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There's a new leader on hand in Avery Johnson. Too bad there's such a scarcity of talent at his command

By L. Jon Wertheim

To supply scoring in the Nuggets' new scheme, the 6'1" Van Exel will frequently slide over to shooting guard.   Brian Bahr/Allsport Enemy Lines An opposing team's scout sizes up the Nuggets "Unless something totally unexpected happens, this team will be the worst in the West until Antonio McDyess gets back in February from his injured left knee. The Nuggets are going to get buried early, and I'm not sure they'll be that much better after McDyess returns. They don't guard the basket at all. ... With Avery Johnson and Nick Van Exel they seem to be following that trend of using two smaller interchangeable guards, like the Rockets with Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley. Except these guys aren't as good, and they're very small, at 5'11" and 6'1". The guess is, they'll play Van Exel at two because he can break down defenses. But who's he going to kick it to? Who's a threat? George McCloud ? James Posey ? Van Exel's a threat, that's who. What, can he kick it to himself? ... Plus, Van Exel is living proof of the old adage that you can't change a zebra's stripes. He won't make you better, especially now that he's thinking he's got to do more. He may lead the league in bad shots. ... The Nuggets have a ton of O.K. point guards with Kenny Satterfield and Omar Cook to help out Avery, but neither of them is ready to lead a team. ... Raef LaFrentz is fairly solid, but Dan Issel showed last year he didn't like him at center, so he'll go with Kevin Willis . What you can say about Willis is this: He's better than anyone else they have. Aleksandar Radojevic will be ready some day, but right now he's a stickman. ... Issel is a good guy, but he's going to miss John Lucas tremendously. He needs someone on the staff who can step up to the plate, who could be a terrific head coach himself, and that guy is gone. ... What's it say when your best off-season move is getting Isaiah Rider ?"

On Christmas Eve of 1990, after a loss in Portland, Nuggets coach Paul Westhead beckoned reserve guard Avery Johnson to a corner of the locker room. Johnson figured that Westhead was going to wish him a happy holiday. Instead, he told Johnson that he'd been waived. "It was worse than coal in my stocking," says Johnson. "I cried the whole plane ride back to Denver."

More than a decade later Johnson is back with the Nuggets, this time under more secure circumstances. After the unceremonious end to his first tour in Denver, Johnson became a reliable point guard, compensating for his diminutiveness (5'11", 175 pounds) with blinding speed, efficient playmaking and full-bore effort. In 1999 he masterminded the offense of the NBA champion Spurs. The Nuggets signed Johnson, a free agent, to a three-year, $15 million deal over the summer. "There was something in my spirit saying Denver was right this time," says Johnson. "I guess you could say I forgave and forgot."

Although he's 36 and filled a reserve role last season, Johnson is in superb shape and is likely to play a lot. He'll either back up point guard Nick Van Exel or start at the point, enabling the offensive-minded Van Exel to move to shooting guard. However, Johnson's real value is in his serial optimism, a necessary trait for someone who went from being a scrub on his New Orleans high school team -- "the backup to the backup's backup," Johnson says -- to a 13-year NBA veteran. His first meeting with Dan Issel was brief. "Coach said, 'Be yourself,'" Johnson says. "He told me to show my leadership and don't be afraid to preach."

Team leadership has been a rare commodity in Denver. Van Exel is too combustible to command much respect, and the Nuggets' best player, power forward Antonio McDyess, is not only injured -- he's out until February with an injured left knee -- but also too quiet: His mates on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team called him Him because he was reluctant to utter his name.

One of Denver's rare displays of unity in 2000-01 came in a failed coup d'état against Issel. To make matters all the more volatile, first-year general manager Kiki Vandeweghe, upon finding himself short of pop at shooting guard, made a Faustian bargain, signing the noxious -- but unquestionably talented -- Isaiah Rider to a one-year, $840,000 deal last month. Lord knows Denver can use Johnson's fire and brimstone. "I can hear Avery in my sleep already," says McDyess, who can deliver a dead-on impersonation of Johnson's shrill-as-a-dog-whistle voice. "'C'mon, Antonio! Get back on defense!' But he's been where we want to be, so I'm going to listen."

Although they've improved their record four years running -- from 11 wins in 1997-98 to 40 last season -- the Nuggets have found the postseason an elusive destination since 1995. It will be again this season, despite the team's talented nucleus. The 27-year-old McDyess is an exquisite power forward, capable of scoring at will and, unlike many of his teammates, proud of his defense. Van Exel, 29, quietly had the best season of his career and, though he stands justly accused of shooting too much, finished third in the league in assists. Raef LaFrentz is a versatile scorer inside, and swingman James Posey can be an all-around contributor. "I look around and see a lot of guys who can play," says Issel. "It's just a question of whether these guys truly believe in themselves."

Johnson does. After Denver's first practice of the season the Nuggets gathered at midcourt and yelled, "Hard work!" in unison. Immediately Johnson ordered his new teammates back into a huddle. "Hard work?" he said. "That's high school. How about we say, 'Playoffs!' because, never mind hard work, anything short of the playoffs will be a disappointment."

Issue date: October 29, 2001

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