![]() ![]() They needed to reinvent themselves, free from the shackles that became of Anthony's scoring prowess.Īgain, our attempt is not to belittle what Melo did. After six first-round postseason exits in seven years, they needed to change the dynamic. Denver has nine players currently averaging eight or more points per game, the most of any team. About milking the hot hand, and not just Anthony's. About moving the ball from one to the other. ![]() Plenty of their teams had depth, but it began and ended with Melo (even next to Allen Iverson). Once upon a time, the Nuggets were reliant on Anthony. By comparison, the Nuggets ranked seventh in wins during Melo's full seven seasons.Ī monstrous difference? No, but it's more than about those wins. And it's working.ĭenver is tied for the fifth-most wins of any NBA team (not including playoffs) since trading Anthony 25 months ago. They haven't had an All-Star since 2011 (Melo) and their livelihood is predicated upon the sum being greater than that of its parts. What the Nuggets have, then, is great role players buying into a system that dictates the only number of significance is the final score. Not yet at least.Īs for Iguodala, he has one All-Star appearance to his name, but he's neither potent nor as polarizing as the league's conventional pillar. Cases can be made about the futures of Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried and Lawson (and maybe even McGee), but they're not superstars. In an era where superteams frequent the Association, Denver isn't home to a star. If anything, it's more of a testament to this contemporary championship model the Nuggets created and continued to exemplify. Conflicting views exist on that topic, but both the Nuggets and New York Knicks are, at the very least, prime examples of his ability to keep convocations relevant. Not to say that Melo is a cancer who prevents his team from contending. Presently, Denver has a stronghold on the fifth-best record in the West and is no longer considered a dark-horse contender, but a viable title threat. The Nuggets aren't fine without Anthony-they're better. More than three-quarters of the way into the season, it has become abundantly clear we were wrong. He, along with a re-signed McGee, an extended Ty Lawson and the rest of the Nuggets' complementary pieces, rendered this faction a legitimate contender. The Nuggets were indeed mediocre without Melo.įast forward a bit further and the Nuggets managed to package Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington in the Dwight Howard blockbuster, netting the themselves veteran Andre Iguodala. Another first-round elimination was on the horizon, but the Mile High's finest took the Los Angeles Lakers to seven games. Once again, the Nuggets persevered, going 14-9 to close out the season, finishing with the sixth-best record in the conference. Moving a veteran like Nene (injuries and all) was a surefire sign that Denver was prepared to rebuild, that the team might fall out of the playoff race. 500 at the time, the Nuggets were decimating their core further. Nene was shipped off to the Washington Wizards more than halfway through the year and in came a wildly athletic, but overwhelmingly raw talent in JaVale McGee.įive games over. Then came the lockout-truncated season of 2011-12, and with it brought some changes. Most of us weren't convinced, though, and a swift elimination at the hands of the Thunder only made us doubt Denver's ability to remain a playoff-caliber faction without Anthony. Said finish was enough to earn the Nuggets the fifth-seed in the playoffs and a series-long date with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Denver finished out the 2010-11 campaign with an 18-7 record, the fourth-best record of any team throughout the final 25 games of that season. ![]()
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