Well, it’s worth noting the Lakers’ early season road schedule has been very difficult. They’ve had games in Sacramento (always a tough venue), Utah (where they won), Denver (the second end of a back-to-back against the Nuggets), Portland, the Clippers, Miami and Orlando back-to-back, Milwaukee, and Minnesota (a win). The Bucks were an inexcusable loss with Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson out, but the rest of those games aren’t automatic gimmes. Factor in how the Lakers played a boatload of games in the first 3-4 weeks and the lack of practice time to learn a new system, and it’s not perhaps shocking they haven’t been good on the road.

When the Nuggets assembled a roster featuring two starting lineups and a couple of NBA-ready rookies behind them, they instantly gained a big advantage over every other team in a lockout-shortened NBA season. They’ve dealt with injuries better than just about anyone and built the second-highest scoring bench in the league.

Denver is going to be a great regular season team behind their depth. They can afford to limit their starters to 20 minutes per night if need be. In many cases there is little to no difference between the second and third string guys at every position.

I still think there is an intelligent debate to be had about whether too much of a good thing can actually turn out bad. George Karl has said the first 20 games of the season are essentially training camp, and at about one-third of the way into the season we’ve reached that point. The rotation should be shaping up nicely and guys should be settling into their roles as the Nuggets prepare to really start hitting their stride.

The reality is time has brought more questions than answers when it comes to the Nuggets’ rotation. Things look even murkier now than before the season began. Last night against the Grizzlies, the Nuggets had everyone available for the first time in weeks (minus DeMarre Carroll). The result was a disappointing overtime loss in which 11 players saw the floor and all except one of them played 10 minutes or more.

No one outside of Ty Lawson and Gallo has a clearly defined role. Statistically, Andre Miller is having the worst season of his career and he’s played his best as a fill-in starter. Arron Afflalo is off to a slow start and can safely be considered one of the most disappointing free agent acquisitions of last summer. Al Harrington is a sixth man of the year candidate, but George Karl is torn on whether to play him 25 or 35 minutes a night. Timofey Mozgov is improving but can barely be considered a legit starter, much less a player deserving of even 20 minutes a night. Corey Brewer, Rudy Fernandez, Kosta Koufos and Birdman could see anywhere from 0-25 minutes a night.

Even Gallo is starting to feel the wrath of a coach with too many options. After George Karl benched him following a 1-10 shooting performance, fans were quick to blame the loss solely on Karl’s decision. Never mind the fact Gallo was having a terrible game and Rudy Gay was destroying him in the second half. Never mind the fact that after benching Gallo, Karl’s team immediately went up by double digits and even led by 12 with six minutes remaining.

George Karl is in a no-win situation. Gallo comes out with a bad effort as the game is slipping away, so Karl uses his depth and ends up being vilified for it. Second guess Karl all you want, but he’s benched Gallo before and won overtime games for it. This was supposed to be Denver’s greatest advantage: the reason they were better prepared for a hectic, unpredictable shortened season better than anyone else.

Instead, Denver’s depth has been a curse more often that it’s been a blessing. Basketball players are creatures of habit, and Denver’s role players are not enjoying individual success despite the team managing to squeak out wins.

Birdman was the best backup center in the league two seasons ago, now he’s a shadow of his former self and barely seeing 10 minutes of action per night. Although Birdman has 3 years and around $15million left on his contract, Denver just signed 22-year old Kosta Koufos to be his replacement at a much lower cost. Birdman’s future in Denver is ending, the only question remaining is just how much time he has left.

Rudy Fernandez was seeing 30 minutes a game earlier in the year while Corey Brewer sat on the bench. Now, Karl is trying to play both. Rudy just came off two solid games where he played at least 30 minutes and followed it up with a scoreless 19 minutes against Memphis. Is there enough room for both Rudy and Corey Brewer in a healthy lineup? As long as Karl plays his two point guards as much as he likes to play them, I fear there isn’t. Rudy and Brewer will likely continue to be inconsistent as their minutes wildly fluctuate all season long.

