Damn Matrix, I complimented you in the other thread because you made 5 straight posts, but you just one upped yourself. I've been ready to dump Karl for a while, but I ahve to give him credit -- he's been great this year. He's coaching, he's yelling, he even got a T in a game. His half court coaching is not a strong point, but with a strong point guard out there I'm hoping it'll be better. Hell, it can't be worse. The end of the Lakers game was an absolute clusterwordIcan'tsayhere.
I think this deal benefits the nuggets in the short term. The pistons will benefit from this next season with salary cap relief.
What planet are you on? Save money? Uhhhh.....maybe you missed the $32 million & change DETROIT saves by making this move. Younger? By one year?! Are you really trying to make this point?
The Kenyon Martin trade was the downfall of the Nuggets. Kiki killed the nuggets with his stupid financial moves. Look what Morey has been able to achieve by refusing to overpay.
Is KMart worth what he's paid? No. Is KMart even close to being the Nugs biggest problem? No. It's not the salary that upset me, but trading three first round picks for him. NJ wasn't going to match, but Kiki couldn't be bothered to wait. No Billups tonight. His first game for anyone who wants to see his debut is against Dallas on Friday on ESPN (a game I made sure to get tickets to).
Listening to Daryl Morey today, he didn't outright say it, but I think he believes the Nuggets won this deal in the short term. I'm skeptical that Billups will be able to lead them into the playoffs, but perhaps I'm overrating the Mavs and Blazers. I want to see how the Nuggets style of play changes with Billups manning the point, and whether that adversely impacts their more transition-oriented players. I think Billups will play well for them, though, and a lot of people will realize how much they underrated him. As for Iverson in Detroit ... it's a gamble that might pay off. I'm a little less sure that they'll be able to progress into the later rounds than if they had Billups, but it could work.
In Kiki's defense ... Kmart was a hot commodity at the time. He was believed to be one of the top PF's in the game during that time ( I know hard to imagine now) but Kidd made him look like an absolute stud in NJ. I'm sure if Kiki didn't jump the gun some other team would have for sure. It sounded like a good move. At the time. On a sidenote it will be cool to see Billups return to one of his old stomping grounds.
Just thought I'd update this because work is slow right now. Team is playing well, but a little crazy. As I posted in another thread, I wasn't surprised by the beatdown SA gave us. Kind of relieved in fact. The team needed a wake-up call. We're not as good as the team that beat the Raptors by 39, but we're not as bad as the team that lost to the Spurs by 17. I think the team has an outside shot at winning the division and getting home court advantage in round 1. I want to see how Utah plays when they're healthy before I get too excited though. Portland alone is going to be brutal (and the back-to-back with them on the 22nd & 23rd will say a lot about the teams), but when you throw Utah in it's going to be a dogfight to the end of the season. We have a nice efficiency differential of +5.2. Our offense has bogged down a little bit at times, so I'm hoping that will come up. Our turnover rate is really high. I think it's because the team is still getting used to everyone. I have faith that we'll be a middle of the pack team when it's all said and done. That alone should increase our efficiency by 2-3 points per 100 possessions or so. We lack size. The only rumor going around is that Chucky Atkins is being shopped -- mostly to Orlando. I've heard three possibilities: * Chucky for Brian Cook * Chucky for Keith Bogans * Chucky for $3 mil exemption The Cook one doesn't appeal at all. It did at first, because we have no size, but then I remembered Cook sucked and changed my mind. I was very wrong on that one. I'd be ok with the Bogans one because I think he's a better 3 point shooter than Dahntay and isn't that much of a drop-off defensively. I'd love the exemption one because it would allow us to re-sign Juwan Howard, but rumor has it Orlando doesn't want to do that because it would put them over the lux tax. I think the team needs to deal Kleiza. I've heard a few names of big men the team are interested, and I think most could be gotten if we'd part with LK. I've really soured on LK this year. The worst thing that happened to him in his career was that 40+ point game against the Kings 2 years ago. Since then, he's gone from a role player who hustles and busts his ass to a chucker. He thinks he's better than he is. Not only that, but his whining is REALLY annoying. It's annoying as all hell when our star player does it. It's even worse when a bench player is. There is no reason he should have been in the top 5 in technicals last year. If we could move LK for a big man (back-up 4 or 5), that solves two problems -- more size up front and it frees up minutes for Balkman who has been incredible. It does leave me a little worried about our outside shooting, which is why Bogans might not be a bad addition. Team has an easy beginning of December. 5 games in the first 14 days, four of which are at home. Wolves & Warriors this week. Then, the end of the month hell comes. 3 straight back-to-backs (1 road-road, the other two are split). We then have a game the day after Xmas followed by yet another back-to-back (road-road) giving us 7 back-to-backs already this season. If the team can finish the month 10-4, that'd put us at 22-10 and I'd be (obviously) pretty damn happy with that.
