2012-13 Home Court Advantage for the Denver Nuggets

“We talking about practice.  Not a game, not a game, not a game.  We talkin’ bout practice.” –The Answer

This time of year, we’re not talking about practice, but we’re talking about playoffs, and more specifically we’re talking about home court advantage (HCA) for the Denver Nuggets.  Since January, the importance of HCA for this Nuggets team has been stressed repeatedly as a generalization and without validation.

It’s no secret: No team in the NBA wants to play in Denver.  Beyond the obvious reasons of playing at altitude, familiarity of arena, and fans, this Nuggets team has some serious mojo when playing at home.  Developing confidence is HUGE for a young team entering the playoffs.  This season was not supposed to be a deep playoff run for one of the youngest teams in the NBA.  In January when Masai Ujiri said on a local radio program that this team isn’t ready for the playoffs, he had to realize that this season was to get experience and chemistry to his young core of players and work on championship runs in the subsequent seasons. 

 Instead the team exceeded expectations by going on a 15 game winning streak, posting a 35-3 home court record, and moving into the 3rd seed in the very competitive Western Conference.  A 3rd seed assures this team HCA in the 1st round of the playoffs against likely opponent Golden State Warriors; the Houston Rockets are 1 game behind GSW in standings.  While no round of the playoffs is a walk in the park, Denver at home is almost a lock to win each game against their first round opponent. On the road, when the Nuggets can dictate their up-tempo style of play, their chance of winning is higher than the opponent. Road wins at Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix, Chicago, OKC and Utah, as well as a competitive 1-pt  loss at San Antonio, are proof that Denver’s play on the road has been exemplary lately.  The 24 point loss at New Orleans was an aberration.

Stating the obvious is all fun and stuff, but what’s the point?  Simply put the Nuggets should walk through the first round against GS or HOU.  Those teams are not good road teams, so Denver can win their home court games and take the series.  In the second round the situation gets more tricky.  If things work out as expected, Oklahoma City advances to face Denver in the second round while holding HCA for the series.  If the series versus OKC goes seven games, the Nuggets can win all three of their home court games, while having FOUR opportunities to steal at game on the road.  Again, when the Nuggets dictate the tempo of the game, they can win most games whether on the road and certainly at home.  Point being, OKC can very likely lose a home game to Denver, and thus lose the series.

Certainly playing at home for Denver is not a sure win.  Factors like Lawson’s health, Wilson Chandler’s larger role, and free throw shooting will be key deeper into the playoffs.  With a forced up-tempo game, deep bench and home court advantage, George Karl’s team has a very legitimate chance to succeed like no other Nuggets team.

Nuggets salary cap 2013-14 (speculation)

First of all, a lot can change from the time of this writing to next NBA season.  Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, opinions of this Nuggets team have changed dramatically, and they will change once more after the winning streak is snapped (currently 13 games) and pending the outcome of the playoffs.

Looking into next season’s salary cap, the Nuggets’ front office is very aware they are over the cap.  Being over the cap isn’t a death sentence like it is in the NFL, but owners really don’t want to pay that fine except for Jerry Buss.  Next year’s roster and payroll is fairly similar to the 2012-13 season, except Ty Lawson’s new deal gives him about $10M raise.  Accordingly the Nuggets’ cap figure ($73.7M) is about $10M over the projected 2013-14 cap.

Where will the front office free up $10M+ to avoid cap penalties?  Well, cutting Ty Lawson isn’t an option as he’s a part of the future of this team.  Riding this process of chain thinking, who else is an untouchable on the roster? 

Let’s just scroll down the roster:

Ty Lawson and Dino Gallinari are the only other player to be safe from cost saving moves.  This team will be built around the tempo that Lawson and Gallinari dictate.  When their game is on, they’re unstoppable. Even George Karl’s comments that these two players are starting to develop leadership qualities indicates the team wants to build around these players. The Nuggets have them locked down under contract for the next 3+ years.



