Nuggets likely need to depend on an all-out running game at home to crank out 50+ wins. I honestly believe they could be lethal at Pepsi if they do that. They simply don't have the pieces for a reliable halfcourt game. Melo is the only guy that has anything of a post up game, and nearly no one other than Melo and Camby can hit outside jumpers. Run and gun. Evan
when you pay a max contract for a big guy, the bare minimum should always be: Is He good in the post? rebounding, blocks and defence are also important but the post play is what seperates the duncan from the ben wallace. Now having said that, kenyon martin has 0 offense in the halfcourt, other then that UGLY 15 foot flat jumper and the put back dunk, and hes not in the same league defensively as some others both in terms of help and man on man. In this day and age of salary cap nuggets wont have the MLE for the next 10 years, melo will get his 86mil in 2 years and nene will be in for 70M. Best case scenario for nuggests: Next portland trailblazers Worst Case: Nuggest the last 10 years
Reading those 3pt. stats on the "big" lineup, I think it becomes clear that it could only be used in short stretches. Andre Miller, no offense, is one of the worst shooting guards in the NBA. The Nugs will need another sharpshooter (unfortunately, in the shooting-poor NBA, they don't exactly grow on trees) to keep teams honest and a trade may be in order. With Lenard's age, he will likely call it a career after such a traumatic injury. This injury will be far more damaging to the Nuggets than some would believe. Case in point, Alabama had the absolutely worthless bust named Rod Grizzard on the perimeter back in the 2001-02 season and he made them a better basketball team. Although his stats took a dip, teams had to honor his ability to go off from behind the arc and thus things opened up on the interior for the undersized big man Erwin Dudley. Come 2002-03, despite losing Grizzard to the NBA Draft, many pundits thought Alabama was a national championship contender. Wrong answer. Without Grizzard's ability to stretch defenses with his perimeter shot, they sagged down in the paint on Dudley and the Tide struggled through a miserable campaign. I hate to say it, but the Nugs are in for the same predicament. Carmelo, for all of his positives, is more of a scorer than a shooter.
I definitely had the Nuggets making the playoffs before this, but it looks like Suns, Jazz and Grizzlies just bumped up one spot.
