Pickaxe And Roll: FanPosts

Sam Cassell??

joshhopp — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:20:03 -0000

"It sounds as though the Denver Nuggets may sign free agent point guard Sam Cassell in the near future. According to various reports, Cassell will sign with Denver for the veteran's minimum, with the idea that he'll be able to start training to be an NBA head coach under George Karl, who coached Cassell in Milwaukee. Seems like an ideal situation for Cassell, playing alongside Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. The Nuggets can now claim a near-monopoly on players who look for their own shot at the expense of all else."

From Hoopsworld

This is an unspeakably miserable move... I really hate Sam, the man is a skeleton who takes bad shots and doesn't pass. Oh man. Maybe I'm wrong about that 8th seed.

As of right now....

JLucas4092 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:09:23 -0000

...are the Nuggets a playoff team? I just want to see where everyone's heads are at during the dog days of summer. Using the present rosters of every team in the NBA, are the Nuggets in the top 8 in the West? So, answer these questions...

1.) Are the Nugs a playoff team? Where do you see them seeded?

2.) Who is the best team in the division?

3.) Who are the conference champions for 2008-09 and NBA champs?

4.) Who is going to surprise next season?

5.) Who is going to disappoint?

6.) Is anyone still reading this fanpost?

All, right here are my answers.

1.) No. 9th or 10th

2.) Call me crazy, but I think it's Portland. I know some think I'm putting too much stock in Oden & Bayless, but even without them this year I think the year's growth would have propelled them past us in the standings. Adding those two gives them enough to overtake Utah. They're deep, they play as a team and provided Precious Roy stays healthy, they're a top 4 seed next year.

3.) I hate to say it, but probably the Lakers. I'm REALLY hoping New Orleans can overtake them, but it's going to be hard. Hopefully Kobe does what he does best and proves to be a gigantic prick and causes strife in the locker room. The East will still be good with Boston, Detroit, Cleveland and my two darkhorses (Toronto & Orlando), but I don't think they're good enough to take out either LA or NO. Ah, screw it. New Orleans over Orlando in 6 games in what would be one of the most entertaining (but sadly, lowest ratings) NBA Finals in a long time.

4.) For taking the next step -- Toronto and Orlando. I called Orlando last year to win the division and make the conference finals and they almost did it. Detroit was a brutal match-up for them. Another year together, along with Detroit & Boston getting older, and I think they can do it. Toronto's another team to watch IMO. If JON stays healthy, they're dangerous. I just hope he doesn't slow them down. As for just improving -- I think Indiana should do better this season. I've always liked TJ Ford and think that they have a nice little thing going there. Danny Granger is going to explode this season.

5.) Houston. Don't get me wrong, I think they were smart to do the deal for Artest, but I just don't like what they have going. Can TMac stay healthy? Can Yao stay healthy? Will Artest explode? Where is Artest going to play? I LOVE Shane Battier, but he and Artest basically mirror each other. Unless TMac is running the point, one fo them is on the bench (I don't buy the Artest at the 4 stuff).

6.) Oooh! I am!

OT: Ralphie Report

JLucas4092 — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:55:25 -0000

Not sure if there are any other CU fans here (Go Buffs!), but I just saw a link at the top of this blog for the Ralphie Report -- a CU blog here on the SB Nation.

http://www.ralphiereport.com/

I'm ready for college football season. I need something to kill some time until the NBA starts. I can't get into baseball at all, hockey's still a while away and the Broncos are (sadly) going to suck this year. Come on Buffs!

US vs Spain

JLucas4092 — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:02:55 -0000

Was I the only one that was seriously disappointed with this game? Not with the result obviously, but I was really looking forward to watching Ricky Rubio after all of the hype. I kept hearing not only was he an offensive wizard, but he was a good to great defender. He looked awful out there. He had the one touch pass for the oop, but other than that he was getting abused out there. I know he's only 17. I know he was going against the best players in the world (namely CP3), but I was expecting him to at least show up. I'm seriously bummed.

