Denver Nuggets End of Season Wrap Up

Predicted Outcome: 42-20, fourth place Northwest Division
Finished: 50-32, second place Northwest Division, 1-4 playoffs

The Denver Nuggets performed far better than many (including myself) expected them to. The Nuggets look as if they were a team in turmoil. They was discontent from their star, their coach had been battling a bout with cancer and the rest of the roster were starting to look worn down and washed up. Who would have thought they would win 50 games, finish second in their division and qualify for the playoffs? They traded their superstar, Carmelo Anthony, who has been the face of the team for seven years late in the season. Many observers would have expected the Nuggets to collapse under the pressure after such a move; however that did not happen in the Mile-high city.

Instead, the team actually improved without Carmelo’s presence going 18-7 since his departure. That’s especially impressive since coach George Karl had to assimilate five new players into the Denver rotation. He had two young players with little experience in fourth year player Wilson Chandler and third year player Danilo Galinari. He also inherited a rookie center that was rather green and did not get many opportunities to play in Timofey Mozgov. And he had to blend in a veteran player who was used to running the show on former team in Raymond Felton. Karl did an admirable job blending the old with the new and the Nuggets seemed to work well to together as if they had played together for the whole season all along.

This certainly gives Nuggets fans a sigh of relief as they did not end up like the other teams that had lost their superstar players. The Cleveland Cavaliers simply crashed and burned after losing Lebron James going from a 60 win season last year to winning just 19. The Toronto Raptors went into a tailspin winning 18 less games than last season once their former star Chris Bosh left and finished with the third worst record in the regular season. Last season, the Phoenix Suns were contenders for the Western Conference crown; then Amare Stoudemire left for the Big Apple resulting in them winning 40 games and missing the playoffs. Fortunately, the Nuggets will have a chance to avoid such a fate as witnessed by their rather impressive season.
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