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The Denver Nuggets are returning from a five-game road trip with a very slim backcourt. Starting guards Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson are both doubtful for Friday’s game against the Toronto Raptors and backup guard Rudy Fernandez is a game-time decision.

That leaves Corey Brewer, Andre Miller and rookies Julyan Stone and Jordan Hamilton as the only healthy guards for the Nuggets. Over the previous four games, Miller has averaged nearly 37 minutes a game and has started in place of Afflalo in the last two games. Brewer will more than likely get his first start of the season. He is coming off of a game in which he scored 15 points and played 34 minutes. Where things get sketchy is how the minutes will be distributed with the rookie reserves.

Stone will more than likely see the floor, not so much by choice but because the Nuggets don’t have another healthy player on the team that can play point guard. Wednesday night, Stone played his third game of the season and played a season-high 20 minutes. He was solid but unspectacular, playing good defense while also playing a little out of control and a bit timid.

Now the big question is will George Karl give Hamilton minutes due to the injuries? Hamilton saw the floor for the first time on Wednesday and while he didn’t shine he played within the team concept. Even if Karl puts Hamilton on the floor it will be monitored and will more than likely be a 5-minutes span.

No matter what, this will be as good as any for Hamilton to see time, he is the last man standing – per se, the Nuggets face a Toronto Raptors (6-13) and will be playing an emotional game at home after a long and successful road trip.

It wouldn’t be out of the question that Danilo Gallinari will see time in the backcourt as well.

The Denver Nuggets not only went into Power Balance Pavilion and won with two starters and a top reserve sitting out – they beat the Sacramento Kings by 29 points with their star point guard missing the entire second half.

The Nuggets finished their five-game road trip undefeated – first time ever in franchise history and they did it with seven players scoring in double figures and all 11 players that played scored. Could another team win with four rotation players missing time? Even more important could another team win that big or go perfect on a five-game road trip?

And lets not forget the $42-million man and the $9-million man, who both cashed in on their paycheck with a strong game on the road.

Danilo Gallinari blitzed the Kings with 23 points on 8 of 12 shooting and hit all six of his free throws. Ironically, Gallinari came to Denver known as a chucker, but he has shot just as many 3-pointers as Carmelo Anthony (76) – hitting 24 compared to Melo’s 23. Gallinari has also hit 97 of 108 from the charity stripe, which is comparable to Anthony – who has hit 110 of 137 from the free throw line. The only difference between the two on offense is Anthony has shot nearly 130 more shots.

Kosta Koufos fresh off of his new contract started in place of Timofey Mozgov, who missed Wednesday’s game due to his wife having their baby. Koufos was nothing more than solid, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds.

• Nene was aggressive around the basket and showed some very nice, strong and quick moves around the paint.
• Andre Miller was his normal boring self, scoring 14 points, handing out 10 assists and making 7 of 9 shots. Yawn…
• Chris Andersen was perfect from the field, making all four of shots and hitting his lone free throw.
• The Nuggets also were dealt a blow in the runaway victory, Ty Lawson was in the middle of his best game in weeks before he rolled his ankle and missed the rest of the game. Lawson will more than likely miss Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers and could miss more time.
• Corey Brewer shot the ball 19 times on Wednesday, including missing a wide open dunk and all four of his 3-pointers.
• There was a Kenneth Faried, Jordan Hamilton and Julyan Stone sighting. Faried grabbed six rebounds in the few minutes he was in the game – half of which were offensive. Hamilton was rusty, which was expected. He scored his first basket of his career on a drive to the basket and Stone is in line to see more minutes if Lawson misses some time. He still seems a bit timid and a little reckless (four turnovers), but his confidence is growing with each game.

Kosta Koufos has a bright future with the Nuggets.

Hours after locking up Danilo Gallinari to a long-term deal, the Denver Nuggets and Kosta Koufos have agreed to a $9 million, 3-year contract.

Koufos has seen inconsistent playing time so far this season, starting five games but also receiving six DNP-CD. He is shooting .552 from the field and is averaging 3.5 points and a career-high 3.6 rebounds.

While it seems like a lofty deal for a player that only averages 10.3 minutes a game, it actually was a smart move for the Nuggets. Koufos, who would be a restricted free agent this summer, would more than likely see a similar or even larger deal this summer. He also barely turns 23 in February and is one of the youngest players on the Nuggets roster.