And the Gasol family has to be the ugliest family ever.

Other Teams You Enjoy Watching

JLucas4092 — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:46:44 -0000

OK, I'm James and I'm a basketballaholic. I watch way too much of it. If you look at my DVR right now, you'll see last Saturday's Broncos game (which I can probably delete), the two Arkansas games from the NCAA Tournament that CBS College Sports just re-showed (gotta watch Sonny!) and about 5 summer league games. That's it. So obviously, I need mental help.

Anyway, I was just curious other than the Nugs, what teams do you enjoy watching? Last season, I "adopted" four other teams -- all in the East or Central time zone -- that I would watch pretty regularly. Orlando, Atlanta, Toronto and Memphis. 3 out of 4 ain't bad. So what about this season?

* Orlando - as long as Dwight Howard is there, they're staying in my list. Also, as much as I ripped on Turkoglu, he really picked it up last season. It was a travashamockery that he didn't make the all-star game.

* New Orleans - CP3 baby! If you don't enjoy watching him, you don't love life. Chandler's a badass, West is an all-star. Basically, this is the team that the Nugs tried to be and failed miserably.

* Portland - I welcome our Trail Blazer overlords. Watching them in January during their 12 game winning streak was amazing. Brandon Roy is probably the most underrated player in the league. Add Oden, Rodriguez, Bayless and Koponen (who I wish the Nugs would try to get) and you have a playoff team.

* Philadelphia - Andre Miller is my favorite player in the NBA and it'll be great to see him surrounded with a solid cast. Add Brand to the mix, and it's even better.

I'm also excited to watch a little of Minnesota (Kevin Love!), Toronto (Bosh, O'Neal and Calderon make them scary) and Chicago (who every year suck me in, only to disappoint). I used to love watching the Clippers, but now that my favorite team is Camby free, I'm not going to watch a team that has him. The SOB is out of my life.

Grizzlies Sign Josh Smith To Contract Offer

JLucas4092 — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:18:50 -0000

Grizz sign Josh Smith to contract . Hawks have a week to match. They'd better match.

Apparently, this must be 75 words long. So I will now talk about why I want Josh to stay with Atlanta. First, they're in the East. I like teams in the East being good. Secondly, I watched a lot of Hawks games last year. I don't know why. I really like Joe Johnson (The Armdaillo Cowboy!). Josh Smith is one of the top 5 exciting players in the game. Acie Law IV was great in college. Al Horford is a badass.

That has to be 75 words, right?

Schedule Is Out - Nugs Start @ Utah

JLucas4092 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:01:25 -0000

Because hey, what better way to start a season than to lose at your most hated rival without your star player. Awesome!

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/05/melo-will-be-back-for-nuggets-home-opener/

Also, Portland (who along with New Orleans gives me hope for the future of basketball) apparently has a brutal start to the season. From the Blazers.com blog:

Wednesday morning the NBA schedule will be released. I've seen it, and was even pouring over it with Kevin Pritchard last week. One word describes the first six weeks of the season- brutal. I don't mean kind of difficult, I mean brutal. You'll understand what I mean when you see it, and I'm sure you'll agree. If this team comes through the first 24 games with a record anywhere near .500 it will be remarkable. You think I'm overstating that. Again, you'll see.

I guess a babtism by fire isn't necessarily a horrible thing. For this team's sake, let's hope not.

We also know that Xmas will give us Magic vs Hornets (yay!), Lakers vs Celtics (boo!) and Spurs at Suns (meh). Hawks open the season at Orlando (which, provided Atlanta has removed their heads from their asses and re-signed Josh Smith should be fun). Oh, and the Nugs play at Toronto on New Year's Eve.

EDIT - see my reply for the schedule that was just announced.

