You can't blame Kiki Vandeweghe for not getting too excited.
As the general manager of the Denver Nuggets, he's well aware of the pitfalls of premature jubilation despite the team's best start since the 1994-95 season. But it's hard not to notice when your previously woebegone Nuggets are 10-6, a half-game behind first-place Dallas in the rugged Midwest Division.
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| Carmelo Anthony's Nuggets are looking like a playoff-quality team in the tough West.(AP) |
So, before the fans at the Pepsi Center break out into a 21st century rendition of Happy days are here again, they'll carefully tread through the mountains and valleys onto the rapidly growing bandwagon in the Mile High City. They had their second biggest crowd ever at the Pepsi Center in Friday night's 113-106 victory over Dallas.
Undaunted, the Nuggets then flew to Los Angeles after the game for Saturday's 98-86 victory over the Clippers -- raising their road record to 3-5 compared to 4-37 a year ago. Their 10th victory last season didn't come until Jan. 17 to raise their record to 10-29.
Although it's early, the questions are numerous as to how and why a team that won 17 and 27 the past two seasons can be taken seriously in heart of the ultra-competitive Western Conference playoff race.
It all lands in the hands of Vandeweghe, the former All-Star forward, now in his third season as GM. He has blown up and reconstructed the team for owner Stan Kroenke with all the amenities that make players happy to be a part of what's happening with the Denver Nuggets.
"My first concern was getting players who want to be here," Vandeweghe said. "And once the word gets out that this is a great place to be, other players will want to be here."
Nonetheless, he had a lot of work to clean up the mess by the previous administration led by president and coach Dan Issel, that not only included unhappy players, but horribly overpaid players. Out the door have gone core players Nick Van Exel, Antonio McDyess and Raef LaFrentz.
He has shown exceptional vision by hiring career assistant Jeff Bzdelik as the head coach, who created a defensive focus and energy that pushed a horrible shooting team to compete every night. Gradually, he built the team around acquired veterans Marcus Camby and Voshon Lenard, free agents Andre Miller and Earl Boykins, 2002 first-round draft choice Nene and this year's prized third pick overall Carmelo Anthony.
The one player Vandeweghe lost out on was Indiana center Brad Miller, who fell into a huge sign-and-trade contract with Sacramento that presumably overpaid him by nearly $20 million.
"If we had gotten Brad Miller, it would have been perfect," Vandeweghe said. "But he was in the right place at the right time for that money. So, we're building with what we've got."
A lot of it is centered around the marvelously talented and charismatic Anthony, the most valuable player of the Final Four, leading Syracuse to the 2003 NCAA title. At 6-foot-8, 230, he is a prototype small forward in a league that has few, if any, exceptional small forwards anymore.
Anthony has been erratic shooting the ball, and he and Andre Miller have had their moments of occasionally playing the game within the game of who's the man, but usually Bzdelik prevails.
And the one -- perhaps most important -- issue just might be the always questionable physical condition of the injury-prone Camby, who has averaged 45.2 games the past five seasons. A superb rebounder and shot-blocker, he left Saturday's game after just 10 minutes with a strained groin.
And while second-year forward Nikoloz Tskitishvili has to develop into a player worthy of consistent minutes, their other 2002 lottery pick has Vandeweghe beaming -- 6-11, 260-pound Nene (who dropped his last name Hilario over the summer).
Some people see a lot of Karl Malone in the native of Brazil, who is starting at power forward.
"Tskita will take some time," Vandeweghe said. "But Nene is already really making an impact and is a much better shooter than people really know. He has a chance to be a great player."
Yes, a chance. A chance is what the Nuggets have to make the playoffs in the Wild West as Vandeweghe continues his basketball-engineering project in a city where the franchise was nearly declared legally dead.
Reviving the Knicks
It was a great week for the New York Knicks, winning four of five -- including Saturday night's five-point victory over the tough New Orleans Hornets. And for the first time in a long time, there is room for optimism as the 7-10 Knicks moved to within 1½ games of first place in the anemic Atlantic Division.
