Who Needs an Answer?

I've been a fan of Allen Iverson ever since he started playing at Georgetown and if it weren't for the fact that the Nuggets traded him for another of my favorite NBA players (Chauncey Billups) I probably would have been very upset when he left the team. My point is that it's unbelievable that some teams aren't falling all over themselves to sign this guy. With the news that the Sixers have extended a one-year offer to Iverson, I'm going to go through some other teams that should have at least considered giving AI's agent a call.

The "If We're Going to Lose, We Might as Well Sell Some Jersey's" Teams

New Jersey Nets

Other Guards on the Roster: Rafer Alston, Keyon Dooling, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Terrence Williams.

The Nets have gone nearly a quarter of the way through the season without winning a basketball game. I know they are well stocked at the guard position, and even have some nice young prospects there, but what good is that if you can't win a single game this far into the season? Having watched them a couple times against the Nuggets, this team could use a player who plays as hard as Iverson does every game. Even if it means cutting down the minutes of some of their youngsters for a season, I think getting to watch a player like AI would have a positive effect on these guys in the long run. Not to mention the fact that if any team could use a guy that can single handedly win a game for you when he's on, it's the New Jersey Nets.

New York Knicks

Other Guard on the Roster: Chris Duhon, Nate Robinson, Larry Hughes, Toney Douglas, Cuttino Mobley

It seems like Iverson is a perfect fit for the up-tempo Mike D'Antoni style of basketball. He can drive to the lane, get creative on the fast break and is good at finding the open man spotting up for a 3. He would provide a nice change of pace from Duhon, and I have a hard time believing that cutting into Hughes' minutes would be much of a problem considering he's shooting under 40% from the field and 30% from 3 pt. range. The main issue I see here is that there's pretty much no way to play AI and Nate Robinson together. As much press as Iverson gets for being a bad apple, I can't even imagine the impact Li'l Nate would have if his minutes got cut down any more. I can see why people thought the Knicks should go for it, but as long as Nate's on the roster, it just wasn't worth it.

The "We're Probably Not Going Far in the Playoffs with our Current Roster" Teams

Indiana Pacers

Other Guards on Roster: Travis Diener, TJ Ford, Luther Head, Dahntay Jones, AJ Price, Brandon Rush, Earl Watson

Obviously there's a glut of guards on this roster, but I don't see why AI can't take Earl Watson's minutes here. Watson plays roughly the same game, maybe a little better defensively, but definitely not even close offensively. Having Rush and Jones around make AI's height (or lack thereof) a non-issue, and with such good shooters in the frontcourt (Granger, Murphy and Hibbert) this is a surprisingly good fit for Iverson. I'm sure there are some financial reasons behind why they were never really mentioned as a possible destination (along with the strange picture of Allen Iverson living in Indiana), but based solely on the current roster, I think the Pacers would be a great basketball fit for Iverson.

Toronto Raptors

Other Guards on the Roster: Marcus Banks, Marco Bellinelli, Jose Calderon, Jarrett Jack, Sonny Weems

This team has been very disappointing so far this season and could use something to inject a little life into their game. The guard play has been so inconsistent that Nuggets castoff Sonny Weems has been getting a decent amount of legitimate playing time already this season. Chris Bosh seems like the exact type of front-court player Iverson could mesh with. He's got a good shooting touch from the outside, so he won't clog up the lane, but he can also crash the boards and take advantage of AI's aggresive offensive style. Obviously Calderon will get this minutes, but with where this team is right now in the top-heavy East, I don't see why Iverson couldn't see the time that Jack and Bellinelli are currently getting. Much like Indiana though, it's hard to picture Iverson lacing them up in Canada for a year.

