A Fast Start Could Make Melo's Decision Easy.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, readers of all ages… it is time again for the start of the greatest time of the year. I am talking about the eve of the beginning of the Denver Nuggets season. That’s right folks, I am officially back from my sabbatical that took me away from writing last season.

There have been many changes since then and a whirlwind of drama surrounding the Nuggets. For those of you who think that it is unavoidable that Carmelo Anthony will take his game elsewhere… this post may not be for you. I am going to hold on to any hope, and a few bias theories, that have him wearing a Nuggets uniform beyond this season.

As we all know, the only team that has not been linked to a possible trade for Melo is Besiktas (the Turkish team that signed our old friend Allen Iverson). We have been enduring the speculation for far too long now and frankly, I can’t wait for the season to start so we can clear things up.

It is time for Chauncey to rally the troops and start the season with a bang. This will be the first step to convincing Melo to stay. J.R. Smith needs to live up to all of the reports that he has developed a mid-range game and has made enormous strides in his personal maturity. The sixth man award is his for the taking if these reports are indeed true. Nene is healthy and needs to realize that he is often the strongest player on the court and play like the beast that he is.

The true key to the season, however, is the simple fact that Arron Afflalo will establish himself as the second best player on the team. His perimeter defense can hold the league’s best wing players at bay and his ever improving jumper will prove to be the bane of any opponents existence. When he can stifle players like Kobe Bryant then come down to the other end and shoot 47.6% from beyond the arch, this year poises to be one of epic proportions for this young man. Just remember where you heard it first.

With the injuries to Kenyon Martin and Chris “Birdman” Andersen, Al Harrington has a tremendous opportunity to earn the starting power forward role for the entire season. He is a gifted scorer who has never had the luxury of being the fourth scoring option. If he lets the game come to him, he is bound to make a positive impact. He can stretch the opponents defense, which will open lanes for Melo, Chauncey and J.R. to slash. The better Al plays, the easier it will be to properly nourish KMart and Birdman back into the lineup.

Another opportunity is that of Ty Lawson. He is fortunate to have the wisdom and leadership of Chauncey. Ty has only scratched the surface of his potential thus far. He has established himself as one of the fastest players in the league and instills fear in defending 7 footers (just ask D.J. Mbenga). Ty needs to keep absorbing and learning the tricks of the trade and he will be on the fast track to success.

To round out the lineup, we have acquired Candice Parker’s husband (Sheldon Williams) who has hopefully harnessed some of her talent. He and Renaldo Balkman will battle for limited minutes even with the plethora of injuries to the front line. Gary Forbes and Melvin Ely will look to earn a spot at the end of the bench with their play in garbage time. And then there is Anthony Carter.

It will take a lot of hard work and due diligence but if the Nuggets can ignore the turmoil of the rumor mill, they can make a real statement in the unpredictable Western Conference. Carmelo Anthony will have an easy choice to sign the extension that is on the table and ultimately bring a championship to the great city of Denver.

Melo's Play Could Turn into the Dunk of The Year

Two games into the season and I am ready to gift wrap the MVP trophy and present it to Carmelo Anthony. Melo has looked nothing less than brilliant.

Opening night, Carmelo had 30 points, 8 boards, and 5 assists. Not to mention the best dunk of his career. Paul Milsap would agree and probably think twice before challenging Melo on the way to the rim again. Also, we saw the raw brilliance of rookie Ty Lawson. Ty’s quickness and knack to find his way into the paint gave the Jazz fits all night. Lawson had 17 points and 6 assists and brought much needed energy off of the bench. Chauncey Billups was solid on his way to 25 points. Billups controlled the game and played tight defense on Ronnie Brewer and Deron Williams. The Nuggets looked good on their way to a 114-105 victory.

In the second game, Melo proved to be one of the smoothest scorers on the planet. The Nuggets trailed most of the game until Melo took the game into his own hands in the fourth. He posted 19 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter as he willed the Nuggets to rally past the Blazers. Chauncey Billups again played solid with 22 points.

Coming into the game with Portland, the Nuggets were low on sleep. A blizzard dumped two feet of snow on Denver in the days before and kept the team from arriving to their hotel until 4 am Thursday morning. The Nuggets showed true heart and determination as they outplayed the Blazers down the stretch. Greg Oden missed two free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining to allow the Nuggets to take the victory. The final score was 97-94.

