View Single Post
Old 12-29-2008, 10:20 PM   #441
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
You know, it's funny. We've got some new pieces in place, but Gama isn't really a new PG and 50 Ninja's been a starter at the 3 before. That said, it's very hard to predict what this Nuggets team is going to do, but it should be fun to watch.

Mateen Yeaton doesn't look old at all in scoring 29 points against the Lakers, but the real eye-opener in our 110-80 pounding of the Purple and Gold is Andrew Bynum stunning the Staples Center crowd with 22 points. Zelipe Gama fits seamlessly back into our offense with 13 points and 11 assists.

Two games into the year and Jim O'Brien messes with the lineup, flip-flopping David Jackson and Andrew Bynum to disastrous results as the Timberwolves beat us 90-75. Mateen Yeaton scores 25 and Tim Butler nabs 13 points and 15 rebounds, but that's all we can muster. Then again, Minnesota actually has a legitimate PG for the first time since I've been in the league, as I forgot to mention they stole Branko Starcevic in free agency.

David Jackson doubles for 18 points and 10 rebounds, Andrew Bynum scores 21 and Jermaine Trask has our first noteworthy bench showing of the year with 11 points, but we still lose 112-103 to Utah and Halloween's happiness seems a long way off.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Tim Butler breaks his arm and is out for over two months, 66 days to be exact. While Jermaine Trask is the new starting PF and will get much-needed development time, our offense is looking very shaky right now.

And yet, we pull out a sweep in our first back-to-back of the year. The revenge match against the Jazz results in a 98-84 win on Zelipe Gama's 23 points and 12 assists, David Jackson's 21 points and 13 rebounds and Mateen Yeaton's 24 points. Those same three players highlight our 110-103 win over Seattle as David Jackson just misses a triple-double with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists, Mateen Yeaton leads all scorers with 30 points and Zelipe Gama adds 20 points of his own.

Mateen Yeaton singlehandedly carries us in a 101-74 pulverizing of the Pistons, putting up 36 points and 9 rebounds. Can you believe he's 35 years old? Because I sure can't.

Our win streak continues with a 101-87 victory in Sacramento. We're keyed by 22 points from Mateen Yeaton, Zelipe Gama's 15 points and 16 assists and Tzvetan Kishishev snapping out of his quiet early season for 16 points off the bench.

I'm absolutely floored when we total Toronto 111-81 and hold Justin Richler to 8 points on a 3 for 16 night. Mateen Yeaton is looking 25, not 35, as he scores 37 and Tzvetan Kishishev carries the reserves with 10 points.

Chicago ends our insane form in a heartbreaking 96-93 loss, as Mateen Yeaton's 30 points are undone by Jason Tackett going 0 for 10 off the bench. Still, we've been incredibly dominant since Tim Butler went down and it's going to be interesting seeing what happens a couple months from now.

The marquee matchup against the Mavericks is our best effort of the year as we shoot 62.5% and every starter scores at least 16 points. Leading the charge are Zelipe Gama, torching Dallas for 26 points and 16 assists and David Jackson, who scores 25 and is off to his best start ever.

Jim O'Brien throws a curveball before the next game, starting Andrew Bynum at C, David Jackson at PF and Jermaine Trask at SF. The move pays off perfectly as Bynum blows up for 28 points and 13 rebounds in our 108-92 dispatching of the Nets. Ron Morant and Jason Tackett pace the bench with 15 and 11 points respectively.

Our second doubleheader of the year is another pair of wins. Andrew Bynum shifts back to SF and scores 22 points as we squelch San Antonio 112-84, Mateen Yeaton (21 points) and Tzvetan Kishishev (14 reserve points) the other highlights. The next night's 111-90 reaming of the Rockets is powered by David Jackson's 23 points and 11 rebounds at C, Jermaine Trask's 12 points and 11 rebounds at PF, 22 points from Zelipe Gama and Tzvetan Kishishev's 12 points to top the second unit.

107-83 is the final of our victory over the eternally hapless Hornets, Andrew Bynum running roughshod for 25 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks, Mateen Yeaton the game's primary scorer with 26 points.

Our sterling first month concludes with a stellar 124-97 outing against the Cavaliers. Mateen Yeaton has a field evening with 37 points, David Jackson double-doubles for 13 points and 10 rebounds, Zelipe Gama nets 18 points and 15 assists and Tzvetan Kishishev scores 14 off the bench.

It's early yet, but our 12-3 record gives us the West's best record. Dallas is comparatively struggling at 10-7 and are half a game behind the Grizzlies. Golden State does appear to be having the breakout year at last at 10-4, while the Hornets are still terrible at 2-12.

Chicago repeats last year's 11-1 first month record, while the Raptors are 13-4 and the Bobcats are 11-2. Miami, whose first round pick we hold, is a disconcerting 6-10. The Heat might actually be competitive this year, which of course means next year's draft class is going to have a truly awesome blue-chip player we'll miss out on.

But I'm not complaining at all. We're off to the kind of start I never would have imagined for us, especially not when Timmy B went down.
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee
2006 Golden Scribe Winner
Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty)

Rookie Writer of the Year
Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty)
Izulde is offline   Reply With Quote