Denver Post sports writer Chris Dempsey posts his Nuggets Mailbag each Thursday this NBA season on DenverPost.com.
To drop a question into the Nuggets Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
I’m getting a really good vibe from the Nuggets. They have shown they can beat the Mavericks, Suns and the Lakers. I’m thinking they have a decent chance to get out of the first round in the playoffs alive. I think it’s about their mentality and attitude, and whether they want to play defense. What are you thoughts?
— Kayla O., Denver
Kayla – I think you’re dead-on about their mental focus being the wild card as to how well they will play in the postseason. The only problem is the Nuggets might have to play the San Antonio Spurs, and if that is, in fact, the case, then the Spurs will have the biggest say in if the Nuggets advance or not.
I just don’t see that as being a very favorable matchup for the Nuggets, who have not had the greatest amount of success against San Antonio recently. A series against the Suns would be much better. Either way, the Nuggets of the past two weeks need to be the ones that show up for the playoffs. They have proven to be a tougher team mentally of late, and matched up with their talent, it will make Denver difficult to eliminate.
What do you think the reason is that assistant coach Adrian Dantley did not make the Basketball Hall of Fame? They went down the list of his career stats during the Sacramento game. He is definitely worthy. Will he have another chance?
— Mike Fallona, Las Vegas
Mike – I’m 100 percent with you on this one. He was one of the greatest players this league has known and deserves it. These numbers you no-doubt know, but to let everyone in on what Dantley accomplished during his career, here they are.
* 18th on the NBA all-time scoring list with 23,177 points in a 15-year career (ninth at the time of his retirement)
* .540 career field goal percentage
* 30-plus points per game in four straight seasons
* NBA Rookie of the Year (1984)
* Six-time NBA All Star
* Two-time league scoring champion
* Ranks in the top 10 in eight Utah Jazz categories
* All NBA second-team twice
Dantley will get another chance to get in, but it will be tougher than it would have been this year, with so few impact players on the ballot. I suspect that the Jazz retiring his jersey should help his case as we move forward with future Hall of Fame voting.
What personnel changes do the Nuggets need to make next year to become a better team?
— Carl Kimball, Morrison
Carl – Honestly, I don’t think much is needed. The big thing is Denver gets Kenyon Martin back next season. That should add toughness and rebounding and another big man that can run in fast-break situations, which is a good thing for a team that says it wants to continue pushing the pace. He’ll also add an edge to the team – one that isn’t always present this season.
The Nuggets’ depth at point guard is a bit of a concern, so adding a quality backup in case Steve Blake and/or Allen Iverson are injured might be necessary. DerMarr Johnson ran the point guard slot in that situation this season, which was fine, but not great. That can be better. Other than that, I think the biggest improvement we’ll see is just with the team being able to play together through a training camp and an entire season. That should pay the biggest dividends in terms of wins.
It’s hard for me not to blame George Karl for the Nuggets’ struggles to stay above .500 given the amount of talent on their roster. Other than having more time to gel, is there another reason why Denver is going to be stuck facing the Suns or Spurs in the first round of the playoffs?
— Sean, Fort Collins
Well, Sean, obviously the Nuggets have played much better basketball of late, but this is a situation in which you can understand why games in November, December and January actually do make a difference. The wins you get then affect how your team finishes in April.
Had the Nuggets played better in January and February, we might be talking about a whole different playoff seed – a higher seed – and that would mean the Nuggets could have avoided playing any one of the “Big Three” in the first round. But, the suspensions and trades and injuries and lack of focus cost the Nuggets victories earlier this season, and now they are stuck with facing a top-tier team in the NBA’s better conference.
Has an eighth seed ever won the NBA Finals?
— T.R., Washington
T.R. – No. The 1999 New York Knicks reached the NBA Finals as a No. 8 seed in that strike-shortened season. They beat the top-seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference first round and went on to beat the Atlanta Hawks and then the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals. The San Antonio Spurs, however, with David Robinson and Tim Duncan, beat the Knicks in five games to win the NBA title that year.
To this day, however, the Knicks and the 1993-94 Denver Nuggets are the only two eighth-seeded teams to win a first-round playoff series.
With the development of Nene, who’s going to start next year when K-Mart is back, hopefully healthy?
— Jim, Westminster
Jim – Good question. My guess right now is Nene would (and should) start and Kenyon would come off the bench, particularly to limit his minutes at the beginning of the season so that he can work his way back into a rhythm and show that he’s completely healed. If all of that works out, coach George Karl could have a field day mixing and matching his lineups on a nightly basis. He could even put out a combo of Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Martin, Nene and Marcus Camby. That would be a pretty impressive starting five. But Martin’s health will be a determining factor at the very least early in the season.
Chris Dempsey is in his first year on the Nuggets beat. To drop a question into his Nuggets Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
