Denver
Nuggets
Northwest
| Team Rating | |
| Offense | Defense |
| 111.6 | 107.5 |
| 7th Overall | 9th Overall |
Statistics through 1/25/09
W
29
L
15
PCT
.659
GB
6.5
CONF
19-10
DIV
6-2
HOME
18-6
ROAD
11-9
LinksStatistics | Tickets
|
Category | Grade | ||
 Nene (15.1 pts, 8.2 rebounds) is healthy and finally showing what kind of player the Nuggets thought he could be when they traded for him back on Draft Day in 2002.
|
b |
||
 Chauncey Billups (18.7 points, 6.7 assists) has given the team a sense of purpose ... J.R. Smith's percentages (43.8 fgs, 69.4 fts) should be better for a shooting guard.
|
b+ |
||
 The Nuggets were 29th in points allowed last year and shipped former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Camby out of town. Despite that, Denver's D has drastically improved.
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b |
||
 Linas Kleiza (10.8 pts) and Smith (14.0 pts) are two guys who can fill it ... Chris Andersen, Johan Petro and Renaldo Balkman aren't very sizeable backup bigs.
|
b |
||
 Credit George Karl for abandoning the run-and-gun and making defense the highest priority ... He gets bonus points for handling the Billups transition seamlessly.
|
b+ |
||
a-
Summary
After losing in the first round of the playoffs for the fifth straight year, Denver knew it had to make a change. Billups provided the leadership that was lacking. Carmelo Anthony's scoring is down almost five points and he missed most of January with a fractured right hand. He's still an offensive maestro, illustrated by his record-tying 33 points in a quarter against Minnesota.
Dahntay Jones transforming from a journeyman who barely made the team to starting and drawing the opposition's best player on a nightly basis is the underrated reason for the team's success. Along with Nene getting healthy, Kenyon Martin (13.0 pts, 6.4 reb) staying injury-free has been paramount.
The ceiling is high for this group, but there are some volatile personalities in the mix that are worrisome. Still, they've already beaten Boston, San Antonio and New Orleans, and are playing like they'll end that first-round futility come April. -- Dave McMenamin
Explanation of Marking System
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