The Nuggets will finish 10th...

by Andrew Feinstein on Sep 12, 2008 9:53 AM MDT

...according to ESPN.com's offseason NBA predictions. Denver Stiffs will serve up its NBA Preview about two weeks before the season begins in late October and along the way we'll breakdown what the other basketball sites, blogs, etc are saying about our Nuggets, too.

But what's interesting about ESPN's initial forecast is that its the average prediction from 25 of their contributors (not just one writer). In other words, we're not the only ones pessimistic about the Nuggets for 2008-09.

I think most of this blog's readers would agree that simply making the playoffs in 2009 will be an accomplishment, given the current makeup of the Nuggets roster. It will, however, be quite an adjustment for us as fans considering just one year ago we were thinking about contending for a championship. Oh, how times have changed.

ESPN has the Nuggets penciled down for 39 wins, tied with Golden State, five games behind Portland and four ahead of the Clippers. We'll get into this more with the Denver Stiffs NBA Preview (as I pull a Woody Paige and go game-by-game to see how the season will pan out), but I'm not sold on Golden State at all sans Baron Davis. In fact, I believe with Davis joining the Clippers that they'll finish just above the Warriors and will be - like the Nuggets - one of the more entertaining / intriguing teams to watch this season. And I think the Nuggets will finish just ahead of both the Clippers and Warriors, but won't necessarily crack the top 8 in the West.

Other than our beloved Nuggets, if there's one team that could drop out of the Western Conference Playoffs from last season it's Dallas. Even though I very much like their new head coach Rick Carlisle, the Jason Kidd trade will come back to haunt them even more this season, although maybe not enough to miss the playoffs altogether.

But as ESPN has predicted, Portland will likely be the team to jump into the postseason in 2009. After watching Rudy Fernandez tear it up in the Beijing Olympics and Jerryd Bayless do the same in the summer league, for now I have to concur. And of course, we all remember Nuggets head coach George Karl crying (literally) about Portland's imminent improvement during his post-Lakers' sweep press conference, so we know who he's worried about.

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I'm not sure how this committee came up with this Golden State ahead of the Nuggets give me a break! Also the Nuggets only winning 5 more games then the Kings.

by kevin on Sep 12, 2008 10:46 AM MDT reply actions

How many of us would be against them openly tanking this season in an attempt to get a better draft pick? Maybe get a nice young center or PG? It would enable me to focus on my studies more at the same time, so win win! It worked for Boston.

by Robin Z on Sep 12, 2008 10:52 AM MDT reply actions

Sorry but I agree. Look on the bright side. You are still likely looking down at Memphis! We could be the worst team in the conference while Denver could finish 10th and still have a better record than a playoff team in the East!

by cc on Sep 12, 2008 10:53 AM MDT reply actions

I will be watching the games and rooting for the Nuggets as I have since they were formed.

As soon as the "experts" show any ability at all to predict ANYTHING accurately, I will pay them some heed. (Define expert? An ex is a hasbeen, and a spurt is a drip under pr)essure.)

I am already becoming excited about the new season, and am looking forward to it.

by John S on Sep 12, 2008 11:39 AM MDT reply actions

the blazers won't do as good as everyone thinks. they will still miss the playoffs. The nuggets may miss the playoffs, but I doubt it. I bet they do just as good without camby. Camby was good at shot blocking, terrible at taking shots, and didn't guard big men worth crap. So he won't be missed as much as people think. And the AI/Melo chemistry will be better this year for sure. I expect the nuggets to be the no 7 or 8 seed again.

by lakers suck on Sep 12, 2008 11:47 AM MDT reply actions

I've got another stupid rant (if you didn't read my last one, you didn't
miss anything). Why is Denver so insistent on being a running team? Because
of the altitude advantage? If that's their only reason, then maybe they
should play half their games on the road (oh wait, they do... no advantage
there).

Look at their line-up... A 33 year old shoot first point guard, who has
shown that he can thrive in the grind it out half court possession game.

A young, highly talented, highly combustible shooting guard who has shown
that if the pace is frenetic he often makes poor decisions.

A hold the ball, get double teamed, out of shape small forward who, if he
learns (or gets taught) to pass out of a double team, would be a dynamic
half court player.

A power forward who plays great man-to-man half court defense, but has had
more knee surgeries than Mark Schlareth.

And an out of shape, Brazilian bruiser in the center.

If George Karl would take the time to teach them how to run an efficient
half court set, and if the players would commit to half-court defense and
the rotations that they have screwed up every single year for as long as
Karl has been there, I think this team could be a damn good slow the game
down, grind it out kind of team.

But I don't understand why they insist on pretending that this is 1986
again. Yes, the fast break system worked with 1 set of guys 20 years ago...
why is that still our blueprint? Haven't the Dan Issels and Paul Westheads
and George Karl's of the world proven that it doesn't work every time?

by John on Sep 12, 2008 12:08 PM MDT reply actions

Dino Costa please come back here and save our sanity! Did anyone read what Karl had to say in the most recent RMN story? He said among other things that:

A-He believes that in the past the Nuggets may have had too much talent talent.

B-That too much talent has gotten in the Nuggets way in the past!

Is this imbecile for real? Is this a professional coach we have or a dummy with a bloated tummy? I think we all know the answer to that question.

Rest up George, it's gonna be a loooooong season, and the excuses this year should be a heck of a lot better than they were last season.

