Friday, March 31, 2006

Best Nugget Point Guards since 1990

Obviously this is gonna be painful, but I'm trying to get hyped for tonight's game against the underwhelming T-Wolves. So here in all it's glory is "the top-5 list:"

#5 Andre Miller - You gotta love a guy who can go out and get you 15 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds on a consistent basis. You gotta be disturbed by the fact that the man has shown no emotion since...well, ever, as far as I can tell.
#4 Jalen Rose - We drafted him, got him going in the right direction, and then ended up trading him to Indiana for Mark Jackson who we gave back to Indiana a year later. Dumb-asses. Under Dan Issel, this guy could have been sweeeeet - he might've been the first guy since the Big O to average a triple double. Now he's marginalia.
#3 Robert Pack - One of the few guys to be signed by the same team three separate times. He struggled as a starter, but off the bench he was clearly the best sixth man in 1994. This guy could fly. He could put up points, assists, and play defense, but only for 17 mintues a game. He was the most exciting Nuggets player in the 1994 playoffs.
#2 Michael Adams - Coolest three-point shooter ever. As a point-guard under Paul "shoot-em-till-you-die" Westhead, Adams averaged one shot every 10 seconds. Well okay, not really, but he jacked up more three-pointers as a PG than anyone else. I styled my own play after his MO: dribble down, shoot a three, repeat. Imitating that funny little leg kick was the only way most kids could even shoot 3-pointers, making him one of the few Nuggets icons of the late 80's/early 90's.
#1 - Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf/Chris Jackson (for those of you who don't know, same player) - If Adams was the coolest 3-point shooter, Abdul-Rauf has to be considered one of the best pure shooters. Ever. At 6'0 and 150 lbs, this guy was AI before AI was cool. I saw him drop 50+ points against several opponents without any help from the refs. He shot something like .950 from the free-throw line, but it was a miracle if he ever got there. A natural 2-guard, Abdul-Rauf was out-of-place at point. But Dan Issel knew how to get the most out of any player, and Abdul-Rauf thrived under Issel's tutelage. He disappeared after leaving Denver (eventually playing in Turkey where being a Muslim didn't cause conflict) and is remembered fondly as the stranger who blew into town, amazed everyone with his ability, and disappeared just as quickly.

Honorable Mentions:
-Mark Jackson - Led the league in assists while playing in Denver. Might have thrived if the team had any talent during his short tenure.
-Nick Van Exel - Another Issel prodigy. His run-and-gun approach was encouraged by Issel and led to ugly wins. Helped the lowly Nuggets win 42 games while teaming with McDyess in the late 90's.
-Earl Boykins - Smallest player in the league, his cult status is based on his ability to change the tempo of a game and create his own shot at 5'5". Shoots first, passes second, and can't defend, but makes his way on to the court late in games because of confidence and leadership ability.

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