Could McGee play PF behind Faried?

I agree with you on the point that he is not clear. The only thing he did was to obay the coach and play ONLY the weak side. After a catastrophic seazon in Minnesota and being the 3rd in the string (not mentioning small ball options) the only thing he wanted (i assume) was to earn minutes. So he stuck with the plan. Weak side, positive performance and hustle, no extras.

But the extra value to me hides in his aweraness. Offensive and Defensive.

I guess that is the the trade off from becoming a post player after spending so much time in the high post.

P.S. And yes… during the Lakers games he was clearly injured. He is athletic…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn-1ZWoTf8o&feature=plcp

Remember?

That’s what people always say. Every year around playoff time, the Denver Nuggets seem to fall into the category of the Team Nobody Wants To Play. The reasoning behind the label being, of course, that the upset-minded Nuggets are talented, athletic and overlooked enough to knock off a contender looking ahead to the second round.

It’s a nice compliment for an upstart squad, a role Denver has played admirably. But as the team sets its sights on bigger things, it’s time to grow out of the role of pretender.

As currently constructed, Denver’s talent will keep the Nuggets in games. But this is the NBA, and a tantalizingly talented roster will only get you so far — as displayed by the team’s first-round playoff exit last season. However, last season that talent was good enough to make them a tough draw each night even if they had the occasional bout with inconsistency.

The Nuggets were one of just two playoff teams with a losing record in their own division yet finished with the third best road record in the West. Their 38-28 overall record was good enough to earn the sixth seed in the playoffs, which matched them with the Lakers, whom they ran ragged before ultimately losing in seven games.

In the end, their inability to stop teams was their own undoing. Getting back on defense and poor handling of the pick-and-roll proved to be chronic problems. But if you’re looking for an intriguing squad that could potentially shake up the balance of power in the West — or at least offer up a serious monkey wrench — well, you’ve found it.

This season, thanks to the arrival of small forward Andre Iguodala and the expected development of key young stars, the Nuggets are poised to take a step (maybe even two) forward in their chase for a title. How big those steps are will likely be determined by their progression on the defensive side of the ball, an area it won’t be too hard to improve upon considering they gave up 101.2 points per game last season, which ranked 29th in the league.

We know they can be scary. But can they actually contend?

Additions
One of the major ripples of the Dwight Howard saga unexpectedly included the Nuggets, who sent shooting guard Arron Afflalo and small forward Al Harrington to Orlando and in turn received Andre Iguodala. The versatile small forward represents an interesting change in direction for Denver; as the only Olympian to change teams this summer, Iguodala gives Denver a new franchise face around whom it can build a legitimate contender. I’ve often referred to Iguodala as a poor man’s LeBron James, as the ninth-year small forward was the only player last season other than James to average at least 12.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Throw in his ability to handle the ball at speed on the break and finish with the best of them at the rim, and his well-deserved LeBron-lite status seems to fit perfectly with Denver’s run-and-fun style.

But the true measure of Iguodala’s impact will be on defense. His last coach, Doug Collins, once referred to him as the best perimeter defender at his position. Last season the Nuggets’ general lack of interest in defense kept them from being taken seriously as a legit contender. The hope is that Iguodala begins to change that with regard to mentality and results. His ability to lock down elite scorers and grab long rebounds should impact the Nuggets right out of the gate.

Denver’s other key addition was French swingman Evan Fournier, whom the Nuggets selected with the 20th pick in the June draft. His skill set and body type are strikingly similar to countryman Nicolas Batum. The very long Fournier plays with an admirable toughness and has the form to develop into an excellent shooter at the NBA level. With Afflalo out of the picture, the battle for the starting shooting guard spot is wide open; in scanning Denver’s roster, it’s reasonable to assume the 19-year-old rookie has as good a shot as anyone to claim it.

Key personnel
Ty Lawson could be Denver’s most important player. Though it seems that every year he is pegged to have a breakout season, every year Lawson inches forward but doesn’t quite explode in a manner that would brand him as an A-list star. With a capable cast around him and more than enough seasoning, this needs to be the season Lawson joins the ranks of the NBA’s elite point guards.