So far, the only question for the season is ‘where are our bigs?’ Nene is playing a bit soft and needs to use his size and strength to rebound, defend, and score near the basket. Kenyon Martin should thrive when Ty Lawson is on the floor as KMart runs with the best of them. Chris “Birdman” Andersen has only blocked one shot and hasn’t provided the same spark that earned him that big contract in the offseason. They all need to step up their level of play if the Nuggets want to emulate and build off of their success from last year.

Denver Magazine Has the Keys to This Seasons Success on Their Cover

Today marks the day that myself, a grown man, wakes up before sunrise and starts getting ready for my favorite day of the year. Like a child on Christmas, peaking around the tree and shaking boxes, I am gearing up for the Nuggets’ season opener against the Utah Jazz.

Now it is no secret that the Jazz fall somewhere between hemorrhoids and Brent Musburger on my “Things That Irritate me” list, so nothing would make my favorite day of the year like a victory tonight.

There has been a lot of buzz that this may be the breakout year for Melo. A lot of analysts have him high on their MVP radars already and I must agree. He has vowed to be more aggressive in taking the ball to the hole and now that the officials are giving him the calls, he will get even more trips to the free throw line.

Chauncey Billups, Denver’s favorite son, is more focused than ever and ready to pick up where he left off. With an entire offseason to work with the team and his uncanny ability to lead and produce, look for him to seal his fate in the Hall of Fame.

A few of the new faces who joined the team this season are lead by Arron Afflalo. Afflalo will look to be that defensive presence on the perimeter that was lost when Dahntay Jones left. Afflalo is a better scorer than Jones and through the preseason has looked to be everything Jones was as a defender.

Ty Lawson also joins the mix. The Nuggets are high on his abilities and look for him to back up Billups. Lawson has a very high basketball I.Q. and is going to be one of the fastest players with the ball in the NBA. He also has the advantage of learning the most difficult position in the game from one of the finest. Chauncey has taken Ty under his wing and is setting the young man up with all that he needs to become a great floor general.

Look for the Nuggets to beat up on the Jazz tonight as Utah is hindered with injuries yet again. With Kyle Korver and CJ Miles not playing and Ronnie Brewer questionable, the Jazz will be stretching their bench thin.

J.R. Smith will begin his seven game supension tonight for the Nuggets and his scoring will greatly be missed, so look for Afflalo, Lawson and either Nene or Kenyon Martin to step up big and take on some of that scoring load.

-Jeremy Kloberdanz

News this week coming out of Denver has been perplexing to say the least. The Nuggets let key reserve Linas Kleiza up and leave for Euro Ball, they have been trying to sign Anthony Carter back to the team, and are now actively pursuing the one dimensional services of Wally Szczerbiak.

Linas Kleiza, who was born in Lithuania, has opted to take his game to Europe. He signed a contract with with Greek Olympiakos worth more than $12 million over two years. Kleiza started a bit slow last year but found his stride when it mattered the most. He was a largely sought after player over the past few years and many teams have tried to deal for him. He averaged 9 ppg and 6 rebounds per game last year and was a vital part of the Nuggets advancing to the Western Conference finals.

Anthony Carter is in talks with the Nuggets to return to the team. His numbers are not great but he gave spark and hustle off the bench. Carter ran the second unit as their point guard and was asked to be a defensive stopper on some of the league’s best talent. He may have to share that responsibility with rookie Ty Lawson and help him develop. The terms of the Carter deal have not been disclosed but the Denver Post reports that it is close to being inked.

Finally we come to Wally Szczerbiak. He is a premiere three point shooter but lacks defensive presence. He would come off of the bench nicely and be a good spot up shooter for Melo or Chauncey to kick the ball to but has a lot of liabilities. Szczerbiak would try to fill the void left by Kleiza but lacks Kleiza’s aggressiveness and ability to post up and rebound.

So in a time where all of the best teams in the West continue to get better, the Nuggets are losing players and trying to just stay at the same level as last year. We lost Kleiza and got nothing in return, lost Dahntay Jones and got an unproven Arron Afflalo to be our lock down defender, and are eating up all of our cap money to sign players that may have little impact on our team. The real question remains what direction are we going with our team? Maybe the front office is holding out to make a marquee deal that would catapult the Nuggets back to the top of the conference.

