patrol345 wrote:The Rebel wrote:patrol345 wrote:So you feel one of the youngest teams in the league is not gonna get better? And mind you they pushed the lakers to 7 games in the playoffs this year so if you do think they are going to get better that should mean making it to the second round of the playoffs or maybe further next year. No one is giving them a chance because of the nuggets lack of success for the past ten years but I'm arguing that lack of success has nothing to do with our current group of young players. All I hear on here is trade trade trade.I think they will surprise everyone next year and be a 2 thru 4 seed and at the least make it too the second round of the playoffs.
Oh wow they got to game 7 against a team that was run out of the building in the 2nd round, that just proves how good they are. Which means they were not as good as the Lakers, who weren't anywhere close to as good as the Thunder, but let's all pat them on the back because there is always next year, where they still will not be as good as the Thunder, probably not as good as the Spurs, still not as good as the Lakers, and not even close to the Heat.
Also where did I say that anybody on the Nuggets can not get better? I have been very clear in saying they can all get better, but to take a big jump after 3 years in the league rarely happens. Meaning guys like Gallo who has been in the league and a starter for 4 years is not going to suddenly turn into an elite guy his 5th year. Lawson is not going to suddenly turn into a superstar his 4th year after not even being all star caliber for his 1st 3, Faried has the best chance to really turn into something, but he needs to learn some skills outside of rebounding and finishing.
You are right this team is different from the one 3 years ago, but it is not much different from the one 2 years ago, and is no different from the one last year. Not to mention they have the same coach, the same philosophy coming out of the ownership box, and the same avoidance on spending money. So how does a team magically get better, or is it just you hoping it will, because I would love to hear about some 4 year starters that suddenly jumped up from above average to elite in one year.
Chris paul averaged 17 and 7 his first full year as a starter. Lawson just averaged 16 and 6 his first full year as a starter with a good showing in the playoffs. Is it his fault he had billiups in front of him his first year and a half? Nope. But you can't develop your talent so slowly and then suddenly as fans become upset because there's no "star" on the team. Lol what do you guys expect. Look how long it took faried to get meaning full playing time. If it were up to karl we would still be talking about how soft nene is and how bad mozgov sucks, and faried would of been rotting away on the bench, but he got some time and now a bug is in fans ears of how good the kid is, some say he may of been rookie of the year if he got playing time right away or atleast had a shot at it, you don't think that's a good start to becoming a superstar? that's how you get allstar votes anyways right ? I'm sorry but Ill take youth and player development over trading for another whiney melo type player any day.
Which season did he average 17 & 7? I dont see it. he avged 7.8 his rookie season and that was his lowest output. When he was 24 he averaged 10.7 ast and 18.7 pts. At 24 years of age, Lawson averaged 16.4 and 6.6. Lawson isn't going to suddenly become CP3. I think age is usually the most important factor, but I agree lawson can make a serious jump. he still has untapped potential, maybe because of C-bills/DRE, but moreso because he can be so passive/ withdrawn at times. If Karl and his staff can turn lawson into a aggressive player he can be elite. He already is unstoppable when he is on. His mindset is what has held back his development more recently.
Now, this may be unrealistic but I am going to predict Lawson's stat line next year.
This past year: Season,Age,Tm,Lg,G,GS,MP,FG,FGA,FG%,3P,3PA,3P%,FT,FTA,FT%,ORB,DRB,TRB,AST,STL,BLK,TOV,PF,PTS
2011-12,24,DEN,NBA,61,61,34.8,6.1,12.6,.488,1.2,3.3,.365,2.9,3.5,.824,0.9,2.8,3.7,6.6,1.3,0.1,2.4,1.5,16.4
first, I think he will take more shots. lets say 14.5 fga. I think he will take considerably more threes. Lets say 4.5. I think he will hit at a 40% clip. Overall he will score between 19-22 ppg. Assists may go down to 6. His FG% will be 50%+ this year. everything else should remain similar.
That's elite IMO.
