With Carmelo Anthony slowing the offense to a crawl in New York, the Nuggets have the cap space and floor time to run the most dynamic, team-oriented style in the league.
With a healthy and energized George Karl at the helm, the Nuggets may not be far off from realizing their potential as an elite Western Conference contender.
For the Denver Nuggets the shortened season will be both a boon and a challenge. The Nuggets have an established coach and system, but many of their players are scattered across world leagues or likely lost to free agency.
It was as much a statement win as any other recent Denver victory. Sacramento was on a four-game winning streak behind the revelatory play of Marcus Thornton, and these Kings gave the Nuggets all they had.
Aside from excellent two-way play by the Nuggets, the team turned around a trend of beating teams with bench depth. Denver’s starters all finished +10 or better, and Atlanta’s starters finished -10 or worse.
Three Nuggets scored 20+ points, led by Lawson (23) and followed closely by Felton (22) and Chandler (21). This new Democratic scoring approach has replaced the former ‘All Melo All the Time’ Denver offense.
The Nuggets won in Phoenix for the first time in seven years on Thursday behind a breakout performance by Ty Lawson.
“I’ve always said Denver is the place I want to end my career,†said Karl after inking his new contract. “This puts me one step closer to achieving that goal.â€
In a matchup of two trade-worn teams, Denver showed that their workmanlike win over Memphis was no fluke. The New Look Nuggets downed the Celtics’ Original Big Three of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett with the same great effort and a lot more depth.
Anthony took his shots here, and either through circumstance or generosity Carmelo replenished Denver with a whole host of playable/tradable young talents as he left. We should all think on him fondly, welcome him back once a year with cheers, and not begrudge him his opportunity to play every other night in the Manhattan basketball theater that is Madison Square Gardens.
