The Nuggets have looked great in both games against playoff caliber opponents (Utah & Portland) all without the services of JR Smith serving a 7 game suspension. Carmelo Anthony is playing MVP level basketball right now and is learning how to close out games by being patient and positioning himself into mismatches that favor him. If a smaller defender switches on him he immediately goes to the block and if a bigger defender switches on him he does a dance on the perimeter and buries the mid range basket. I think the time he spent in China with Kobe learning techniques and how to approach games mentally is starting to show. He will be a handful in the playoffs this season. The Nuggets are also relentless at attacking the rim and drawing fouls. They've already had 79 free throw attempts in just two games. On their first possession last night they went right at Greg Oden with Nene in the post and drew a quick foul on him. Both Oden & Joel P were in foul trouble the entire game and it completely altered the Blazers rotations. Nuggets speed lineup is the one that I'm most concerned with. It's been very productive in their first two games and with our sub-par PG play we could be taken advantage of when George Karl uses the 3-guard lineup with Lawson-Billups-JR Smith (currently it's Afflalo). This lineup has a lot of speed and shooters on the wings to spread the court. The Lakers got a taste of the speed lineup in preseason when Ty Lawson lit our backcourt up in limited minutes. The one weakness of Denver is their lack of rebounding. They give up a lot of second chance opportunities. Last night Portland had 20 more field goal attempts than Denver which prevented the game from being a blow out in the Nuggets favor. The Lakers will have to take advantage of this when we face them. As for the Spurs I don't see much change from last year's team. They have a lot of new players, but their style is the same and they still have issues with age, team speed, and consistency. The Bulls literally ran them off the court last night with young legs and an aggressive swarming defense. Despite all the big players the Spurs brought in none of them are a legit threat and are still undersized. The Spurs still don't have a legit 7 foot big man to patrol the paint alongside Duncan. The Spurs struggle playing from behind and have been inconsistent from one half to the next. I actually wouldn't be surprised if they get bounced in the first round in the playoffs.
I wouldn't put too much stock into the Utah win for Denver but the Portland win @ the Rose Garden is huge. Utah is notorious for choking on the road, but they aren't even close to the team they should be with no Korver, Miles, and then Memo spraining his ankle & knee in the first certainly didn't help. Going into the Rose Garden on a back to back and winning is a big accomplishment though. So far I don't believe adding Andre Miller helps out Roy much but hurts him. Steve Blake is also horribly inconsistent and still can't guard PG's. That makes Nuggets the best team to beat Portland with Billups, Carter, and Lawson. The biggest threat to the Lakers has to be Portland IMO. Lakers don't have that one PG that can take over a game and expose their defensive weakness there, while Portland have the bigs that can compete with the Lakers inside height and size wise. Spurs are ugly right now, they don't have that chemistry a typical Spurs team would have. Blair should be starting or at least getting more minutes because he's their best big after Duncan. He certainly isn't that 7 footer to patrol the paint with Duncan, but Blair is one hell of a offensive and defensive rebounder that would of help prevent the mass OREB's they gave up yesterday.
Its a little early to count teams but, but I do agree with you to an extent. San Antonio still looks old to me. I think Portland will be in the discussion too, but they have some issues to work out also. Denver didnt change its team as much as the other top teams in the West did, which is probably one reason why they look so much more comfortable together in the early part of this season.
Stop making excuses for Utah. Denver was also without JR Smith. I don't think Portland is ready yet to deal with the Lakers. They are foul prone on the inside and having Artest hound Brandon Roy the way he did in the playoffs last year benefits LA.
Agreed. San Antonio is overrated. So far, two games in, Jefferson has been shit for them. I've got a feeling he isn't going to get much better, either.
I don't think anyone in the West can handle us. Portland is still a couple of years away, and Bynum still looks better than Oden. Just get Pau back and we should win the West again. I don't know who I want in the Finals though. Either Boston or Cleveland. The Magic might be the most talented in the East, but I am just not as interested in them as a rival.
I definitely want to face a healthy Boston team in the Finals. We need to avenge ourselves and it's the best rivalry in basketball. KG vs. Pau Pierce vs. Artest Allen vs. Kobe That is epic.
Damn I really want revenge for that too. Kobe got Billups back last year (and that ex-poster Ice ). I wouldn't mind that at all.
I somewhat agree that of all the West teams, Denver scares me the most, mostly because of their style of play of always attacking the rim, coupled with Chauncey and 'Melo's sweet shooting, it's a very very tough team. My only relief is that they don't have a lockdown player on Kobe (Although JR has proven to be somewhat effective in the playoffs). I would love to see us get revenge for that Boston loss. A finals of Boston-LA this year would be EPIC.
Denver doesn't scare me, they're a regular season team, I don't see how they can beat us in the postseason. San Antonio may look weaker during the regular season, but if they're healthy, they will be a much tougher opponent when the playoffs come around. I'm more worried about Portland than I am with Denver, to be honest, since we can never win in the Rose Garden.
It's all about mental toughness. Denver's best player is Carmelo Anthony, and if he's matured considerably since last year then they could be a real threat. Right now, though, I think its LA and SAS that will be squaring off in the WCF. And remember, in San Antonio's best seasons, they always peaked as playoffs come. Don't write them off too early.
I'm not worried about Portland. We can't win up there, they can't win here. Plus, I think they're too young and Bynum is still proving to be light years ahead of Oden offensively.
The Nuggets aren't going to get much better from last year, when we handled them without a complete roster.