Javale McGee may be in that category except he’s just so raw despite his high cap figure ($10+M). While people are perplexed at how a big man coming off the bench averaging 18 mins per game can warrant that amount of money, his contract reflects the going rate for big men in this league.  More importantly, McGee continues to develop on both ends of the court.  At times he can be dominant around the rim on defense, but his offensive game is just a series of unrefined moves that make giraffes giggle at the awkwardness.  Lots of potential here, and as long as he continues to work hard and stay out of trouble, he’ll be considered a big part of the future roster.



Kosta Koufos has really stepped up his game since last year. Last year, he was coming off the bench behind Timofey Mozgov.  This year at $3M/year, his play has been a bargain for the Nuggets.  Coaching has really helped him develop as a scorer around the basket.  His footwork on defense is really good which helps him be in position on his opponent in the paint, or help on pick and roll defense.  No doubt he’s a part of the 2013-14 team and maybe beyond.



Kenneth Faried is another bargain for the team because he’s still under his rookie contract.  He is locked down next year and has a team option in 2014-15.  When Faried gets his game going, his energy has more impact on his team’s offense and defense than any other player in the league.  Inconsistency and defensive lapses are Faried’s biggest shortcomings right now.



Wilson Chandler has a new deal keeping him under contract for about $6M per year.  If he stays healthy, he’s a starter that is coming off the bench.  In Denver’s altitude, having a strong bench is really important because the team can blow open a lead or force opponent’s to bring their starters back early.



Andre Miller is a luxury for George Karl, as he is a starting point guard that no other teams wanted due to his age.  The Nuggets have him running their second unit’s offense really well, while giving him playing time late in games.  He plays within his abilities better than anyone else in the league, but sometimes doesn’t put in the effort on defense which won’t be tolerated in the playoffs.  Miller is under contract next season for $5M.



Andre Iguodala has a player option for next season.  If he decides to stay with the Nuggets, Iguodala’s 2013-14 cap figure is $16M and allows him to be an unrestricted free agent the following season.  His list of intangibles that he brings to the court is lengthy (besides shooting free throws) and warrants a high contract.  Plus having a defensive stopper in the Western Conference to match up against Kobe, Durant, Westbrook and Harden is not a luxury- it’s a necessity to give a team a chance to win every night.



Iguodala is 30 years old and hitting his prime as a player.  His agents will push for a big payday during his next contract negotiations to reflect his market value.  If the Nuggets go deep into the playoffs this year (second round, maybe deeper), the media will target him as their spokesperson, a role which he does fairly well.  This recognition combined with 2012 Olympic medal winner status will put his market value at its highest point in his career.  Again, his player option is $16M; that figure will be the low-end of his expected annual salary.  Length of contract is a consideration too, so he’ll want a 4 year deal around $20M by the fourth year.  That type of contract will handcuff the Nuggets’ front office from being able to re-sign other contracts in the future. 

No doubt that Iguodala is worth that type of contract if a team has a legitimate scorer.  He doesn’t bring in very many points per game (12.8 pts/gm) and isn’t a great outside shooter (31% from 3-pt).  Instead he brings a defensive stopper to match up on most team’s best players which motivates his teammates to play better defense.  His transition game is very good; his passing ability in the open court or interior is exceptional with a knack for breaking down defenses off the dribble. A few games this year he’s made the clutch game winner. 

Here’s one scenario I can see happening:

Iguodala renegotiates a deal as part of a sign and trade to another team, hopefully an Eastern Conference team like maybe Cleveland.  In return the Nuggets can ask for draft picks or young prospects.  Denver fans will scream wails of “What are they doing?!?!” without taking any time to think it out.  Masai Uriji will have some cap freedom to sign Corey Brewer (if he chooses to stay) to a $6M/yr deal, or shop around for an outside shooter like Kyle Korver.

Again, this mental exercise is all just speculation.  Things happen that can change the shape of a team in just a couple weeks or months.  The key for the Nuggets right now is to have the patience to develop their young talent while maintaining flexibility to keep or discard players as necessary.  Of course, if the Kroenkes decide to snub the salary cap restriction, maybe they keep Iduodala and everyone else on the roster while paying the cap penalty, and this narration of words is nothing more than a waste of time.

