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Yeah, they really screwed themselves for the postseason getting rid of the player with the second worst playoff winning percentage in the entire league.
The Nuggets are basically the anti-Heat, a deep team with no otherworldly talent. This type of team can do well during the regular season, especially if they are getting contributions from all over the place. They'll compete in just about every game. But when the playoffs roll around, they'll need someone who can score in tight situations, a star player who can get it done in the clutch. The Nuggets just don't have that anymore.
Yeah, they really screwed themselves for the postseason getting rid of the player with the second worst playoff winning percentage in the entire league.
So you think the Nuggets are better off without Melo (and Billups)?
They didn't deliver in the playoffs that's true... but who did they face most of the time?
Whether you guys like it or not.. Melo was clutch.. and he helped his team quite a lot by putting them in a position to win almost every night, with his scoring.. he's practically unguardable. Some stars just hate playing in the West against the Spurs, Mavericks, and Lakers.. because at the end of the day that's who's going to beat them.. (Amare, Melo, Williams, Shaq, Garnett) at this point in time no one's going to take out all of the top 3 in the West, and the stars realize that.. so they got to the East for a better chance at winning sooner.
Melo was one of them, and he's had quite a few decent teams to contend for a le.. it's just that the Spurs, Lakers, and Mavs have always been better so we saw them differently... and well their at ude was also bad.
This team is not better for losing Melo at all, they might be a better team now, but they're not better.. they need a leader with the right mindset who can deliver every night.. and right now I just don't see anyone in their roster who can do that... unless JR Smith changes gets rid of his ego overnight..
Short term, maybe not. In the long run, absolutely.
I think Gallo needs to be the one who becomes the #1 option, but i just don't think there will be a clear cut go to guy.
The Dallas game gave me a good idea of a close game without Melo and it was AA who came through, so who knows?
The thing that sucks is that the next superstar in Denver will have to be through the draft, and even then it isn't a guarantee to get a draft like the 2003 one.
I hope the owners reshape this league and fight for more parity. It is much easier to cheer for a team like the Spurs , rather than the big market teams.
If you just took Carmelo and Billups off the team and got them nothing back? No, but that's not the reality. Including addition by subtraction, I think they got equivalent value back.
They're absolutely better without Carmelo, because while he's been an amazing scorer, and pretty clutch at times, he's immature and selfish, and he's absolutely not a team leader. Shockingly, they have a guy on the roster that fills the bill on every one of those points.
Billups might have been great for the Nuggets with Carmelo gone because he could continue his leadership position without all the distractions in the locker room. This would have made for a nice transition to the younger players, but there's nothing that can be done about that now. Denver will benefit from the lack of his terrible shot selection in critical points of the game, and got back a much better point guard.
The Nuggets just freed up 36 shots a game. That place is going to be like Christmas morning for a while.
I think that unless they end up with Chris Paul, Knick Fan is going to be pissed off at what they have in a couple of years.
If Billups can't make them winners, Paul, for all his talent, will be hard pressed to do the same. At some point those egos are going to clash. I thought Amare went to New York so he could get away from Steve Nash.
carmelo was really the only one keeping the nuggets afloat. without him, nuggets will probably wind up back in the lottery for a while.
good team and a playoff 1st round exit will be the best result imo
So basically no difference than at any time during Carmelo's career.
Why the is Felton not starting? Is he hurt?
i agree, the need for a leader superscedes the need for a star player in this case
Karl prefers Lawson I guess...
The strange thing about that trade for mine was the Felton-Billups aspect. Couldn't they have come up with a deal leaving the PGs where they were (esp. since both of them were playing so well)? Billups is Denver's heart and soul, so I have no idea why they moved him. And Felton had developed great chemistry with Amare, ditto. I guess it was all about salaries.
As for the new-look Nuggets, they are just like Houston - tons of talent, no clear leader or go-to guy. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
^^^^ best post in the thread..
Felton might take it over, but with all the new faces, you probably want a guy who knows the offense running the show.
Speaking of, it's really cool seeing all these guys sharing the ball. They aren't shooting very well, but they're sure hustling on defense and crashing the boards.
I like this new look nuggets under Karl, I think with Iverson and Melo gone, that JR smith pulls his head out his ass a bit and Kenyon Martin isn't the waste of space some people make him out to be. He's a bit to street and hotheaded but he is a fairly hard worker and supports his teammates. I wouldn't be surprised at all if something happens off season to get Billups back to Denver, from the way that press conference sounded.
Looking pretty good against the Celts. Scrappy, tough, just need a consistent floor leader to pull them through the rough spots.
13-0 run to put the game away.
I think they just punched Boston right in the mouth.
Awesome finish.
Great defensive display limiting Boston to its second worst scoring night in the 10-11 season.
I will watch more Denver games this season
They look like the deepest team in the NBA right now...and wiith all their youth, and all their depth and playing at their al ude, they may just run and run and run every other team in the NBA into the ground.......
Solid.
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