(Boulder-CO) In yesterday's Rocky Mountain News a few of the Denver Nuggets made very bold predictions. Evidently, even with the departure of the only defensive staple the Denver Nuggets had from last season, there is still optimism in the Nuggets Nation. And as Carmelo Anthony states, "We’ve got a chance to win 50 to 60 (games)."
But can we believe him?
Well, at least his teammates do!
Kenyon Martin is on board with 'Melo, which is at least a good sign of his leadership abilities, and had this to add, "Sixty games, we won 50 games last year and came in eighth place (in the West). It will take 60 to be in the top three. So, I think so.”
I'd like to believe the guys, but something tells me we can chalk all this highly optimistic talk up to pre-training camp rah-rah. Especially considering the injury bug has already bitten this team in a very familiar place. That's right, with training camp starting on Tuesday the Nuggets are already down a man at guard. And to make matters worse, it's once again presumed starting point guard Chucky Atkins who is expected to miss the entirety of the preseason with a knee surgery.
So, with the news of Chucky Atkins once again not being able to be an active part of the team during this critical time of player cohesion. The Denver Nuggets are allegedly going to sign point guard Mateen Cleaves to a one-year non-guaranteed minimum contract. Cleaves has not played in the NBA since the 2005-06 season with the former Seattle Sonics, AKA now the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But can we believe him?
Well, at least his teammates do!
Kenyon Martin is on board with 'Melo, which is at least a good sign of his leadership abilities, and had this to add, "Sixty games, we won 50 games last year and came in eighth place (in the West). It will take 60 to be in the top three. So, I think so.”
I'd like to believe the guys, but something tells me we can chalk all this highly optimistic talk up to pre-training camp rah-rah. Especially considering the injury bug has already bitten this team in a very familiar place. That's right, with training camp starting on Tuesday the Nuggets are already down a man at guard. And to make matters worse, it's once again presumed starting point guard Chucky Atkins who is expected to miss the entirety of the preseason with a knee surgery.
So, with the news of Chucky Atkins once again not being able to be an active part of the team during this critical time of player cohesion. The Denver Nuggets are allegedly going to sign point guard Mateen Cleaves to a one-year non-guaranteed minimum contract. Cleaves has not played in the NBA since the 2005-06 season with the former Seattle Sonics, AKA now the Oklahoma City Thunder.
2 comments:
Again, we have to START J.R. We cannot have this kind of "will he or won't he?" going on with Chucky -- now that he's missing the pre-season, the other guys once again won't be used to playing with him. Starting Anthony Carter is the only other option, and I think we all know that JR is the better player that can offer more to a team that will no doubt rely on its offense to win games once again.
Chucky is apparently falling apart, but even if he does get healthy and play well, bring him off the bench -- we need a consistent starting 5 no matter what. Starting 2 small guards works against some teams, but getting JR used to starting and playing 30 minutes will pay dividends when we need someone with more size and explosiveness (aka most of the time). The reality is that AI is on his way out of Denver unless he takes a HUGE pay cut, so if he's unhappy about being the full-time PG, what does it matter? He'll give 100% no matter what, because that's the kind of guy he is.
I can't agree with you more, Stumble. J.R. should start regardless because he is our best guard other than AI. He's bigger, more athletic, shoots the lights out, is probably more capable both on defense and the boards, and hey, I just like him more than Chucky or AC.
Thanks for reading,
The Nugg Doctor
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