Victory over Atlanta No Cause for Excitement

The Nuggets defeated the Atlanta Hawks 100-90 on Monday night, and the new-look squad is now 3-1 without the dynamic duo of Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. While their recent play might have even exceeded some analyst's expectations, one must look at the circumstances of Denver's recent victories before jumping to conclusions about the Nuggets' recent achievements.

While there certainly should be some admiration paid to the boys in powder blue (not to mention Coach George Karl who has handled the transition magnificently), the recent wins can be taken with a grain of salt. All wins count the same, but expert analysis here at Nuggets Fandom (har har) will provide readers with a true picture of what has transpired in the last four games.

The first game after the trade involved none of the newly acquired players. The Memphis Grizzlies were in town the day after the Nuggets' two biggest stars were shipped to the Big Apple. The Nuggets played with a very limited amount of bodies. All seemed to point the visitors to victory except a few important factors. One, the Grizzlies were playing without their star player, Rudy Gay, a difference-maker in any NBA game. Two, the Nuggets were playing at home, where they have succeeded all season and for many years (despite injuries/absences of Melo). Finally, the Nuggets were playing with the rest of the All-Star Break in which none of their players participated and with a grudge. Never underestimate the grudge factor in the NBA; once a team has defeated you handily in the last game, revenge seems to happen more often than not.

A nationally televised game against the Boston Celtics seemed like a tough task. However, the Celtics had also gotten a taste of trade fever. Their man in the middle Kendrick Perkins and their man that was never in the middle Nate Robinson had gotten traded to Oklahoma City at the deadline and their new swingman Jeff Green was not in Celtic's green yet. Additionally, the Nuggets were at full force with the addition of Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, and Danilo Gallinari (is it wrong to leave Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos out of that sentence? I don't think so, really). With the added adrenaline of the new players at home, the fans fired-up, and the Celtics not at full force playing at altitude, the win may not actually have been as impressive as it originally appeared.

The Nuggets best game since the trade might have actually come against the Portland Trailblazers the night after their defeat of the Boston Celtics. After playing late into the night and traveling to Oregon, Denver was an obvious underdog. With fatigue and a lack of practice with the new team playing a part, the Nuggets put up a valiant effort at the Rose Garden. While a disappointing finish in regulation and in overtime was upsetting, it showed the Nuggets have the guts and pieces to compete against formidable foes on the road.

Monday's game against the Hawks showed the Nuggets as a slightly lackluster team at times. With a few games rest and extra practice with the new contributors, Denver had a huge advantage over a team playing their second of back-to-back road games. Denver players, with the exception of maybe Kenyon Martin and Raymond Felton, seemed content to walk through the game and hopefully win it at the end. Apparently nobody provided an adequate scouting report for Hawk's center Al Horford, who has shown a propensity for hitting mid-range jumpers all season.

Nevertheless, the Nuggets eked out a victory at the Pepsi Center, and are in the thick of the Western Conferene playoff race. It can be assured that the Nuggets won't have favorable circumstances in all of their important upcoming games, so it will be imperative that they develop the chemistry and aggressiveness needed in the next couple of weeks.

New-Look Nuggets 2-0 Without Chauncey, Melo

The Denver Nuggets, fresh off an 89-75 victory over the Eastern Conference leading Boston Celtics, do not seem to be writing themselves out of contention in their own respective conference. Some have predicted a tough road ahead for the Nuggets due to chemistry issues and a supposed lack of 'star power'. The Nuggets, though, appear determined to quiet the critics and show the NBA that a smaller market team without someone like Carmelo Anthony can succeed.

New faces Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, and Danilo Gallinari all debuted at the Pepsi Center on Thursday night against an elite opponent on national television. Chandler contributed with a sharp three-point stroke, Felton dished out six assists and coexisted with his point guard counterpart Ty Lawson, and Gallinari showed hustle and notched three blocked shots despite a poor shooting night.

Nuggets fans can take note of a few important components of their reassembled team. First and foremost, Denver seems to have become a better defensive team seemingly overnight, holding the Celtics' offense at bay in only the first game with the newcomers in the trade with New York.

Secondly, the Nuggets can rely on a much more balanced attack without having to play through Anthony and Chauncey Billups at such a high rate. This dynamic could help players like J.R. Smith and Ty Lawson get offensive opportunities in a more consistent way throughout the course of the game instead of only in short spurts (i.e. not having to force shots as much).