The "Contenders Who May Be Looking to Fill a Hole" Teams

Los Angeles Lakers

Other Guards on Roster: Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic

I realize this is probably the longest of longshots, but looking at the roster, why not? Obviously they love Derek Fisher in LA, but there's no question that he's about as slow a point guard as there is in the league these days. He's always been a streaky shooter, but the hot streaks have been coming few and far between this year. He stays out of the way on offense, which could be a good thing on this team, but I think it's pretty clear that he's the chink in the armor of the defending champs. Kobe and Vujacic have the height to cover for AI defensively and as good as they've been for short periods of time, I don't think anyone's crying over Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar seeing a little more time on the bench. I know it would never happen, but it's hard not to think that adding AI would give the champs a bit of a spark for the rest of the year.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Other Guards on the Roster: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Daniel Gibson, Delonte West, Coby Karl, Daniel Green

Now Cleveland is a team that I actually did hear tossed around as a possible landing spot for the Answer. There's really no need to emphasize how important this season is for this franchise, they will do whatever it takes to build a contender around King James as he heads towards free agency. I think that if AI had become available later in the season and it was clear that they needed a little something extra to dominate the conference, they would have seriously considered bringing Iverson in for a spark, but at this point in the season, I think they're willing to see how this team comes together with Anthony Parker and Shaq Diesel as their big off-season acquisitions.

The "Sentimental Favorite" Teams

Charlotte Bobcats

Other Guards on the Roster: DJ Augustin, Raymond Felton, Gerald Henderson, Acie Law, Flip Murray

Re-uniting with Larry Brown would be somewhat of a story-book ending in the career of Iverson and this franchise is clearly not afraid of undersized guards. Larry Brown wants his team to be taken seriously as a contender (for the playoffs at least) in the Eastern conference this year, but for some reason they immediately took themselves out of the running. Augustin, Felton and Murray have their moments, but have they done anything to prove that they deserve big time minutes on successful teams? Maybe Brown thought that the good relationship with his former nemesis Iverson would be in danger if he had to actually coach him again. Whatever their reasoning, I think it would have been worth a shot for this team to put the ball in AI's hands and see where he could take them for a season.

Philadelphia 76ers

Other Guards on the Roster: Andre Iguodala, Willie Green, Lou Williams, Royal Ivey, Jrue Holiday

It seems like every guard they've acquired (other than Andre Miller) since trading AI away has had the tag of possibly becoming the "next Iverson" but all have fallen far short of those expectations. Lou Williams was off to a solid start this year but was far from a game-changer and will now miss a significant amount of playing time with a broken jaw. Iguodala provides the Sixers with a chance to play smaller point guards, so the Williams injury makes this just about a perfect fit in every way. Not only is it a decent basketball decision, but it'll give AI a chance to spend at least one more season with the team he grew up with and carried on his back for a decade. I was very happy to hear that Philly decided to extend an offer to Iverson and I hope that he takes advantage of this opportunity to prove to the league exactly what he has left in the tank.

Nuggets vs. Knicks, Nov. 27, 2009, Game Nuggetz

"We didn't take a step forward tonight, but I don't think we took a step back."

-George Karl

I think that quote from Coach George pretty much sums up the game. It was a weird game from start to finish. The players all seemed more or less disinterested defensively and unfocused overall, the referees seemed like their minds and whistles were elsewhere and if it weren't for the incredible offensive output of Carmelo (50 pts), Billups (32 pts) and Al Harrington (41 pts), this game would have been completely forgettable.

Here are some Game Nuggetz:

• As sloppy as the game appeared, the teams only combined for 20 turnovers which I don't entirely believe, but that's what the box score says.

• The Nugs had 4 players with 5 or more assists in Nene, Chauncey, Melo and Lawson

• Lawson turned in a very Anthony Carter-esque performance with 2 points on 3 shots, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and no turnovers in 16 minutes. So not the difference maker we've come to know, but also provided some very effective minutes while Chauncey was catching his breath.

• Chauncey managed 8 assists along with his 32 points making it two great offensive games in a row. One more game of 20 plus points and I'll declare him back in form.

• Big Earl Smith the Third was quiet in the first half, but I like that. I think he's learning to pick his spots and that he doesn't have to start firing up 3's as soon as he comes in a game in order to be effective. He ended up with 17 points on 6 of 11 shooting (4 of 6 from 3 pt range), 2 assists and no turnovers.