Lawson was simply marvelous last season in the first round of the playoffs against the Lakers, averaging 19.0 points, 6.0 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting a scorching 51.4 percent from the field. For sustained stretches he was the best player on the floor and looked as though he was finally busting out. Nuggets head coach George Karl has been after him to develop better leadership tendencies for a while, and Lawson must accept the added responsibility.

JaVale McGee adds to a roster with three talented centers.
Anchoring the middle is JaVale McGee, the ultra-rangy, fourth-year center who is an enigma of sorts. One moment he’s using his spectacular athleticism to put the ball in the basket in eye-popping and unusual ways. The next he’s suffering through spells of invisibility and missed defensive assignments.

After flashing so much potential it seems McGee has finally realized it’s time to get the most out of his massive talent. This past summer he spent time under the watchful eye of big man footwork-guru and Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon. Picking up the phone to set up time with Olajuwon usually signifies that a player is ready to get serious about his game. A couple of back-to-the-basket moves sprinkled in with an occasional up-and-under move would look good alongside McGee’s jump hook, which is improving but still shaky. While already a quality shot-blocker, McGee also has the potential to be a world-class defender but must master the finer points of rotation and position defense to go along with his crowd-pleasing, volleyball-style swats.

Danilo Gallinari put up some solid numbers last season and showed nice offensive aggressiveness — he’s a matchup nightmare for even the staunchest defenders — but may have plateaued in terms of his skill development. Undersized second-year power forward Kenneth Faried was one of the league’s pleasant surprises last season. His infectious enthusiasm and energy — he was the only rookie to average a double-double in the playoffs (10.4 points, 10.0 rebounds) — could emerge as the Nuggets’ defining quality.

Telling stat: 38.3
That’s what opponents shot against the Nuggets from 3-point range, ranking them last in the league in defending beyond the arc. In other words, nearly every team the Nuggets faced morphed into a quality 3-point shooting team for the night.

Lackadaisical perimeter defense is a clear-cut sign that a team is not a championship contender. With so much length on the perimeter, that percentage summed up Denver’s lack of defensive urgency last season. It’s a key adjustment they’ll need to make if they want to be taken seriously as a contender. The addition of Iguodala just became a heck of a lot more important.

What needs to go right?
If you forget about experience for a moment and focus on matchups, Denver surprisingly matches up with the Heat better than most contenders. They’ve got one thing most teams are clearly without — a wing defender (Iguodala) who can at the very least slow down LeBron James. They’ve also got enough firepower to run step for step with Miami. Now back to that experience thing. On the real road to a championship, you can’t simply discard the all-important ingredient that is experience. As a team, the Nuggets don’t even come close to matching the experience and gamesmanship of the defending champs. That goes double for their porous defense, which is nowhere near championship caliber.

But in terms of pure athleticism, it’s tough to find another roster as stacked as the one in Denver. There’s speed and athletic skill at every position. And aside from the stocky Lawson at point, Denver is one of the longest teams in the league. The core of Lawson, Iguodala and McGee is an intriguing trio that could leave defenses scratching their heads. It’s certainly a group with the makings of a contender. The much-needed advancements on defense and Lawson maturing into a legitimate, trustworthy leader will be major factors in guiding the Nuggets’ transformation.

If those things fail to come to pass, just remember that scary teams usually aren’t very scary after they’ve been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

It’s an ok article but he does seem to contradict himself quite a bit. When he said Evan Fournier has a chance to claim the starting SG spot, I laughed out loud and shot my venti non-fat mocha through my nose. He obviously doesn’t know George Karl and his mandatory rookie bench warming year. IMO, AI at the SG is the only feasible option considering the tremendous depth at the 3. Plus there is J Ham and Corey Brewer all ahead of Frenchy on the depth chart. I’m guessing we’ll see him and Quincy in the D-league unless there are some serious injury issues.

Anyway thats my opinion. When is number 11 coming?? My guess: Anthony Randolph.

And please, guys, as Denbutsu has already stated, lets keep the comments to this site and this article only. Thanks.