2009-2010 Finish: 55-27

What went well

All was going great for the Nuggets. They were sitting pretty at the top of the Western standings for much of the season. Dwight and Kobe were doing their thing with a nice support cast. They certainly looked like favourites out west - how could a superstar team featuring Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard not be expected to be there come conference finals time?

Roster-wise their season could definitely be called "stable". The main components of the team were sewn up already and only a few fringe extras needed to be re-signed/added. Their only trade of the year saw them acquire Ben Wallace and Sasha Vujacic from Portland for Jarvis Hayes and Hilton Armstrong - and Hayes ended up back on board anyway after Portland cut him loose.

Despite some late season hiccups, where the Nuggets dropped some games, they still finished clear winners in the West at the end of the regular season. And they went into the western side of the playoffs as pronounced favourites.

What went bad

After a strong regular season, the playoffs just didn't go as the Nuggets fans would have hoped. We'll get to that in a minute. First, there was a late season stumble. The Nuggets were powering along, many would have said title favourites. But a few injury concerns towards the back end of the season saw them drop quite a few games. They managed as best they could with the roster they had at hand but their depth was certainly tested. Young players Andre Blatche and Marcus Thornton got some good minutes starting, but they couldn't fill the void. So, they dropped a few games - meh, it happens - on with the playoffs.

Then the playoffs rolled around. Nuggets got #1 seed and shaped up against the #8 Kings who had faded badly as the season progressed. The Kings proceeded to push the more fancied Nuggets to 7 games. Maybe a much needed wakeup call? It was on to the second round where they met the Utah Jazz. The Jazz had rallied strongly towards the end of the regular season with a strong lineup to match the Nuggets. And match them they did as they sent the Nuggets home in 7 games.

So unfortunately for the Nuggets it was back home to the dog house. Another season as one of the league favourites, yet resulting in a second round playoff exit. Perhaps the lack of depth hurt the Nuggets? When approximately 70% of your salary cap is spent on 2 players, it makes it somewhat difficult to fill the remaining gaps.

Stars

- Kobe Bryant, SG/SF -

Kobe is the man - although he seems to often go missing come playoff time for some reason. He has to share stardome on this team with Dwight Howard, something they seem to do have adapted to well in their couple of seasons together. Kobe has 1 season remaining on his current contract and he doesn't get any cheaper if/when he extends.


- Dwight Howard, PF/C -

Still generally playing second fiddle to Kobe, but he's certainly becoming more dominant. Howard's numbers are down a bit since he's joined with Kobe, but they should look to him more in the future as he can dominate just about any other frontcourt player in the league.

Goats

- Rafer Alston, PG -

Alston could have been the missing ingredient for the Nuggets - on his day he can be a strong PG. If they could of played Alston more at PG and slid Harris to SG, Kobe SF, then it woud have been one less slot to have to fill. But Alston had some off court issues and didn't get on the court the second half of the season.




Looking to the future

The big 2 are still under contract, as are the best of their support cast, Devin Harris and Andre Blatche - thats always a good thing. But if there were concerns about the Nugget's depth before, those concerns will grow even bigger now. This team is over the cap and right on the brink of luxury tax joy. Ben Wallace would likely return (if the Nuggets want him - on paper he's a nice partner for Howard up front), but Hayes, Alston, Brown and Magloire look like leaving. Which leaves 9 players, a rookie who may spend some time in the D-League, a MLE and a BAE and just a couple of million in luxury tax room.

The Nuggets probably have a bit of thinking to do. Do they look to make a deal or two to relieve the cap pressure? Would they part with Kobe or Dwight in a deal where they get multiple lesser players back? It would be hard to do. Could they have a shot in the LBJ sweepstakes? LBJ for Kobe might be nice for both teams - would leave the Nuggets some room to move and the Clippers get a superstar back (all be it an expensive one). Other than moving one of the big 2, Devin Harris would be the most likely candidate to help capwise. Or perhaps some team might like Sasha's expiring contract?

Whatever happens, the Nuggets will have to get busy. They are short on players and luxury tax space. They'll be hoping they can entice some minimum salary vets to pad the roster. Or maybe there's something brewing that'll change the face of this franchise again? Only time will tell.