This is the Rooster defensive position, obviously Lebron is not used to such an effective tactic.

The Denver Nuggets, since the trade of Carmelo Anthony last year, were touted as a team with a lot of talented players, but none who seemed to fit into the go-to type that most teams strive for, especially in the playoffs. So despite our strong depth, the "Experts" said that since we did not have that all-around all-star who can score 23-30 points a game every night, that we would falter in the playoffs. It turns out they were right, but however.. there is reason to believe that Danilo Gallinari will be that all-star for us this year, why do I believe that? Like Neo in the Matrix film, it is a matter of faith and a jump...

Despite not having Wilson Chandler this season and with his return being in march, we are not sure what to make of his future with the Nuggets. Retaining his rights as a player, the Nuggets will be a little short at the Small Forward position. Unless you have faith that Al Harrington will step up this year and be able to contribute being fully healed. His body looked in better shape as I was watching NBA.COM and their brief video clips of the Nuggets training camp. He isn't bad as a 2nd option off the bench when his shots are falling, but if he plays like he did the majority of last season, I might put a glass barrier between me and the T.V and computer screen during games so I do not damage the screens with remote control's.

Danilo Gallinari

First off, if someone knows how can someone PLEASE change his Wikipedia picture to him in a Nuggets picture? I feel slightly embarrassed as a Nuggets fan just for this reason so if you have the power to do that, get on it. First off, I would like to say I am a strong believer in Danilo. In fact, I believe that if he plays with all the physical tools in his arsenal, he has the ability to be better than Carmelo Anthony during his 08-09 season in which he averaged 22.9 points a game, just enough to be a dependable number one option on offense, yet since he had fewer isolation's that year than normal, we found strong success as we made a lot of noise in the playoffs. I believe Gallinari, AKA Gallo, has the ability to consistently be the 08-09 Melo, averaging around 22-23 points a game and being a reliable number one option on offense, yet unlike Carmelo, I believe he will be even better than 08-09 Melo because he is actually a very tenacious defender.

He hustles a lot on defense, and he showed himself to be surprisingly one of our better defenders last year along with Wilson Chandler. His hustle alone makes him better at one on one defense compared to Carmelo Anthony's often sluggish half-assed attempts at defense. With him now fully recovered from his toe injury and motivation to finally be "the man", I expect him to be the player with the ball in the clutch.

Balls on the bottom, Rooster on the top, just the natural order of things.

What makes an all-star? Someone who can score in any fashion, that is what. That is what Gallo does, One of the most pivotal stats for a go-to scorer is someone who gets to the line often and that is what Gallo can do night in and night out, bringing with him an 85% free throw percentage with him. Consider this, in 09-10 he only averaged 3.8 attempts a game in 33.9 minutes. The year after with New York, he doubled this with 6.0 attempts a game in 34 minutes a game, while shooting at 90% at the line. Then when he became a Nugget and the short span of games he was with us in a George Karl offense, he averaged 7.2 attempts! In comparison, Carmelo Anthony in his 08-09 season averaged 7.1 attempts. If Gallo continues this aggressive play this season, watch out! Along with being a better defender than Melo, Gallo also is superior from beyond the arch, as a career 37% 3 point shooter compared to Melo's 32%.

So, Gallo has shown he can be better than Melo, and he has the tools, his mobility along with his 6'10 frame gives him the ability to score beyond the arch, drive the lane, shoot over defenders, hit the mid-range and get to the line. Along with playing under a coach who preaches defense much more than coach Mike D'Antoni ever did with his "once you pop, you can't stop" approach to the game. Gallo has even said that he holds a very high level of respect towards George Karl, making this coach-player duo a very friendly one.

My prediction? He will shock everyone and average 21 PPG- 6.0 RPG and 2.0 APG and begin his emergence towards being one of the Nuggets all time greats. Am I a dreamer? Yes but I believe in this more than I believe "The master of disguise" to be the worst film of all time.

So attractive, that he even turned down Kim Kardashian! That takes a level of awesomeness in my opinion, as I believe Jean Luc Picard once said, "Kill the Kardashians!".

So yea, I believe if the Nuggets are to be a contender, Gallo will need to unleash his potential.

Al Harrington

There are two juries out on this man. One is that his very poor effort last year was due to his foot related injury that hindered his ability on offense all year. Now, I know most might remember that article I wrote about him during his atrocious stretch last year and I am an outspoken critic on how awful of a basketball player he is. Do I still believe that? Can I forgive him? Well.. I don't normally do that... which is why I'm not going to do it this time. Simply put, he is the one weak player in our supposed strong depth. I don't think in his entire career he has been anything but a mediocre offensive player who doesn't bring anything else to the locker room except hidden paper bags full of chocolate chip cookies, Mcdonalds hamburgers, french fries,even Arby's for Christ sake! Now, while all that junk food might be good for a fan such as myself, there are limits when it comes to professional athletes.

Yea, he has supposedly gotten into shape this year, which is what you are supposed to do when you are paid millions to be athletic, that is your job, and of all the players who've come to us from the Knicks in the past 2 years, he is my least favorite. The guy would put up the same numbers he does now if he was playing in the D-League. The guy couldn't hit wide open 3 pointers last year and there are no excuses for that. I like the guys persona even if he isn't really one I'd look up to as a veteran presence in the locker room, he is a bad influence in the health department, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if he sneaked in his portions to the younger players.

Harrington fired Hess in order to hire this guy as his trainer.

Al Harrington Rep's these shoes... seriously... no, SERIOUSLY, he does.

Jordan Hamilton

I don't think he will get much burn this year, if at all. I feel like in a way he reminds me of Reshard Lewis when he was young. Lewis was drafted late, and developed into a tall, athletic offensive threat who could hit three pointers well and did well playing second fiddle to Ray Lewis in his time with Seattle. I think that is where this kids ceiling is. He has the same shooting form as Lewis, the height and he played well in Texas despite his personal issues. I think that he will personally play at a level around James Posey realistically. Someone who can come in and shoot a few corner threes, play some good defense and call it a night. Some said he will be way better than Posey which is way per-mature, some people might be a little too high on this kid yet most people tend to think Faried will be the better NBA player when it is said and done. With that statement, I'd agree as well.

Readers such as "Army Of Nugs" said that he should not go to the D-league, and I personally think that he should be given some minutes in the early season to see where he stands and if he seems out of place out there, I think he should go to the D-league, the struggling NBA player's personal punching bag.

I've never seen a man holding two balls be so contemplative.

Grade: B

So do you think Gallo has the potential to be better than Melo? Will he have a breakout season? Do you believe that the success of this season rides on Gallo?

Do you think Al Harrington will be decent?!?!?!?!?!?! I don't.

Hamilton, D-league, or THE league?