[IMGl]http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/teamlogos/nba/sml/trans/den.gif[/IMGl]<font size="3">The 2004-2005 Denver Nuggets Off-Season Review & Season Outlook</font> <font size="1">by Shapecity</font> <font size="3"><font color="RoyalBlue">Blue Light Special</font></font> The Denver Nuggets will be back after a promising 2003 season. The Nuggets returned to the post season after a 9 year hiatus, and finished the season with a 43-39 record. The Denver Nuggets were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, and the player who dominated the series was Kevin Garnett. The reigning NBA MVP was able to score at will, and create offense for his teammates. With plenty of cap space to sign a big name free agent the Nuggets went after the big name free agents in the off-season including ? Kobe Bryant, Manu Ginobili, Quentin Richardson, Steve Nash, Erick Dampier and a host of other players. They were also active in listening to trades to land a defensive big man. The Nuggets finally got the big man they desired by trading for Kenyon Martin in mid July. The Nuggets then solidified their frontcourt by re-signing Marcus Camby. General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe landed another cornerstone player to his franchise and is right on track with his 5 year blueprint for the team?s success. This upcoming season the Nuggets expect the man known as K-Mart to bring the defensive intensity to the squad to compliment their potent offense. ------------------------- <font size="3"><font color="Royalblue">Off-Season Player Movement</font></font> July 16th ? Acquired forward Kenyon Martin from the New Jersey Nets for three future first-round picks. July 17th ? Re-signed forward Marcus Camby to a multi-year contract. NBA Draft 2004 ? with the 20th pick in the draft, the Nuggets selected St. Joseph?s standout point guard, Jameer Nelson. The Nuggets traded Jameer Nelson to the Orlando Magic for a future first round pick. <font color="Royalblue">Departing players</font>: Jon Barry to Atlanta, Michael Doleac to Miami, Chris Andersen to New Orleans <font color="Royalblue">Arriving players</font>: Kenyon Martin <font color="Royalblue">Returning free agents</font>: Marcus Camby, Voshon Lenard, Francisco Elson <font color="Royalblue">Unsigned free agents</font>: Ryan Bowen, Mark Pope, Rodney White <font color="Royalblue">Unsigned draft picks</font>: None ------------------------- <font size="3"><font color="Royalblue">Breaking Down the Nuggets (Starters)</font></font> <font color="Royalblue">Marcus Camby - C</font> 6?11? 235 lbs. 2004-2005 Salary: $6,500,000 2003-2004 Stats: 8.6 PPG on 47.7% shooting, 10.1 RPG, 2.6 BPG in 30.0 minutes Weakside help anyone? The top off-season priority for the Nuggets was bringing back their leading shotblocker and starting center. Camby enjoyed a career year last season, playing in 72 games and avoiding the injury bug for the first time in his career. He is the premiere shot blocker in the league coming from the weakside, and with the addition of K-Mart, and Nene in the frontcourt, the Nuggets should have one of the best defensive units inside the paint. <font color="Royalblue">Kenyon Martin - PF</font> 6?9? 240 lbs. 2004-2005 Salary: $11,000,000 2003-2004 Stats: 16.7 PPG on 48.8% shooting, 9.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG in 34.6 minutes The missing link? Is the multi million dollar man the missing player to take the Nuggets to the next level? All eyes will be on K-Mart to see if he can produce the same results out West as he did in the East. You can count on K-Mart to be the defensive and emotional leader for the Nuggets this season, but it remains to be seen how he will adjust to a new playing environment and without a point guard like Jason Kidd to get him the looks he?s become accustomed to. <font color="Royalblue">Carmelo Anthony - SF</font> 6?8? 230 lbs. 2004-2005 Salary: $3,471,360 2003-2004 Stats: 21.0 PPG on 42.6% shooting, 6.1 RPG, 2.8 APG in 36.5 minutes Overcoming the Sophomore Jinx? Carmelo Anthony has been anything but, quiet this off-season. He?s been outspoken about his benching in the Olympics and has been portrayed as an outcast to teammates and coaches. This behavior has been a 180 to the way he responded and performed his Freshman year at Syracuse, leading the Orangemen to National Title. Carmelo has all the talent to be a superstar in the league, but will his latest outbursts set him back or fuel his desire to win. Carmelo is the offensive leader for the Nuggets, but is he ready to become the leader of this team or will he succumb to the pressure and suffer the sophomore jinx? <font color="Royalblue">Voshon Lenard - SG</font> 6?4? 