Published: April 30, 2009
It can now be safely said that the Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson trade was the most lopsided deal since Pau Gasol to the Lakers.
In fact, comparing the two this post season is like putting a rhinoceros and a slug on opposite sides of a seesaw.
Cleveland promptly swept the Pistons with this generation’s greatest scorer not on the floor, not on the bench, not even in the building. Who knows where he watched the games or if he did at all.
The Denver Nuggets, on the other hand, are looking like a legitimate title contender.
They finally have an acceptable point guard who has championship experience, calm composure under pressure and the ability to take over or ability to get his teammates going. When it’s time to back down a smaller point guard (Chris Paul or every point guard on the Lakers) he makes a big play. When it’s time for deference towards Carmelo Anthony, the best player the Nuggets have, Billups gladly obliges.
The irony of that tandem dates back to the 2003 draft when Joe Dumars passed on Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, making one of the greatest draft blunders of all-time.
However, this article isn’t about Billups and his feel good homecoming story, it’s about Anthony, the most underrated superstar in the NBA. Before this season, he’d been to the post-season every year of his six-year career but never made it past five games. None of the series were competitive and Anthony found himself mired in the same dangerous place some other offensively gifted talents are stuck at. He looked about ready to grab the baton right from Tracy McGrady’s outstretched hand as a great scorer who for some reason or another can’t get out of the first round.
When management made the deal for Iverson it made no basketball sense, handcuffing Anthony with a teammate who defers to nobody and only looks for his own shot. In 2009, the move to get Billups has been a godsend, as proven evident by a record tying 58-point win over Chris Paul’s Hornets.
Now the excuses are over. He’s got a point guard, deadly three-point shooters and athletic big men who can run and even play a little bit of defense. As the playoffs get deeper and deeper, Denver most likely won’t be blowing teams out by 60 points; in the real nail-biters they’ll look to Anthony as their go-to scorer.
We all saw him perform as one of the best players on the Olympic team, but when it comes to NBA competition will Anthony raise his game to the Wade, Kobe, Lebron level? There’s no doubting he’s got the offensive skill set to lead his team far, but will he is the question.
Next on the plate is the Dallas Mavericks. How’s Anthony done in their three contests this year? 31.3 points a game, his best numbers against anybody in the league.
Everyone’s expecting a Kobe and Lebron showdown, but 2009 could be the year of ‘Melo.
One Comment on "Nuggets Continue To Surprise"
Michael Tiedemann on Thu, 30th Apr 2009 2:13 pm
If any team, right now at least, is going to ruin the party of a Lakers/Cavs series, it might very well be the Nuggets. It’ll be interesting. The Nuggets swept the Mavs in the regular season, but some of those games were close.