POINT GUARDS
Andre Miller / Earl Watson / Earl Boykins
SHOOTING GUARDS
DerMarr Johnson / Greg Buckner / Voshon Lenard
SMALL FORWARDS
Carmelo Anthony / Julius Hodge
POWER FORWARDS
Kenyon Martin / Nene / Linas Kleiza
CENTERS
Marcus Camby / Francisco Elson / Luke Schenscher
2004 / 05 : 49-33, 2nd Northwest, Western Conference No. 7 Seed
Key Additions : Earl Watson, Julius Hodge
Coach : George Karl
Strengths : 3rd year forward, Carmelo Anthony will again lead the charge for the Denver Nuggets. The talented offensive player will again have the scoring role, in which he has excelled in thus far in his young career. Coach Karl has played a vital role in keeping the moody Anthony, mind focussed on the job. Talented big man Marcus Camby will be hoping for another relatively healthy season as his rebounding and shot blocking have been key in the Nuggets revival. Teamed with Nene and Martin, Camby gives the Nuggets a solid front court presense. At point guard, the Nuggets have a wealth of talent with Earl Watson joining starter Andre Miller, and sparkplug Earl Boykins. Look for these players to rotate at times at shooting guard.
Weaknesses : The Denver Nuggets struggle to find their offense consistently. Leading scorer Carmelo Anthony can be erratic as any youngster can be. Outside of him, the stocks are relatively dry. Point guard Miller is a decent scorer, as is Martin, Camby and Nene. However none of these players are reliable 2nd options, which at times leads to Denver going through bad scoring droughts. The health of bigs Camby, Nene and Martin has been a large concern for the Nuggets. Each of these players has spent large chunks of time on the injured list. No team can afford this with their bigs. Another offseason has gone by, and again no help at shooting guard. Johnson, Buckner and Lenard, who all are role players, will fill the minutes by commitee.
Key Player : As much as the Nuggets rely on Anthony's offensive game, they seem to lean even heavier on the fragile health of center Marcus Camby. The talented big man gives the Nuggets a tremendous defensive presense inside, and an awesome rebounder at both ends of the floor. Offensively he is steady, but it is is shot blocking influence that allows the Nuggets perimter player to be aggressive, knowing they have Camby there to clean up the mess.
Overview : Much on Denver's season will fall around key players Marcus Camby and Carmelo Anthony. When healthy and focussed, this tandom gives the Nuggets tremendous firepower at each end. However, they need others around them to lift to another level just to remain at their playoff level. Kenyon Martin really has to step up his post offense to allow Carmelo space to operate. Same can be said for Watson, Miller and Johnson, who need to support from the perimeter. Coach Karl has a tough job finding minutes for his point guards, without being hurt for playing too small. If Karl can eek out some more offense from these guys, they are dangerous, particulary playing at altitude in Denver. However again it all relies on Carmelo's keeping his head, and Camby staying on the court. Overall I see much of the same, with the Nuggets sitting around the 5th to 8th seedings with a similar win loss ratio.
Win Range : 48 - 53 wins