-Jeremy Kloberdanz

Many fans around Denver have been wondering how the Nuggets plan on repeating last seasons success along with building on it. Would there be any marquee deals? Who would we retain and who would we let go? What would we go after in the draft?

The first step was the draft and the Nuggets stole potentially the best PG in the class when they acquired Ty Lawson. He will complement Chauncey Billups very well off the bench and is the future leader of our team. Ty pushes the ball up the court better than most who are already in the league and can learn a lot in the company that he is in. Chad Ford from ESPN agrees that he is a great pickup as he graded each teams draft.

Next is free agency. Now that the Nuggets have agreed to a deal with Chris “Birdman” Andersen, they keep the most energetic big man coming off the bench in the league. His scoring still needs some fine-tuning but his passion and enthusiasm is unmatched. He was second in the league last year in blocked shots even though he played only 20.6 minutes per game. He is raw and with some attention from the coaching staff, could be in contention for Defensive Player of the Year. Bird’s new deal is for five years and could make up to 26 million.

Now the team just needs to ink Dahntay Jones to a deal so he can continue to be our lock down defender. Jones proved his worth all season and stood out in the playoffs as he shut down the likes of Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Chris Paul. He is a valuable yet low key player that helps keep the equilibrium of our team that is sometimes erratic.

The organization also needs to decide on the future of Anthony Carter, Sonny Weems and Jason Hart. Carter is currently asking more than the team wants to pay him. Weems is a young talent who can develop along with Lawson and has proved himself in the D-League. Hart is a journeyman who is expendable. He has a great attitude and is a good team player, but he is just the least talented point guard on the team. I wouldn’t expect him back but we wish him the best.

The last thing the team needs is to get over their off court trouble. J.R. Smith just got sentenced to 90 days of jail time that is likely to get dropped to 30 days and some community service. His trouble stems from an incident involving a traffic accident. A passenger with Smith ended up dying from the accident. Smith will have his license suspended for two years and will preform his community service visiting sick kids in the hospital.

The offseason has started off well for the Nuggets. With diligence and some more intelligent moves, the Nuggets may have their most productive offseason in recent memory.

It was rumored right after the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Ty Lawson (their third point guard selected in the first 18 picks) that the Nuggets were proposing a trade to land Lawson here in the Mile High City. After some time, and half of my fingernails gnawed off, the Deputy Commissioner finally announced that the trade was finalized.

The Nuggets only had to give up a future first round pick for the most proven point guard in the draft. Lawson will fit in wonderfully in the Denver offense as he is an intelligent, pass first point guard. He is arguably the fastest guard with the ball in the draft and will help spark the explosive Nuggets offense.

Chauncey Billups now has a protege in Denver to take under his wing and drop knowledge on. Billups, being in the later years of his career, has the chance to continue his legacy by molding the future floor general of the Nuggets. Lawson is very coachable and should be our #2 PG in the depth charts and has the chance to play a lot of quality minutes.

Now the Nuggets front office needs to re-sign Chris “Birdman” Andersen (to solidify our big man rotation) and figure out what to do with Anthony Carter and Jason Hart. Also, Nene and Johan Petro need to continue to get stronger and develop as centers. Our bench players need to keep improving as they have over the past few years. If J.R. Smith can keep maturing and Linas Kleiza can keep from hitting another scoring rut, the Nuggets will be even more dangerous than last year.

After all of the dust settled from all of the trades and draft picks, the Kloberdanz camp proudly predicts an even stronger season next year. Move over Lakers, there WILL be a new champ not only in the West, but also in the NBA: the DENVER NUGGETS!

Rocky feels the Same as TAS about the Lakers

-Jeremy Kloberdanz
Now the matchups are known, the schedule is set in stone (even if it means chasing off a WWE event from the Pepsi Center) and the Nuggets look to rumble on to the finals. Despite not getting much national press all season, the Nuggets now have the following of the NBA analysts and basketball fans. People are beginning to believe in our team and some are even coming out and publicly saying that they choose the Nuggets to win the series. John Berry went on record on ESPN today and predicted that the Nuggets will win in six. John Hollinger is using his PER system to also take Denver as his choice to be victorious but covered all of his bases and stated that “Bynum is the ultimate wildcard” and that his prediction is void with good play from the Lakers center. Sadly it has taken all season and two rounds of the playoffs for the Nuggets to get this much deserved attention.

