D'Nugs

[meh]

[LEFT]Game                 NBA 2K8
Version              XBOX 360
Rosters              2KSports Updated
Difficulty           Pro
Sliders              Papernut
Quarter Length       9mins
Sim Length           12mins
Season/Playoff       82 games / Playoffs 7/7/7/7[/LEFT]

[meh]

Re: D'Nugs

D'Nugs Startin' Five':

AI
Chucky Atkins
Marcus Camby
'Melo
Nene

Bench:
Linas Kleiza
K'Mart
J.R. Smith
Eduardo Najera
Yakhouba Diawara
Steven Hunter
Bobby Jones

[meh]

Re: D'Nugs

Season Preview:

This years Nuggets will be relying on a revival of 'basketball court' chemistry as they attempt to win their first ever NBA crow.

Denver have the rare difficulty of gettig two of the games All-Stars to blend, as they will hope to improve on a 32-32 (all-in) record since AI joined the team and matched up with Carmelo Anthony.

However in commenting about all the difficultys the Nugs' face, the facts are that Iverson and Anthony could ad should combine for one of the leagues most potent offensive duos, which will give the team a leg-up in their race to claim back the Northwest division title.

Beyond that pair, the Nuggets appear to be stacked and ready to roll, as Camby looks to return on the back of his Defensive Player of the Year award, whilst power forwards K'Mart (who is back from injury) and Nene, are legitimate threats.

Coach George Karl has the responsibility of blending such a taleted roster together into a team on the court, and a supposed improvement of their defensive performace should give the Nuggets a solid foundation in which to build a champioship cotending team.

The loss of floor leader Steve Blake to Portland could have a negative impact, however the addition of former Memphis Guard 'Chucky Atkins' will add more firepower to a stacked lineup, that will be looking to break all sorts of scoring records.

Injuries as always will play a part in every teams season, the Nuggets will be hoping their big guns will stay injury free, as well as maintaining a healthy and deep bench.

With all that said, the Nuggets should be good enough to get through their division relatively unscathed, however with their team relying on a coming together of chemistry, any imbalance could see them fall too far back, to make an impact. Playoffs... well assuming the chemistry is there ad the Nuggets achieve their potential, they should progress past the 1st round, before the more experienced gamers make their presence felt.

PREDICTION:
Record 44-38 1st Northwest Divsion
Playoffs 2nd Round loss to Dallas 2-4

[meh]

Re: D'Nugs

Game 1: vs Seattle SuperSonics (0-0)

Denver win in the clutch!

ABOVE: Durant (left) shines on first start in the NBA, but its 'Melo (right) who takes the plaudits for the Nugs'!

Denver 10/31: The Nuggets come through a tough opening night test against the debuting Kevin Durant and his 'Sonics team, as they put up a hard fought defensive showig in the 4th, restricting the 'Sonics to just 15pts in a 91-89 win. Seattle actually looked the brighter in the early stages of the contest, hitting a 15-2 run, that took the 27-20 up going into the 2nd quarter.

Led by game high points scorer Delonte West, he and Seattle looked in control throughout most of the game, racking up 29pts, going 13-25 from the field (combined). However although Durant also added 24pts, the Sonics failed to curtail the Nuggets attacking threat, as AI, Melo and a dominant display on the boards by Camby saw the hosts clear up, and hold out for a snatched win thanks to Iverson's J'.

Seattle did have 1 more shot left to take at the end of the game, however the Nuggets put up a strong zone and forced a 16 footer that fell short from West. Denver will be rightly proud of their effort shown in this game. All their big stars came to the court today and showed what they had in terms of ability and commitment in getting the team over their championship hump.

INSIDE NUGGETS:

Coach Karl: "We hung in there and came through with a solid win for the fans tonight. Allen and Carmelo proved that they can work as a unit and lead this team forward"

Carmelo Anthony: "I was happy out there tonight, we seemed to click pretty early and although the Sonics
got ahead early, we stuck to the gameplan and took our shots at the right moment"

[meh]

Re: D'Nugs

Game 2: @ Minnesota Timberwolves (0-0)

T'Wolves Tamed!

ABOVE LEFT: Camby collects a 'double double', whilst (Right) Anthony top scores with 32

Denver 11/2: Denver control the game from start to finish, not reliquishing their early advantage to earn their second win of the year 104-97 over the visiting T'Wolves.

Anthony and Iverson again put up the big points for the Nuggets, as Melo top scores with 32, whilst AI goes 3-5 from 3pt range to sink 22pts. However Marcus Camby stands out for Denver with his 'double-double' (Pts/Reb) as he helped the Nug's remain in control.

