Can Anthony and Billups lead Denver past L.A. and San Antonio in the west? October 12 09  Every day until the regular season begins, HoopsVibe the Blog will ask and answer an important question facing each of the NBA’s thirty teams. Weigh-in with thoughts on our Key Questions feature in the comment box below.Today’s team: the Denver Nuggets.
Key Question: Can Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups help Denver compete with Boston, L.A., San Antonio, and Cleveland? The Answer: They’re good. Just not championship good. A basketball renaissance occurred in Denver last year because the team swapped shot-first Allen Iverson for pass-first Billups. Fair or not, Iverson’s scoring and ball dominating ways confused; Billups’ passing and leadership clarified. For instance, after Iverson, Anthony became the undisputed first option on offense. Best of all, the forward matured throughout the season -‘Melo, despite a low field goal percentage, started buying into the concept of team scoring. Others prospered next to Billups, a former NBA Finals MVP and classic point guard. Kenyon Martin and Nene had strong years on both ends of the floor. The temperamental but talented J.R. Smith set a career high in scoring by averaging 15 points per game. The bench was very much a positive. Linas Kleiza and Smith were the designated scorers; Chris Anderson, Renaldo Balkman, and Anthony Carter provided energy. Most nights, this unit gave Denver an edge through outworking opposing benches. With many returning players, 2010 looks good. Three things must occur for the Nuggets to stay near the top of the Western Conference standings. First, Billups has to continue bringing his ’A’ game. After some disappointing performances in Detroit, the muscular table-setter rediscovered ‘Mr. Big Shot’ in Denver and earned MVP consideration. Billups must maintain his steady, consistent play on both ends of the floor. Second, Anthony and Smith have to progress. For Anthony, this means joining the NBA’s elite, which occurs if he improves his passing, rebounding, and defense. Smith, who will start the season serving a seven game suspension for reckless driving, has to become more professional to fulfill his potential. Third, they better stay nasty. Anderson, Martin, and Nene need to be physical down-low, especially since none stand taller than 6-10. Newcomer Johan Petro adds depth to this platoon of blue-collar bigs, while Joey Graham and Arron Affalo will try to replace Dahntay Jones and Kleiza. Prediction: 4th in the Western Conference. Denver, even if everything falls into place, hasn’t kept pace with Los Angeles, San Antonio or even Dallas. Sound off: Where will Denver finish in 2010? Will they make playoffs? Why? Why not? Get at Oly’s Key Questions feature in his HoopsVibe archive and follow him on Twitter. Photo courtesy of dherrera 96.
Posted by
melo boy
on 11.3.2009 | Am i the only one that noticed that ARTEST AINT s---FOR THE LAKERS, RICHARD JEFFERSON AINT s---FOR SAN ANTONIO, AND SHAQ AINT s---FOR CLEVELAND?? Come on guys all three of them fuckers are very over rated!! the lakers lost to the mavericks come on!! the spurs lost to chicago!!! And cleveland got spanked by toronto! Their all over rated! The nuggets are without JR SMITH and their 3 and 0 so far! Melo is maturing and ty lawson is f-----amazing! Im not saying there gonna win it all but their definately gonna take the northwest title like always and they have a great great chance to getting back to the final four! I cant wait to prove all u haters wrong! Carmelo Anthony is the unrecognized talent in the nba people! . | Posted by
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on 10.14.2009 | You make a valid point, what I am saying is sometimes addition by subtraction is a good thing. When the Nuggets dumped Camby and traded Iverson everyone bailed on them, and what happed? Conference Finals. Sometimes adding star players looks good on paper but it turns out not working. When you have players as good as Melo, JR, Nene, and Chauncy you don’t really need more star power, you need role players. It will be interesting to see how Richand Jefferson feels and plays as a role player. Iverson sure didn’t adapt well. What the Nuggets did this offseason is let a couple role players go and replaced them with (IMO) better role players. Afflalo will be a better overal player than Jones was, just wait and see. And Joey Graham will be an upgrade over LK. Have a little faith . | Posted by
Snika
on 10.14.2009 | Here was my point. Dahntay Jones was the starting 2 guard for Denver last year, often guarding the best player of the other team. They were the 2 seed in the West. Kleiza provided some good minutes in the backup role for Carmelo. Aaron Afflalo didn’t play much for a bad team that was desperate for depth. I would love for him to prove me wrong, but Denver didn’t upgrade while everyone else did. That was my point... . | Posted by
Unbiased opinion
on 10.13.2009 | Oh and Kleza was not a good defender . | Posted by
Unbiased opinion
on 10.13.2009 | Afflalo barely played in Detroit and would barely play for any contender, just like he will barely play for the Nuggets. Just like Jones barely played for the Nuggets. Jones barely played because he sucked. Jones would barely play for any conteding team in the NBA, he is not very good. Remember he bounced around in the D league for a few years prior to last season. Atleast Affalo was part of an NBA roster. Give him a chance . | Posted by
Snika
on 10.12.2009 | Afflalo barely played in Detroit, how is he going to help a better team moreso than he did there? And I didn’t think that they were deep enough last year, so to lose 2 good defenders... it just won’t be enough for them to fully contend. . | Posted by
Nuggets Fan
on 10.12.2009 | Kleiza and Jones were overrated. I still can’t believe how much the Pacers overpaid Jones, he can play D and Dunk, and that is it. He has no offensive game. Kleiza was the most inconsistant player I have ever seen. He would show signs that he was turning the corner, and then go into another month long shooting slump. His D was not very good, and his offensive skill set was very limited - shoot a 3 or drive hard to the inside to attempt a dunk or commit a charge. The Nuggets don’t need a strong backup for Anthony if he can stay healthy, he should never come out of the game as far as I am concerned. We replaced Jones with Arron Afflalo, who is almost as good of a defender but can actually be an offensive threat as well. And it was nice knowing LK, but he will not be missed (other than by the owners son who he was really good friends with). . | Posted by