Mid season assessment of the pitching staff of the 2012 Colorado Rockies.  


Starting Pitching: (Francis, Friedrich, Guthrie, Pomeranz)
Not sure where to start with this elephant in the room, so alphabetical order seems best.  Before breaking it down, this starting pitching staff has been very poor this year whether because of injuries or immature arms or poor coaching. Currently Jim Tracy is using a 4-man rotation limiting the starters to 75 pitches (give or take), then pairing the starters up with a middle-reliever who is also on a pitch count.  This method was brought upon Tracy out of necessity due to injuries, so all blame can't be directed at him.  Current "ace" on this starting pitching staff is Jeff Francis who returned to the Rockies after the Reds let him go.  His first outting was a disaster, and his ERA was over 21.  His second start began very omniously, but he settled down and has become the most reliable starter of the staff.  Removing the first start from his 2012 season, his statistics are pretty decent (2-1, 3.45 ERA over 31.1 IP).  Meanwhile, Christian Friedrich's performance during the 2012 season has been a violent rollercoaster ride.  Some games he will look like the next coming of Cliff Lee, and other games he'll pitch like Sara Lee.  When he's attacking the strike zone with command of his slider, Friedrich is amazing to watch.  Unfortunately that form only comes out about once every 3 or 4 starts.  His ugly days are just a matter of maturity; he has the tools to be a solid top of the rotation pitcher.  As Jim Tracy continues to give him starting opportunities, his development will become a huge part of the success of this team beyond 2012.  The opening day starter, Jeremy Guthrie, has had a season that he'd would rather forget.  Just a month ago, he was relegated to bullpen duty because he gave up so many runs, no- he gave up so many home runs.  In his first ten starts (56.0 innings), Guthrie surrendered 15 HRs with an ERA of 6.91.  Everyone knows those type of numbers are not going to work, Coors Field excuse or not.  His fastball command can be erratic, and even when he has good command, it has no action to it.  His secondary pitch is untrustworthy, so he tries to avoid it, and thus hitters sit back and wait for their pitch.  To his credit over his last two starts (both road games), Guthrie has been rather good, pitching 6 innings in both games, surrendering just 2 hits and 2 runs per game. May he continue that trend.  One of the young "aces" from the Ubaldo Jimenez trade is Drew Pomeranz.  When he arrived late last season, he looked really good his first few starts.  During the early 2012 season, he had flawed mechanics in his delivery, causing really poor command and hitters were just teeing off on him. Ultimately he was sent to AAA for a month or two and has since returned back to the starting rotation with amazing success.  In only two July games, he has given up 3 hits, 0 runs in 12.1 innings, and more importantly, he looks dominant and very confident.  Like Friedrich, Jim Tracy needs to give Pomeranz regular consistent starts to develop the mental approach to the game while maintaining his mechanics. 

