Marc Stein at ESPN has released his initial training camp power rankings for all NBA teams, and the Denver Nuggets came in 27th. Here are his first thoughts about the Nuggets for the upcoming season:
The Nuggets join Detroit and Philadelphia on the short list of teams with no national TV appearances scheduled. So you’ll need to work, if you’re not in the Denver area, to catch a glimpse of the reborn Danilo Gallinari. Or the teenage point guard (Emmanuel Mudiay) succeeding Ty Lawson. Or new coach Mike Malone.
With a new coaching staff and a raft of young players, Denver's perceived impact for this coming season is low. Still, Stein has a funny smidge of optimism (or at least curiosity) in there for a team ranked 27th, talking about all the change and Danilo Gallinari's rise from the ashes of injury to prominence in the last 20 games of the 2014-15 season and his Eurobasket impact. The Nuggets will definitely be a different team to watch under Mike Malone's leadership and with Emmanuel Mudiay taking over for Ty Lawson – if you can find them in the TV listings.
The New York Knicks are ranked 25th, and thanks to our pick swap option with them our lottery odds seem decent as far as the prognosticators are concerned. The only teams we’re ranked ahead of currently are the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers. Anybody want to place bets on whether that will remain true for the season?
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