FIO Preview: Denver Nuggets

2008-2009 Denver Nuggets season preview and fantasy impact, courtesy of Fantasy Insider Online. Read the team preview here in the Yard, and then visit the FIO link for the rest. - Dan Rossi Last Season Recap: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly The Nuggets had their first full season of the A.I.-Melo duo and got some mixed results. The tandem combined for 52.3 points a night as they led one of the more potent offenses in the NBA last year. The Nuggets won 50 games behind an offense that brought in 110.7 points per game, which was the second most in the league behind Golden State. The problem was they also allowed 107 points to their opponents, which was again second to the Warriors. Despite having Defensive Player of the Year candidate Marcus Camby and a comeback from Kenyon Martin, teams tore through the Nuggets on a nightly basis. Things reached a low point as the Lakers scorched Denver for 459 points during their four-game sweep, which made Denver the first 50-win team to get swept in the playoffs. The Nuggets finished four games behind Utah in the Northwest Division and outlasted Golden State in a long fight for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. 2008 Draft Impact (None) Denver had no draft picks on a roster with the average age of 27. With the departure of Camby to the Clippers, no player other than Allen Iverson is over 30-years-old. With that being said, the Nuggets haven't had an impact player taken in the draft since Carmelo Anthony in 2003. Off-Season Impact Moves Camby was dealt to the Clippers in a salary dumping move that took $10 million off of the books. This move is a head scratcher in an on-the-court sense because the Denver defense is bad enough as it is with Marcus Camby's three blocks and 13 rebounds per game. Now the paint will be manned by always on the mend Kenyon Martin and Nene Hilario, who is coming off of a season in which he only played 16 games after battling testicular cancer. Melo and A.I. had better plan on scoring more points this year as stopping other teams will be tough on George Karl's team. Preview for the 2008-2009 Season Team MVP: Allen Iverson, G - Sure, Carmelo Anthony is the face of the franchise, but Iverson is the one who runs the show. Iverson led the team in points, minutes, assists, and steals last year, and has the most playoff experience of almost anyone on the roster (Kenyon Martin was in two NBA Finals with the Nets). Iverson has also shown maturity in being able to share the offensive load with Melo without any public blow-ups or talks of "practice." Breakout Player: J.R. Smith, SG - The 22-year-old Smith provided a sharpshooter off the bench last year, as he averaged double-figures (12.3 ppg) in just 19 minutes per game. He shot 46% from the field last year and hit 157 three-pointers to boot. Things should go up this season, as he averaged 18.3 ppg and shot 53% from the field in the playoffs against L.A. thanks to a bump in minutes (27 mpg). Bust Player: Nene Hilario, F/C - This is based off of his inability to stay healthy consistently during his six-year career. In the past four seasons, Nene has not played in more than 64 games and has missed significant time during two of the past three years. He would be low-risk if he weren't the team's new starting center. Playoff Contender or Pretender? The Nuggets have a talented and young roster, but there is no way this team will be advancing far in the playoffs. Teams that don't play defense typically don't win titles (look at Phoenix under Mike D'Antoni, and this team will not be stopping any opponents this season. Even with its two superstars, this team might not even make the playoffs in the stacked Western Conference.