However, Georgies number one media nemesis is no longer in Denver, so with Dino Costa back in New York, George Karl has one less concern and can comfort himself with the softball media that remains in our cow town.

by Anonymous on Sep 12, 2008 10:30 PM MDT reply actions

Im serious when I say i think Denver will get the 8th seed. AI can still score and is one of the best guards in the league. Melo is an all star and K mart when healthy can.. ok maybe not him, but the only threats are Portland and the Clippers. Clippers won't have chemistry yet and Portland are too young, unless Oden and Roy are all stars I dont see it happening. You just have to hope they don't trade Iverson.

by Simon on Sep 13, 2008 4:09 AM MDT reply actions

I just saw an article on ESPN.com entitled "Turmoil to Follow". We, uh, might be in for a long season.

Here are a couple of quotes that stood out:

The survey of 25 ESPN experts says ... that the Denver Nuggets are the most likely team to descend into turmoil.

Here is what Chad Ford had to say:

Denver seems to me the poster child for team turmoil next year. They've had high expectations with Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, but the team hasn't lived up to them.

This summer Anthony was on the trading block for a short time and his future with the team still seems very much up in the air. Allen Iverson is in the last year of his contract and has the potential to cause problems if he isn't traded or doesn't get the contract renewed. The loss of Marcus Camby wasn't taken well by Iverson or Anthony. The Nuggets just took a big step backwards in their ability to compete.

To top it all off, the team has virtually no ability to get significantly under the cap to make the necessary adjustments, even if they let Iverson walk. Kenyon Martin is in a near-max deal. Anthony is maxed out. Nene is getting paid ridiculous dollars as well. They are likely a luxury tax paying, non-playoff team with two players on the roster who consider themselves superstars and a very volatile head coach.

Check out the full article at http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-34-63/Turmoil-to-Follow.html.

by Lord Sam on Sep 13, 2008 9:21 AM MDT reply actions

Ok, this is a topic I am very passionate about. Experts do not know what they are talking about, ever. Don't listen to a word they say, because all they are are just random guesses based on whats on paper. I guarantee the Nuggets win at least 45 games next year. The "experts" just look at this Nuggets team without Camby and think we are doomed because he was the only one to play D, but what they don't realize is that Camby was a terrible defender. He was a good shot blocker and rebounder (half of which were stolen from his own teamates to pad his stats)but he couldn't defend any body worth crap in one on one situations. Nene is much more physical and able to keep other big men out of the key more than Camby ever was able to. With that said, I think Camby was a glue in a way to keeping a young, irresponsable team out of trouble on some nights, which could end up hurting us this year. As for the Clippers, they will suprise a lot of people this year. They will most likely get the 8 spot while they battle it out with the Nuggets. In my opinion the Blazers are still too young and Oden has yet to play a game in the league.

by Goldennugget on Sep 13, 2008 10:25 PM MDT reply actions

One other quick thing, this year's success will depend on how Karl goes about the starting lineup. If he does not start JR at shooting guard and AI at the point, we are not going to make it. Our only hope to survive this year is to rely on our ability to out score our opponent and JR gives us the best chance at doing so. A starting lineup of
PG) A.I.
SG) J.R.
SF) Melo
PF) K-Mart
C) Nene
is one of the best in the confrence. When you put Carter in at the point it really screws up the flow of the offense because he is the only one unable to score at any time. I don't care if he plays good D, it doesn't matter anyways. We have to go with the game plan of trying to outscore the opponent. Plus, I have a feeling with JR in the starting lineup he could have a true breakout season because it would boost his confidence and allow him to really get around 20 a night.

by Goldennugget on Sep 13, 2008 10:33 PM MDT reply actions

Oh... what a surprise! The Medias Favorite whipping boy team, JUST so happened to lead that poll... Its more of a wish than anything. 39 games!? The team won 45 games the season b4 last with a REAL Team in turmoil season. A season that saw them lose, Melo, Kmart, JR and Nene for extended lengths of time... and they still won 45 games... NOT 39 games. Just dumb really. They hate this team for no reason at all.

by chillz on Sep 15, 2008 9:19 AM MDT reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

STIFF LIST (as of 4/26 by Andrew Feinstein)

1. METTA WORLD PEACE

Metta resorted back to Ron Ron last Sunday by clubbing James Hardenwith an "inadvertent celebratory elbow", landing him a 7-game suspension. Apparently, changing his name didn't prevent NBA commissioner David Stern from overlooking Metta's past behavior problems.

2. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

The 'Cats are on the verge of securing the worst winning percentage in NBA history. Given that the guy who runs the team - Michael Jordan - had previously drafted Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison, should this really be a shock?

3. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
The team that was supposedly built to overcome the lockout-shortened season managed to lose 7 of its last 14 games, ceding the Western Conference's 1-seed to the Spurs in the process. Their reward might be a first round matchup with defending champion Dallas.

4. BILLY HUNTER AND DEREK FISHER

With report after report coming out about NBPA union head Hunter's shady, nepotistic dealings and questions arising about Fisher's own role in dealing with NBA owners behind Hunter's back during the lockout, this off-the-court scandal could prove to be more exciting than the playoffs themselves!

5. STEVE NASH AND THE PHOENIX SUNS
The Suns are on this list for squandering the last few great seasons from Nash. Nash is on this list for his stupidly stubborn loyalty to a franchise as awful as the Suns.