• Both Nene and K-Mart had 11 rebounds. They were the only two that ever showed signs of life on the glass, but even with that being said, with the amount of possesions and missed shots in the game, even they could have done a better job rebounding.

• Nene was the beneficiary of a few more nifty passes from Melo tonight, although the Knicks seemed a little better prepared against the interior passing than any other team has so far this season.

• Nene also continues to throw down powerful dunks. The only time I saw him fade away from the hoop in the lane, he had his shot blocked, so let's hope he learns from that.

• Afflalo only made two shots tonight, but I continue to be impressed with his shot selection and silky smooth jump shot. It's far from a quick release, but with all the firepower the Nuggets have offensively, I think he'll continue to have plenty of time to get his shots off.

• For the first time in a long time, Karl seems to have settled on a pretty standard 8-man rotation with Afllalo joining Melo, K-Mart, Nene and Chauncey as starters and the Treacherous Trio of Birdman, ES3 and Lawson off the bench. In 82 games, they'll need to have some help from the end of the bench, but it's nice to have a group of guys you can count on each night.
  

• I wasn't too worried about the 1st Quarter when the Knicks were torrid from 3-pt land, but was surprised at how easily they drove to the hoop from that point on. I have no idea why this happened.

• I really have no idea what was going on with the refs tonight. Maybe it's just that it was the day after Thanksgiving, but they were allowing all sorts of contact under the hoop for most of the game, then started calling touch fouls on the perimeter every once in a while and overall did an absolutely horrible job tonight on both ends. The Nugs benefitted as much as it hurt them, so I can't be too mad about it, but it was defnitely strange.

• I remember the last time Melo had a chance to score 50 he was triple teamed away from the ball in the final seconds just to make sure he didn't do it, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise that this game remained close in the final quarter. I agree with Coach George that Melo's 50 point effort wont last long as his personal best, but it's nice to see him eclipse the half century mark on a night when he was scoring in every way possible. He was hitting jump shots, lay-ups, breakaway dunks, put-back dunks off of offensive rebounds and just as importantly, especially in the 4th quarter, he was great from the line tonight. Along with his 5 boards and 5 assists, the 50 pts are telling me that it's finally safe to say that Carmelo is beginning to realize his immense potential as an NBA players. Hopefully this is just another jumping off point for him.

In summary:

Not much to learn about the team in this strange game, but hopefully it's just a taste of things to come for Chauncey and Melo.

Good night and Go Nugz!

Nuggets vs. Timberwolves, Nov. 25, 2009 Game Recap

Is it over yet?

I'm not sure that I should have expected or hoped for anything different, but for the second straight evening, the Nuggets took on one of the NBA's worst teams and it turned out about as expected. Minnesota didn't give in quite as easily as New Jersey did last night, which may account for their one victory on the year, but they just had absolutely no answer for anything Denver was throwing at them offensively or defensively. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like from about the 8 minute mark of the 2nd Quarter to the 6 minute mark of the 4th Quarter the Nuggets were leading by 18-24 points and you could set your watch to a pass from Melo to Nene for a dunk about every 4 minutes. It's nice to get these two wins under our belt without any serious about the Nuggets ability and more importantly without any injuries, but here's to hoping for a little more excitement over the Holiday season and beyond. Here's a few addition observations from the game:

• Melo continues to be an incredibly efficient scorer with 22 points on 12 shots tonight.

• Arron Afflalo took a few questionable shots tonight, but still shows a knack for only shooting when absolutely necessary, something that Linas the Menace Kleiza could never figure out.

• Nene continues dunking! And Melo keeps feeding him the ball. These two are finally becoming the inside-outside combo people were looking for during Melo's rookie season.

• K-Mart has been remarkably consistent in effort and performance. I always hear groans whenever he shoots from the outside, but I think he's earned a couple heat-check shots per game with the energy he brings night in and night out.

• With Billups, Afflalo, Melo, Lawson, sometimes Nene and sometimes K-Mart, the Nugs have a ton of guys who can hit the mid-range jumper fairly consistently, which seems to be a weapon in both the half court and the fast break.

