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**Jamel Irief** · 05-01-2004, 10:57 AM

Despite the early exit from the playoffs it's unarguable that the Nuggets had a stellar year and sucessful year. They have become my second favorite team to watch and follow since my wife is a huge Nene fan. I saw about 30 Nuggets games and here are my thoughts on the team:

Andre Miller- I keep hearing rumors that he doesn't get a long with Anthony but that is probably more on Anthony and his attitude since everyone else has loved him everywhere he's gone. Andre is by far the best penetrator on the team and at times the only one doing so. He needs to improve his shot selection but the Nuggets should pencil him in at guard for the next 5 years and not look back.

Voshon Lenard- Good bargain by Kiki. Lenard was a low demand player around the league and he became the Nuggets starting shooting guard. However he is cleary just holding the spot for a better option. Lenard is streaky and a horrible playmaker. It's a shame Posey was traded, but who knows if he would of stayed in Denver for only the MLE.

Carmello Anthony- I'm going to ease up since I know there are a lot of Melo fanatics here, but simply put I don't think he will be good enough to be the go-to guy on a championsh contender. If the Nuggets want to become one they need another player as good as him or hope Nene develops into that guy. Carmello is a tough player that already has that killer instinct at age, what 19? He needs to change his TMac-like snob attitude.

Nene- I would like to see both Miller and Anthony miss some time together next year to see if the Nuggets feed him the ball. He's incredibly agile for a man his size. And he has more post moves and uses his left hand better than Amare Stoudemare who averaged 20 points. Nene however panicks when faced with double teams and traps and does something stupid in these situations. He also has too many mental lapses where he forgets to box out or rotate defensively. He is arguably the most talented guy on the team.

Marcus Camby- Great comeback year. Every team wants a guy like him on their frontline that is constantly in motion looking to do something. I think he's a perfect compliment to Nene since he operates well in the high post where he can run past defenders to get to the offensive glass or pop in jumpers. Needs to understand his limits offensively better.

Earl Boykins- Epitome of what you want in a 6th man. Comes in with a ton of confidence and energy and doesn't stop launching. Potential game breaker for both teams depending on how he is shooting. Good contract and player worth keeping.

Jon Barry- What can I say? Good role player, good contract, doesn't have a role that exceeds his talent.

Rodney White- I saw a couple games that the Nuggets would of lost without his play off the bench. He's a big guy for a perimeter player and has better handles than Carmello, there is no way I see him resigning since I think the Nuggets didn't pick up his option.

Nikohals Tskitivilli- I probably butchered his name, figures since I've only seen enough of him in summer league to form an opinion.

Chris Anderson- Sort of like Camby but with no skills at all. He seems to have a decent basketball IQ, but clearly height and athleticism are the only things he has going for him. Good role player to keep around for certain matchups and a to create havoc in practice.

Fransico Elson- He suprised me whenever I saw him play. The best of the Nuggets backup big men, and the only one with a comptent offensive game.

Michael Doleac- Big guy that hits jumpers.

Ryan Bowen- His hustle and attitude are what you want in a roster filler.

Where do I think the Nuggets go from here? I think they are a Nene emergence and a great shooting guard away from being a top 5 (aka championship contender) team in the West. They remind me of the Kings of 2000 that were also a 8th seed. In the offseason they traded Williamson for a lockdown, playmaking SG they needed and that also allowed Peja to emerge.

The Nuggets should see if there is any interest in packing their pick with Tkisitivilli to some Euro happy GM in the top 10 to take Iguadola from Arizona. It gives them a second guy in the starting lineup that can make plays at high speed and also adds athleticism, but in exchange weaken the 3 point shooting in that lineup even more.