With the recent extensions to Gallinari and Koufos, the Nuggets now have seven players under contract through 2015. It also means that going into this summer the only two free agents the Nuggets have are Andre Miller and Rudy Fernandez (who is a restricted free agent). Denver also must decide what to do with Wilson Chandler, who isn’t eligible to return to the NBA until April.

With the two extensions the Nuggets will have around $55 million on their books this summer. If Denver decide to use the amnesty clause on Chris Andersen it would free up around $10 million over the next two years and it would give the Nuggets a little financial flexibility this summer to offer an extension to Ty Lawson and possibly Timofey Mozgov.

Gallinari is having a career season and the Nuggets have rewarded him

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It didn’t take long after Danilo Gallinari’s career game against his former team for the Denver Nuggets to decide to lock up the 23-year-old star.

Gallinari and the Nuggets agreed to a four-year, $42 million extension on Wednesday. In December, the Nuggets agreed to five-year deals with Nene and Arron Afflalo.

Gallinari is coming off of a game against the New York Knicks where he scored his career-best 37 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made 18 of 20 free throws.

He is also averaging a career-high 17.4 points and is shooting .462 percent from the field.

Kevin Love also signed an four-year extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, while Russell Westsbrook agreed to a five-year extension with the Thunder. The Hornets are offering Eric Gordon a four-year deal as well.

Tiimofey Mozgov and the Nuggets got the better end of the Knicks on Saturday night.

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The Denver Nuggets are on the verge of going perfect on their first big road trip of the season, which included four games in five nights against Eastern Conference teams. They also got a little revenge Saturday night by defeating Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks, quieting doubters and proving that they can still win without a superstar. Continue reading this post »

It was supposed to be Carmelo Anthony’s day to beat down his old team, coach and teammates.

However, after three hours and two extra periods it was the Denver Nuggets who eked out a 119-114 victory.

Anthony got his 25 points but had to shoot the ball 30 times to get it. For the first three quarters Anthony only scored five points, but finally got things going in the fourth quarter and hit a jumper to force overtime.

But it was Anthony’s counterpart Danilo Gallinari that took the spotlight. He had arguably the best game of his career, scoring 37 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He also hit 18 of 20 from the charity stripe, making a point to let Madison Square Garden marvel at what they lost.

Al Harrington, another former Knicks star, took a little while to get going but when he finally did he practically unstoppable. He scored 22 of his 24 points after halftime and he nailed a trey in the second overtime to seal the victory.

• Andre Miller put together another nice little game as he subbed in for Arron Afflalo at shooting guard. He scored 14 points and 12 assists. He even nailed a 3-pointer while the offense was disarray.
• Timofey Mozgov, another former Knick,  had his best game of the season, scoring 16 points, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking three shots.
• Nene had a good game on the books (12 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists), but really struggled. He had five careless turnovers, missed 5 of 7 free throws and became really passive late. Despite how bad he played he actually outplayed Amar’e Stoudemire, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

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The Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks are going in opposite directions to start the 2011-12 NBA season.

The Nuggets have jumped out to an 11-5 record, including winning their last three games – all on the road. While the Knicks have struggled, dropping their last five games and hold a dismal 6-9 record.

Not quite what many expected from these two teams after the Nuggets traded Carmelo Anthony to New York, especially with the way the two squads have built their team. Continue reading this post »

Nobody needs to remind Al Harrington who is up next after the Nuggets defeated the Washington Wizards.

But the question is do the New York Knicks know what is in store for them Saturday night?

Friday night the Nuggets improved to 3-0 to start their 5-game road trip, holding off the young, but dangerous Washington Wizards Friday.

Denver also had three different players go for 20 or more points on Friday as well. Harrington was red hot and scored his season high 29 points – hitting 5 of 8 from behind the arc. Ty Lawson once again returned to his All-Star form, scoring 21 points and leading the Nuggets in rebounds (9) and assists (6). Danilo Gallinari returned to form and scored 21 points as well, including scoring 11 points in the first half.

Ironically, the two top players from Wednesday’s win in Philadelphia had zero points. Andre Miller missed all four of his shots and had zero points, while Nene sat out the game as a precaution with his injured heel. Continue reading this post »