Good post Nuggets4. Bogans would be a decent pickup. I've soured on Kleiza too and was wondering what happened to him. Your explanation makes sense. It will be fun watching the Nuggets, Jazz and Blazers battle it out, especially if the Jazz don't finish 1st. That would be sweet. It's nice to see K-Mart and Nene both playing decent. It's safe to say Melo's shooting will improve. If only J.R. Smith could be more consistent and predictable. I'm happy for how the AI/Billups trade worked out: The Nugs are better and the Pistons are worse.
I'm fairly certain that Melo's shooting will improve. Not sure it'll reach as high as previous years, but it'll definitely improve. I REALLY want the division this year. This is the last chance to keep the Blazers out of the division lead. I've already welcomed our Trail Blazer overlords, they can at least let me have this season.
I'm sure somebody will start a thread for it but Melo has scored 27 consecutive points for the Nuggets in the 3rd quarter against Minny.
Melo scored 33 points total in the 3rd quarter and has 40 for the game. He broke the old Nuggets record of 32 held by David Thompson, who IIRC, scored his during the last game of the season battling the Iceman for the NBA scoring title. I consider Melo's feat more legit (though Thompson ended up with over 70 for the game).
Please God tell me that you guys got the Minnesota announcers on League Pass. Please? Because Hastings is annoying, but unfortunately he was out last night so Bill Hanzlik was our color guy. It was embarassing, and I apologize if that's who you had to hear. Thompson did score those 32 in the scoring battle with Gervin. He had the NBA record for a few hours before the Iceman put up his 33. That third quarter was unreal. It was nice to see Melo turn it around too. He was horrible in the first quarter (as was everyone on the team), but at one point in the second quarter he dove for a loose ball and really scrambled for it. It seemed to wake him up, as well as the rest of the team. Third time we've played Minnesota in 22 games. Really glad we don't see them until April. I know we keep winning, but I'm really tired of seeing that damn team.
my league pass had the denver squad and yeah i dont really care for denver's announcers which suck because they have been fun to watch since billups arrived. i missed the third quarter though! i watched the first half but then tuned out damn i probably try to see it on broadband in the archive. denver has been impressive, damn impressive of late. and Nuggets4 you dont want Brian Cook on your team...actually get rid of Chucky Atkins as well. My friends and I out here in LA loved the two of them when they were on the lakers because they always did some stupid stuff on the court and had the funniest facial expressions...comic relief in short. If you can get bogans for atkins that would be a good move for the nuggets, a TE would probably be better. A future pick would be the best. My biggest fear is that one day Brian Cook will end up a rocket I already have 3 different people who said they would buy me a Brian Cook rockets jersey the day it happens
From another thread: You're one of the posters I respect most on this board, so I'm genuinely curious to figure where you see the Nugs finishing this season.
I missed this. I've been waiting for the Nugs to hit adversity after the hot start. The 16-4 run showed how good they could be, but the NBA season is long and drawn out. At the end, I see the Nuggets at #6. Winning your division and finishing #4 is definitely possible, but I think the Jazz will get it going and the Spurs will finish with a better record, pushing the Nuggets down. If Karl & crew fall apart and the Suns, Mavs and Blazers keep up the pressure, the Nugs could even finish out of the playoffs. That is very doubtful IMO. Maybe the sore elbow explains why Melo's played like garbage the last 2 games. I think you can blame the Suns game directly on him. The Nuggets were the better team on the floor but Melo just killed them. That's the kind of loss that makes you want to scream. If the Blazers take both games of the back-to-back, uh oh. I might give Dahntay Jones one more game at starter because J.R. Smith is best as 6th man. Karl should just yank him out early if need be.
