Nuggets: The Epilouge

Yo, when I was small they used to tease me
because my hair was peasy, hard and greasy
But now I'm livin well like George and Wheezy...

STERN LOOK: The league needs to take a serious look at the amount of flopping, whining, and pleading teams and players can do. The Spurs have perfected the art of all three, which is perfectly leagal and a shrewd move by them. Refs are human too, and they could be a tad hesitant to call a foul if they know the result could be high pitched hyena howls from the transgressor. The NHL calls penalities for flopping, MLB managers and players get thrown out for arguing, and although rare, football players can be penalized. Add the element of a personal foul being called and Manu will conduct himself like John Stockton in 07-08.

CAMBY LAND MOVED?: The Nugs are well over the salary cap for next year and unless owner Arsenal Stanley wants to pony up a luxury tax for a team that has exited the 1st rd for four straight, money will need to be pared. The giant weight on the franchise's neck is Kenyon Martin's huge contract. The Nuggets have a better chance of me making the All-Star team than moving K-Mart. With Melo, AI, and Nene all forming a nucleus, the logical coice to move is Camby. His value is high with his defensive prowess and they could be able to bring in a veteran shooter in a trade.

BYE BYE BLAKE: Steve Blake performed admirably in the stretch run, but he approaches free agency in the off-season. Portland is rumored to be ready to offer some serious coin. The Nugs may like his game, but they simply can't afford to pay him based on his limited contributions; he can distribute, but turnovers and lack of scoring punch hinder him. Notice how just-signed Anthony Carter played just as well in Game 5. That may be the solution: pour over the international ranks for a point guard.

HOME COOKIN: The Nugs have to play better at home. Let the dancers perform in thongs, dress the front row in Star Wars costumes, suit up Rocky, whatever it takes to get a 30+ wins at altitude is key. Losing to the bottom feeders at The Can cannot be tolerated or shrugged off by Coach Karl. Maybe our old friend Ricardo Patton had the right idea when he forced the team to sleep on cots on the floor to show the home court significance. Since they're NBAers, they can even bring strippers.

IT'S DIVISION ONE!: The main focus of the franchise has to be to win the division, thus taking out the Utah Jazz. Hence, winning these home games becomes more important. Not only winning the division, but securing a top four seed for 1st rd homecourt. That means taking a plus 5-10 game jump in the win total.

GONE IN NOVEMBER: Players that will most likely (or maybe should be) moved by training camp: Jamal Sampson, DerMarr Johnson, Reggie Evans, Steve Blake, and either Linas Kleiza or JR Smith. The last two could be involved in a possible Camby trade.

ALREADY SIMMERING: The networks are already loving the Knicks coming to Denver next year for the George Karl-Isiah Thomas steel cage match. Maybe it could bump Kobe and Shaq off the Christmas marquee? Ho, ho, ho.