I am pretty excited for the NBA season to kick off. Truth be told, basketball is my favorite sport to play although I would have to say I am an NFL guy for the most part. That said, NBA is a very close second. I have been a Nuggets fan since moving to Colorado in 1985 and have really enjoyed watching them play since. Yes, there were a few pretty rough and borderline unwatchable years but that all changed when Kiki took over and they drafted Carmelo Anthony.
Last season may have been the most complete team I have seen here and certainly one of the most exciting if not THE most exciting. I had maintained ever since they traded for him that Allen Iverson wouldn’t mesh well with Carmelo. Iverson is a great player and it was awesome to have him in Denver but it wasn’t conducive to a team that would go deep into the playoffs. Enter Chauncey Billups, the former Nugget who Denver decided to bring back. That trade last season set the tone for what was to come and it was fantastic! Denver made it to the Western Conference Finals where they faced the Los Angeles Lakers yet again. For the first time since I can remember, I believed they would shock the Lakers and the basketball world and advance to the NBA Finals. Denver ended up losing the series but battled like I haven’t seen them battle in years past and I was very proud to have this team in Denver.
The real question is, can they do it again this year?
I believe that they can. The team is returning their stars and in my opinion got an absolute steal in the draft this year by acquiring point guard Ty Lawson out of North Carolina. Yes we have Billups but Lawson brings in that bench point guard that Denver sorely needed and the likely heir apparent as the starter when Chauncey decides to hang them up or move on. Denver has the starters and the deep bench that a team needs to compete every night. Players like Chris “Birdman” Andersen and the electric J.R. Smith keep the opposition on their toes. Add in the powerful play of Nene in the paint and the scoring that Carmelo and Chauncey bring into the mix and I have to believe that Denver is a top 3 team in the West right now. Injuries are always the “X factor” for any team in any sport and that is no different here.
Coach Karl will have this team ready to make another run into the playoffs this season and do away with the shock factor from last year. Don’t be shocked Denver, your Nuggets are for real.