205 lbs. 2004-2005 Salary: $3,000,000 2003-2004 Stats: 14.2 PPG on 42.2% shooting, 2.1 RPG, 36.7 3PtFG% in 30.6 minutes Bombs away? Another vital player returned to the Nuggets, when the team re-signed Voshon Lenard. Voshon is coming off one of his best seasons and proved to the league he was one of the best sharp shooters around, after winning the 3PT Shootout last year. With the loss of Jon Barry, the Nuggets are going to rely heavily on Voshon to spread out opposing defenses, continue to be a zone buster, and hit clutch three pointers down the stretch of games. Staying healthy for the duration of the season will be a key factor to the success of the Nuggets. <font color="Royalblue">Andre Miller - PG</font> 6?2? 200 lbs. 2004-2005 Salary: $5,760,000 2003-2004 Stats: 14.8 PPG on 45.7% shooting, 1.7 SPG, 6.1 APG in 34.6 minutes Breakout year? Andre Miller returns as the starting point guard for the Denver Nuggets in a contract year. He enjoyed a great 2003 campaign, but there have been concerns about his decision making late in games and his inability to shoot consistently from the outside. Andre Miller is a great point guard for an open offense, but he struggles in half court sets, which spells doom in the playoffs. If he wants to remain a Denver Nugget, he will need to have a career year and prove his critics wrong by having success in the post season. If he?s not up to the challenge, the Nuggets will have cap room once again to pursue a point guard to fit their needs. <font size="3"><font color="Royalblue">Breaking Down the Nuggets (Bench)</font></font> <font color="Royalblue">Nene ? PF/C</font> 6?11? 260 lbs. 2004-2005 Salary: $2,413,320 2003-2004 Stats: 11.8 PPG on 53% shooting, 6.5 RPG, 0.5 BPG in 32.5 minutes Best 6th man in the works? The man with no last name, Nene, will be a difference maker off the bench for the Nuggets this year. He has improved each year, and has shown he can produce consistently given playing time. Nene showed surprising touch with the ball last season and continues to add new post moves to his offensive game. I?m predicting continued success for Nene this year, and I expect him to be a top finisher, if not, winning the 6th man award this season. There have been rumors he might be traded for Eddie Curry, but if Nene remains with the Nuggets next season he gives them a lot of flexibility in their front court rotation. The Nuggets could even have Nene, K-Mart, and Camby on the court at the same time if needed. They can all run the floor very well, and they are all capable of finishing on the break. I expect Nene to continue positive development and possibly push Camby for the starting center spot by season?s end. <font color="Royalblue">Earl Boykins - PG</font> 5?5? 133 lbs. 2004-2005 Salary: N/A 2003-2004 Stats: 10.2 PPG on 41.9% shooting, .6 SPG, 3.6 APG in 22.5 minutes The Energizer Bunny I have not seen another player since the ?Microwave? Vinny Johnson of the Bad Boy Pistons step onto the court and spark a team?s offense like Earl Boykins can. He is the epitome of the clich? ?good things come in small packages.? At only 5?5 Boykins overcomes his lack of size with his speed and ability to shoot off the dribble. He causes chaos on the court and breaks down some of the most disciplined defensive teams and players when he gets called off the bench. With the departure of Jon Barry, his role will be even greater this upcoming season. Boykins needs to increase his shooting percentage this year with his increased playing time. He only shot 41% last year, and he will need to get it closer to 45% and raise his scoring average close to 12 a game to replace the void left by Jon Barry. I believe he?s capable of doing both. <font color="Royalblue"> Nikoloz Tskitishvili - PF</font> 7?0? 245 lbs. 2004-2005 Salary: $2,910,600 2003-2004 Stats: Not worth mentioning Three?s a charm or is it? They say the third year determines whether a player is going to make it in the NBA or not. As Skita enters his third year, it is crucial for him to finally live up to expectations for the Nuggets. After all they did draft him with the 5th pick in the 2002 NBA draft. So far all signs point to Skita having a nice year for the Nuggets. He?s been lighting it up from the perimeter in the Summer leagues, and is trying to be the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki as a 7 footer capable of hitting shots from behind the arc. I don?t see Skita ever being as good as Dirk, but if he can be a poor man?s version of Dirk, he will be exactly what the Nuggets need ? another perimeter threat. Skita will have to play well if he wants to steal minutes from Nene, K-Mart, or Camby, and if he doesn?t don?t be surprised to see him traded during the season. Can Skita break into the rotation or will he be left off the playoff roster for the second straight year? The rest of the bench? Other than Francisco Elson, best known for his dirty antics against KG in last year's playoffs, the Nuggets have yet to round out their roster. The Nuggets still have some cap space available and the players they are considering adding to their roster has made for good media. Two likely signings who will help the perimeter shooting and defense are Lucious Harris and Greg Buckner. However two names who are getting most of the