Denver Nuggets

[Pioneer10]

Continually dismayed at Denvers length of commitment to Nurkic when Jokic might be the most underrated player in league....


Jokic is a goddamn monster.....

Just goes to show how far off evaluators can often be....they initially thought Nurcic was the stud.....Jokic is a beast

Nurkic is very good but he too TO and foul prone. If the game slows down for him he will be stud.

Regardless though Jokic is awesome: he's like a smaller version of Sabonis. 3 point range with PG like passing skills from a true Center who can also hit the glass and score in the post

 

[Tornicade]

How so? I feel like the nuggets are significantly better then the Hawks, and have room to improve over the years as well.

Arron Afflalo - 26 years old
Corey Brewer 25
Kenneth Faried 22
Rudy Fernandez 26
Danilo Gallinari 23
Ty Lawson 24

not to mention that Andre Miller might be the best back up PG in the league right now, and hasn't shown much decline in terms of performance because of his age.

These are major players in their rotation (Faried aside, but i feel he will grow into one in a few years) and all of them are young and have several years to improve. Especially Lawson who is in his 3rd year i believe, and Gallo who is already arguably their best player.

Their front line is aging with Nene at 29, birdman at 33, and harrington at 31 but they still have kosta koufos at 22 and mozgov at 25 who are getting pretty good minutes already.

Compare that to the Hawks:
Joe Johnson - 30
Josh Smith -26
Horford 25
Marvin Williams - 25
Jeff Teague - 23

Nearly everyone else is 30+ and are on the decline.

George Karl > Larry Drew


If you are trying to say that the Nuggets will be stuck on the treadmill of mediocrity like the Hawks have been, i'm inclined to disagree. I believe they've shown so far this season that they can beat any team in the West in a playoff series right now (Big question mark is OKC however, as they have yet to play them in the regular season). I can't say the same about the Hawks in the East. I'm starting to think that the Nuggets will be at the top of the West for the next 2-3 years, especially if they can improve their front court.

update. after 2 first round exits the Nuggets are putting in their 4th consecutive season without even making the playoffs.


Meanwhile Atlanta after 3 first round exits made it to the conference finals and then the semifinals while entirely revamping their roster.


Rosters are fluid things and a playoff roster with 4 guys about to enter their prime is a bigger asset than a roster needing a few more season.

OKC set an unreasonable expectation of people that talent and youth can trump talent and experience.


I'm not calling out the poster here . I just think this a is a good example of the mindset of the NBA basketball fan in 2011-2012.


and a good demonstration of how a good team without a superstar will be hard pressed to maintain early success.