JR on the move?

micb — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:05:02 -0000

this story is showing up in Truth & Rumors on SISports. From the Cleveland Plains Dealer:

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2008/08/terrys_talkin_about_davis_tack.html

The Cavs are talking to Denver about restricted free agent J.R. Smith, and they should go after him hard. The 6-6 Smith is athletic, shot 40 percent on 3-pointers and 46 percent overall while averaging 12.3 points in only 19 minutes a game. With Denver signing wing man Dahntay Jones and being on a binge to cut payroll (they gave Marcus Camby to the Clippers to cut $10 million), it seems Smith should be available. The Cavs have plenty of expiring contracts, which should help Denver if it continues to want to keep payroll under control.

Smith won't be 23 until September. He has averaged 10.9 points in 21 minutes a game during his four-year career. He had some maturity issues in the past, but he also was just a kid who skipped college entirely. Denver has said it will match an offer for Smith. I think the Cavs should offer something close to the mid-level exception and see if the Nuggets will do it -- or force their hand in a deal.

If they can possibly get West or Varejo out of the deal, might not be a bad move. Yes, JR is one of the most explosive scorers and if he gets playing time, he can ignite the offense. However, I'm still not sold on his intelligence for the game, and he struggles to play good D consistently. In light of the Nuggs cost cutting approach, if he's looking for a long term, big money deal, they might be better off trying to get something for him in the short term.

Nuggets Moving to 1510 AM

Jeremy — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:16:16 -0000

There have been some interesting, and I would say disappointing, changes recently in Denver sports radio.

The first was the decision to move The Fan from 950 AM to 104.3 FM. Obviously the sound is better, but do we really need to hear all the sounds that Irv Brown and Joe Williams make? Now when you are listening to The Fan when you turn it on and they are playing their bumper music (or is it buffer music?) it sounds like a typical FM station playing music.

That is all well and good, but what I really liked about The Fan was that I could hear it hundreds of miles away in Kansas or Wyoming. It is bad enough driving through Kansas or Wyoming without knowing you are missing out on listening to a Nuggets game. Now that they have switched to FM I cannot even get reception in my office just 50 miles north of Denver (although that is probably more the fault of my radio than their signal, but my radio did get 950 AM so perhaps both can share the blame). What little gain they have made in sound quality, which I could really care less about, has been achieved at the expense of greatly reducing their broadcast range.

However, as far as the Nuggets and Avalanche go, the decrease in range by The Fan does not matter.

Kronke Sports Enterprises (KSE) has signed a deal with Mile High Sports Radio 1510 AM to broadcast Nuggets and Avalanche games. They will no longer be found on The Fan. Considering the loss in range by The Fan, that sounds like good news. Unfortunately, as of now, it is actually very bad news. Why? 1510 AM has an even weaker signal than 104.3 The Fan. At least The Fan comes in clearly in my car. 1510 AM does not come in at all.

According to the announcement from the Nuggets website the station knows that their tiny broadcasting radius is insufficient and they will seek to acquire affiliates to broadcast games in areas that do not receive their signal.

The bottom line is I believe both of these moves are bad for Colorado sports fans. When it comes to sports radio what I hate more than anything is not being able to listen to a game I want to hear. Next season I may be able to hear Spurs games in 1200 AM from whatever massive station they have in Texas blaring that crap, but I will not be able to listen to Nuggets games unless we have a local affiliate?

What I do not understand is if the Front Range is a region that is rabid enough to have three sports radio stations (104.3 FM, 1510 AM and 1600 AM) shouldn’t someone like me who lives 50 miles away be able to hear all of them in my car? Especially the one the station the Nuggets and Avs will be on.

I am sure that KSE will ensure that Mile High Sports either boosts its signal or acquires enough affiliates to keep Nugget and Avs fans happy. Then again, last season when the Nuggets and Avs both played on the same night one of the games was broadcast on 1600 AM and apparently the fact that the radius of that station was only slightly larger than the stench from a tire fire did not seem to bother KSE.

