Blueprint for Brooklyn Nets to Rebuild Via NBA Trade Market posted by Nets Fan

A 10-21 start, a disappointing 44-win finish and a second-round playoff loss bookended a discouraging season by management's standards. Now it seems as if general manager Billy King is looking to reconstruct his roster.

So, what does a team that pays a bigger luxury tax than any other do when its season starts to implode? It begins to prioritize the money just a little bit more. And there's nothing wrong with that.

You can't blame an owner who wants to spend when he wins but doesn't when he loses. Actually, there are advantages to keeping salary lower on unsuccessful teams, considering that getting below the luxury tax for a season helps you avoid paying a repeater tax in future years.

The Nets are in a unique situation: Most of the time, if an older team is underperforming and wants to deal away some of its bigger contracts, it'll look for young talent around which it can build.

The NBA's current climate promotes a sort of break-it-down-and-start-over environment for expensive teams that can't seem to find success. Except there is one problem which is specific to the Nets: The team doesn't have any valuable draft picks at any point in the near future.

We're talking nothing. Zilch.

Brooklyn could go five straight years—after sending its first-rounder to the Celtics this past summer—without selecting with its own first-round pick. 

Brooklyn may be four under .500 right now, but the schedule is in one of its lighter periods, starting with Sunday's home game against the Detroit Pistons, which the Nets won 110-105. Tuesday, the Nets host the

Clippers continue to struggle on the road with loss to Atlanta posted by Clippers Fan

The Clippers lost their fifth straight road game Tuesday, falling 107-104 to the Atlanta Hawks.

“I was hoping I was going to get to tell you something different tonight…We should’ve won this game.” Chris Paul told reporters.

The should-haves are piling up for the Clippers with only 29 games into the season, each night, a different culprit seemingly getting in the way of a breakthrough.

In Denver on Friday, the Clippers should’ve won, it was a total lack of defensive consistency. Tuesday, it was a combination of too much fouling and the inevitable fatigue from a treacherous stretch of games.

“It’s always something,” Blake Griffin said. “It’s something small, something that we have to change, something that we have to do better that ends up kind of messing us up.”

When Atlanta shot its first free throws in the 3rd quarter, the Clippers led, 71-62. Over the next 4:50, the Hawks went to the line a whopping 16 times, during a 16-8 run that zapped the Clippers of all their energy.

With the needle hovering around E, the Clipper bench put together another bad stretch – a 9-0 run by the Hawks to start the fourth – and the starters never fully recovered.

Down the stretch there were chances, the Matt Barnes jump ball he couldn’t win, the J.J. Redick free throw that rimmed out, the game-tying Blake Griffin 3-point try that hit the backboard and rim.

Despite all their close calls Coach Doc Rivers said he’s actually encouraged. He believes his team is close to breaking through.

Kenneth Faried grabs 25 rebounds, saves Nuggets from sloppy loss posted by Nuggets Fan

It's the little things Brian Shaw hates. The times when his players don't box out. The times when the ball bounces in front of them and they still don't go for the ball. The missed free throws. The shoddy defense.

He must have had a hard time sitting through Friday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Pepsi Center.

Coming off a blowout loss at Charlotte and a sloppy defeat at Brooklyn, the Nuggets returned home to host the Timberwolves, the worst team in the West, in a game that, on paper, should have been Denver's for the taking.

And until the fourth quarter, Kenneth Faried appeared to be the only Nuggets player who wanted it.

Faried, who turned in one of his finest showings of the season against Brooklyn three nights earlier, came back with an even better one Friday with 26 points and a career-high 25 rebounds while leading the Nuggets to a 106-102 victory over the Timberwolves.

"After 26 points," Shaw said, "I want him to understand that we didn't call plays for him. He got those 26 points going after offensive rebounds every single time.”

But with every one of his baskets, as well as those of his teammates, the Timberwolves seemed to have a response on the other end, ones that were often handed to them by the Nuggets' miscues.

Eighteen turnovers. Too many wide-open shots to count for Minnesota. Many poor decisions.

The Timberwolves (5-23) arrived in Denver sporting the worst defensive rating in the NBA, allowing 113 points per 100 possessions and letting opponents shoot a league-worst 49.8 percent from the field and 65.3 percent from within 5 feet of the rim.

Denver Nuggets Preseason Report 2014 posted by Nuggets Fan

Denver Nuggets could not make it to the playoffs, even with Juwan Howard as their lead scorer. Key players such as Nene Hilario, Junior Harrington, and Nikoloz Tskitishvili were sidelined, and the team overall was plagued with injuries. With 36 wins and 46 losses, the season was a disaster, yet there were moments of hope as certain players like Kenneth Faried and Ty Lawson showed good improvement. Secondly, the team also had to adjust to a new coach in ten years, but the new system seems to have worked fine.   