• Nice to see Chauncey hit some 3's, but I'm going to wait until he strings a few games like this together before I consider him out of his slump.

• I'm not sure why the Nuggets felt the need to take so many 3's in the 3rd Quarter, but at least they made them. If it weren't for the late run by the T-Wolves against the end of the Nug's bench, I would have thought it a bit unnecessary.

• Maybe it was because they got a whole quarter to play, but the Nuggets bench players just seemed out of control for most of the quarter.

• Lawson wasn't quite as effective as usual tonight, fortunately, there's not too many other guys in the league as quick as Jonny Flynn.

• No one player on the Nuggets is dominating on the glass, but the team managed to once again out-rebound their opponent by everybody chipping in a little bit with some boards.

Final Thoughts:

Not much to learn from this game other than the fact that this is clearly not the immature Denver Nuggets of old. With Thanksgiving right around the corner and playing on the road in the second game of yet another back-to-back it would have been easy to come out relaxed in this one, but instead the Nuggets were relentless on defense from the start and pretty much dominated from that point until garbage time. It's looking more and more like the Clippers game was an abberation and instead of an omen of demise, it was "Just one of those games" where things aren't going your way. While the teams haven't been the upper-echelon so far, there's no question that the Nuggets have had a logistically extremely difficult schedule and should be proud to be going into Thanksgiving with a an 11-4 record.

Good night, Go Nugz and Happy Thanksgiving!

Nuggets vs. Nets, Nov. 24, 2009 Game Recap

We're not #1!

Despite an ominous beginning, the Nugs got it together defensively about halfway through the 1st quarter to break the fragile will of this young Nets team and cruise to their 10th victory of the season in 14 games while leaving the Nets searching for their first victory of the season. I was afraid that the early lead might jump-start the confidence of the New Jersey players after such an awful start to their year, but after the first dose of adversity, their energy level dropped off a cliff. I can imagine after losing 13 games in a row, then going on the road to face one of the NBA's top teams, it can be pretty frustrating once that team heats up and builds a double-digit lead in the first half. All that being said, the Nets have a few nice, young players to build around for the future in Devin Harris, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Brook Lopez. They have a long way to go, but having a solid backcourt and center is a good place to start.

I didn't get to watch the first 3 quarters, but judging by Jerry Schemmel's solid radio commentary, I can make a few observations. One is that it was nice hearing how often Nene was dunking the ball. It's extremely frustrating that a player with so much athletic ability and that is so physically imposing decides to finish so many drives to the hoop with soft lay-ins that are often blocked or just as often missed when there's contact in the lane. Nene is clearly at his best when he's throwing down emphatic jams. Another is that Melo continues to showcase his playmaking ability on fast breaks as well as passing out of double-teams. It's very nice to see and hopefully that aspect of Melo's game continues to develop throughout the season. It's also nice to see Melo continue to be an incredibly efficient scorer, finishing with 27 points on 18 shots tonight, including some incredible drives to the hoop through a variety of Nets players.

While their was a distinct lack of energy in the game tonight, I can't be too hard on the Nuggets for lacking a killer instinct. These guys have to feel for each other, and there's no bad blood as far as I know between any of the players on either team, so it's gotta be hard to really pour it on against a team that's had such a tough start.

The final score was good enough for me, and I'm also pretty happy that the Nuggets most dominating performance of the season so far is still the first game I made it up to the Pepsi Center for against the Lakers and that's all I have to say about that.

Good night, and go Nugs!

Nuggets vs. Bulls, Nov. 21, 2009 Game Nuggetz

Not a pretty game by any means, but they managed to get it done in the end.

The Nuggets were unsurprisingly sluggish coming out of the gate on the back end of their 5th set of back to back games, but a gutty, strong effort in the second half turned this into a rout once Chicago's shooters went cold from the outside. On to the Game Nuggetz:

• 10 of the Nuggets first 13 games have been part of a back-to-back set. I'm not sure what the league norm is, but that seems totally unreasonable. It's speaks a lot to their effort that they've managed to win 9 games already with that brutal scheduling.