Denver’s depth is also forcing them to play small. The one constant in Karl’s lineup is that he will close games with a Miller-Lawson backcourt and Al Harrington playing power forward. This leaves Denver extremely vulnerable defensively and Karl does not know how to react. We’ve seen him try multiple lineups alongside Miller, Ty, and Harrington with limited success. While the Nuggets used to depend on Kenyon Martin straightening out the defense, Karl is now stuck with Gallo and Al Harrington switched onto the opposition’s best player. The result is a dysfunctional defense giving up wide open layups at the end of the games.

Denver’s defense has been in steady decline. With the roster overflowing with capable swingmen, Karl’s only answer is to go small and try to run up the score. It is not a bad strategy, but as we have seen in previous games the Nuggets do not know who to play and they struggle to get consistent production from anyone.

Where depth really hurts the most is no doubt seeing the promising young rookies permanently glued to the end of the bench. With so many capable players already deserving of more minutes, it is not conceivable Jordan Hamilton or Kenneth Faried will play meaningful minutes this season. It would probably take a season ending injury to Al Harrington or Andre Miller for enough minutes to open up. Without a trade or unusual injury situation, I can’t imagine Karl giving either of these guys a single meaningful minute.

So what’s the solution? Clearly the first step is for Karl to bench someone now. With a healthy lineup it’s hard to go with an 11-man rotation and expect the team to perform well. In big games, Karl shortens up the rotations considerably and going forward he needs to establish consistency.

The biggest issue is the rotation at center. Benching Birdman or Koufos would go a long way to giving one of them a fair chance at becoming a solid contributor that Karl can rely on night in and night out. At this point, I believe Koufos has produced more in the time he’s had and is deserving of the backup Center position. Birdman can come in for spot duty and pick up the slack when the Nuggets experience injuries or foul trouble.

That gives Denver a healthy 10-man rotation to work from. I have no idea how to fix the Brewer/Rudy/Afflalo conundrum. At this point I am beginning to doubt Afflalo is worthy of 30+ minutes a night unless his performance picks up considerably in the next 10 games or so.

Regardless of how this all shakes out, what do we really know about the rotation 21 games into the season? When the playoffs come around, every contending team will have their 8-man rotation set. The starters will play as many minutes as their fouls and their bodies allow. The bench players will have fought hard for their minutes and there won’t be any serious questions about who deserves to be on the floor during postseason play.

Answering those questions when it comes to the Nuggets is a daunting proposition. Denver will probably go with a 9 man rotation, but who will they be? George Karl’s assessment that the first 20 games will be a training camp in which he decides which guys to play may turn into 30 or 45 games considering the way things are going right now.

Denver will get back to winning regular season games soon, but these depth issues continue to cloud their long-term future and prospects for playoff success.  There are much, much worse problems for an NBA team to have other than what the Nuggets are currently facing. However, after 21 games this team needs to at least start taking baby steps toward figuring out a rotation they can build around going forward.

It’s a fair question to ask. With this roster remaining intact, is too much depth becoming a problem?