This points to the last point: Coach George Karl does not have to deal with balancing egos as much with Carmelo's obvious need to shoot a multitude of shots to be successful. The Nuggets have a plethora of capable scorers and can spread the ball around. Parity in the offense will make the individual players happy and should make Nuggets fans happy with less one-on-one play and more ball movement and efficiency. The new offensive situation and a defensive focus should help translate into wins and a playoff berth.

Carmelo Anthony Trade Leaves Question Marks

The Denver Nuggets finalized a blockbuster trade deal on Monday night that will send Carmelo Anthony to the team and the city he has always wanted to play for. The trade will also send Chauncey Billups away from his hometown team that he wanted to finish his career with. With the Nuggets' two biggest stars headed to the Big Apple, basketball in Denver won't be the same, although that doesn't mean that the Nuggets will not be successful.

The Nuggets will receive considerable returns for Anthony, Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, and Renaldo Balkman. Heading to Denver (for now) are Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, three draft picks and $3 million (which the Nuggets organization will in turn give to the Garrett Holtz Foundation For Awesome Usage).

Okay, enough trade information. Nuggets executives Masai Ujiri and Josh Kroenke were certainly smart to get such valuable assets for Carmelo Anthony, the superstar forward who had led the Nuggets to playoff berths in each of his years with the squad. Losing Melo in the summer as a free agent would give the Nuggets nothing in return, and their insistence on reviving discussions with the New Jersey Nets caused the Knicks to give up more assess to insure that they got their man.

While the Nuggets executives certainly deserve credit for getting this deal done, it is disturbing that they felt the need to include Chauncey Billups in the deal. Billups never wanted to be traded. Additionally, it seems as though Billups was included in order to receive the basketball services of one Raymond Felton, who is a very talented younger point guard. Felton is having an excellent season and should benefit the Nuggets in the short-term. The real question is how this moves affects Denver's backup point guard Ty Lawson. Chauncey is a veteran and was 'grooming' (I don't like that term, like he's taking him to a dog show or something. . . oh well) Lawson to be the team's next starter. Introducing Felton into the mix seems to clash with the intention of having Lawson, the second-year speedster, be the starter in the next couple of years. This issue will certainly need to be worked out because Ty Lawson is not bench material and could possibly be the Nugget with the most potential and upside. This could be seen as 'a good problem to have' because talented players can only help you.

President's Day 2011 will be remembered in Denver as the day Carmelo left town, but it could mean the introduction of a younger and different generation of Nuggets players that might actually change the team for the better in the long run. Assessments of the new Nuggets players and how they fit in Denver will follow in future blogs.

Patience Young Grasshopper

As I write this the Nuggets just handed the Portland Trailblazers a double digit loss and looked pretty darn good doing it. The first half was a little tough with the Nuggets turning it over too much and the Blazers being hot from the three point line. Still, the Nuggets looked fresher and simply have better players compared to the injury riddled Portland team. Watching a game like this where Carmelo Anthony doesn’t necessarily have a good game, but other players step up to create a blowout victory makes me wonder if Melo would really want to go somewhere else by this point. Ok, Amare Stoudemire might be a “better” player than Nene, but other than him, who else on the Knicks can challenge position by position talent wise?

I started out imagining I would write this article trying to focus on other things besides the Melo-drama. It is just too hard to do. It is always on the minds of any Nuggets fan and will be until the trade deadline has passed. I personally have just gotten tickets to the Memphis game on the 22nd of February. I’m hoping everything will be resolved by that point and Melo will still be with us. I believe if he is on the team and everything is settled by the All-Star break, the Nuggets could come out and be the hottest team in the NBA. They have all the right pieces and are quietly playing really good ball over the last month. If everyone has bought in to winning by that point, the road wins will start coming and everyone will gel.

However, if the Nuggets do make a trade, and God forbid include Chauncey Billups in it, what could have been a great season with a chance for a great playoff run will be cut short and there will always be the what ifs. Patience is a virtue and sometimes the waiting is the hardest part (wink). Still, sometimes if you can hang on long enough and keep giving it your all, things will turn out better than you could have imagined. What if Hakeem Olajuwon had demanded a trade from the Rockets? It took him almost ten years, but his talent, hard work, and patience paid off with two championships in the end. The same thing happened for Elway and I am betting can still happen for Melo. If he is serious about wanting a Championship like he says he is, he owes it to himself and the fans to give it one more chance for the rest of this season. STICK IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!