which can be dangerous, but hopefully I can get through it.

Should have had the 'Jennings hoop and harm' as AKA Martti's play.

Anyway, great highlights, Billups sure had a great season, buzzerbeater-wise..

I'll make sure to fix that soon

Chauncey has been an absolute beast.

By "Yao's only 3", do you mean his only three with the Nuggets? Because he's hit 2 threes so far IRL .

Anyways, a nice collection of plays, especially Chauncey. Not retiring his jersey would be a crime.

By that I meant his only three of the season... I've actually seen the footage of him hitting his first three as well.

I actually think Billups deserves to get it retired in Detroit as well actually. Iverson had a go at wearing his number and now McGrady is... absolutely blasphemous in my opinion

Nice to see a recap of the top plays and Mr Big Shot's big shots. I think Smith over Griffin is my favourite of the top ten.

At the time the Jordan Hill alley oop was my favourite, but the Smith dunk was definitely huge. But in the end it was too hard to arrange them because I like them all in different ways.

[Kenny]

2018 Playoffs
Round 1 Preview


Denver Vs Dallas

The Lineups



The Starters

| Chris Andersen | George Power | Kevin Durant | J.R. Smith | Chauncey Billups |

The Bench

| Yao Ming | Brandon Jennings | Borislav Perko | Garth Vine | Nicolas Batum | Jordan Hill | Robin Lopez |

IR

| Taylor MacKenzie | Patrick Mills | Basil Richter |



The Starters

| Edmund Feehan | Garrick Casey | Josh Smith | Corin Robertson | Brady O'Leady |

The Bench

| Archibald Sheehan | Casey Whelan | Brice Bradford | Segio Soto | Oliver Boyd | Marcel Turner | Sasha Vujacic |

Keys

Mr Big Shot

When it comes to the playoffs, there aren't many closers in the game like Chauncey Billups currently. Billups was a big factor in Denver's record breaking season and he will be a big part to the Nuggets' title defense.

Josh Smith Vs Kevin Durant

Both players recently joining their respective teams. While Kevin Durant was one of the MVP competitors this year, it could be argued that Josh Smith has made a bigger impact on his team. Dallas were downright woeful last season, but with Smith's leadership on the defensive end, they have made a late season run to make it in the 8th seed. If Dallas are to make the biggest upset of all time, Josh Smith's matchup against Durant is going to be vital.

------------------------------------

Next up will be the first 4 games. Can Dallas do to Denver what Golden State did to Dallas? Or will Denver stay the course and advance?

[Andrew]

I'm guessing it's over in four, in your favour.

[Warlock95]

Aww...Mavs got only 2 real NBA players left, and only Josh Smith is starting...

[kibaxx7]

And another sweep for you. Don't see much power in that Mavs team.

[Martti.]

Bring out the brooms now!

[Bucket]

Another Sweep

[Axel The Great]

Nuggets in 4. It's no wonder why the Mavs were so woeful without Smith, generated players and Sasha Vujabitch? That's certainly laughable.

[megarover]

Does anybody else smell a sweep?

[.PorkyJoker.o6]

Keep sweeping the floor!

[Houndy]

Mavs in 7