Denver Nuggets

97

Final Recap | Box Score

100

Memphis Grizzlies

	Nene, C 33 MIN | 6-9 FG | 2-3 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 14 PTS | -16 It’s tough to put a lot of blame on Nene for what transpired tonight, especially because he’s carried the Nuggets throughout the last two games. While Nene’s production trailed off it’s hard to ignore just how badly he was outplayed by Marc Gasol. Although Nene had a decent individual performance, he took a grand total of three second half shots and disappeared late when the Nuggets sorely needed him to step up
	Danilo Gallinari, SF 25 MIN | 1-10 FG | 6-6 FT | 7 REB | 0 AST | 8 PTS | +2 Did not show up to play. It’s a simple as that. Hardly worth mentioning anything he did because it was just a bunch of terrible jumpers. Gallo found himself benched for most of the fourth quarter and entire overtime (for the second time this season).
	Timofey Mozgov, C 10 MIN | 0-3 FG | 1-2 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 1 PTS | -8 Five fouls in 10 minutes is too much. He started off on Speights instead of Gasol so it’s actually hard to even credit his defense on the Memphis bigs. While he was more physical in terms of defending the rim and blocking shots, he just looked lost and couldn’t stay on the court long enough to help. The turnovers need to stop at some point too.
	Arron Afflalo, SG 36 MIN | 3-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 0 REB | 3 AST | 8 PTS | -9 He’s regressed big time. Afflalo was one of the best role players in the game last season and he’s currently lost with no idea what his role should be. The shots he is taking are indefensible. Fadeaways with 20 on the clock and contested turnaround jumpers over Rudy Gay? Welcome to this year’s Arron Afflalo. He’s hardly looking for his three point shot anymore which makes spacing a big issue too. More importantly, he just isn’t having the sort of positive impact on defense we’ve all been accustomed to.
	Ty Lawson, PG 34 MIN | 5-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 12 PTS | -11 There was a stretch in the third quarter Lawson came alive and looked poised to take over the game. Unfortunately it didn’t last very long as Lawson spent most of his time struggling to find a rhythm after missing nearly three games with an ankle injury. The turnovers keep piling up and although his threes started falling, Lawson looked tentative going to the rim. He lacked his usual bursts of speed off the dribble and let’s hope he continues to work himself back into form for the upcoming stretch of three games in a row.
	Al Harrington, PF 38 MIN | 8-16 FG | 4-4 FT | 10 REB | 4 AST | 23 PTS | +3 The Nuggets can’t waste a game like this from Al Harrington. He was outmuscled and outmatched on defense and still managed a double-double with 24 points off the bench. Harrington’s primary role is to score and he delivered. Buckets nearly made what could have been the play of the game by almost taking a charge on Memphis final possession of regulation that ended up tying it. Harrington badly wanted to win this game and it has to be disappointing seeing his teammates lacking the same resolve.
	Andre Miller, PG 39 MIN | 8-13 FG | 3-6 FT | 6 REB | 6 AST | 20 PTS | +5 It’s a tough grade to give Miller, because he really played pretty well. Except of course for the most crucial moments where he made a ton of uncharacteristic mistakes as the Nuggets melted. Missed free throws, untimely turnovers and just flat out bad decision making. It might be a little unfair to say this, but if he just makes one less bad play the Nuggets win – and he certainly had every single opportunity down the stretch.
	Chris Andersen, C 7 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | +6 Birdman gets an incomplete. At some point this has to stop — either give him a role or take him out of the rotation. Although I was disappointed in Birdman’s defense, it’s not fair to expect him to play well under these conditions. George Karl needs to show some faith in him or just put him behind Koufos in the rotation. This can’t continue.
	Corey Brewer, SF 13 MIN | 3-4 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 8 PTS | +1 A little too high? I really don’t think so — Brewer was a part of the big runs that gave the Nuggets every opportunity to close out this game. He outplayed both Afflalo and Fernandez. Although he was in for defensive purposes late, it was disappointing to see him have such a good game and be off the court for the most important stretches of play. Brewer’s body of work is starting to suggest he should be seeing close to 20 minutes every night.
	Rudy Fernandez, SG 19 MIN | 0-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | +6 Rudy was the only Nugget to go scoreless and clearly didn’t have it tonight. Although he’s coming off two solid scoring performances his defense has been incredibly erratic and unreliable. Combine this with turnovers and he just had a pretty disastrous overall game.
	Kosta Koufos, C 12 MIN | 0-0 FG | 1-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 1 PTS | +6 Koufos played only a few minutes in the second half due to Mozgov getting in foul trouble. Although he played nine minutes, one rebound is the only evidence he isn’t actually the invisible man. Although the stats are lacking, Koufos played respectable defense and I was impressed with his hustle in the limited minutes he received. I wouldn’t mind seeing Koufos get regular minutes as the first big off the bench as he’s had his moments and a little confidence might go a long way into making Koufos a more reliable option.