I am happy that some of these national analysts are jumping on-board but lets not forget those of us who have been believers all along. I vaguely remember writing an article on this website sometime back proclaiming that the Nuggets would represent the West in the NBA Finals. The exact date was February 10th 2009, a whole three months and a week ago that I made my prediction official.

Here is why my prediction still stands:

• Carmelo is playing like a champion. He is letting the game come to him and has put individual stats behind him. The whole Kobe vs. Lebron debate is only helping Melo, as it is keeping him grounded and letting him focus on the ultimate goal.
• Chauncey Billups did not earn the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” for nothing. He is a matchup nightmare for the Lakers as Derek Fisher stands no chance in guarding him and Jordan Farmar is far to weak. Chauncey will have a huge series and continue on a legacy that started in Detroit.
• Dahntay Jones will be covering Kobe. Jones wont shut him down but will pester him well enough to throw him off of his game. Everyone in Denver would be ok with Kobe Scoring 28 points a night on us if it takes him 31 shots to do so. With a premiere perimeter defender like Dahntay, the Nuggets will be able to play Kobe straight up and eliminate his drive and dish to a wide open Gasol.
• Nene is playing like a BEAST. Andrew Bynum is a good center, but with an ailing knee, he will have his hands full with the big Brazilian. If the Lakers switch Gasol onto him, good luck! Nene is far stronger than Gasol and should have no problem finding his way to the rim.
• Kenyon Martin is still fired up about Mark Cuban. He is the type of player who looks for any and everything to light that fire that turns him into a monster. He is strong enough to defend both of L.A.’s bigs and quick and nimble enough to bother Lamar Odom and even be effective on Kobe. Martin also gets the team jacked up when he hits the offensive glass and gets easy put-backs.
• The Nuggets bench is far superior. J.R. Smith has the talent to start almost anywhere in the league and can explode for forty points off of the bench any night. Chris Andersen intimidates opponents who try to slash to the lane. He is an electrifying defender who also sparks emotion with an array of blocks, put-back dunks, and alley-oops that appear to be impossible. Anthony Carter is the diminutive reserve point guard. He comes off of the bench and controls the game with his hard nosed defense and deadly mid-range jump shot whenever Billups needs a break. Linas Kleiza is also a guy who can fill up a stat sheet. When he is aggressive to the rim, the rest of his game follows.

Look for the Nuggets to steal game one in L.A., putting the pressure on the Lakers. The Rockets did it but failed to capitalize on the opportunity. The Lakers will bounce back in game two and win a close one. Kobe will have a huge game but damage morale to his team by being the Kobe of old. Once the series gets to games 3 and 4 in Denver, the Nuggets will dominate. The Denver fans are putting all that they have into supporting their team and the players are responding. The Pepsi Center will produce decibels that the Lakers have never played in. Game five will go back to L.A. and the Lakers will squeeze out another close victory. When game six arrives back here in the Mile High City, that’s all she wrote. The Nuggets will thrive in the moment and put away the Lakers for good.

I stick to my guns and stand by my prediction from over three months ago and can not wait for the day that Denver hosts an NBA Finals. This has been something that not only myself, but the city has been dreaming of since the Nuggets joined the NBA in 1976.

(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

-Jeremy Kloberdanz

Last nights victory for the Denver Nuggets is the most exciting thing to happen to the city of Denver since a certain 21 game winning streak. We here in the Mile High City don’t mind being counted out and left for dead. Just like the 2007 Rockies, nobody has given this Nuggets team a chance.

Not long ago are the days of October, when sports writers were doing their preseason forecasting. A tough decision for most, Celtics defend or Lakers revenge? Year of Yao or King James? Maybe even another odd year ring for the aging Spurs. The Nuggets didn’t get much positive press during the early days. Fox Sports had them at #17 on their preseason power rankings and ESPN’s Marc Stein had them at #14.