Melo efficient for USA

joshhopp — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:26:15 -0000

Carmelo Anthony is averaging 15ppg, shooting 60%, including 44% from behind the arc in 19mins/game over the last 3 contests against turkey, lithuania and russia. he has committed just 2 turnovers so far. he is also rebounding well and hes moving the basketball well.

for comparison, the reigning mvp is averaging 13 points per game and shooting 51%, including 27% from 3 in 22min/contest. he has totalled 4 turnovers so far.

im just sayin..

Nugs Close To Acquiring Renaldo Balkman

JLucas4092 — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:10:44 -0000

http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-spknix285780524jul28,0,7410321.story

The Knicks and Nuggets are discussing a trade that would send 2006 first-round pick Renaldo Balkman to Denver for point guard Taurean Green and small forward Bobby Jones, an NBA front-office source told Newsday last night.

The deal would mark the end of Balkman's mostly confusing tenure with the Knicks, who selected him with the 20th pick two years ago when Isiah Thomas said Phoenix would've swiped him if he hadn't. That scenario appears even more dubious now that the former coach of the Suns, Mike D'Antoni, is ready to ship Balkman out for little more than roster fodder.

Love it. Absolutely love it. He fills the Najera role off of the bench perfectly. I'd like it if he were a little bigger because I'm not convinced he can do too much post defense, but I know he absolutely terrorized Melo whenever we played the Knicks.

I was hoping Bobby Jones would work out with the Nugs, but with us signing Dahntay Jones, it was pretty obvious Bobby was on the way out. Now I hope that Chris Lofton picks up his play because we really need a young PG prospect to start working on.

Nuggets sign Dahntay Jones

joshhopp — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:33:06 -0000

"Jones agreed to terms on one-year deal with the Nuggets, the Denver Post reports. Jones played well for Denver's summer-league team and parlayed that into a guaranteed contract for the upcoming season. He's best known for his defense, which would be novel on a Nuggets team that allowed 107 points per game in 2007-08."

from nba fantasy news

Probably a wise move. Solid swingman who can defend. They are giving him $1m for the year which is ok given his experience

Birdman To Return

JLucas4092 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:16:48 -0000

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_9972596

I know it's the league minimum, but I hate this deal. First off, Andersen was awful. Horrid. Hell, we couldn't even play him on the road because Buzz knew he couldn't do anything. More importantly, I think this might keep us from hanging on to Elton Brown who, unlike Birdman, might actually be able to contribute.

This better be purely a PR move.

Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh.

Camby traded to the Clippers for...a second round option next year?

BeefySwats — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:45:26 -0000

What the fuck, Denver?

I find it EXTREMELY hard to believe Denver couldn't get anything else for Camby other than a single second round pick. This was a salary dump plain and simple. I know Camby is getting old and has his problems, but he was a huge part of this team.

If Denver expects Nene and Stephen Hunter to fill his shoes, it's going to be a long fucking season.

*sigh*

Bye Camby. Thanks for everything and giving your heart to the team and the community. We'll miss you.

oh crap...

abaca15 — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:10:05 -0000

Will anything go right for the Nuggets this off-season???

First of all we don't have Chalmers and it looks like were keeping AC, also we might get Diawara back, we still haven't traded Camby, and now Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Eddie Najera will sign a 4 year $12-million contract with the Nets.

here's the link...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AsXFs6nZ7.QTVlYQFG6SWla8vLYF?slug=aw-najeranets071108&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Offseason trade ideas

Murcy — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:19:33 -0000

So, I think we all agree that this should be a busy offseason for the Nuggets (or am I the only one thinking that?), but what should the team do? Our greatest need for the current team if PG but we won't get a good enough one unless we trade a top-tier starter or if the draft fairy works her magic, but that is risky around #20. About

the PGs that are on the table:

TJ Ford: no, no, no, no!!!! we already have a much much much better version in AI and TJ is frighteningly injury-prone. and we don't have a player the raps really need, namely a slashing, shooting SG who we could trade.