• Early on, it seemed like the Nuggets were trying to play hard, but just didn't have it. They'd run out on shooters, but not really in time to actually challenge the shots.
  

• He still looked lost at times, but Birdman looked to be back to his old form. Getting good results from that MRI must have done wonders for his confidence, which is key for a player that relies almost entirely on his jumping ability to be effective.

• Nene, with mixed but mostly positive results, took it upon himself to keep the Nuggets in the game early on. He's looked soft for much of the early part of this season, and still had his moments of weak finishes tonight, but looked strong on the boards and driving to the rim right from the tip tonight.

• He looked tired doing it, but when Melo's shot missed the mark a few times early, he drove straight to the hoop and it looked like there was nobody on the Bulls who could do anything about it.

• It wasn't until Melo hit a jumper with about 9 minutes left in the 2nd quarter that momentum started to shift. Shortly after, Chauncey knocked down a 3, which thankfully led to his best shooting performance since opening night.
  

• They didn't look to being playing very sharp, but the fact that they started to knock down open shots, and the Bulls went cold, allowed the Nugz to get back in the game heading into halftime.

• Keeping with the end of the first half, the Nuggets, with the exception of Melo's passing, didn't do anything to showcase their skills in the second half, but swung the game on pure effort.

• The energy expended defensively allowed the Nuggets to run, move the ball on the fast break and get easy buckets.

• Teams are starting to figure out Ty Lawson a bit, and it seems like more of his shots are getting blocked, but he's still a very effective point guard when he comes into the game.
  

• Probably the biggest factor in this game becoming a blow out was Big Earl Smith the Third catching fire. You never know when it's gonna happen, you can't count on it, but when ES3 gets it going, it's an immediate 20 point swing in the game.

• Mentioned earlier, Carmelo showcased some unbelievable passing tonight. He'll show flashes of this ability in any given game, but the second half tonight seemed to be the longest sustained effort by Melo to get his teammates involved.

• Despite how they looked in the 1st quarter, Denver ended up shooting almost 49% from the field which is a minor miracle. Sure ES3 caught fire and Melo and Chauncey hit some shots, but I think the main reason is that their defense and passing led to a whole lot of dunks.

• Dunking isn't as easy as it looks in the NBA. I promise.

In Summary:

This game, after the ominous opening, proved that this Nuggets team is not afraid to get down and dirty, fight for rebounds and lose balls, and do what it takes to get the easy points. Defensively, the Bulls just broke down in the second half and allowed the Nuggets to play exactly how they want to play, and the Nuggets' effort on the defensive end, especially Kenyon Martin, remained remarkably consistent with the Bulls scoring 27, 25, 19 and 22 in each quarter.

Nothing happened tonight that makes me think this team is at the top of the championship contender list, but it was a character-proving game with plenty of opportunities to lay down and make excuses, but instead they managed to put their heads down, get to work, and turn this game into a laugher.

Good night, and Go Nugz!

Nuggets' Nuggetz has been re-activated!

I'm officially taking Nuggets' Nuggetz off of the Inactive List and pledge to give him ample playing time for the remainder of the season.

In lieu of a recap of the triumphant defeat at the hands of a short-handed Los Angeles Clippers team this evening, I've decided that my first post of the season, coming on this, the 20th day of Nuggvember, will be an attempt to sum up my feelings on the Nuggets moves that lead up to this day.

I was afraid that the Nugs' fast and successful start to the season would serve to diminish my optimistic opinions in the eyes (ears? brains?) of the readers, so maybe tonight's performance against LA's Other Team is a blessing in disguise.

Without further ado, my thoughts are as follows: (in somewhat, but not really chronological order)

2009 NBA Draft

Denver Trades Charlotte's 2010 (Lottery Protected) First Round Pick for Ty Lawson

• My belief that Lawson will become a great NBA Point Guard is pretty in-line with what everyone who follows the NBA thinks at this point.

• His ability to totally change the pace of a game much like Earl Boykins has been much written about, however, the fact that he's half a foot taller than Lil Earl makes him much less of a defensive liability.

