Postseason berth appears possible

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jan 22, 2001 | by Kamon Simpson

Someone asked Nick Van Exel about the playoffs the other day. The person wasn't joking, and the Denver Nuggets' point guard took the question seriously. In fact, he already had the standings in his head, perfectly memorized.

These are strange days indeed when the Nuggets are watching the standings and figuring their place in them.

"We're in a good situation," Van Exel said. "I'm pleased we're playing so well, but I'm especially excited that we've turned things around in such a short period of time.

"I was talking to Antonio (McDyess) about that. He came here from Phoenix and I came here from L.A. (the Lakers), where we were in the thick of the playoff race. It feels good to be back in that position here."

Half a season remains, 41 games in which anything can happen to these Nuggets, whose franchise track record screams for caution in the face of playoff optimism.

Still, there are a few reasons - pretty good reasons, actually - why the Nuggets might finish the 2000-01 season as strong as they've started it:

The franchise

He's the cornerstone upon which the rest of the team is built. In that regard, the Nuggets could do a lot worse than placing their hopes and dreams on the considerable shoulders of forward Antonio McDyess.

Now in his sixth season, McDyess has matured into a self- confident force, aware of his capabilities, aware he belongs on the short list of the game's best players. On defense, he's the place rebounds go to die. On offense, he's the team's first, best offensive option.

"If Mac doesn't make a quick move with the ball, teams double- team him," Nuggets coach Dan Issel says. "If the opponent is going to set their defense to stop him inside, we have the ability to hit the outside shot."

The loss at Dallas was a rarity: McDyess had only eight points and nine rebounds. In 34 previous games, he averaged 24.2 points and 12.6 rebounds, posting 27 double-doubles (his 29 overall ties for the NBA lead with San Antonio's Tim Duncan) and leading the Nuggets in scoring 23 times. He's fourth league in rebounding, averaging 11.8 per game.

McDyess was bothered by a back injury the first five games, when he averaged 9.4 points and 6.8 rebounds, and team officials were worried he was showing fatigue after spending September playing for the U.S. Olympic team in Sydney, winning a gold medal.

But teammate George McCloud says, "Maturity is the biggest difference in this team from a year ago, and nobody shows that more than Antonio. The Olympic experience has really done wonders for his confidence level."

The style

Kevin Willis admits he's still getting used to his new digs. The altitude, for one thing, is a killer. There's all the little details, like learning the fastest way to the Pepsi Center before a game. And, of course, there's the Nuggets' style of play.

Willis, a 17th-year center acquired in a trade with Toronto, had just entered his second game with the Nuggets on Wednesday when he pulled down a defensive rebound. Looping fast around him on the baseline was backup point guard Robert Pack, speeding toward the other end and yelling, "Push it! Push it! Push it!"

Just in case the new guy didn't know it yet, there it was - the Nuggets' mantra.

Up-tempo basketball defined the Nuggets franchise through the 1980s, when the team reached the playoffs nine consecutive seasons. And it's a big reason they're primed to return to the playoffs this year. Before falling 97-79 at Dallas on Saturday, they had won 14 of 17 while averaging 105 points, and had scored 100 or more points in 12 times, including three games with at least 120 points.

Before the Dallas loss, they ranked third in the NBA in scoring (99.5 points per game). They're 18-3 when they score at least 100 points this season.

The enigma

Vancouver coach Sidney Lowe is stomping his feet on the Pepsi Center sideline and screaming toward the court, where guard Michael Dickerson is falling for an old trick, following a pass from Nick Van Exel to Antonio McDyess in the post, dropping down to help with a defensive double-team.

"Stay, Michael! Stay!" Lowe warns, but too late. McDyess pops the ball right back out to Van Exel, who is waiting with his feet behind the 3-point line and drains the open shot.

Van Exel has been called plenty of things in his eight-year career - one Denver newspaper columnist insisted on calling him Van Excrement after he was signed to a seven-year, $77 million contract after being acquired from the Lakers in June 1998 - but now he's being called a potential all-star.

A year after finishing second in the league with nine assists per game, Van Exel is having one of his best all-around seasons, averaging 17.5 points and 8.6 assists. He has scored at least 20 points 15 times with 12 double-doubles.

The Nuggets offense can best be described like this: Van Exel dribbles in, makes a split-second decision on which player gets to take the shot and passes it to him, or takes the shot himself. It's that simple.

And when the game is on the line - he's scored in double figures in the second half 21 times this season, and before Saturday's loss at Dallas had averaged 12.8 points in the fourth periods of four previous games - he's not afraid to take the shots himself.