Five Things We Saw

1. Second Half Struggle: Denver had turned the ball over 14 times and still led by 12 at halftime. It was clear Memphis was in a funk and the game was there for the taking. From the start of the third quarter onward the Nuggets were awful, the most problematic areas being defense and rebounding. After dominating the boards early Memphis ended up winning the rebounding battle 48 to 42. The Nuggets started fouling like crazy and Karl was forced to get Mozgov and Lawson out early. It’s clear he had no idea what to do with the rotation as Denver’s defense never improved. The Grizzlies dominated the second half in every way imaginable. Outside of Harrington’s hot shooting it’s hard to give the Nuggets credit for anything.
2. Miller fatigued: Andre Miller was on his way to a very good game and he was actually the key guy getting Denver out in transition early. All that running the floor definitely caught up with him late. Karl refused to give him a rest in the fourth quarter or overtime and Miller’s legs starting giving out. His shot was flat, causing him to miss a couple of free throws and misfire a line drive jumper at the end of regulation. I don’t fault Andre’s effort in this game and it’s possible he just ran out of gas in the final minutes.
3. What’s Eating AAA?: I don’t have an answer for this one. I literally can’t believe some of the shots Arron is attempting this season. As I mentioned above he’s not spacing the floor for Lawson and Gallo as his three point shot is no longer the staple of Denver’s offense it once was. Furthermore Afflalo isn’t even looking to come off screens and get his midrange game going. Afflalo has lived off of quality shot opportunities where his teammates did a lot of the work. Now he’s simply trying to do too much off the dribble and he’s not even looking for teammates to help him out. This is the last thing I expected out of Arron Afflalo.
4. Crunch Time Woes: The Nuggets gave up a game tying dunk in the final seconds of regulation. In the previous game against the Clippers they gave up what should been an and-one layup by Chris Paul. In the Philadelphia 76ers game Gallo and Lawson miscommunicate on a switch and give up the game tying layup to Jrue Holiday. Denver can’t beat anybody with this defense. Part of the problem is the lineups are completely different in each situation and there is no continuity with anyone on the floor at the end of games. Guys aren’t sure if they are switching, trapping the ball handler or whether or not they are supposed to double. The result has been wide open layups in crucial situations down the stretch. As much as people want to dwell on the fact Denver has no “closer” to make shots at the end of games, they could have been winning all of these had it not been for complete breakdowns on defense.
5. Man in the Middle: The Nuggets need to address their issues at center. The timeshare between Koufos and Birdman has turned both into inconsistent non-contributors thanks to the fact neither of them are trusted with meaningful minutes. At this point I would go with Koufos getting 10-15 minutes a night and Birdman being relegated to the third big off the bench. On nights like tonight where Mozgov is ineffective and hampered with foul trouble, a backup Center would have been incredibly useful. Instead George Karl clearly had no idea what to do and ended up with two incomplete performances by guys who aren’t even getting a fair shot in terms of contributing. It’s time for Karl to make a decision.

Game 21 Advanced Stats

Pace Factor: 104.1 – Good pace, but the game going to OT was a factor
Offensive Efficiency:  93.1 – Awful, the bench did most of the work as starters struggled
Defensive Efficiency: 96.0 – Memphis couldn’t shoot for well over half the game yet nearly manage their average (97.8)

Tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers doesn’t feature the same hype and excitement surrounding the Knicks contest, but it’s no less symbolic for Nuggets fans witnessing Chauncey Billups’ first return to the Pepsi Center since the infamous trade marking the end of the Melo era.

I have to admit, I never wanted Chauncey Billups traded. It wasn’t until very late in the Melodrama that I ultimately accepted the fact Denver’s native son had to be sacrificed in order to ensure a viable post-Carmelo future.

