23-year old point guard Ty Lawson finally got to really show what he could do for the Nuggets in 2010-11. After the Carmelo Anthony deal, the Nuggets inserted Lawson into the starting lineup in Chauncey Billups’ old slot at the point. Lawson played in 80 games (31 starts) for the Nuggets last year and he averaged 26.3 minutes, 11.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Lawson has now played in 145 games (39 starts) in his first two years with the Nuggets and he has averaged 23.6 minutes, 10.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. He has shot well from everywhere on the court so far in his career as he is hitting 50.7% from the floor, 40.6% from three point range and 76.2% from the free throw line so far in his NBA career. Look for Lawson to really put up impressive numbers in 2011-12 as the starting point guard from Day #1.

Fat Lever only played six years with the Nuggets but he made his mark with the team. He played in 474 games (473 starts) in his time with the Nuggets and he averaged 35.6 minutes, 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Lever was a good all-around player as he played hard at both ends of the basketball court as those rebounds are pretty darn impressive for a point guard. Lever is the Nuggets’ all-time leader in steals with 1,167. He is also #8 in rebounds (3,621), #2 in assets (3,566) and he’s #7 in points scored (8,081) in Nuggets’ history. Lever was only with the Nuggets for a short time, but long enough for him to be considered one of the best point guards in team history.

61-year old head coach George Karl dealt with the whole Carmelo Anthony drama for the first half of the season and then he took the guys the Knicks sent for Anthony and he coached them up. The Nuggets finished with a 50-32 (61%) record during the regular season but he was only 1-4 in the playoffs against the Thunder. Karl now has a 328-144 (69.5%) record during the regular season in his seven years with the Nuggets. He is also 16-30 (34.8%) during the post-season as the Nuggets’ coach and that’s just not good enough. Karl now has a 1,036-703 (59.6%) record during the regular season in his NBA career. But, he has always had issues in the playoffs where he has a career record of 75-97 (43.6%). Karl has always been a good enough coach to get the Nuggets to the playoffs and he is a warrior as he has beat cancer. But, at some point the Nuggets are going to need him to start doing better in the playoffs.

25-year old shooting guard Arron Afflalo really stepped up for the Nuggets last year. Afflalo played in 69 games (all starts) for the Nuggets last year and he averaged 33.7 minutes, 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He was very efficient as he shot 49.8% from the floor, 42.3% from three point range and 84.7% from the free throw line for the Nuggets last year. Afflalo has now played in 300 games (161 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 22.5 minutes, 7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Afflalo is a player on the rise and the Pistons will wish they never dealt him.