Relief Pitching: (Belisle, Betancourt, Brothers, Chatwood, Ottavino, Reynolds, Roenicke, Torres)
For the most part, these guys have been the saving grace of this team.  Most nights, Jim Tracy can count on these guys to shut down the opponent for 3-4 innings, and keep the team in the game.  Matt Belisle has typically been the 8th inning setup man and has been really good.  Until the last game, he had a 14+ inning scoreless streak going.  His command is almost always dead on which makes his slider even more deadly as it drops off the end of the table.  Rafael Betancourt hasn't been closing many games this year, because the Rockies have rarely had a lead in the 9th inning.  He started the season really well, so the location and command that makes him an effective closer, but over the last few weeks, he's blown save opportunities and just not been himself.  The tandem of Belisle and Betancourt is a great luxury for Jim Tracy to have available, and he's best to make good use of it.  Like most of the young pitchers on this team, Rex Brothers has had his share of ups and downs.  Sometimes those ups and downs can come in the inning, not just game to game.  His strenght is his fastball which is usually 97+ and being left handed in this bullpen is a terrific asset for Tracy to manipulate around the Belisle/Betancourt tandem.  Early in the season, Belisle was picking up the 7th inning, Brothers the 8th, then Betancourt the 9th, giving opposing batters a righty/lefty/righty look from the mound.  Projected to be the closer in the future, Brothers needs to work on hiding his pitch until the last minute and maybe a second or third pitch. The return from the Chris Iannetta trade, Tyler Chatwood hasn't really pitched much this year (13.0 innings) to make a substantial assessment of his 2012 performance, but he hasn't been impressive.  Picked up off of waivers from the Cardinals, Adam Ottavino hasn't delivered consistently.  Some games, he is confident and in command of everything going on at the plate, while other games, he can't find the strike zone.  He's more of a strikeout pitcher than the other relievers, relying on a fastball to set up a nasty slider.  Similar to Brothers, Matt Reynolds is a lefty coming out of the bullpen.  Unlike Brothers, he relies more on the location and command of his pitches rather than velocity.  Some games it seems the batters can see the ball early coming out of his hand, and thus he tends to get rocked and his higher than normal WHIP (1.259).  Most nights he's pretty good though.  Because of the poor performance by the starters, Josh Roenicke has become the long middle relief man.  With 50+ innings, he has the most IP out of the bullpen pitchers.  He's not flashy or even solid, but he doesn't give up a lot of runs which is always a good thing.  His strikeout/walk ratio is high, almost 1:1 and his WHIP is rather high 1.460.  Nothing flashy about his pitching, just gets it done.  Recently called up from AAA, Carlos Torres hasn't pitched enough to allow a good feel for what he is capable.  As the season progresses, he'll most likely be sent back down to Colorado Springs at least once more. 

Injured pitchers: (Chacin, De La Rosa, Nicasio)
Normally this list isn't considered, but three starting pitchers are recovering on DL.  Jhoulys Chacin spent the offseason out of contact with the Rockies orginization, and his workout wasn't up to par for a MLB pitcher.  After 5 bad starts, he was shut down with nerve damage which affected his pitching.  Jhoulys is expected to return shortly after the all-star break, but will he be the pitcher he was in 2011?  After signing a two-year deal for $10M each year, Jorge De la Rosa threw his arm out early last season and required Tommy John surgery.  When he is working right, he's a really good number two or three pitcher.  His recovery timeframe was slated for the 2nd half of 2012, but setbacks have shelved him for the remainder of the year.  Even worse, Juan Nicasio can not catch a break.  Since recovering from a broken neck in 2011, Juan has not been very good and eventually aggravated a knee injury.  Slated for a return near the all-star break, he had a setback and had to have his knee drained of excess fluids.  Josh Outman wasn't hurt, but pitched so poorly he won't be expected back in the Rockies' rotation unless more starters get injured.  Some of the harshest criticism Jim Tracy has unleashed this year was commenting on Outman's approach to pitching.




Summation:
As bad as the starting pitching has been, the trio of Francis, Friedrich and Pomeranz has potential to be effective.  Ever since Bob Apodaca stepped down, the starting pitching staff has done a better job in general.  Maybe the credit goes to Bo McLaughlin, or Pomeranz's AAA stint, or the 4-man rotation, or just renewed focus, who can accurately say?  The young pitchers must develop over this season and beyond, so a strong pitching coach is a must.  Jeremy Guthrie most likely will be traded if the front office can find an interest.  Francis may return next year, but he's no longer a long-term solution, maybe a number 5 pitcher when all things are going well for the staff.
The bullpen is solid, and one of the bright spots on a team that is below average.  Maybe a couple tweaks are necessary (re: Chatwood and Torres), but all in all, Jim Tracy knows what he has, and uses it well. 
The injuries on this team are just out of control.  JDLR's injury could have been avoided if he hadn't lied to the trainer last year, denying any discomfort.  Nicasio is a walking band-aid, and Chacin's poor dedication to off-season workouts may have been the cause of his injury.  Even when completely healthy, this team's starting pitching staff is not up to par with other playoff contending teams, and that will have to be addressed.  

Hey, with such a poor 2012 season, the Rockies will have a high draft pick in the 2013 draft, right?  Maybe this time they won't draft another Greg Reynolds. 

