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

[Kenny]

The Lineup

The Starters



| Chris Andersen | Ty Maximilian | Carmelo Anthony | Ray Allen | Chauncey Billups |

The Bench




| Mario Chalmers | Marcin Gortat | Shannon Brown | JJ Hickson | Matt Bonner | Taylor MacKenzie | Arron Afflalo |

IR



| Grant Hill | Louis Williams | Erick Christian |

Ins and Outs

In: Ray Allen (free agency), Marcin Gortat (acquired from Boston), JJ Hickson (free agency), Taylor MacKenzie (first round draft pick), Erick Christian (second round draft pick)
Out: Michael Beasley (traded to Boston), Marcus Camby (retired), Ray Warren (traded to Milwaukee)
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Time for the start of the new season. I might be able to get 5 games in before I go on my holiday. If I don't, I'll be back posting games after the 20th of March.

[dare]

Could you post your current roster...

I agree with hova your team is very old with GH,Camby,Billups,Allen

[Kenny]

Could you post your current roster...

I agree with hova your team is very old with GH,Camby,Billups,Allen

Done... and Marcus Camby has retired. I know my roster is old, but I think I have a good mix

[kibaxx7]

In fact, is not that old. You have Maximilian, Chalmers, Shannon Brown, Louis Williams, Hickson...

[Rta]

theirry is right you have alot of young player.
i think you need some old and some young.

[Andrew]

I agree, it seems like a good mix of the old guard and younger hands. I'm surprised at the Beasley trade, I thought you'd aim for a higher profile player in return but I see where you're coming from. So much for the Shaq rumours (did he end up retiring?), but Allen should be able to give you some good minutes. I assume his shooting ratings are still higher than most players, which is what you'll be calling upon him for most of the time.

[Kenny]

In fact, is not that old. You have Maximilian, Chalmers, Shannon Brown, Louis Williams, Hickson...

theirry is right you have alot of young player.
i think you need some old and some young.

Yeah, I think there's a good bunch of young players on my team. I'm also prone to signing vets due to the fact there's a very nostalgic side to my personality.

I agree, it seems like a good mix of the old guard and younger hands. I'm surprised at the Beasley trade, I thought you'd aim for a higher profile player in return but I see where you're coming from. So much for the Shaq rumours (did he end up retiring?), but Allen should be able to give you some good minutes. I assume his shooting ratings are still higher than most players, which is what you'll be calling upon him for most of the time.

I figured if I aimed for another high profile player, it'd just be another guy I'd have to try and find minutes for.

As for Shaq, he's still on the free agency. I hope he gets picked up by a team because he was one of my favourite players during the 90s and early 2000s. And Ray still has great shooting ratings. His overall has dipped quite a lot (68), but I don't think that's terrible. I have a tendency of overachieving with lower overall players (Ty Maximilian is a 63 overall).

[Andrew]

Fair point. And at a certain point it gets boring trying to divide up minutes and shot attempts, so I can definitely understand your motivation.

No chance of you picking up Shaq?

[kibaxx7]

Shaq on your team would be really nice

[Martti.]

I think you don't really need Shaq. You have Andersen, Hickson and Gortat (Can't believe you trade Beasley for him). Of course he can bring some veteran leadership to your front-court.

[Alpha_]

a bunch of younsters in ur team.. that's good!

[Dee.]

Looks like another championship is going to Denver.
You Starting Five Is Sick.

[megarover]

I guess we should get ready for another title

[Andrew]

I think you don't really need Shaq. You have Andersen, Hickson and Gortat (Can't believe you trade Beasley for him). Of course he can bring some veteran leadership to your front-court.

True, he wouldn't be necessary. It'd be good for storyline purposes though and he'd been an insurance policy, just in case.

[Kenny]

Fair point. And at a certain point it gets boring trying to divide up minutes and shot attempts, so I can definitely understand your motivation.

No chance of you picking up Shaq?

Shaq on your team would be really nice

If he's on free agency during the season, I will be really tempted as a vanity signing. Of course, it'd mean I'd have to make a waiver since my squad is at the 15 capacity for the first time... ever probably.

I think you don't really need Shaq. You have Andersen, Hickson and Gortat (Can't believe you trade Beasley for him). Of course he can bring some veteran leadership to your front-court.