Chauncey’s arrival in 2008 validated the Carmelo Anthony era. After years of unsuccessfully building around a budding young star, Billups was the piece that completed the Nuggets’ transition from first-round fodder to a legitimate contender in western conference. I strongly believe the 2009 and 2010 seasons were the best chances Denver has ever had at a championship. Chauncey Billups’ storybook return home was probably the biggest factor in that transformation.

In the end, Melo and the Nuggets grew apart before their time came. Josh Kroenke and Masai Ujiri were forced to make the difficult but necessary decision to trade Billups and move forward with a youth movement centered around Gallo and Ty Lawson.  Looking back, it wasn’t the fitting end to Chauncey’s career Nuggets fans desperately wanted; but it was the best move for a franchise stuck between a rock and a hard place with a star player who wanted out.

I strongly believe the Clippers are on the right path to becoming a force in the western conference. Chris Paul is in the same class as Lebron James and Kevin Durant as transcendent players capable of changing N.B.A. franchise fortunes overnight. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan compose the kind of athletic frontcourt that could give the Nuggets’ energetic style a real challenge.

I wish Chauncey Billups the best in his N.B.A. future 63 out of 66 games in this lockout-shortened season — the exceptions being tonight and February 2nd and 22nd in Los Angeles.

Thank you Chauncey.

Featured Links:

Chauncey Billups belongs to Denver
Revisit Jeremy’s fantastic article on Chauncey Billups’ legacy in Colorado.

Billups and Pride
Our ESPN TrueHoop affiliate Clipperblog debates Chauncey’s future in the NBA

Hornets actively shopping Kaman
ESPN: Kaman is benched till the Hornets find a trade partner for him. Would the Nuggets be interested? I doubt it, Denver has no trade exceptions large enough to absorb Kaman’s $14mil expiring contract and would have to part with Miller, Harrington, or Birdman to make salaries work. The logistics of trading for him make Denver a longshot at best, and I doubt his declining athleticism and offensive game would be a good fit in Denver’s fast paced style of play.

Billups has reached out to Kenyon Martin
Chauncey is recruiting free agent Kenyon Martin to the Los Angeles Clippers. Martin is also being pursued by the Heat, Spurs, Knicks and Hawks. For anyone wondering, the chances Martin returns to Denver are virtually nil and I’d be surprised if either side is remotely interested in a reunion, but stranger things have happened.