Mid-season assessment of the positional players of the 2012 Rockies:

This review will start by going around the horn:

First base: (Helton, Giambi, Cuddyer, Colvin, Pacheco)
Where to start? Oh yeah, Helton. While Todd Helton bleeds black and purple, he has been the face of the franchise pretty much since his arrival in 1997 and put up Hall of Fame type numbers.  But in two of the past three years, he has stunk it up. Ok, maybe his back was ailing him in 2010, but this year, he's late on fastballs and has lost his patience at the plate.  Considering his $20M contract for this season, he's certainly not living up to his end of the bargain.  One thing that hasn't detoriated is Helton's glove which is still top tier.  Meanwhile, Jason Giambi is neither clutch at the plate, nor able to take any regular off days from Helton. He's hitting .240, and his glove doesn't give anyone much confidence.  Quite frankly, he's been lackluster and taking up a roster spot. Fortunately, Cuddyer has been serviceable at first base, but not spectacular.  Colvin should never be at first base again, yet in the upcoming years, I could see Pacheco at first base (he won't make many throwing errors from 1st).

Second base: (Scutaro, Nelson, Herrera)
The 2012 season has seen Marco Scutaro mostly at second base.  He's doing a decent job, but is prone to mental lapses and has just an average arm, noticeable when turning double plays.  Some nights his bat is consistent enough to get the job done; I'd like to see him work the pitch count more, especially since he's always at the top of the order.  Most likely he'll be traded in the 2nd half of the season to a playoff contender since his contract expires at the year's end, and he is 36 years old.  The younger Chris Nelson was drafted to be the future second baseman with an above average arm, but his hitting is very erratic.  If/when Scutaro is traded, Nelson would be the best choice to daily handle the 2nd base chores to gain more experience at that position. Jonathon Herrera has some decent games hitting, but more games in which he just fades into the background.  His baseball acumen is rather good, but his range is limited and his arm is below average which suits him best for 2nd base in a back up role.

Shortstop: (Tulowitzki, Herrera, Scutaro, Nelson)
When healthy, the position belongs to Troy Tulowitzki.  Keeping Troy on the field in the past few years has been the problem. Most seasons his bat is one of the best for his position, and his defense is exceptional (although he has 8 errors in 47 games this season).  His plate discipline needs some patience, but when he gets on a tear, no one is better. Fortunately Herrera, Scutaro and Nelson have taken turns at the shortstop position while Tulo has been on the DL.  Of the three, I prefer to see Nelson at SS because of his range and arm strength.

Third base: (Pacheco, Nelson)
Oooookay. Look, I think Jordan Pacheco is a great asset to this team because all he does is hit every day.  With every at bat, he makes corrections to his approach and learns from his mistakes.  Of course, Pacheco's biggest problem is his arm at 3rd base.  He doesn't make too many fielding errors, but usually once a week, he's throwing the ball to god knows where.  For this season, he's best suited for third base just so he can play every day and get regular plate appearances until Nolan Arenado comes up for Tulsa. In the long term, his niche may be at first base because of his throwing errors.  Once again, Chris Nelson is an adequate back up at this position.

Catcher: (Hernandez, Rosario, Nieves)
Clearly a weakness on this team is at one of the most important positions in the game, especially defensively.  The catcher is involved in every defensive play, calling a game for the pitcher, while throwing out runners and blocking pitches in the dirt. The Rockies brought in Ramon Hernandez to play spot-duty at the catcher position while grooming Rosario to develop a MLB approach to the game.  But as always happens, Hernandez has been a disappointment at the plate (.215 BA, .658 OPS), then wound up on the DL.  After that injury, Wilin Rosario was thrown in the fire to do the best he can. Baby Bull's bat has been exceptional (.247 BA, .800 OPS, 14 HRs).  As good as his bat has been, his defense is atrocious, currently leading the NL in errors (9) and passed balls (10), as well as dropping quite a few 3rd strike foul tips, extending innings.  Wilin does have an above average arm in throwing out baserunners, but lately has been off target, landing more throws in center field than at the bag.  He can only get better with practice and time, right?  Wil Nieves was called up to spell Rosario when he needs a rest, and has been below average in most facets of the game.  He has had 16 bases stolen on him (which isn't entirely his fault) yet only thrown out one runner.  That can not be tolerated.

