NBA.com: Beware: Surging Nuggets not the same stumblers of years past

¹²³ · Apr 6, 2009

By Dave McMenamin, NBA.com
Posted Apr 6 2009 11:45AM

According to the standings, the Denver Nuggets are the second-best team in the West after the Lakers. So, how come nobody's buying it?

"I don't think they get the respect they deserve right now," one Western Conference scout told NBA.com. "If you ask most people off the record they would tell you, 'I'd like to play the Nuggets.' Well, I'm not one of them."

The Nuggets have won seven games in a row and 12 out of their last 13 in dominant fashion, with an average margin of victory 12.3 points per game. But the main reason for the skepticism is not the Nuggets' recent play but rather Denver's dismal 4-20 record in the playoffs in the last five seasons. That's resulted in five straight first-round exits.

The team has changed from that run-and-gun and shoot-themselves-in-the-foot come playoff time group, though. They parted ways with former MVP Allen Iverson and former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Camby and brought in Chauncey Billups. But this team differs in the areas of health and defensive philosophy as well.

"Everybody's laying it on Chauncey's play and the trade of Allen [Iverson], and that has a lot to do with it, without a doubt. But I'm more Gestalt to that," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whose team swept the Nuggets out of the playoffs last season in a series in which Denver had a meltdown, racking up eight technical fouls in four games.

"It's [getting] Nene back. He's been terrific this season. It's Carmelo [Anthony] going to the Olympics and playing defense with more intensity rather than a hope and a prayer. It's the idea that they've come a ways as a team and George [Karl] has coached them into that defensive philosophy and they're a much better defensive team than they were in the past. There's a bunch of little things like that that go into it."

The scout attributes the defensive improvement to several players other than Anthony.

"Having the Bird Man [Chris Andersen] has been huge," he said. "They lose Camby, they get him and he's top five in blocks per game. He gives them an element off the bench.

"Chauncey Billups obviously was a good defensive player in Detroit, so I think his leadership has been key. Coach Karl obviously put an emphasis in the past on defense, but until you have the players buying into it, it's hard to implement it. Now they have the players buying into it."

Denver is two games up on San Antonio for the No. 2 seed with just four games left to play. Two of those games are cupcakes at home (Sacramento, Oklahoma City) and two of them are on the road against teams with two of the top three home records in the West (the Lakers and Portland). There's reason to believe that the Nuggets can run the table. Their recent run includes a 4-1 road record, significant because the Nuggets had dropped six straight away from the Pepsi Center prior to the streak.

The Spurs have six games remaining (at Oklahoma City, home against Portland and Utah, away against Sacramento and Golden State, and home against New Orleans). With three of those games against playoff teams, another against the Thunder (who they've lost to twice) and one more against the Warriors (who have won three straight), it will be difficult for them to catch the Nuggets for the No. 2 seed.

Denver is also 2.5 games ahead of Houston which has five games remaining (Orlando, at Sacramento, at Golden State, New Orleans, at Dallas) and three games ahead of Portland which has six games left (at Memphis, at San Antonio, L.A. Lakers, at L.A. Clippers, Oklahoma City, Denver).

"It's hard to determine from 2-8 who's really any better," the scout said. "You got to give Denver credit, though."
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JE · Apr 6, 2009

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¹²³ · Apr 7, 2009

JE said: ↑

wtf
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Nuggets, Bobcats and Bulls wear green uniforms to promote NBA's Green Week 2009

Moo2K4 · Apr 7, 2009

I still don't buy them as a contender. I do think they're the 2nd best team in the West now that Manu has gone down, but I don't know if they're contenders. They still don't play great on defense, granted they are a lot better than last year, as well as more efficient on offense. However, I still don't think they can stop the Lakers offense, especially if Bynum is healthy.

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