Snika
on 10.12.2009 | I like Denver, but it really makes a statement that they didn’t try to upgrade when Kleiza and Jones left. It really says something that they didn’t make any movements. I was very impressed with the 2nd seed that they pulled off last year. But I can’t imagine them duplicating that with teams like SA, Dallas, Portland, and Utah getting back injuries and getting offseason moves. I like Denver at the 5 in the West, but they will be scratching and clawing for it. . | Posted by
on 10.12.2009 | you guys are all losers. just like the nuggets . | Posted by
Unbiased Opinion
on 10.11.2009 | Predictions are predictions. I think one cant honestly say the Spurs are better than the Nuggets. Yea they added some players in the offseason, but sometimes things look good on paper and don’t work out. The Spurs have done good in the past, but the past is the past. Tim is years past his prime. I can’t remember the last time Manu wasn’t slowed by some sort of injury throughout a season. How good can Richard Jefferson be if he is not the number one scoring option? Or two or three? He is not exactly know for his D or passing. Antonio McDyess is way past his prime as well. Parker, Manu, or Duncan get hurt and they fall to the back of the race.Portland? Yea they have a lot of potential but how long do they get to use the excuse that they are young and have a great young core but next year will be their year? To me they seem to have a knack for underachieving, kind of like the super talented on paper Nuggets until last year. And if Roy or another key player goes down, back of the bus for portland.Dallas? Another great team on paper. Dirk is one of the top scorers in the league, and if Josh Howard stays healthy they are very dangerous. They have a history of underachieving and are a wild card.Nuggets? They are in the same boat. Everyone stays healthy, they have a good shot at the 2 seed. Melo, Nene, or Billups gets hurt, back of the line for them. And if J.R. develops and plays like everyone thinks he’s capable of playing they will be very tough to beat.I think the Lakers are the clear front runner in the west but it is hard to differentiate between the Nuggets, Spurs, Portland or even Dallas for 2-5. Each team has about the same potential and are equally seseptible to failure due to a key injury or two. Expanding to teams in the East, who knows what will go on out there. How will VC fit in? How will Bron Bron and Shaq do together? What if KG gets hurt again. Too many question marks throughout the league to say much about any team other than the Lakers are the front runners (they are the World Champions until someone proves otherwise). Don’t harp on me for not citing sources, most of what I said is common NBA knowledge if you follow the game. Good piece, I just don’t think there is enough hard evidence to slide the Nugs, on circumstancial. That will all be changing very soon though. . | Posted by
Say What??
on 10.11.2009 | I think Denver finishes 4th in the West. I am happy for them that they finally made it out of the first round last year, but they were lucky that Manu and Timmie were not 100%. I think they will play good together, but Karl has no clue what to do with that talent. He needs to take the leash off of Smith and maybe he can emerge as there second option.San An got better and thats scary enough, so did Dallas and they got worse loosing Donte’ and Kleza... . | Posted by
on 10.11.2009 | I see Denver taking a step back behind Portland this year. The Blazers have so much going for them. The Nuggets are good, but 3-7 in the West is up for grabs. . | Posted by
on 10.11.2009 | I like Denver to emerge as the third best team in the west.!!! . | Posted by
O.Sandor
on 10.11.2009 | Jay: you don’t have to read my work. I love John and Chris’ work, too. So read their stuff. That is always available for you. But I always stand behind my work.
By the way, are you saying Denver will have a better year than San Antonio? And are you also saying that San Antonio hasn’t proven or done anything? You have just lost ALL credibility The Spurs have won four Titles and had injuries last year. This summer, they added All-Star Richard Jefferson, super-steady Antonio McDyess, and useful Keith Bogans. That is far more than Denver and most teams in the NBA.
As for predictions, that is what we do here. We look at the evidence, and form an opinion as best we can. You are free to disagree, but present some evidence and don’t get so personal. Every major site from ESPN, to CNNSI does it, so I guess this ’lowly’ that I am responsible for can do it, too. In fact, making a prediction is far more productive than your negative comments that don’t add or offer anything. We have 20 odd teams to go and I’m going be making predictions on every one of them as part of our key Questions feature. So deal with it.
And for the record: I never said Cleveland couldn’t win but that LeBron and Shaq needed help from their supporting pieces to win an NBA Title, something Cleveland GM Ferry seems to agree with as he’s allegedly trying to acquire Stephen Jackson.
. | Posted by
Jay
on 10.11.2009 | LOLOLOL oly here you go again. predicting like your a damn psychic what is this man. first you say cleveland CANT win a championship, denver as 3rd in the west, come on. they have proven it last year. what has san antonio and dallas done>? nothing yet. yeah they look good on paper but they havent proved anything. your terrible no wonder your just a low writer for a website that used to be good until you started posting articles that makes no sense. i would rather read those John Nguyen and Chris Sells articles with quality and not yours that goes for quantity. Annoying as hell again. . | Posted by
O.Sandor
on 10.11.2009 | Hi Jdote, thanks for commenting. Good post.
Denver will be pretty solid, and, you are right, Smith looked solid in pre-season action; however, there are a lot of question marks for them to overcome and be such a surprise that they, say, represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.
However, Billups, because of his leadership, shouldn’t be counted out. It’s possible, but I like L.A., SA, and DAL in the west a little more right now.
Thanks for commenting. . |
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Oly Sandor | Daily take on NBA Oly Sandor is an NBA analyst and sports journalist based out of Vancouver, Canada.After years of the free-lance game, Oly Sandor is bringing his unique brand of NBA analysis exclusively to (...) More |
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