Outfield: (Cuddyer, Fowler, Gonzalez, Colvin, Young)
Easily one of this team's strength has been the outfield, not just defensively but also at the plate.  While the signing of Michael Cuddyer brings veteran leadership and a decent bat to the lineup, his defense has been overlooked in right field.  He has pretty good range and an above average arm.  Lately Cuddyer's bat has gone into a funk; he still has good all-around numbers but not good enough to justify $10M/year contract.  Quite frankly he fits better platooning as a first baseman and has done a decent job there.  Fans were asking that Dexter Fowler be traded about a month ago when he went into a short slump.  Trading Fowler would be a ridiculous move, as no one can cover Coors Field outfield as well as him- no one.  Sure his bat is streaky, but this year, he's done really well, exceptionally well, hitting for average (.300 BA, .937 OPS) and with power (11 HRs, 9 triples).  Yeah, lock Fowler down for a few more years with a decent contract at the end of this year.  In right field, not much to be said that hasn't already been said regarding Carlos Gonzalez.  The 5-tool player can now add All-Star player to his wall of decorations, while being among the league leaders in BA, OPS, HRs, and runs.  The Rockies' biggest surprise this year has been Tyler Colvin.  His defense is just a bit better than Cuddyer's (who can forget that over the wall catch in CF?) but his bat has been scorching since June, forcing Jim Tracy to find a spot for him in the line up daily. Hopefully he doesn't mimic 2011 Charlie Blackmon and get hurt, never to heard from again.  The fifth outfielder is Eric Young Jr, love that dude's hustle.  Defensively, EY needs a lot of work on his reads off the bat and his arm strength; quite frankly, his speed doesn't translate well to outfield speed, but he always always hustles, and that's contagious to the dugout.  His ABs are more disciplined than previous seasons, and his speed is just amazing.

Summary:
First base has been subpar and have to consider a replacement for Helton.  Second base will be Nelson's after Scutaro is traded. Shortstop direly needs Tulo to return.  Third base is fine with Pacheco, but he'll need to improve his defense or get moved over to 1st.  Catcher position frustrates me almost as much as Jeff Huson doing a doubleheader, but it will improve as Rosario improves. The outfield is one of the better outfields in the NL thus far in the 2012 season.



Later, I'll write up some thoughts about the pitching and more, but I'm sure you've something better to do for now, and I'm out of coffee.

Really classy move by Bryce Harper.  The summation of the story goes:

A week or so ago, Bryce Harper, who is under 21, was asked if he would celebrate in Toronto with a beer since the legal drinking age there is 18.  Since Harper is a Mormon who beliefs disallow the use of alcohol, his response was the now-famous "That's a clown question, bro" which has since become a huge international meme.  A brewery in Denver decided to have fun with the meme, and named a beer "Clown Question Bro".  

When Harper's team, the Washington Nationals, came to Denver to play the Colorado Rockies, an off-duty female police officer, Celena Hollis, was killed trying to break up a fight as a security guard at a jazz festival.  The deceased officer was also a single parent of a 12-year old daughter. Harper's group has asked the brewery, Denver Beer Co., to donate some of the proceeds to a memorial fund for Hollis' daughter.

After hearing this story, I have to commend Bryce Harper for a really nice gesture, and just wanted to share it.  

As promised, here are some of the tweets/thoughts that I blurted out last night (while sober!) with some of the characters that didn't make the 140-limit cut.

Fiyah Powah ‏@fiyahpowah

Have to wonder if drafting Quincy Miller will force the ‪#nuggets‬ to bump Anderson off the roster, or trade Chandler or Koufos.. 

