I think it’s going to be very hard for the Nuggets to duplicate last year’s magical run where everything seemed to go right for them. From the heist of Chauncey Billups, who George Karl called a gift from the basketball gods, to the favorable playoff match-ups against New Orleans and Dallas, Denver’s season almost seemed to be following a script.
However, this year I do not project the same rosy outlook. First of all, I do not think they had a very good off-season. While most of the leading contenders in the West were busy bolstering their squads, the Nuggets arguably got worse over the summer. Defensive ace Dahntay Jones left town after being lavished with a very generous contract from the Pacers and Linas Kleiza also departed. They did resign Chris Anderson and acquire Aaron Afflalo via trade, but that does not offset the aforementioned losses.
Why I think the Nuggets are really in for a rocky start to
their season is because of the absence of J.R. Smith, who will miss the first
seven games due to suspension. I cannot over-emphasize
how big of a loss that is. His scoring
punch coming off the bench is so critical to the team’s success. His three-point shooting is even more
valuable when they play at home as it really gets their crowd going after he
knocks down a few deep ones in succession.
So counting Smith’s loss along with the departures of Kleiza and Jones,
the Nuggets are now without three of their top nine players from last year’s
team. That’s a third of their roster
that is not there right now and hasn’t really been replaced. Their depth has taken a serious hit.
On the other hand, the Jazz are coming into this season
really flying under the radar. You’re
not hearing a lot of talk about them at all and I think that’s a good thing. Now obviously you can’t be thrilled that
Carlos Boozer is still on the team after publicly stating he would pretty much
never play another game for the Jazz. At
the same time though, he makes
Of course I’m acutely aware of
Jazz +5.5
Jazz ML
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