Chauncey Billups: well, this is one idea that makes me think really hard. Dumars wants to blow up the pistons' core and there MAY be a trade available in which we get Prince and Billups for Anthony. Of course this all hinges on: a) does Denver want to trade Anthony? and b) is this rumour true? With those two players we could change into a slower paced, more defensive minded team, with AI nevertheless running, gunning, slashing, and generally wrecking havoc. for evidence that this can work: see the Heat back in their championship season.

Free Agents who might be intriguing:

Carlos Arroyo: he would be a nice PG who could distribute the ball well, and sometimes score some points, like Steve Blake did. Of course, once again this does not solve our problems, as he is NOT the ideal starting PG for an elite NBA team.

Other random trade ideas regardless of position:

We should trade either Nene or K-Mart. The bulls really really need an inside scorer like Martin, and we really need a PG (whoops this goes back to the previous topic). The salaries do not match, so, throw in Sefolosha and Gooden, and we give Chucky Atkins. This would hand us: a young, promising, defensive minded (!!!! on this team !!!) swingman, a solid post player with an expiring deal, and a good point guard who had a down year, but has the makings to be way better. of course the bulls would be kinda foolish to do this, but if the draft Rose and run, then they could really use Martin.

Welcome to the new Pickaxe And Roll and SB Nation

clockwerks — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 06:06:51 -0000

Hey Pickaxe And Roll,

Today is the big day. We've switched your community over to the new SB Nation sports blog platform. My name is Trei, and I'm here to help you get adjusted to the new home we've built for you. If you have questions or trouble with the new system, post a comment in this thread and myself or one of the team (lovitt, sixfoot6 or odacrem) will try to point you in the right direction.

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Please take a few minutes to read about what's new below. But if you just can't wait to jump in, here are some quick things to check out:

Sign up for your SB Nation network account and claim your old blog accounts
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Nuggs/Celts Recap

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:41:15 -0000

I'm driving to the game with my buddy Adam. We make our pregame predictions, Adam says 110-107 Nuggets, I say 104-98 Nuggets. Adam and I are confident in a Nuggets win tonight. Every time Adam and I have gone to a Nuggets game together, the Nuggets have won. God help the NBA if we ever get season tickets. We also predict that 35-40% of the crowd will be Celtics fans. We have no idea what is about to happen.

Pregame:
Do they really need cheerleaders and a dance team? I mean, how much peppy dancing do we really need? Wait a second, they just rode each other like ponies. Yes, we need both.

Najera is goofing around a lot during warmups, I think he might be drunk

Initial predictions were low, it looks to be 40-50% Celtics

Q1
The game begins. KG looks fired up, almost gets a quick steal after the Nuggets win the tipoff. Kenyon Martin is in the starting lineup and is looking lively. He's off to a quick start, with a couple of monsterous dunks. He's Adam's early pick for the game's MVP. The action is heated early on, both teams are playing at a high energy level, neither team backing down. Pierce is hit with a quick technical, and keeps jawing at the refs. The Nuggs fan next to me succinctly sums it up, "We're not lucky enough to have Pierce get kicked out in the 1st." The Nuggets are going after the Celtics, being the aggressors, and the C's are having trouble keeping up. However, Jesus Shuttlesworth is showing he can still hit open jumpers. Might want to guard those.

Q2
The action gets sloppier. The Nuggets have lost a bit of their initial energy, and are having some problems stopping the Celtics transition offense. During a timeout, Rocky pulls off a Dwight Howard superman impression. Nice. Someone hits a big 3 (sorry, game was getting too good, notes became less complete), leading me to wonder if there is anything stupider than T's For 3's, DiGiornio. I don't think there is. This half begins to become a sign of things to come, as the refs start showing their Celtic pride. We've god a blatant no-call on an over the back when JR Smith should've had an easy rebound. This is immediately following by a BS foul call as time expires in the half. Karma saves the day and Rondo misses the free throw.