Toronto Raptors

81

Final Recap | Box Score

96

Denver Nuggets

	Nene, C 34 MIN | 5-10 FG | 10-14 FT | 10 REB | 0 AST | 20 PTS | +25 The Raptors were extremely physical with Nene despite lacking anyone remotely capable of guarding him. Nene didn’t shoot particularly well and was fouled whenever he found himself in good position down low. He still had a solid 20 and 10 in 33 minutes behind improved free throw shooting. More importantly, he was a dominant presence on the floor and the Raptors simply had no answer.
	Danilo Gallinari, SF 36 MIN | 7-18 FG | 5-7 FT | 7 REB | 0 AST | 21 PTS | +14 Gallo’s scoring opportunities didn’t come as easy without Ty Lawson starting alongside him. He reverted to shooting too many threes and generally looking awful when trying to create for himself. Defensively, Gallo struggled defending the post but continues to show potential as a reliable team defender. Gallo’s grade gets a bump thanks to his ability to close out the game after Toronto made a late push against the Nuggets reserves to get back in it.
	Timofey Mozgov, C 17 MIN | 1-3 FG | 2-2 FT | 8 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | +16 Mozgov made a welcome return to the starting lineup and continues to develop into a more physical presence down low. He had his two finest blocks of the season and rebounded well for the minutes he received. He did struggle to work himself back into an offensive rhythm and mishandled a few too many passes. Nevertheless, Mozgov was a big part of the solid defensive effort that held Toronto to 12 first quarter points.
	Andre Miller, PG 39 MIN | 6-12 FG | 0-1 FT | 6 REB | 12 AST | 13 PTS | +18 Miller had too many turnovers, but several of them were due to Mozgov and Birdman being slow, out of position or just not ready to receive a pass. His erratic wandering on defense can be frustrating and the Nuggets did struggle to maintain pace with him running point. This is the first time Miller has been in the starting lineup at the point guard position and he produced outstanding numbers as expected. The luxury with Miller is that he’s more than capable and perhaps better as a fill-in starter.
	Arron Afflalo, SG 21 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 PTS | +11 I’m not gonna dock Afflalo too much for struggling to ease himself back into the rotation after nearly a week off. He’s still taking questionable shots and not making very many of them. The bottom line with Afflalo is that he has such a positive effect on the Nuggets defense you can live with whatever he does offensively as long as he’s not a total black hole.
	Al Harrington, PF 26 MIN | 3-10 FG | 3-3 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 9 PTS | -3 Harrington had a bad day. He came into the game with little energy and by the fourth quarter he was exhausted to the point of parking himself at the three point line with his hands on his knees and spectating. He played entirely too many minutes and made only one of five shots in the second half while struggling to make any sort of impact on defense. Buckets also got into a childish spat with Linas Kleiza and needlessly extended the game’s conclusion.
	Chris Andersen, C 8 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 PTS | +2 Birdman’s playing harder, I’ll give him that. His energy and his effort were sincere. Andersen continues to be a disaster guarding the pick and roll as he struggled staying in front of the smaller Raptors in the first half. Birdman wasn’t putting up numbers, but I did not think his performance warranted benching him in the second half. He was engaged and active, but Birdman is just not a reliable guy for George Karl right now and he seems to be losing the coach’s trust quickly.
	Corey Brewer, SF 20 MIN | 1-2 FG | 4-4 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 6 PTS | -5 Brewer had another confusing game. After launching 18 shot attempts against Sacramento he barely attempted anything, which I think is a good thing. He flew around the court with his usual energy creating chaos and extra possessions. Offensively, Brewer is scary and unpredictable and he’ll need to be a bit more consistent to gain more regular playing time off the bench.
	Rudy Fernandez, SG 33 MIN | 9-11 FG | 0-1 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 23 PTS | +9 Thank God for Rudy. He looked great upon his return from an Achilles strain and his hot shooting singlehandedly held off the Raptors’ furious second half surge. Rudy also did a great job chasing the feisty Raptors guards all over the court. Bayless was able to shake him loose a couple of times but his offensive game was so brilliant it hardly mattered. Not only did Rudy handle the ball some as a backup point, he was fantastic off the ball – juking out Barbosa for one of the most poetic wide open threes of the season. Magnificent game from Rudy and all the more impressive considering he hasn’t played in quite some time.
	Kosta Koufos, C 5 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | -12 The decision to pair Koufos with Harrington in the middle was a head-scratcher to say the least. Kosta didn’t receive any minutes in the first half and calling on him to stem the tide during Denver’s worst stretch of play might have been asking too much of the seldom used 22-year old. He had a rough go from the moment he stepped on the floor, immediately being hit with a questionable blocking foul and worsening Denver’s stagnant offensive attack. Defensively, the Nuggets completely fell apart with him on the floor and while you can’t put the blame solely on Koufos, Toronto seized total control of the game and it’s hard to defend the decision to bring him in.