Ageless center Dikembe Mutombo had 13 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks to lead the defense. But the big news is the Knicks slowly are getting healthy. After a six-game absence due to a sprained right ankle, forward Keith Van Horn played 22 minutes to add seven points and four rebounds.
With Allan Houston getting stronger each game from offseason knee surgery, the next big step will come this week when Antonio McDyess plays for the first time since the 2001-02 season. Coming off three different surgical procedures on his kneecap in 19 months, McDyess will either debut Monday night at home against Detroit or Wednesday in Seattle.
Despite the sinking attendance and constant criticism of general manager Scott Layden and coach Don Chaney, the Knicks have a chance to be right in the thick of things -- at least in the conference and maybe the division.
One way or the other, the upcoming five-game road trip to the Western Conference will go a long way toward telling the critics if they are right and this is just an illusion, or that Layden really has known what he's doing all along and suffered bad luck due to injuries.
Shots from the perimeter
- It was a rough weekend for the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. On Friday night, they were humiliated by the Los Angeles Lakers, who pulled their starters midway through the third quarter, even without Shaquille O'Neal playing, on the way to a 103-87 victory that wasn't even that close. Karl Malone had his first triple double in four years to become the first 40-year-old to ever record a triple double -- and that came despite sitting down with nearly 15 minutes left in the game. Then Saturday night, they went to Oakland and fell 91-89 to the Warriors. They are now 9-8, but keep in mind they're only one game behind last year's pace when they won their second title in five years.
- The Warriors, they finally got point guard Nick Van Exel back Friday night and the result was a couple of victories. Van Exel, who returned to the lineup just 16 days after knee surgery early in the month, sat out 10 days, then was reinserted in time to hit four big shots in Friday's victory, but Saturday he was clearly the difference -- scoring 16 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning 3-pointer. "I'm getting stronger now," Van Exel said. "The first time I came back, my mind was ready, but my body wasn't." The Warriors drew 17,680 Saturday night, their biggest crowd of the season. They won their fourth in a row and they now are 7-3 at home.
- As the Philadelphia 76ers continue to slip-slide their way through the annual rash of injuries, it generally falls on the supple shoulders of All-Star Allen Iverson. Since Derrick Coleman is still struggling with knee problems, the Sixers hardly had a soul to reach double-figures besides A.I. Saturday night, so he went for 50 points to secure the 99-86 victory over Atlanta. The win allowed the Sixers to stay at .500, which also is good enough for first place in the Atlantic Division. It was Iverson's season-high coming off his season-low of 12 points in their 13-point loss at Indianapolis on Friday. Iverson now has scored 50 or more points nine times and it was his 49th game of 40 or more.
- In a classic example of good resulting from bad, the Memphis Grizzlies could have gone into shock when starting point guard Jason Williams was led to the locker room with back spasms four minutes into their game at Cleveland on Saturday night. Instead, swingman Mike Miller slid over with a career-high 13 assists to go along with 20 points. They began the fourth quarter with an 18-0 run, overcoming a 24-point deficit, forcing two overtimes and pulling out a 122-115 victory despite a career-high 33 points from Cavs rookie LeBron James. Pau Gasol was the key scorer for the Grizz with a season-high 37 points -- plus five blocks. The Cavs now head West again, with a rematch with Denver and Carmelo Anthony, hoping to end their 31-game road losing streak.
- The Portland Trail Blazers ended New Jersey's modest two-game winning streak Friday night, as Damon Stoudamire had his best game of the year with 28 points and Zach Randolph added 26 points and nine rebounds. Good thing they did, because Bonzi Wells continues to slip further into the tank since his verbal blowup with coach Maurice Cheeks. Wells played 17 minutes, didn't score and had four fouls. Furthermore, Rasheed Wallace didn't show up at shoot around, claimed he overslept and didn't start either. Wallace did contribute 11 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes. One or both of those players will be gone by the Feb. 19 trade deadline, particularly Wells, whose relationship with Cheeks has run its course. The Nets had a second reality check Sunday night, falling behind by 32 at Sacramento at halftime, before limping in with a 13-point defeat.