And of course free agency is another option.

hobojoe · 05-01-2004, 11:12 AM

Nice post, good analysis of the players. I agree with you on almost every aspect here, particularly about Anthony, Boykins and Camby. My only complaint is the cheap shot you took at T-Mac, comparing Carmelo's attitude to his, holding a negative connotation. T-Mac's never refused to go in a game, or whined about not making the All-Star team and singling out one player(Andrei Kirilenko) and saying he should be on the team over him. Carmelo is very immature as of right now, and comparing his attitude to McGrady's is not fair to T-Mac at all.

JGKoblenz · 05-01-2004, 04:50 PM

Your analysis are pretty accurated and I don't think I have much to add here. I like the faith you have in Nene, obviously he still has big flaws in his game, let's see how far he will go in this offseason. I think Kiki was the key here, his plan worked pretty good until now and IMO he brought life to this franchise. A remarkable job.

It was a great season and I see a bright future for this team.

KokoTheMonkey · 05-01-2004, 05:15 PM

Very good season for Denver. I'm not sure what the Nuggets fans expected out of their team this year, but I would say they exceeded my expectations for them by a lot.

They had a pretty solid off-season. Carmelo was a no-brainer, Andre Miller is a solid PG, Lenard is a terrific role-player, Jon Barry is a decent player at a decent cost, and Boykins was very good off the bench. All in all, it was a good season for them.

Carmelo is going to have to learn to play within his teammates. He really jacked up tons of shots in the playoffs that were just terrible. Maybe it was rookie-itis, but that's something that he has to fix. Another problem the Nuggets need to address is their offense. There offense really didn't have any kind of movement, and there were just tons of iso's against Minnesota at least. They need to move the ball around to free up shots for guys like Barry and Lenard, because that is where they excel. Plus, Miller will be much more effective if he can drive-and-dish with offensive movement, as opposed to the whole team sitting around and watching.

NugzFan · 05-02-2004, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamel Irief!

Carmello Anthony- I'm going to ease up since I know there are a lot of Melo fanatics here, but simply put I don't think he will be good enough to be the go-to guy on a championsh contender. If the Nuggets want to become one they need another player as good as him or hope Nene develops into that guy. Carmello is a tough player that already has that killer instinct at age, what 19? He needs to change his TMac-like snob attitude.

oh please...melo is just a kid. he said a few stupid things but his attitude is nothing like that. plus he has the skills to back it up.

hes 19. wait til hes 25. by then he can easily be a guy to lead a team all the way.

Knicksbiggestfan · 05-03-2004, 06:59 PM

Can Miller and Melo co-exist into next season?

Something tells me as much as I like him, that he isn't a good fit for denver.

**Jamel Irief** · 05-16-2004, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Knicksbiggestfan!
Can Miller and Melo co-exist into next season?

Something tells me as much as I like him, that he isn't a good fit for denver.

Which one isn't the fit?

dubc15 · 05-17-2004, 02:13 PM

i get the feeling that miller is a little jealous of melo, cause whenever someone brings up the nuggets, 100% of the time, they gonna mention melo. if i were miller, i'd feel like the media isn't doing me right by not giving me any credit for the nuggets success. all the time it's.. "melo this, melo that".

i think it's off the court problems, cause they seem to play alright on the court. but one thing they gotta improve on is helping melo out on offense, players just be standing around and watching, expecting melo to pull off some miracle shot.

RP McMurphy · 05-17-2004, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NugzFan!

oh please...melo is just a kid. he said a few stupid things but his attitude is nothing like that. plus he has the skills to back it up.

hes 19. wait til hes 25. by then he can easily be a guy to lead a team all the way.

Here are the go-to-guys on the last thirteen championship teams.

Tim Duncan
Shaquille O'Neal
Kobe Bryant
Michael Jordan
Hakeem Olajuwon

Do you really think Melo will "easily" be as good as any of these players?

Jordan23 · 05-28-2004, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Do you really think Melo will "easily" be as good as any of these players?

Yes I certinly believe Carmelo Anthony has the potential to be as good in his own ways as those players as all those players are great players in their own unique ways. Besides Kobe as he pretty much tries to mimic what MJ did.

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