Five Things We Saw

1. Zonin’: The Nuggets were fantastic against Miami’s zone defense and the results against Toronto were a mixed bag. The Raptors didn’t exclusively run zone, but at times they stifled the Nuggets offense and forced them into way too many bad jumpers. Without Nene, the Nuggets struggled mightily to get anything going and there was not enough drive and kick or aggressive ball movement against the zone. Gallo also needs to stop shooting horrible step back threes in isolation. I would not read too much into it as the Nuggets were definitely missing Lawson’s presence in terms of opening up the offense and pushing the pace.
2. No More Mr. Nice Guy: We saw the mean side of Nene tonight. As I mentioned above, the Raptors were physical and not afraid to foul him every trip down the floor if they needed to. The simple truth is there are many teams out there who cannot guard Nene yet the Brazilian takes himself out of the game through frustration and god awful shot selection. Nene still relies too heavily on his finesse game when it comes to layups and finger rolls when really he just needs to seek out contact and get fouled. 14 free throw attempts probably shouldn’t be as a rare as it is for Nene.
3. Daily Operation: Offensively, the game was a bit of a mess. Afflalo didn’t score and Harrington was missing in action. The Nuggets were actually out-assisted by Toronto and out-shot from the three point line. What rescued the Nuggets was another mainstay of their offensive attack – free throws. The Nuggets earned 32 free throw attempts to Toronto’s 14. As long as the Nuggets can be one of the best teams in terms of getting to the line they should be able to win ugly as they did tonight.
4. Step in the Arena: I had faith the Nuggets would get back to their winning ways at home and handily beat a Bargani-less Raptors team at the Can. It’s important for the Nuggets to play well and leave no doubt against weaker opponents while playing at home. Also of note – Masai Ujiri sat down with the local broadcast crew of Marlowe and Hastings and gave a fantastic interview. He revealed that Chu Chu has cleared immigration and will come stateside to play in the D-League shortly. He also talked about building continuity after the Melo era and how badly he wants to maintain a winning culture for the foreseeable future.
5. JFK 2 LAX: The Nuggets are still undefeated against the eastern conference. They are 8-0 and only play one eastern foe in the month of Febuary, a road contest against Indiana. The rest of the eastern conference schedule isn’t particularly brutal either. In mid-March they play at home versus Atlanta, Boston and Detroit; then on the road at Chicago, Orlando, Charlotte and Toronto. How long could they keep this streak going?

Game 19 Advanced Stats

Pace Factor: 90.6 – Slow for a home game, but no Ty Lawson
Offensive Efficiency:  105.9 – Not much to complain about. Free throws were key
Defensive Efficiency:  89.4 – A very good performance that might have been better without some really hot shooting from Bayless.

The Nuggets have shown us a new way. 

They resisted the urge to go after high dollar players.  They also chose not to play it patient, hold on to their cash for a few summers and see what they could glean from other teams playing the middle man although they were able to pilfer Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer from Dallas before they ramped up their payroll.   Denver used their space to resign their own quality players.

OK, I hear you.  That does not sound like a new tactic.  However, how often have we seen teams get hammered in the last couple years of a player’s contract due to mindlessly dolling out the maximum raise simply because that is how contracts in the N.B.A. work.  Even with the maximum annual raise reduced from 10.5% to 7.5% that can still add up.  I believe Denver managed a minor coup as they resigned Nene and Arron Afflalo and extended Danilo Gallinari without giving up those killer annual raises.

Since their payroll was so low Denver was able to grant slightly higher first year salaries than the players could have earned on the open market, thus allowing the contracts to hit the cumulative level the players wanted, without getting hit by overly cumbersome salaries towards the end of the contracts.

Instead of paying Nene $15 million in the last year of his contract, they are paying him $13 million.  Afflalo will not be making $10 million, but $7.75 million.  Likewise Danilo Gallinari will be earning $10.5 million, not $12 million.  Even Kosta Koufos was signed to a three year deal with a flat $3 million for an annual salary.

The difference may seem nominal, but an extra couple of million dollars can help the Nuggets add players without entering into the dreaded luxury tax zone as those contracts mature.  It may not grab headlines.  It probably does not boost season ticket sales and maybe other teams will not take notes and emulate what Denver is doing, but headlines and accolades are not what drive this team.  Masai and Josh just do their homework and make smart decisions.