99 miller
2012 Stats: 9.7 ppg, 6.7 apg, 3.3 rpg, .455 eFG%, 14.8 PER
Andre Miller: We write a lot about how Miller's underrated, then we rank him second to the cliff. Go figure. "Dre's" calm demeanor should help the Nuggets almost as much as his lobs to JaVale McGee.
74 Faried
2012 Stats: 10.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.0 bpg, .586 eFG%, 21.9 PER
One word: Manimal.
No. 65: JaVale McGee, C, Age 24, Denver Nuggets
2012 Stats: 11.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.2 bpg, .556 eFG%, 19.9 PER
Sometimes he looks like the next great center, with touch, footwork, aggressiveness, and crazy athleticism. Sometimes, he runs the other direction on offense. That's JaVale.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-o ... ough-no-50
No. 46: Danilo Gallinari, F, Age 24, Denver Nuggets
2012 Stats: 14.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.0 spg, .479 eFG%, 16.4 PER
Rankings: 65, 39, 42
Danilo Gallinari's evolution has been something of a mystery. He was an outside shooter in New York, then found his perimeter scoring abandon him in Denver as his ability to score off the dribble and draw fouls reached high levels. He was a focus for the Nuggets early on, and an injury limited him just as he was getting started. Still, he factors as one of the key building blocks of Denver's future alongside Andre Iguodala and Ty Lawson. How he fits with Iguodala will be key next season, but nothing is as important as his need to rediscover his outside shooting touch. If he can knock down the jumper, forcing teams to recover on his lanky frame, he's going to have a stellar year.
No. 41: Ty Lawson, PG, Age 24, Denver Nuggets
2012 Stats: 16.4 ppg, 6.6 apg, 1.3 spg, .535 eFG%, 19.4 PER
Ranking: 38, 51, 40
Lawson, like Lowry, is clearly a member of the All-Underrated point guards club. He's one of the absolute fastest point guards in the league, and his ability to get to the rim was a huge reason for Denver's offensive success. A pleasantly surprising development last season was Lawson's ability to play off-ball as a scorer with Andre Miller in a dual point-guard lineup. Lawson's perimeter shooting was on full display against the Lakers and was a huge reason Denver pushed the Lakers to seven games.
This season, Lawson needs to make the leap to outright superstar, and that's going to be tricky with his size. The question will be who helps who more, Lawson helping Andre Iguodala or Iguodala helping Lawson. Either way, Lawson will remain a blur offensively with some badgering ability on-ball defensively and great instincts, a true gem for the Nuggets.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-o ... rough-no40
No. 27: Andre Iguodala, SF, Age 28, Denver Nuggets (30)
2012 Stats: 12.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 5.5 apg, 1.7 spg, 45.4 FG%, 17.6 PER
Rankings: 28, 27, 28
Andre Iguodala ticks up in this year's rankings, perhaps because of a banner year that saw his Philadelphia 76ers upset the Chicago Bulls (without Derrick Rose) in the first round of the playoffs and that saw him win an Olympics gold medal as a key contributor for Team USA. In London, the strong two-way game he's best-known for -- his quickness, strength, athleticism and defensive instincts -- got a nice showcase.
Philadelphia, feeling that it topped out this year and anxious to seize the opportunity to acquire a franchise center, shipped Iguodala to the Nuggets in a 4-team deal that landed Andrew Bynum from the Los Angeles Lakers. Iguodala plugs nicely into a starless Nuggets roster that loves to push the ball and can use an elite defensive presence. His ability to finish in transition will help make up for his lack of perimeter range and free-throw shooting woes, and speedy point guard Ty Lawson should be able to get the most out of those skills. Iguodala has a year to get himself acclimated in the Mile High city before deciding whether to exercise his $16.2-million player option for the 2013-14 season. With Lawson likely to get a long-term extension and JaVale McGee, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Andre Miller and Kenneth Faried all locked into place for the foreseeable future, Iguodala could do a lot worse than settling down to play the rest of his prime years with the Nuggets.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-o ... ough-no-20
personally I think some of the nuggets are getting severely underrated, they finished with the 11th best record despite the injury problems, yet they supposedly did not have a single top 40 player?