I think you don't really need Shaq. You have Andersen, Hickson and Gortat (Can't believe you trade Beasley for him). Of course he can bring some veteran leadership to your front-court.

True, he wouldn't be necessary. It'd be good for storyline purposes though and he'd been an insurance policy, just in case.

As I said before, the Shaq thing would be a mere vanity signing. I don't really need him, but I'd probably sign him because I bought all his merchandise during the 90s (I even finished Shaq Fu).

a bunch of younsters in ur team.. that's good!

Indeed... Ty Maximilian is probably my favourite player at the moment, and quite possibly my all time favourite EA Generated draft pick

Looks like another championship is going to Denver.
You Starting Five Is Sick.

I guess we should get ready for another title

I'm not counting my chickens yet, but a 3peat is looking quite good at the moment. Hopefully I can get used to my new players and give the playoffs a real shake once again.

[Kenny]

5 Game summary

The Next Level is back for another season, and Denver start off with a 7 game road trip. In the first 5 games, they lost only one to the Houston Rockets to be 4-1 at the beginning of 2012-2013. The Rockets are looking good, with Troy Murphy now coming off the bench behind Carl Landry. I also noticed the Dallas Mavericks made a few key signings, with both former OKC players Kevin Durant and Jeff Green in the starting lineup. Anyway, to the feature game against Minnesota:

Rookie hits game winner on debut



Taken 19th in the draft by Denver, Taylor MacKenzie has announced himself on the NBA stage with a game winning performance against Minnesota, helping Denver to a thrilling 87-85 victory. He showed off his shooting touch by draining the first three pointer he attempted, but it was the last one that counted the most. In the dying seconds of the game, with Denver down by 1, the Birdman found him in the corner and he launched a three. Here's the play:

phpBB [video]

Taylor MacKenzie ended up with 20 points, while Carmelo Anthony and Ray Allen scored 12 a piece. For Minnesota, their rookie J Brandon was the high point man with 21, while Jefferson and Turkoglu got 16 a piece. Courtney Lee (14) and Carlos Boozer (12) both had productive nights. Al Jefferson won the Sprite Performer of the Match with his 16 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocked shots.

----------------------
DEN@MIN

DEN: 87 (MacKenzie 20, Anthony 12, Allen 12)
MIN: 85 (Brandon 21, Jefferson 16, Turkoglu 16)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Al Jefferson 16 points 17 rebounds 6 assists 2 blocks

Rebounds

DEN: Andersen 11
MIN: Jefferson 17

Assists

DEN: Billups 11
MIN: Jefferson 6

Double-doubles

DEN: none
MIN: Jefferson (16 points, 17 rebounds), Boozer (12 points, 10 rebounds)
----------------------

Last 5 Games

@MIN: 87-85 W
@DAL: 93-74 W
@HOU: 78-70 L
@HOU: 76-62 W
@NOH: 77-70 W

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

The New Guys


Ray-ray has been solid without being great. His shooting touch hasn't been to the standard to what we would expect of him, but he's still be a useful player in bursts.


Gortat has been his regular no-frills self. He provides an excellent defensive backup for the Birdman.


JJ Hickson has played well so far. He has shown great hustle on the boards and has blocked a few shots as well. Not a bad target on offense either.

Taylor MacKenzie's first 5 games

It's taken him just 5 games to get the league talking about his chances at ROY. Here are his scoring efforts through the round:

Minnesota: 20 points
Dallas: 28 points
Houston: 21 points
Houston: 21 points (not a duplicate)
New Orleans: 23 points

Not only does he lead his team in scoring... He does it OFF THE BENCH!

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

Next 5 Games

@POR
@UTA
CLE
MIL
NJN

The feature game will be the Finals replay against New Jersey

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

Well there you have it, another surprise package delivered by this dynasty. Will Denver's Taylor MacKenzie be the first to win the Rookie of the Year for The Next Level?

Thanks for reading.

[Kenny]

Behind the scenes

The Generated


Erick Christian (left) and Taylor MacKenzie (right)

Taylor MacKenzie: Born: 26th of September 1991, London, England

About Taylor

Taylor MacKenzie has already received much press coverage from his first 5 games. Picked 19th in the draft by Denver, he is an excellent shooter with a quick release. In his short career, he has shown that he is not scared to take a big shot, scoring the game winner against Minnesota. He has yet to play a game where he has scored under 20 points. His down side? Well, it could be seen as an upside as well. He has absolutely no conscience. He will continue to shoot no matter how bad he's shooting. The next piece of Maximilian's puzzle was for him to distribute the ball more and the same could be said about Taylor MacKenzie.

