Welcome to Nuggets Fandom’s 2010-2011 season preview! While a certain someone by the name of Carmelo Anthony has been dominating headlines in Denver (with good reason), we recognize that there is indeed a chance that number 15 may be on the team for a large portion of the season. It would be unprofessional of this site (oh wait, we aren’t professionals. Oh well) to not mention Melo’s possible departure as the biggest issue facing the franchise in the long term, however of more immediate concern to many fans are the team’s prospects for the upcoming season.
Nuggets fans know what players like Carmelo, Chauncey, Nenê, and K-Mart bring to the team, therefore this preview will focus on how so-called complimentary players are the real bread and butter of a successful franchise. Players that are often considered role players may be the most important factor in taking the Nuggets from another first round playoff exit (or possibly no playoffs at all) to a contender in the Western Conference. Power forward Shelden Williams has been named a starter while Kenyon Martin recovers from yet another knee injury. Williams will idealistically bolster the Nuggets’ frontcourt with his tenacity on defense against bigger foes and his ability to crash the boards, two aspects of Denver’s game that have been notoriously weak, especially come playoff time.
Starting shooting guard Arron Afflalo has been working hard in the summer, which isn’t unusual for the high-energy defensive specialist. Afflalo offers the luxury of a one-on-one shutdown defender who can guard the likes of Kobe Bryant and other star guards in the league without always having to bring double teams. He can play as physical as he wants without having to worry about foul trouble with J.R. Smith ready and willing to jack 3’s on the bench.
Backup point guard Ty Lawson will be an integral piece of the puzzle throughout the season. He has improved his shot after already surprising many last year with his ability to make an open three-pointer. He will get more minutes this upcoming year while allowing Chauncey Billups to rest more minutes to save his legs for the playoffs. Lawson is quite possibly the quickest player in the NBA and his ability to distribute and finish on the fast break is paramount to the Nuggets and their up-tempo style of play, a style that still needs to be utilized when the opportunities present themselves. Williams, Afflalo, and Lawson all have one important thing in common: hustle.
The addition of Al Harrington will give the Nuggets another consistent scorer after Melo and Chauncey. It seemed that Denver only played well down the stretch last year when at least one of the two stars had big scoring nights. While J.R. Smith and Nenê can certainly be offensive threats, the consistency factor was lacking for both players in different ways. Harrington will be able to spread the floor with his outside shooting ability. With Anthony, Billups, Smith, Harrington, Afflalo, and Lawson, the Nuggets are starting to look like a team that could seriously light it up from behind the arc. Harrington could also be an asset on the opposite side of the floor if he can return to the defensive-mindedness he demonstrated when he came into the league with the Indiana Pacers.
J.R. Smith and Chris “Birdman” Andersen will be important energy players coming off the bench for George Karl’s Nuggets this year, and both can step up their performances on a night-in night-out basis to spread the workload more evenly throughout all of the players during the year. Renaldo Balkman and Anthony Carter will seldom be utilized when players are not injured or in foul trouble, but both can bring defense and something new to the table as well.
The Nuggets are a team that has tremendous depth that could and should be viewed as their main calling card in discussions regarding their status as a championship caliber franchise. While there are certainly all-star caliber players on the roster, it is the full squad that, if gelling and playing with solid chemistry, could certainly quiet their critics in the 2011 playoffs.
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