ugly win #2 - playoff roster

Another ugly win against the woefully undermanned Golden State Warriors puts the Nuggets one game away from clinching the division for the first time in 18 years. Clinching the division guarantees the Nuggets the #3 seed in the playoffs, but not home-court advantage. Unless something goes horribly wrong, the Nuggets will face either the LA Clippers or the Memphis Grizzlies. They match up well against both teams, which bodes well for the playoffs. Plus, they have a slim chance of ending with a better record than both teams which would give them home-court advantage.

You take what you can get in the NBA. The Nuggets played horribly in the second half, but managed to pull out another victory. The fact that it was against the Jason Terry-less and Baron Davis-less Warriors shouldn't bother fans. What should be problematic is the injuries. Kenyon Martin will be the starter when the playoffs begin, but he's missed so much time recently that team chemistry may be affected. Based on hustle and late-season health, here's my playoff starting line-up:
pg - Andre Miller
sg - Ruben Patterson
sf - Carmelo Anthony
pf - Reggie Evans
c - Marcus Camby

This is obviously a defensive line-up which may work well once the playoffs start. Setting a defensive tone early should be the Nugget's strategy, since they don't have the kind of players who can shoot other teams out of the gym. Greg Buckner would be one of the first subs; as a sub, he can enter the game without the team losing any defensive momentum, plus his recent 3-point shooting can open up the floor for Carmelo in the half-court. This line-up also allows K-Mart to come off the bench for significant minutes if he's healthy (or fewer minutes if he's not), which is where he should be at this point in the season.

George Karl will probably put K-Mart in Reggie Evans place, and I think it will be disastrous for the team. But if he goes a little radical and plays K-Mart off the bench the Nuggets just might thrive in the first round.