According to certain experts, Denver Nuggets have 10% playoff odds and a 38-44 win/loss score, for 2014-2015. If the team keeps to the current muster there are good chances of reaching at least the playoffs, provided Javale McGee, Danillo Gallinari, and Ty Lawson keep good health. Acquiring Gary Harris by the draft will certainly help, as he will improve the defense, as well as the offense of the team. Additionally, getting back SG Arron Afflalo for the offseason is a worthwhile acquisition. Afflalo is a great shooter and he will strengthen the team's offense considerably.

The Nuggets have great forwards and they only need to keep healthy. Kenneth Faried will most probably be the starter, and also Danilo Galinari, if he is in good shape. The spots on the backcourt will be held by Nate Robinson, Aaron Brooks, and Randy Foye, while the F positions will be held by JJ Hickson and Wilson Chandler. However, depth of Denver mainly lies at center spot. The talented JaVale McGee, last season, participated in only five games, and whether he will be there throughout this season remains to be seen. Another inclusion, Jusuf Nurkic is expected to rotate with McGee and Mozgov. If Nurkic is able to deliver, Denver might get rid of McGee, who has a big amount contract.

MeloDrama finally to a head posted by Ondre Baronette

So your a newly married man, you were born in Brooklyn, and play for the Denver Nuggets. Now you want to force the organization you grew up rooting for, to gut thier roster, trade you to their team, and sign that big extension. It makes little sense, about as much sense as it makes signing that extension before their is a work stoppage. The owners and players will be battling for millions, and you and your New York wife and tv personality, La La Vazquez, will be spending millions, and staying in shape. It scares me to think that these players, all be it great, can dictate the direction of franchises, and send players away from where they play, and start a new path. Its hard to complain about the player the Knicks are getting back, but the entire process, made the Lebron James, "Decesion" pale in comparison. I'll continue to watch the team, and will always think about ways to upgrade, aka, "fix" the roster, that it's okay, but I am in the minority, when I say, I hope this trade gets pulled at the last minute, and the hammer is put away, until summer time. Lets go KnicksContinue reading "MeloDrama finally to a head"

New faces, early dividends posted by john howard

Dallas Mavericks' new players played well last night, beating the top team in the east in Orlando Magic.

Caron Butler and Brenden Haywood combined for 73 minutes 16 rebounds and 31 points.  A really good bigman and another scorer.  Good Job Dallas.

Another top team fell to newcomers.  Denver fell to Washington and their new lineup.  No Arenas, no Jamison, no Butler, no problem.  Josh Howard had 20 points in 23 minutes. More stunning was the 25 points the Wizards outscored the Nuggets in that 23 minutes.  Also, Al Thornton (just acquired from the Clippers) had 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 block shots in 31 minutes. Oh I can't wait until Ilgauskas joins the group. 

Expect Thornton and Howard to play with a chip on their shoulders, showing the teams that didn't want them that they were wrong. The Wizards have players that are auditioning for the big free agent bucks.  They are going to be competitive for the rest of the season.

That Guy Scored 50?? posted by Scott Shepherd

A few days ago I posted a blog listing the best scorers in the NBA today that have yet to have a 50-point scoring game.

While researching that post, I had an even more interesting idea for a post.

It’s a list of guys who, unbelievably, had a 50-point game in their career.

Since I was using www.basketball-reference.com to research the list, we’re only going back to the 1986-87 season. It’s far enough back in time to make some of the guys on the list obscure, but not far enough back to where you won’t remember them.

In no order, here are some of the more random players to score 50 points in an NBA game over the past 24 seasons.

Vernon Maxwell

Before Ron Artest and the “Malice at the Palace”, there was Vernon Maxwell running into the stands and punching a fan. While “Mad Max” will be remembered most for that, he also finds himself in elite company as one of only 60 players to score 50 or more points in a game since the start of the 1986-87 season.

Maxwell may be most remembered for his volatility, but at one point he was very dangerous on the court as well. He dropped for 30 points in the fourth quarter on January 26th, 1991 against the Cavs en route to a career-high 51 points.

Charles Smith

The former number three overall pick had a solid first few seasons with the Clippers, but a series of knee injuries cut his career short after a few other stops. For his career, he averaged 14.4 points per game.

Though he never developed into a big time NBA player, Smith dropped 52 on the Nuggets in December of 1990. It was the only time in his nine year career the Smith scored more than 40 points in a game.
Continue reading "That Guy Scored 50??"

LeBron Makes His Only Trip to "The Garden" Tonight posted by Scott Shepherd

LeBron James makes his only trip to Madison Square Garden tonight.

