Nuggets Best-Worst Case Scenarios

Discussion in 'Denver Nuggets' started by Hunter, Oct 2, 2003.

  1. Hunter

    Hunter Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Best Case Scenario - The nuggets win 42+ games and make the playoffs with the eight seed.

    This will be very hard to achieve considering the depth of the Western Conference however this is doable. It will take a lot of hard work and heart and a tad bit of luck. Here are several things that need to happen for the Nuggets to even have a chance at being playoff contenders this year:

    1. <u>Marcus Camby must remain healthy.</u> The Nuggets have a very weak front court as it stands now with Camby in the line-up. If you take Camby out of the line-up you will see the likes of Francisco Elsen and the rookie Chris Marcus at center. Here is an interesting fact on Camby. The most games he has played in a season is 63. Denver coach Jeff Bzdelik says that Camby has worked hard this off-season and for once, is healthy. Another thing to point out is that this is the last year on Camby's contract so he needs to step it up and prove his worth to the team for him to get a nice sized contract next year.

    2. <u>Carmelo has to score.</u> I?m not talking double digits either. For the Nuggets to have any change of scoring 80 points a night, Carmelo needs to drop around 18 a night. This will be very hard for a rookie but after all this is Carmelo.

    3. <u>Rodney White has to step up his game.</u> He is fighting for a contract extension this upcoming year and with players like Jon Barry and Voshon Leonard behind you, you have little room for error. White has the size and athleticism however he must improve on his shooting and defense if he plans on remaining a starter and/or getting a contract extension. The "insider" news on White is that he dedicated the off-season to conditioning, which the coaches take as a good sign. If he can not step it up, he will be riding the bench, most likely as Melo's back up.

    That is the best case scenario for the Nuggets however you have to plan for the worst and this team has the potential to be pretty bad this year.

    Worst Case Scenario
    - the Nuggets win less than 30 games this year, and once again have a high lottery pick again. This is an all to familiar site. If these three things happen, expect it.

    1. <u>Andre Miller plays as bad in Denver as he did for the Clippers last season. </u> Melo is the rock of the team however Miller might be the most important player this year. The fact of the matter is he is the PG and the PG controls the entire team while on the court. A team success can usually be traced back to the PG. When he is on top of his game, his play is comparable to that of Jason Kidd, as evident two years ago when he led the league in assists with the measly Cavs. Last year though is an entirely different story. He had a horrible year, lost confidence in himself, and in turn his team had a terrible season. Miller needs to show why he two years ago was compared to Jason Kidd. He needs to control the tempo and get his teammates involved.

    2. <u>The sophomores hit the sophomore "wall".</u> Nene Hilario, a rookie last year from Brazil, was the only good thing that happened to the Nuggets last year. He was aggressive, tough and physical in the paint. He controlled the paint, which is a great thing. He has a very disappointing Olympic qualifier however. For the Nuggets sake, I hope he has a good year. Skita is the back up PF should anything happen to Nene.

    3. <u>Team energy level deflates.</u> Seventeen, that is the number of games the Nuggets won last year. Though they only one seventeen games they were in quite a few until the 4th quarter then lost. One thing that a lot of people came away impressed with was the "heart" that the team showed. They never gave up and that is more than I can say about a lot of teams. They just were not talented enough to compete last year. The veterans this team has this year need to step up, or you can sit back and watch the Nuggets have a guaranteed top 5 pick again in the lottery.
     
  2. InNETSweTrust

    InNETSweTrust JBB Philippines' Finest

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    good points...but i don't really think they'll make the playoffs...8th seed might be the best case scenario, but even the Rockets will be having a hard time to make it as 8th...and depending the playoffs hopes on Camby's health is not possible...he cannot play the whole season...with the lack of back-up, he'll be badly bruised every night...
     

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