With a full roster, where do the Nuggets create a spot for Quincy Miller? By the end of the year, Chris Anderson only got off the bench at halftime and the end of the game (plus he has those child porn allegations). Do they trade or cut him? I believe he is scheduled to make $4.5M this year.  Since they just re-signed Wilson Chandler, I can't see them trading him although that depends on his rehab from a hip injury. Koufos is $3M per year for the next 3 years, and still making strides in becoming a better player while providing depth whenever there are injuries.

Fiyah Powah ‏@fiyahpowah

Great quote from Masai, re: Fournier comparing himself to Ginoboli: "I thought I was Michael Jordan when I played.” http://on.nba.com/N0YMwd

Ok, I'll admit I took that quote a bit out of context, thus it sounds like he's making fun of Fournier. Still, it's pretty damn funny to me.  Great article to read too, if you have the interest and time.

Fiyah Powah ‏@fiyahpowah

Can you imagine if the ‪#rockies‬ had an owner and front office compared to the ‪#broncos‬ or ‪#nuggets‬? 

Perhaps it's unfair to make these comparisions of the different sports because of the level of success the Nuggets and Broncos had last year.  But after 2 really lousy seasons, the Rockies ownership and front office really don't have the enthusiasm of the other teams.  For me, the perfect example was hearing Rockies' pitching coach Bob Apodaca asking to be reassigned, basically giving up on the team in the middle of the season.  Sounds like a stagnant group that needs cleaned out and refreshed, but more on that topic in another post.

Fiyah Powah ‏@fiyahpowah

While Masai hasn't really had the ‪#nuggets‬ go deep in the playoffs, you can see him build a franchise built to win year-in and year-out. 

This tweet was more of a continuation of the previous one, directing praise at Masai Uriji's competence and gameplan for the long term.  Quite frankly, the man came into a really lousy situation with an underachieving roster and the whole Melo-drama, and has worked magic. In a couple years, he may win GM of the year. Which leads me to the next tweet:

Fiyah Powah ‏@fiyahpowah

Three years from now, our starting line up could be crazy good. McGee, Faried, Lawson, Miller. 

First off, that's in reference to Quincy Miller, not Andre Miller. If these guys continue to show the growth and determination to win as they have, and Quincy Miller regains his top tier talent/skills, our front line will be amazing. Most Nuggets teams in the past had the talent to be good; this young roster has the unspoken promise to be great!  But hey, shouldn't Gallinari be on this list as well? That's the next tweet:

Fiyah Powah ‏@fiyahpowah

I'd mention Gallinari in that last tweet, except he's prone to injury and doesn't perform well consistently. Not sold on him. ‪#nuggets

Quite frankly, I'm not impressed with the young Italian player.  Since signing that BIG contract extension, he's been hurt twice and stopped showing signs of being a great player.  His outside shot is streaky at best, his drives to the basket are unorthodox, awkward and prone to injury, and his defense needs work.  Last year, the Masai signed Gallinari and Aaron Afflalo to BIG contracts, and neither of them played to their contract.  At least Nene played big in the 2011 playoffs despite his big contract. 

Continuing that thought progression, I'd like to see the Nuggets get a consistent outside shooter like JJ Redick who is slated to be a free agent after the 2012-13 season.  A solid outside shooter will relieve the pressure of our upcoming dominant inside game, as well as put three points on the board rather than two.  Take a look at the Heat and the Thunder in the 2012 playoffs- whenever a team's perimeter game started to excel, that team made a run.  That's the nature of the playoffs.

Ok, that's enough mumbling for now. 

 

 

 

 

First blog entry falls on the eve of the Denver Nuggets' 2012 draft, and I almost abandoned the blog just because I was stumped which font to use! I find myself with random thoughts about sports at various times of the day and night, and blast them out on twitter.  Sometimes these ideas come to me in the middle of the night, and land on the empty vastness of twitterverse without an echo or thud.  Since most people don't wait for my tweets throughout the night as if I was selecting the new pope, my audience is maybe 1 or 2 people, or less!  Then it hit me- why not put my tweets on a blog, and add in more explanation since some thoughts, observations or ideas take more than 140 letters to get across the point and reasoning.

So here we are.