Lost in the forest of trade talk, rumors and speculation have been some good individual seasons for the Nuggets.
And Nene is one of those having a productive year.
The Nuggets big man quietly has put together one of the best seasons of his career. His averages of 15.0 points, 63 percent shooting and 77 percent free-throw shooting are career bests. At 7.5 rebounds per game, he’s just four-tenths away from a career high.
Yes, things are going well for Nene, who is in the mix for an all-star spot this season, trailing only Houston’s Yao Ming (who is out for the season) and the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum among Western Conference centers.
But could Nene be even better?
Coach George Karl thinks so. And not just from an individual standpoint.
“I think we all would like to see more assertiveness over the whole game,” Karl said. “He seems like he has moments in games. Rather than a dominant game, he’ll have a good first half or have a good third quarter. I’d like to see him be more consistent in his dominance. Especially his offensive efficiency. What he has done very well is when he touches the ball, usually good things happen for us.
“It’s a three-way street with him — sometimes it’s him, sometimes it’s the players, sometimes it’s me. And I think we’re getting better at that. But I think that would be the one New Year’s resolution that we could have for Nene.”
In his last 10 games, Nene is averaging 15.2 points and 8.9 rebounds. He has 11 consecutive games scoring in double figures and has three double-doubles in that span. Thursday against the Heat, Nene finished with 17 points (6-of-7) and nine rebounds.
He leads the NBA in field- goal percentage (63.4).
Defensively, Karl admits he would like Nene to “be more help-oriented, but he’s a good defender.”
Still, there is no doubt Nene has had his greatest value to the team this season, and the Nuggets want to see more of that as the year progresses.
Wade on Melo.
After Thursday night’s game against the Heat, there was a “summit” of three of the NBA’s greatest players in a back hallway of the Pepsi Center. There stood Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, all talking with some other people in their entourage. Wade and James have gone through their free-agent experience, which landed them together. Anthony wants his free-agent moment but is growing increasingly irritated with the process of daily questions and speculation to get him there.
Wade’s view of the situation: Melo needs to “continue being who he is, continue being a professional and play basketball. Those two hours when you’re on the basketball court is the only time he gets to forget about everything and be the Melo that everybody has grown to love.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