Minnesota will not be too happy with their season opening performance, 5 players did manage to hit double digits, but they wasted a glut of turnover opportunities and allowed Denver to control the clock going down the stretch. Back to back division wins for Denver, who are already starting to look on their game.

INSIDE NUGGETS:

Coach Karl: "I liked the way we controlled the tempo out there, we did some good things at both ends of court and the players got their rewards"

Marcus Camby: "Coach just said 'carry on doing what your doing' so im just hitting the boards and giving the guys an option to go to in the paint"

[meh]

Re: D'Nugs

Game 3: vs New Orleans Hornets (0-2)

Hornets Buzzing!

ABOVE LEFT: Chris Paul leads the way for the Hornets, (Right) Chucky Atkins has yet to prove his value to the Nuggets.

Denver 11/4: The Hornets came to play in Denver as they outwit their hosts, by driving home their advantage early to amass a lead that would never be taken.

Chris Paul's double double. was complimented by 21pts from Jackson and sound scoring from Stojakovic and West. The Hornets played high percentage ball, taking their shots at the right time, to inflict the first loss onto Denvers record.

In reply the Nuggets came out strong in the 2nd half and whittled away at lead, however their fast paced approach, cost them in the turnover count as the ball was dished back to the Hornets defense.

A late rally pulled the score to within 1 possession, however the Nuggets failed to setup anything easy and AI had to take a rushed three from deep.

INSIDE NUGGETS:

Coach Karl: "We took a tough loss out there, and we have to learn from this performance to take into the game vs the Knicks"

Chucky Atkins: "It has been a tough start for me here in Denver, but things will come together. The fans have been patient and the team all supportive, I will get there no doubt"

[meh]

Re: D'Nugs

Game 4: @ New York Knicks (1-1)

Denver pounded into Nuggets!

ABOVE LEFT: 'Star'bury dominates with a huge night at the Gardens, AI (pictured right) puts up some resistance, but cant do it all alone!

Denver 11/6: New York hand out a punishing blow to Denver, as they rout the Nuggets by 44 points, draining over 40 each in two different quarters. The result never looked in doubt and an embarassing night for the visitors was capsulated in a shocking 3rd quarter, that saw the Knicks rack up 45 pts, answered by a dismal 17.

Stephon Marbury was the lead man for the Knicks, putting up a huge d-double, with 24pts and 19 assists. Crawford and Richardson also sank 24pts a piece. In total 10 of the 12 played Knicks, put points on the sheet, leaving the Nuggets stunned inside the MSG.

Iverson became the go-to guy for a desperate Denver sideline, but he was forced into taking risky shots, culminating in a 6-16 showing from 3pt land and totalling 31pts. Another thorn in the Nuggets play, was the reckless foul trouble encountered by Camby early on, as he totalled just 14 minutes on the court, before being fouled out mid-way through the 4th.

All in all, the Knicks had a huge night, the Nuggets... well, it shows there is alot of work to be done to get this team as a real contender.

INSIDE NUGGETS:

Coach Karl: "They all know back there that this is unacceptable. This is not how we expect those players to perform. After the opening two games, it all seemed easy... now... well they have to show some fight"

Allen Iverson: "I just took it on my shoulders out there. Yeah its not my best night percentage wise, but we had limited options, so I had to try and make the plays. Tonight it did't pay off.... ill be back though, AI is always coming back"

[meh]

Re: D'Nugs

Game 5: @ Boston Celtics (2-0)

Big 3 Made Easy!

ABOVE: Paul Pierce optimises the 'Big 3', yet shoots 3/19 from the field, and right, K'Mart steps up with 15 boards, showing his value to the team.

Denver 11/7: The Celtics are beaten at home for their first loss of the year, as Denver put a grip on the 'Big 3' to utilize their own star man Carmelo Anthony.

Melo shot for 38pts, more than double the measly total of 18, that was put up by Pierce, KG and Allen. Defensively the Nuggets got everything working as they wanted, and were able to pressure the ball carrier for every shot. The game ended up being a duck shoot for Gabe Pruitt, who took on 38 field goals, making just 10 for a Celtic high 19pts.

Another nicety for the Nuggets was the return to form of K'Mart. He managed to crank it up a notch in the paint, to claim a Nugget season high 15 boards, ensuring no second chance opportunities fell the way of the Celtics.

Denver will be happy with their nights work, a sound 88-81 win puts them back on top of their division, halfway through this 4 game road trip.

INSIDE NUGGETS:

Coach Karl: "Its a big win for us, we all know that. We come off a 0-2 run and take the game to the undefeated Celtics on their own court. Its the response i asked for from the guys, its where we want to be every game"

Kenyon Martin: "I am finding my feet again out there, its taken time after those injury problems, but coach knows that im ready to play my minutes and put up the numbers"

[cubsfan203]

Re: D'Nugs

Liking the layout man. Simple but nice looking. I'll be following, good luck.