Even after the A.I. for Chauncey trade (the biggest trade in Nuggets history), Stephen A. Smith called the Nuggets a perennial eighth seed and said that they were on a collision course for a sixth straight first round exit. John Hollinger’s computer points ranking system (a lot like the BCS) never had the Nuggets ranked higher than #4, even as they quietly wrapped up the #2 seed in the West and played the most inspired basketball in the NBA over the last month. Even so-called fans around Denver were writing off the Nuggets, doubting their new found confidence and maturity. Even Denver’s own 104.3FM The Fan, our only FM Sports Talk radio station, decided to overlook the Nuggets first two rounds of the playoffs with talk of the pending NFL season.

Now that the Nuggets have won 16 straight games at the Pepsi Center and are tearing through the post season with fury, is anyone other than Coloradans giving them a legit shot at the Finals? NO… Most of the press is assuming that the winner of the Lakers vs. Rockets series is a shoo-in for the NBA finals. That is fine with us here in Denver. Write us off, don’t give us a chance, we will just keep doing what we are doing… WINNING. Along with the best fans in the NBA, and the new found love of defense, lets do what all of the critics thought was impossible and bring a NBA championship home to the Mile High City.

On a side note, ESPN wrote an outstanding article on the trials and tribulations of our King of the Hill, Denver native Chauncey Billups. Check out Tom Friend’s exposé “The Disposable Superstar”

It isn’t going to come easy. In fact, it looks down-right dismal when you consider the Nuggets are 6-8 since the break. The Nuggets schedule paints an ugly picture. Denver has one game apiece left with division rivals Utah and Portland, must-wins if they have any hope for the number three seed and the division title. Beside the division games, we can look forward to road games at Dallas, New Orleans, Phoenix, and at Western Conference leading Los Angelas.

Realisticly, the Nuggets need to go 9-7 in the last fifteen, and that still may not be enough to finish ahead of Utah and Portland. With Kenyon hurt and Nene looking fatigued, having actually played a full NBA season, it is going to take some mental toughness to edge out our division rivals.

That means no blaming games on the whistle, it means tightening our belt on defense, and it means consistent play from the bench is crucial. It doesn’t all look bad however. Birdman’s arms seem to ave grown a few inches longer and Balkman is playing suprisingly well from the bench. The Nuggets have a lot of the right peices, it is just a matter of putting them together every night. That just isn’t happening right now, and it is anyone guess what Nuggets team we are going to see each night.

It is going to make for some excited ball games. And we may finally get an answer to the question of whether our Nuggets can join the NBA elite, or whether we are to remain a second-tier team.

In the Final Four at the Coors Event Center in Boulder on Thursday night, Regis Jesuit played ThunderRidge.  The Regis Raiders were down by 6 points to the Grizzlies with under a minute to play, and managed to cut the deficit to 3 with less than 5 seconds remaining.  Sophomore Michael Clark stole the inbound pass from ThunderRidge, and fed the ball to junior Bud Thomas who banked in a 40 foot jumper as time expired, sending the game into overtime.  The Raiders outscored ThunderRidge 17-7 in OT, and went on to win 71-61 to secure their spot in the state championship.  Thomas’ desperation 3-pointer was shown on ESPN the following day.

On the other side of the bracket, Fairview squared off against George Washington in front of a CHSAA record 10,200 fans.  The majority of people in attendance were in support of the Boulder team, the Fairview Knights.  But the George Washington Patriots had its most famous alum, Chauncey Billups sitting courtside, in the same building that he helped lead the Colorado Buffaloes to the NCAA Tournament in 1997.  The atmosphere was set.  The two competing teams didn’t disappoint.

George Washington was up by as much as 17 points in the third quarter, but the Knights battled back and outscored GW 22-10 in the 4th quarter.  Senior Travis Shepherd hit a 3-pointer with under 20 seconds to tie the game, and take it into OT.  In overtime, the Patriots’ senior Thomas Bropleh couldn’t be stopped, and his game-high 32 points carried GW to a 76-74 win.

———-

All Tournament Team:

David Arnold, ThunderRidge, Sr.

Novian Balous, George Washington, Sr.

Thomas Bropleh, George Washington, Sr.

R.J. Demps, Regis, Sr.

Bud Thomas, Regis, Jr.

MVP: Bud Thomas