For the past two seasons there has been plenty of talk about LeBron bolting his hometown of Cleveland for the bright lights of New York City.

In his career, LeBron has been fantastic at the Garden. He’s averaged 30.1 points, 6.6 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals in ten trips to The Garden. In his last two trips to the Mecca of Basketball, he’s had a 52-10-9 game and a 50-10-8 game.

Needless to say, all eyes will be on LeBron tonight to see if he can put on another show on Broadway.

Also on tap for tonight, the undefeated Nuggets make their only trip to Miami to take on Dwyane Wade and the Heat; the Pistons look to continue their dominance over the Magic in Orlando; and the Suns try to outrun the Celtics in Boston.

I’m gonna wear out my Directv remote trying to keep up with all the games tonight. Should be a great night of basketball.

Stay tuned…

Nuggets hand Grizzlies frustrating loss posted by Brad Hurt

There are no moral victories in the NBA.  Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said so himself.  If there were, Sunday's 133-123 loss at Denver would have qualified.  The 10-point final margin is a bit misleading because the Grizzlies led by five after the opening quarter and hung around for much of the game.  The Grizzlies put up 40 points in the first quarter on 77 percent shooting, which at least ensured they would not start out flat on the road as they did so many times last season.  They shot the ball extremely well, finishing at 57.8% for the game.  Offense is not the problem.  What has hurt them in their first two losses is turnovers.  They gave the ball away 20 times on Sunday and 14 times in their opener against Detroit, robbing themselves of chances to build runs.  With the way they are shooting the ball right now, if they maximized their possessions, they could be undefeated or at least have played Detroit closer.  Against the Nuggets, the Grizzlies just didn't play enough defense to win.  The Nuggets weren't a whole lot better defensively, but the extra possessions they got allowed them to stay just far enough ahead of the Grizzlies to claim the win.

There is always room for improvement, especially after a loss, but the Grizzlies are far ahead of where they usually are through the first few games of a season.  They showed flashes of greatness against the Nuggets and never hit an extended lull like they have in past road games.  They did fade in the third quarter, but just as they did so many times a year ago, they roared back in the fourth quarter to make a game of it.

Fun With Box Scores posted by Scott Shepherd

In the NBA these days, it seems like there is a stat for everything. We’ve got PER, offensive efficiency ratings, defensive efficiency rating, and so on and so on.

It seems like every team in the league now employs their own stat guru. And while I’m not one to question the use of all these new statistics to evaluate NBA players (I actually kinda like them), I’m old school.

To me, all the new stats in the world can’t tell the story of an NBA game as well as the good, old fashioned box score.

Therefore, I’m starting a new feature today called “Fun With Box Scores”.

Every Monday, I’ll be posting some of the more interesting things that jumped out at me from the previous week’s box scores.

This week, they are, in no particular order:

The Cavs were +38 when LeBron was on the floor this week. They were -27 when he wasn’t.

Meanwhile, the Cavs were -3 when Shaq was on the floor and +19 when he wasn’t.

Rasheed Wallace took 8 shots on Wednesday…all three pointers. For the week, ‘Sheed attempted 36 shots. 25 of them were three pointers.

Danilo Gallinari was 8-16 from deep on Saturday. He was 1-6 on two-point shots. For the week he was 18-36 on three-point shots and 4-11 on two-point attempts.

Carmelo Anthony had 113 points in 116 minutes this week.

Greg Oden had 26 points in 99 minutes. He also had 19 fouls.

Speaking of fouls, Hasheem Thabeet had 8 in 24 minutes of play this week. In his defense, he did have four blocks, giving him a nice one block for every two fouls ratio.

Nuggets agree to deals with rookie Murray, veteran Miller (Yahoo Sports)

DENVER (AP) -- The Denver Nuggets have signed first-round pick Jamal Murray and agreed to a deal with veteran Mike Miller. [read full article]

From Yahoo Sports

Nuggets agree to deals with rookie Murray, veteran Miller

DENVER (AP) The Denver Nuggets have signed first-round pick Jamal Murray and agreed to a deal with veteran Mike Miller. [read full article]

From FOX Sports Digital

Ulis 3-pointer lifts Suns into Summer League semifinals

Tyler Ulis hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime to give the Phoenix Suns an 82-81 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Las Vegas Summer League. [read full article]

From FOX Sports Digital

NBA Summer League recap: Nuggets 88, Timberwolves 82

The Minnesota Timberwolves began their NBA summer-league schedule with a loss to the Denver Nuggets. [read full article]

From FOX Sports Digital

Prosecutors want records sealed in Mateen Cleaves sex case (Yahoo Sports)

[read full article]

From Yahoo Sports