Erick Christian: Born: 10th of November 1988, Bar, Republic of Serbia

About Erick

The serbian born Erick Taylor was taken 44th overall in the draft after spending two seasons with Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv. At 6'8, he is an undersized centre known for his hustle. He's played only one game for Denver so far and he looked a bit slow against 7'6 Yao Ming. The speed of the NBA takes a while to adjust to, so hopefully with a little more experience, he will become a valued centre in the Denver rotation. At the moment though, he is very raw.

The Age of an NBA Team

People around the league have said that Denver are an old team, with 5 of their players over 30... 4 of which are 34 or older. However people have also jumped to the defense of Denver, saying that they have plenty of young players, with 7 of them under the age of 26... so precisely how old is this Denver team? Well, here's the Denver roster from oldest to youngest:

Grant Hill 40
Ray Allen 37
Chauncey Billups 36
Chris Andersen 34
Matt Bonner 32
Marcin Gortat 28
Carmelo Anthony 28
Arron Afflalo 27
Mario Chalmers 26
Louis Williams 26
Shannon Brown 26
Erick Christian 24
JJ Hickson 24
Ty Maximilian 23
Taylor MacKenzie 21
================
Denver's average age: 28.8 years
================

So the average age is 28... which Carmelo Anthony and Marcin Gortat currently are.

Houston Games a Family Affair for Ty

Ty Maximilian has become a fan favourite overnight it seems, and there just happens to be a younger version of him. Ripley Maximilian was drafted 44th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2012 draft. Like Ty, he plays power forward, however at 6'8, he has the slight height advantage. Where he differs from Ty is that his second position is centre. Ty Maximilian has well and truly proved that height isn't an obstacle if you're good enough... I wonder if Ripley will prove the same in his NBA career. Time will tell.

[dare]

Nice that you add our comments also can't wait for you to make a recap of that family affair.

[Martti.]

You have a nice future with Ty and now Taylor. Seems like a major steal from the draft.

[Rta]

nice start for the season.
the draft player looking nice and he will be better in the future
good luck

[Alpha_]

Taylor MacKenzie "the next big thing"?

[Andrew]

What a way to make your NBA debut. It'd be great if he can continue to have an impressive season and win ROY honours, so here's hoping. Great start in your bid to threepeat.

[kibaxx7]

It's really incredible What a debut for MacKenzie! Good luck next games man.

[megarover]

Wow Taylor has been going off.

[Kenny]

Nice that you add our comments also can't wait for you to make a recap of that family affair.

I really only realised the connection when the Rockets put him on in garbage time. I looked at his profile and he was born in the exact same place as Ty (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic). They look fairly similar in the face, but Ripley has a slightly less outrageous hair colour. Next time I play the Rockets, I'll do a recap and try and get a shot of Ripley Maximilian.

You have a nice future with Ty and now Taylor. Seems like a major steal from the draft.

nice start for the season.
the draft player looking nice and he will be better in the future
good luck

Taylor MacKenzie "the next big thing"?

What a way to make your NBA debut. It'd be great if he can continue to have an impressive season and win ROY honours, so here's hoping. Great start in your bid to threepeat.

It's really incredible What a debut for MacKenzie! Good luck next games man.

Wow Taylor has been going off.

Martti: The future is looking bright for Denver. Taylor has definitely exceeded all expectation and he creates a nice dilemma of how to distribute my minutes to him.
Rta: Thanks mate. I'm hoping he'll be someone I can develop as a swingman. His range has been a bonus so far this season.
Dee24: It certainly looks that way at the moment. Right now, I'm just hoping he'll get into the Rookie game. I haven't had any representation in it since Ty Lawson in my first year.
Andrew: It was incredible to experience that from an EA generated rookie. Getting an ROY with him would be fantastic. Hopefully it's a weak draft like last year, so his chances will be even higher.
Thierry: It was amazing. I couldn't believe how well he shot the ball and how quick his release is.
megarover: That he has been. I really hadn't planned for him to do so, so my original plans for the roster rotation are kind of out of the window now. But that's not a bad thing. It's always nice to have someone come out of nowhere.