[superjames1992]

Re: D'Nugs

Nice start. I am following.

[meh]

Re: D'Nugs

Game 6: @ Washington Wizards (0-4)

Agent Six-0 is Not Enough!

ABOVE: Gilbert Arena's takes it to the hoop, putting on a 60pt show, hitting 31 shots, RIGHT: 'Melo shoots .500 but takes a bad fall and may miss 4 days.

Denver 11/9: The Nuggets came to play for their second straight road victory, as they hold off a late Wiz' rally in the 4th, to seal a 118-111 win.

Arenas was the catalyst for the Wizards comeback, as he eventually hauled 60pts to equal a franchise record he set himself back in 2006. However, his one-man show was not enough to curtail the Denver scoring machine, as AI shot 17-24 (44pts) and Melo shot 10-20 (36pts) to keep the teams nose's in front.

Late in the 4th quarter as the Nuggets played high impact defense to stop Arenas bringing the Wizards close, Carmelo Anthony took a bad fall from rebounding, which left him limping out of the game and further examination shows a twisted ankle, that is likely to affect his playing time for upto 4 days.

Aside from the scare provided by a rampant 'Agent-Zero' the Nuggets have every right to be pleased with a all-round performance as they move to 4-2 and will head to Indiana to face the 4-1 Pacers.

INSIDE NUGGETS:

Coach Karl: "Arenas took us to school out there, it was a pleasure to watch him play... in saying that, we won so i can be gracious towards the other team"

Carmelo Anthony: "The fall looked worse than it was. They took a look at my ankle, im probably going to be questionable for 4 days, but we will take it game by game and see if i can feel comfortable and play some time out there"

[meh]

Re: D'Nugs

Game 7: @ Indiana Pacers (4-1)

Perfect Timing!

ABOVE: Good use of the bench sees JR Smith ad Chucky Atkins almost become heroes for the Nuggets!

Denver 11/10: Denver lose out in a squeaker to the Indiana Pacers, as they let slip a double-digit 4th quarter lead to allow O'Neal and Tinsley to lead a Pacer rally, that ended with O'Neal hitting a tough jumper to net the lead.

The Nuggets had enough time to put together a final drive, however with the ball in Iverson's capable hands, he saw his shot blocked on the buzzer, leaving Denver distraught at a 89-90 loss.

Denver appeared to have been cruising to a comfortable win, as Melo shook off the effects of his twisted ankle, to play his role. Whilst the Nuggets got some welcome numbers from the pine, as JR Smith stacked 17pts in 8 minutes of play. Whilst Chucky Atkins notched 12 and fell an assist shy of a double-double.

The loss will leave a bad taste in the mouth of the visitors, whilst Indiana cruise out to 5-1, the Nuggets will now share their division lead with the upstart Sonics @ 4-3.

INSIDE NUGGETS:

Coach Karl: "Concentration is the key. We drum that into the players every game, play the basics and the game will come to you. We appeared to go into cruise mode out there, took some sloppy shots and let them get into a run, to which we had no answer"

JR Smith: "Im just out there to work hard, take my plays and get open to create holes. Obviously i want to play more, but i will keep taking my slot and proving what i have to offer"

[meh]

Re: D'Nugs

NBA ROUNDUP AS OF 11/11:

LEAGUE NEWS:

- INJURIES -

10/31 Andres Nocioni CHI 14 Days, Backstrain
11/3 Al Harrington WAS 22 Days, Severe Ankle Sprain
11/4 Corey Magette LAC 28 Days, Severe Ankle Sprain
11/5 Jason Maxiell DET 300 Days, Tor ACL

- FREE AGENT SIGNINGS -

11/3 Chris Webber SAC, 1YR @ $3.36million
11/3 Jalen Rose MIA, 1YR @ $2.05million
11/10 PJ Brown PHO, 1YR @ $980,000

- TRADE BLOCK -

11/3 Sam Cassell LAC
11/3 Jamal Crawford NY
11/3 Jameer Nelson ORL
11/10 Andre Miller PHI
11/10 Jason Richardson CHA
11/10 Desmond Mason MIL
11/10 Kevin Martin SAC

- TRADES -

11/11 NY send Jamal Crawford (PG) receive ORL Hedo Turkoglu (SF)
11/11 ORL send Jameer Nelson (PG) receive TOR Jose Calderon (PG)

[meh]

Re: D'Nugs

cubsfan203 & superjames1992

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

[PsychoBulk]

Re: D'Nugs

meh, never knew you were into it this much, great game isnt it?

Loving this story mate, nice simple layout and easy to follow.

Looking forward to the next instalment