- And speaking of the Kings, they have very quietly put together an eight-game winning streak, are 10-0 at home and picking up a head of steam, even without All-Star forward Chris Webber. It doesn't look like Webber will be back for Christmas from his spring knee surgery, and the Kings really don't care when he gets back, as long as he's healthy and sharp for the second half of the season. They've got so much quality depth, they can stay within an eyelash of the Lakers in the race for the top seed even without Webber.
- All of this concern about the Pacers losing a major component to their future success when Brad Miller forced a sign-and-trade to the Kings was a bit premature. Sure, their eight-game winning streak -- and perfect 7-0 road record -- bit the dust Sunday night in a 99-77 loss to the Lakers in the Staples Center. But it doesn't diminish what they are doing to the rest of the size-challenged East. They can get away with spot play from Jeff Foster and Scot Pollard in the middle, but when it really matters, coach Rick Carlisle is quite comfortable playing three forwards -- Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest and Al Harrington. To wit: Friday's victory over the Sixers, Artest filled out the box score with 20 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, four steals and four blocks, while O'Neal had 21 points, six rebounds and six blocks. Harrington added 17 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in their equal-opportunity offense.
- The reeling Sonics lost their seventh in a row at the Delta Center to the reconstructed Jazz on Friday, so Sonics coach Nate McMillan blew up the starting lineup Saturday against Houston. Rashard Lewis returned after a one-game absence due to the death of his brother in Houston and responded with 27 points and nine rebounds in the 95-88 victory over the Rockets. Jerome James replaced Calvin Booth as the starting center, and slumping Ronald Murray (12 of 40 shooting the last three games and countless defensive lapses) gave way to Antonio Daniels. The Sonics also got a key shot in the arm from rookie point guard Luke Ridnour with eight of his 11 points and three of his four assists in the fourth quarter. Ray Allen, who has yet to play this season due to ankle surgery, will begin rehabilitation next week and could be back before the end of the month.
- With all of the attention the Pacers have drawn with their quick start and Baron Davis' dominant play for New Orleans, the Detroit Pistons have very calmly maintained the second best record in the conference and are lying in wait as Indiana makes its first tough trip West this week. Meanwhile, the Pistons just keep winning on the strength of their exceptional young guard tandem of Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton. Hamilton had a career-high 44 points in Friday's victory over the Cavs and then added 25 Saturday as the Pistons disposed of the Wizards.
- Shareef Abdur-Rahim kept the Atlanta Hawks from bailing this week when he had back-to-back season highs: 30 points in a loss to Toronto, then 34 in the 95-83 victory over Miami.
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Paul Pierce put together his first triple-double of the year with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Celtics won 106-96 Friday in their home-and-home weekend against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks won the Saturday meeting 100-94, led by Toni Kukoc's nine points in the fourth quarter. Michael Redd continues to put up numbers, netting 26 for the Bucks and Desmond Mason added a season-high 22.
- The Orlando Magic extended their losing streak to 15 Friday despite a 16-2 run that nearly knocked off Toronto, before Vince Carter's jumper produced an 87-86 Toronto victory. Carter's cousin Tracy McGrady had 18 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to lead the charge, but he couldn't take them over the top. The Magic won the season opener in New York when McGrady forced overtime with an offensive rebound and then they pulled away. They also haven't won since.
- A lot has been made about the age, health and depth of the Los Angeles Lakers, but if you consider the way things have gone the past week, it won't matter a lick. Over the past four games -- against Memphis, Washington, San Antonio and Indiana -- Karl Malone has averaged 26.7 minutes; Gary Payton, 29; Shaquille O'Neal played in only two of the four games due to a strained calf and averaged only 23.5 minutes in the games he did play. As for Kobe Bryant, considerably younger than the other three at a spry 25, the shooting guard averaged 29.7 minutes. And, oh yeah, they already have vaulted to the top of the league by virtue of their surprisingly easy 22-point victory over the Pacers on Sunday.