attention are Clyde "the Glyde" Drexler, who was recently inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame, and the Worm himself, Dennis Rodman. I'd have doubts about either former NBA great making the roster, but you have to give credit to Kiki for thinking outside of the box and actually giving these guys a look and shot at making the team. ------------------------- <font size="3"><font color="Royalblue">What To Expect</font></font> A 50 Win Season? The Nuggets need to build on their success from last season of 43 wins, and push their win total to 50 regular season wins this year. The Nuggets had an envious home record at 29-12, but they struggled on the road going 14-27. The 7 win difference has to take place in road wins, and the Nuggets will need to play .500 ball on the road to achieve it. With the addition of K-Mart, and some potential breakout seasons by Dre Miller, Skita, and Nene, the Nuggets are well on their way to a 50 win season, assuring them a return to the post season. GM & Head Coach Feud Something to keep an eye on will be the relationship between Kiki and his head coach Jeff Bzdelik. On the court they work great together, Kiki makes solid moves with his roster, and Bzdelik coaches the players to succeed. Off the court it?s a different story because Kiki does not buy into the harsh tactics Bzdelik uses. With his contract set to expire in 2005, will the Nugget players respond to a head coach who may or may not be back? Lack of Offense & Depth The Nuggets improved defensively with K-Mart, but with the loss Rodney White and Jon Barry, do they have enough off the bench to compete? Currently the Nuggets are counting on Skita to come up big for them, but if he continues to struggle, they are going to be in trouble as they get deeper into the season. The Nuggets have to keep be aware of the health concerns surrounding Camby, Lenard (just coming off knee surgery), and Melo. The Nuggets don?t have the depth they had last season after losing White, Barry, and Andersen this off-season. They also lose some athleticism off the bench with White and Andersen gone. They will likely be replaced by Lucious Harris and Greg Buckner, but will they be enough to fill the void for the Nuggets? Last year in the playoffs the Nuggets couldn?t find another consistent scorer to compliment Melo. They struggled when he struggled and no one was able to pick up the scoring in the starting lineup. Earl Boykins was great off the bench with offense, but the Nuggets still need another player capable of scoring double digits with limited shots. K-Mart should be the answer on defense, but I?m not sure if he is the answer on offense to help out Melo.
Hey great, and very realistic, review. Some reviews seem too high on Denver, who is definitely on the right track, but they need to realize that it is another step on Kiki's rebuilding plan. A 50 win season would be a great step forward, and I suspect they will be very close to this. Unfortunately, a 50 win season will probably not get home court in the first round. So a huge key will be how KMart matches up against Duncan, Garnett, Dirk and to a lesser extent Webber. He'll donminate much of the rest of the West, but it isn't clear how well he'll fare against these guys. I have seen him dominate players like Walker, but become very mortal against Rasheed.
First off nice preview Shapecity.Just gonna give my 2 cents. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">how he will adjust to a new playing environment and without a point guard like Jason Kidd to get him the looks he?s become accustomed to.</div>Even though Dre Miller is no Jason Kidd,I bealive he could give Martin the same looks he got in New Jersey.People forget that Andre was leading the leauge in APG,when he played for the Cavs in the 2002-2003 season(I think).So I dont bealive that will be a probelm. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He?s been outspoken about his benching in the Olympics and has been portrayed as an outcast to teammates and coaches. This behavior has been a 180 to the way he responded and performed his Freshman year at Syracuse, leading the Orangemen to National Title. Carmelo has all the talent to be a superstar in the league, but will his latest outbursts set him back or fuel his desire to win</div> Being a huge Melo fan,I am going to try and defend him here. Even though he was a main contributer early through out the USA Tour,he started seeing less playing time and I think him and Larry Brown clashed.He didnt really handle it well and he over reacted.Something similar happened to him in his rookie season when he refused to enter a game vs Detroit.But I bealive Carmelo just has problems controling his gameday emotions and all that stuff.He is a young player and will learn by expeirence,and will gain maturity by his mistakes.Also remember that Melo really is under MJ's wing and he will be in contact with him a lot thorugh out his career and help him with difficulties he might have.
