A Mile High But Hip Deep In Trouble

Remember that other team from Denver? That lovable bunch of boys called the Nuggets who never, never grow old, at least not until playoff time? Well, while the Broncos were down in New Orleans getting their oranges crushed, the Nuggets were out running, gunning, skying, flying, wheeling and peeling off a 10-game winning streak to open up a five-game lead over Chicago in the NBA's Midwest Division. True, the Nuggets always seem to have a 28-15 record this time of year, and so you may think you didn't miss anything while you were down with Broncomania.

But if you had been watching last week, for instance, you could have seen Coach Larry Brown go through agonies worthy of the soaps, first choking back tears when starting Guard Brian Taylor walked out on the team after its ninth straight win, then consoling the sick and the lame on his shrunken 10-man roster. A 104-89 home win over Cleveland Tuesday was merely a break in the clouds. A streak-snapping 114-109 loss at Milwaukee Thursday darkened the skies once more. On Friday, the Nuggets found themselves snowbound for 5� hours in Chicago's O'Hare Airport. As bad as that was, everyone had to agree it was better than going to snowbound Buffalo where Denver was scheduled to play that night.

"This was a great cancellation for us," deadpanned Brown, breaking everyone up during a pause in a marathon poker game. "The best thing that's happened to us all week."

Winning streaks and being in first place are nothing new to the Nuggets. Last season, its first in the NBA, Denver won 50 games—second-most in the league—and was the only team to lead its division from wire to wire. And over the past three seasons the Nuggets have the best record of any pro team. Even so, to the rest of the NBA Denver is considered a tough home club—they are currently 19-2 at McNichols Sports Arena and have lost only 12 there in 3� seasons—but not a threat to win the championship.

NBA people joke about the Nuggets' rah-rah collegiate attitude and Brown's "passing game" offense, both of which Brown has held onto, like an old fraternity blazer, from his days as a North Carolina Tar Heel.

The digs bother Brown not at all. "If you take a poll in the NBA," he says, "you'll find a lot of guys saying 'I want to play in Denver.' They want to get excited and have fun. As for the passing game, the reason people laugh is that nobody ever called it that before. In the NBA, they call it 'freestyle.' "

Denver's front line of Center Dan Issel and Forwards Bobby Jones and David Thompson is also maligned, many believing it to be too light. That charge. Brown admits, has some merit. Last season he tried to add some bulk by trading for Paul Silas, but the 33-year-old Silas was woefully out of place in Denver's jump-switching defense and high-speed offense. Though the Nuggets roared out to a 29-12 start, they lumbered home a tired 21-20, and in the playoffs with Portland found themselves overmatched inside against Bill Walton. Maurice Lucas and Bobby Gross, losing 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinal.

But these shortcomings seemed irrelevant while the Nuggets were mowing down opponents both home and away during their recent streak. What is notable about the team's fast start this year is that seven of the 12 players who finished last season in Denver are gone, and four of the current Nugget squad are rookies.

Thompson, a consummate player in only his third year, is having his best season. Shuttled between forward and guard, the 6'3�" jumping jack has scored fewer than 20 points only six times in 41 games, is averaging 26.1 points on 53% shooting and is second on the team in assists. "Yeah, I guess I'm playing pretty good," he says.

Jones, the leading vote getter on the NBA All-Defensive team last year, continues to push his stringbean 6'9" body to its very limits, blocking shots—he slapped away eight last week against Cleveland—making steals and averaging 15 points on short-range 57% shooting. "If there was an all-white league," said a Denver writer, " Bobby Jones would be David Thompson."