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Authored by Alex Kennedy - 14th May, 2009 - 2:25 pm
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Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans
The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
A Melo Behind The Superstars
Carmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
A Melo Behind The Superstars
Carmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
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The cameras zoomed in close enough to capture the expressions on each player’s face. The Denver Nuggets had just lost to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of their second round series and as the cameramen focused on their reactions, each member of the Nuggets had the same look in their eyes. A look of determination. A look that won’t ease until their goal is met.
As a whole, the Nuggets have already proven a lot this postseason. Winning their first playoff series since 1994, the team’s 4-1 defeat of the New Orleans Hornets was quick and easier than many expected. The team advanced to the second round and continued right where they left off, taking a 3-0 lead against Dallas and playing some of the best basketball of this postseason.
But nearly every individual on the Denver Nuggets still has something to prove, whether it be to themselves or to others. The Nuggets have a strange recipe for success. Their main ingredients have been questioned, criticized, and doubted by skeptics but each has been vital in making this team a contender and reversing the losing trend in Denver.
It all starts with the face of the franchise who has been deemed anything from an underachiever, lazy, and even a thug. Carmelo Anthony is one of the top scorers in the league, yet he’s heard his name float around in trade rumors and read countless articles criticizing the limitations of his game. When you’re in the same draft class as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, two players that have experienced more success during their first five years in the league than most do in a lifetime, the expectations are high. Anthony, unlike James and Wade, needed time to mature. Time to get accustomed to the fortune and fame and get his life together.
Learning from his past mistakes, which include a brawl against the Knicks in 2006 and a DUI in 2008, and from a certain veteran role model that appeared in the Mile High City at the perfect time, Anthony’s life is finally in order and he’s ready to show the world the new him, both on and off the court. How will he do this? By helping the Denver Nuggets win a championship.
But back to that veteran role model. It wasn’t always this way, in fact, Chauncey Billups had quite a journey before becoming the leader and star we see today. After being selected third overall by the Boston Celtics in 1997, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors midway through the year. This was the first of many moves Billups would endure throughout his career. After leaving Toronto, he went on to join the Denver Nuggets , Orlando Magic , Minnesota Timberwolves , and Detroit Pistons . Six teams in six years. It was with Detroit that Billups found his niche. Taking the lessons he learned in Minnesota from veterans Terrell Brandon and Sam Mitchell, Chauncey led the Pistons to six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances and was the Finals MVP during Detroit’s 2004 title run.
But after injuries slowed him down during last season’s playoffs, the Pistons felt better equipped for the future by handing the team over to second year point guard Rodney Stuckey and acquiring a large expiring contract who would also help the team make one last playoff run in Allen Iverson. Back in Denver again, Billups wants to show that he can still lead a team to the Promised Land and wants Detroit, who were swept in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers , to continue regretting the early season trade. How will he do this? By helping the Denver Nuggets win a championship.
As Chauncey Billups was leading the Pistons towards the playoffs three years ago, Chris Andersen was receiving shocking news. He had tested positive for a banned substance and would be banned from playing in the league for two years. He wasn’t surprised because he had made poor choices. But seeing the consequences that followed, he knew he had to change his life around. Spending time in an addiction treatment center, he started to turn things around. Suddenly, he was feeling better than ever and was determined to make a comeback. He worked out harder than he ever had before and used his time off to train for his return. On March 4, 2008, he was reinstated and signed by the New Orleans Hornets . He would play five games with New Orleans, averaging just under seven minutes per game. Cut in the offseason, Andersen signed with the Nuggets because of his increased role. With Denver this season, he averaged the best numbers of his career with 6.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks which was second highest in the league despite playing just 20.6 minutes per game. Andersen proved that he could still produce on the court but will once again be a free agent this summer. How will he show teams that he has changed and finally put his troubled past behind him? By helping the Denver Nuggets win a championship.
The same month that Andersen made his return to the league, Nenê was also coming back from an extended leave of absence from the game. For two and half months, he had been battling a malignant testicular tumor that required surgery and an extensive recovery period. Prior to this scare, Nenê had dealt with serious knee injuries including several torn ligaments and had a reputation for being injury prone. He had trouble staying healthy and started just sixty-one games during a rough four year span from 2004 to 2008. With his health issues out of the way and his knee clear of any problems, Nenê, like his teammates, looked adversity in the eyes and stepped up his game. His points, rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage, and minutes per game are at all-time highs and he looks better than ever. But how will he prove that this breakout season wasn’t a fluke and show that he’s worth the injuries he suffered early in his career? By helping the Denver Nuggets win a championship.
When J.R. Smith came into the NBA straight out of high school, he had all of the potential in the world. Blessed with extraordinary athleticism, a solid jumper, and plenty of confidence, he wanted to do things his way in New Orleans. Byron Scott, the Hornets’ coach, had other plans. The two clashed and soon, Smith was being dealt to Chicago along with P.J. Brown in exchange for Tyson Chandler. Several days later, he would be shipped away again, this time to Denver. His reputation as an phenom with an attitude followed him and people wondered if he’d ever be able to make a name for himself in the league. A role in the previously mentioned New York Knicks brawl and a playoff benching for bad decision making later, he’s finally calmed down both his ego and shot selection. The arrival of Chauncey Billups has done wonders for him and he’s improved as a player and a person. He has been the third option on offense for Denver in the playoffs and continues to impress with his long range jumpshot and newfound defensive intensity. But how can he erase the labels previously assigned to him and shake the image of a cocky punk who causes trouble? By helping the Denver Nuggets win a championship.
The man who benched Smith during the 2007 Playoffs, George Karl, has also faced a lot and is relying on this postseason to gain job security and his reputation as a great coach back. Karl has coached in 1,493 games in his career and is twelfth all-times in wins. But that still didn’t stop fans who begged for him to lose his job last season. After some of his team tuned him out, stopped playing defense, and failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs yet again, fans were done. FireGeorgeKarl.com gained steam and was soon one of the most popular blogs on the internet. Fans chanted for his release in the Pepsi Center and when he retained his job last summer, there was a genuine shock among fans and analysts alike. But after shipping out Marcus Camby and Allen Iverson, two bad seeds whose partying and lack of effort on defense carried over to the rest of the team, Karl was ready to win his team back over. He sat down with each individual and told them how it would be. They bought into his plan and haven’t looked back since. Denver held teams to the lowest field goal percentage in the Western Conference and were no longer winning shootouts opting instead to grind it out. But one mistake or failure can put an NBA coach back on the hot seat and who knows if Karl’s players would turn on him again if the loss column started growing? How can George Karl gain the confidence of his players while guaranteeing job security for years to come? By helping the Denver Nuggets win a championship.
After everything these men have been through, they are all joined together in pursuit of a common goal. On Wednesday night, the group celebrated the next step towards redemption as they advanced to the Western Conference Finals with a Game 5 win in Denver. The underachieving superstar, talented journeyman, former drug abuser, injury prone big man, cocky punk, and unwanted coach all have pasts to shake in order to continue growing. How will they do this?
They know exactly how and that’s why the look in their eyes is more determined than ever. |
