loweyecue wrote:Before the Pistons no one had won it all without a proven megastar on the team
Before Kobe-Shaq no one ever won it all w/o at least one of the main cogs being someone they drafyed themselves
Just because something hasn't been done before doesn't mean it will not happen.

You guys consider Chicago a contender? Rose and Boozer are both below average defenders.

Agreed, but their coach has installed a defensive system with proven principles. This is the same coach that turned offensive players like Ray Allen and Paul Pierce into core players of the best defensive team in the league. Dont tell me that Anthony and Amare cant be a part of a very good defensive team, we just need a coach that will put in the system and the time.

No one knew the knicks were going to the finals in 99', no one knew the Giants were going to win the World Series or the Superbowl (when they did)

That being said, we can be a very dangerous team. If i was a fan of another team in the east, I'd be praying that I didn't draw the knicks in the 1st round. It's not a gimme win against the knicks. Once the playoffs come around, if we're gelling there is no reason why we can't have a late season run.

There is something different about this NBA, this knick team. We have 2 superstars, I don't see any other team as dominating us, we have some glaring issues with rebounds and defensive. Hopefully the ball goes in the basket for us. Melo will give us a half court game, where we didnt have one before.

Paladin55 wrote:Some of you guys drive me crazy with the "teach defense" stuff.

D has more to do with the heart, effort, and ball awareness as it does with exotic defensive schemes.

Clyde talks about seeing the ball all the time in his broadcasts, and that D is not a complicated thing. It would seem that nobody wants to believe the guy.

Taken from a Dever Nuggets blogger- He's very excited about the D his team is playing:

From the past two games with our 4 new players, I have seen some very good defensive efforts, especially from the new acquisitions Danilo Gallinari, and Wilson Chandler. The bad news is that we still have no offensive chemistry and that is what caused our first loss, but the good news is that we have seen a whole array of defense from our new team, something that has only been seen in spurts with Carmelo Anthony. Wilson Chandler contained Batum very well and had a vicious block on Brandon Roy, Gallo plays the passing lanes better than I have seen a 6'10 player play them, not to mention he has a knack for blocking and if he has the right matchup, seems to be a solid man to man defender, I thought Gallo would be a stiff on defense...but I couldn't disagree more, his efforts so far on defense are much better than anything I have seen from Melo all year long, the fact that he is as young as he is proof he will progress further and I have no doubt he will average 23-25 a night eventually but for now he will get between 15-20, which is fine because he can use more of his energy on defense.

Kenyon is a great man to man defender and a very good defender all around, especially when he is not switching off so much, which is his only defensive downfall along with a lack of height and weight. However he can still defend most pfs in the league when he is healthy and I think with him last night we would have won seeing as how Nene had trouble defending Aldridge. Nene is also a capable defender when he is man to man and gives most big men trouble down low but since he needs serious help from the weak side he will need someone to come over and help which is where Gallo comes in. I think that due to Gallo's size, he should start for us on most nights at the PF position due to Kenyons health concerns and the fact that we need a go to scorer, Gallo can be that man, I don't think he would ever of had that chance in New York with Amar'e locked up there for 6 years and Melo inevitably going there one way or another, he would of been overshadowed. Now he has a chance to be the go to guy. I think that for this team to go 1-1 playing with each other for the first time on back to back nights against playoff teams is a sign of good things to come, and for us to compete in Portland like that, one of the hardest places to win at in the NBA against a Portland team who was playing great all night was a wonderful sight to see despite the loss.

This has the potential to be the best assembled defense this team has ever seen in franchise history. Chandler is a solid defender and can defend most small forwards in the league, not only that he can defend shooting guards and power forwards with solid success if he has to switch off his man. Gallo is a willing defender who can defend anyone from most opposing teams from the 5 to the 1, though I think Gallo might need to bulk up a bit so he can take the banging of power forwards on a regular basis, something Dirk Nowitzki has had trouble with his entire career. His blocking ability reminds me of Chris Anderson when he was healthy 2 years ago but he is a much better defender overall than Chris.

...I haven't been this excited for Nuggets defense ever, and I hope we can continue this play at this level.

http://www.denverstiffs.com/2011/2/26/2017914/we-now-have-a-defense

Not taking the guy's word for gospel, but an interesting, and what seems to be intelligent, observation of the impact the infusion of Knicks' blood had on the Nugget D, although he did not seem as positive about Felton.

Might we eventually say that the MDA emphasis on D has helped energize the Nugget franchise.

AnubisADL wrote:We beat the Heat and I dont even think we played as well as we can play. Suffice to say I think with Melo, Amare, and Billups we can hang with any team for 7 games.

Agreed.

And add the wrinkle that our role players can sink open three point shots... the team has proven it can overachieve when it hits a lot of three consistently.

Still wouldn't call the team a contender but it is damned close for certain