It is tonally appropriate that the NBA season tips off just before Halloween - because on any given night, each and every one of the league's 30 teams can look downright frightening. They're meant to be this way, and you're meant to watch. And they're not an afterthought, cobbled together because some disgruntled superstar doesn't like snow. The Denver Nuggets aren't a series of assets, ready to be rolled up into something to trade in exchange for a guy with his own shoe commercial. Denver doesn't need a marketable jersey to rocket past 55 wins, and Ty Lawson doesn't have to make the All-Star team to take over conquests one, three and four in some second round series next May. Great teams filled with great players win ballgames during the regular season, and go-to scorers help to win close playoff contests. Not "best" because they run a lot and pile up the points, but "best" because the team will score efficiently and present unending matchup problems despite the rather orthodox sizes of their starting lineup participants. And though the Nuggets will once again be devoid of a star in the Q Rating-sense, the unending drives and free throws and leak outs and run outs and drives and corner threes and extra passes and the-game-was-just-delayed-because-of-what-Faried-did-to-the-rim will secure the team one of the best offenses in the NBA. Can teams hit for the upper reaches of 50 wins with a middling defense based mostly on turnovers caused, lots of blocks, defensive rebounds and wearing opponents out? Transition run outs can also lead to run-backs, as opponents hit that open cherry-picker. And pogos spring both ways.įor all the team's rangy forwards, lead guard Ty Lawson's inability to close out (or, more specifically, "inability to stand 6-3") makes that perimeter defense a bit of a worry, especially with McGee chasing all those guards away from the paint. The duo will send back heaps of shots, and we were encouraged with McGee's turn in a Nugget uniform last year as well as Faried's ability to grab nearly a quarter of the defensive rebounds available to him during his rookie year. If Danilo Gallinari's marks from outside the arc can perk back up after a year spent south of 33 percent, Dre's regression to his typical averages may not mean as much.ĭefense will be the problem, especially as ostensible defense-only types like JaVale McGee and Kenneth Faried take to more minutes and (only possibly in McGee's case, should George Karl decide to mix up his lineups based on how the opposition looks should he deem Kosta Koufos ill-equipped to handle a faster team) starting roles. The rest of the ways include passing, superior finishing on the fast break, and a three-point stroke that actually looked like a major weapon during 2011-12 (though Iguodala's marks might slide a little this year). Al Harrington had his moments last, and in a couple of ways (mainly improvised, backing down before the help can come) dealing Al for Dre Iguodala is an offensive downgrade. Offense will not be a problem for this crew, in spite of the lack of the star you're looking for. Baseball players don't have to pass each other the ball, but these Nuggets seem to share no aversion to doing as much. New addition Andre Iguodala is the most important part of this mix, and it could take a while for the Nuggets to determine how great his influence needs to be on either end and Wilson Chandler had an unsteady 2011-12 that he'll have to remedy, but beyond that the chemistry appears to be in place. Most of these Nuggets played together, and played together quite well last year. (Well, two things if you count the fact that the Nuggets aren't made up of a bunch of jerks.) This has been done before without a singular star to a team's credit - the Portland Trail Blazers squad created near the fin de siècle working as the most infamous version of such - but these Nuggets have one component on their side that those Blazers never had in reserve. The team is essentially structured like a baseball squad, lining up a deep series of productive players hoping to take down opponents with production upon production upon production. The Denver Nuggets have quite a few things going for them as they waltz - forget that, run - into 2012-13. We continue with the exhausting Denver Nuggets.
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