• Approved.

Denver trades the rights to the 34th pick in the draft, Sergio Llul, to the Houston Rockets for 2.25 million dollars.

• Considering the Nuggets past with drafting international talent (with a few exceptions), I think I'll take the 2.25. And let's not forget the fact that he only has 4 letters in his last name, 3 of which are "L".
  

• The only true rumblings of disappointment I heard surrounding this move were about the fact that Dejuan Blair was still on the board. There's no question that Blair is a talented rebounder, and that rebounding is the one area that this current Denver Nuggets roster could improve on the most, but I doubt he would make much of an impact in that area behind Nene, K-Mart and Birdman. I also have trouble believing that a 6'6" Power Forward not named Charles Barkley could be successful in the NBA today.

• Approved.

2009 Free Agency and Trade Round-Up

Denver re-signs the Birdman

• Priority #1 for Denver this offseason was to get the Birdman under a long-term contract. While some might argue giving guaranteed, long-term $ to a guy with his track record is a mistake, they're probably not the ones who were counting up the receipts from his t-shirt, jersery, tattoo sleeve sales. Birdman is a uniquely gifted player, and one that understands and accepts his role. His past troubles, I predict, will only serve to drive him to become a more successful, team-oriented player. He doesn't have the opportunity anymore to play selfish ball, he's already been given a huge second chance, so I think he's exactly the type of player a team needs coming off the bench in order to win a championship.

• Very Much Approved.
  

Denver re-signs Anthony Carter

• It seems most Denver Nuggets fans have grown to despise the contributions of Anthony Carter. He's old, not athletic, doesn't have very good range and really doesn't bring a whole lot to the table. I would argue that as a 3rd point guard, and an insurance policy for Ty Lawson, AC is a great fit. While he's by no means a game changer, he's also a pretty good ball handler who you can trust to take up some minutes with minimal mistakes. He doesn't shoot the ball a whole lot, which is nice, considering the Nugs' firepower coming off the bench. With the emergence of Lawson early in this season, it's not a huge signing, but he'll be nice to have around as a mentor and as a backup option should Lawson hit the "rookie wall" down the stretch.

• Approved.
  

Denver re-signs Johan Petro

• Johan Petro rarely sees time on the court, and hopefully won't see much this season either. That being said, I'm still intrigued by his skills. He's a 7-footer who can move at least as well as our old pal Francisco Elson, but I've seen him consistently drain 3-pointers in pre-game shoot-around as well. I don't know if it's a mental thing or what, but it seems like he could end up as a decent back-up big in the league. At the very least, he's 6 extra fouls at the end of the bench. Besides, he's clearly the Nuggets' best French player since Yakhouba Diawara.
  

• Approved.
  

Denver allows Dahntay Jones and Linas Kleiza to sign elsewhere

• Somehow, NBA sportswriters managed to turn this into a negative for the Nuggets. Obviously, many of these writers only truly paid attention to Denver during their post-season run (Dahntay Jones), and their career stats (Linas Kleiza).

• Jones, for 90% of the season, was a serviceable role-player who played good perimeter defense and managed not to screw things up until it was time to bring in JR or Kleiza off of the bench for some scoring. It wasn't until he played a handful of games as the Chris Paul/Kobe Bryant pest that he earned his reputation as a lock-down defender. I heard a commentator say over Indiana Pacer highlights that Jones is "making the Denver Nuggets look stupid for letting him go." Ironically, it was the commentator who sounded stupid to me because he thought that Jones' 16 points per game (this season) were somehow missed by the Nuggets. Denver doesn't need another athletic, slashing shooting guard, they need a hard-working, role-playing, decent 3-point shooting guard to take up the minutes until Chauncey or Melo needs a breather and they found one for a whole lot cheaper, which I'll get to later on.