The halftime show is astounding. It's some acrobat lady on a unicycle. She is stacking bowls on one foot, balancing the unicycle with the other, and then using her foot to throw the bowls onto her head. I cannot adequately explain it. We begin to wonder how somebody learns this talent. We finally decide that the answer is simple: There is no spoon. That's right, I've timewarped back to 1999 and just made a Matrix reference.

Q3 & Q4
Now, up to the point, I've been taking notes. But it becomes clear that these next two quarters cannot be experienced with pencil and paper in hand. The Nuggets and Celtics battle back and forth, neither able to hang on to a lead for very long. Every time the C's get a two-point lead, we begin hearing the Boston Bandwagoners. Obnoxious as hell, and complete idiots. But their banter energizes the Denver crowd. The 3rd and 4th quarters blur together as the score creeps ever higher. The refs seem intent on handing Boston the game. At one point in the 4th we notice that Melo has 5 fouls, 4 of which were called as offensive fouls. The score remains close, but a couple of clutch threes from Kleiza have this place rocking. The Nuggs fan next to me reiterates that he doesn't want to give up Kleiza in order to get Artest. I point out how much Artest would help the defense, and how games like this are exactly why I want to see Kleiza join my Kings. The entire crowd is now standing, this is now far more than a basketball game. These teams are battling for the souls of a city. Camby hits a clutch 3, and the place erupts. There's a late timeout, maybe 2 minutes remaining, the Nuggets are trying to pull away, and the place is pumped. The energy dies down, and folks return to their seats until the action begins. But then we see a familiar site. A site you see at every Nuggets game. The clip from "Network". A clip which usually falls flat, but tonight is different. "So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!'" Tonight the crowd rises, and the Nuggets are loving the energy. The vibe is reminiscent of a playoff game. The Nuggets manage to pull ahead as time slips away, and Celtics fans begin bolting for the exits. My voice is hoarse, and I can't remember the last time my hands hurt from clapping so hard. But it's not over. Not that easy. The Celtics start hitting threes and fouling immediately. The Celtics pull within 4 points, but the Nuggets are clutch at the line. The victory is sealed.

I feel like I am unable to truly explain what it was like in that building last night. If you were there, please chime in. I can only describe the game as being truly epic. Now that, my friends, is what basketball fans live for.

On the subject of Ron Artest

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:25:15 -0000

Allow myself to introduce ...my...self.

I usually post over on Sactown Royalty, and am a true Kings fan. That being said, I like the Nuggets, and tend to follow them as well since I live in Colorado.

If the Nuggets traded for Artest, the city of Denver would love him. Read any of the posts over on StR. Kings fans can't make a true decision on whether or not it is best for him to leave. It was only after he began publicly asking for a trade that the tide turned against him. Sure, he's crazy as all hell. But he's also a damn likeable guy. He goes out there and he busts his ass every night. Sometimes his game turns, something clicks in his mind, and he stands pounding his chest like King Kong and chatting up every fan in Memphis. But usually he is a solid contributor. And who are we kidding, Denver already has its fair share of loco. He'd fit right in.

In Jeremy's Post All Star Break Outlook, he mentions he would rather have Mike Miller. Take a look at the Hollinger breakdown on both of these guys. ESPN has this as Insider info, so subscription is required.

Miller:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/playe...

Artest:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/playe...

Artest has a higher True Shooting %, more Points per game, Assists per game, Steals per game. He's pretty much better across the board. If you like Mike Miller, you might as well hold onto Kleiza.

Welcome to the Pickaxe and Roll Diaries

Jeremy — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 02:51:21 -0000

The diary section that is available to the members of the Pickaxe and Roll community will allow everyone to be able to create their own content on any subject that interests you.

They are intended for you to have the opportunity to express more in depth thoughts and opinions than you could through the comments section.

The only rule is to make sure that you treat everyone with respect no matter how dumb you think they are and please post your get rich quick schemes and fat burning solutions somewhere else.

The Diaries are your blog-within-the-blog so we can create our own Nuggets community.

The more you guys write, the better the community will be so get going!