• Kleiza, while certainly talented in a few areas, was just as, if not more frustrating than JR Smith. He had the ability to score 40 points if he was feeling it from the outside, he had the size and speed to be a good defender, he was arguably at his best when he would take the outlet pass and drive to the hoop, but for anyone who had watched the entire 2008/09 season, there were very few times that any of that came together. Kleiza was like a black hole when he came on to the floor for most of last season and had a knack for launching 3's in crunch time, despite the fact that he had been cold all year. While he still could develop into a very good NBA player (Denver still retains his NBA rights), he wasn't worth paying a premium for with the Nuggets' current financial situation.
  

• Approved and Approved.

Denver trades for the rights to Arron Afflalo

• I liked Afflalo at UCLA, I liked him with the Pistons and I like him even more now that he's on my team. He's basically Dahntay Jones and Linas Kleiza combined as far as his defensive ability, 3-point shooting prowess and athleticism. What I've always liked about Double-A (to borrow a nickname from the boys at Denver Stiffs), is that he just works hard no matter what. He's not putting on a show, he's not playing for a big payday, it seems like the guy just plays as hard as he can at all times. And considering he's taking the place of Kleiza and Jones (and arguably out-performing them) for just a fraction of the price, this move is clearly a no-brainer.

• Approved to the highest degree.
  

Denver trades for the rights to Malik Allen

• Ummmmmmm, approved?

Denver signs Joey Graham as a free-agent

• Joey Graham reminds me of a smarter, bigger (fatter?), less athletic version of Sonny Weems. Weems was clearly redundant as he was JR Smith 4 years ago and didn't bring much to the table for a team looking for a championship. Graham at least brings a reasonably athletic presence to the bench for when Melo needs a breather or finds himself in foul trouble.

• Approved.

Biggest Reasons the Nuggets will Win the NBA Championship in 2009/10

Earl Smith the Third, the 6th Man

• From this point on, I will be referring to the player formerly known as "JR Smith" by the name he briefly requested to be referred to as, which is his given name, Earl Smith III. Other possible variations are ES3, ESIII and Big Earl. The reason for this, other than honoring a man's request, is that I want to believe that ES3 has finally become the man and player that we've all hoped for. It's time for the flashes of greatness to give way to some consistency, because if they do, the Denver Nuggets will have by a long shot, the most talented 6th man in the league.
  

The Treacherous Trio

• Speaking of the bench, can any team boast a trio of bench players more exciting than Birdman, Lawson and ES3? I can't think of any. Each one is a unique player that can absolutely dominate a certain facet of the game, and fortunately for the Nuggets, each of those facets is different, so there's hope that these dynamic bench players could even make each other better. I think this is the most overlooked factor in the Nuggets potential success for this season.

MVP

• And finally, while I think I believed this all along, I'll admit that it wasn't until reading a few NBA Previews that I realized just how good Carmelo might be this season. Some guys pointed to his unusually poor shooting percentages from last year, some to his experiences on Team USA, but I think that unquestionably, the biggest reason Melo has launched himself into the MVP debate this year is because he finally got a taste. He fought toe-to-toe with the Lakers for 4 games before they shifted it into another gear and went on to all the glory. Carmelo has won at every level and considering where the Nuggets were when he came to Denver, it's hard not to think that just getting them to the playoffs every year was a "win". But getting so close to winning on the biggest stage could only make him hungrier, and judging by the early season performance, he's clearly playing at a different level than he ever has before. In the past, Melo seems to have developed his game as the season progressed, but this year, for the first time, we're seeing him with his entire offensive and defensive repertoire. If the Nuggets win the Championship this year, and I think they have as good a shot as anybody, it will be because Carmelo Anthony wouldn't have it any other way, and he has the perfect cast of characters to take him there.

...

(unless, of course, they have to play the Clippers to get there)

Anyway, I hope this post isn't too late to be interesting, and I hope that tomorrow night's game against Chicago proves to be a more interesting affair than this evening proved.

In addition to Post-Game Nuggetz and potentially Game Previewz for some of the bigger games, I plan on strengthening my position on the Nugz' championship chances by an occasional post titled: "Why (Insert Championship Contending Team Here) Will Not Win the 2009/10 NBA Championship." Creative, I know...

Until next time, good night, and Go Nugz!