The Nuggets back up point guard at the time was Earl Boykins who was far too diminutive to pair with Iverson and while Denver quickly moved to acquire additional facilitators they ultimately would be left with starting Anthony Carter 67 games in the 2007-2008 and an offense that generally consisted of either a Melo or Iverson isolation with five seconds left on the shot clock. Denver desperately needed the aging scorer to modify his game more towards distributing and greater shooting efficiency once Melo returned from suspension but that was not his game. In order to acquire him they had to surrender Andre Miller who was the starting point guard and Iverson in reality was an undersized shooting guard. There was a downside however to AI playing for the Nuggets. It was the first fifty point game for a Denver Nugget in twelve years. Ironically though, perhaps his best game in Denver came in a loss on national TV to the Lakers where he delivered forty nine points in the first three quarters of play but only two in fourth. He scored more than twenty-four points per game while playing for Denver, a feat that, after the days of Alex English, only Melo and Iverson can claim. Though he wasn’t the one man wrecking crew on offense that he used to be, there were still times Iverson showed his dominant scoring ability. He had the best shooting percentages of his career while wearing a Nuggets uniform and also recorded some of the higher assist totals of his career too. While Iverson’s scoring numbers would fall off once he was wearing the powder blue and gold, it had far much more to do with his reduced usage than a decline in his actual play. Denver would finish out the season as a sixth seed and earn a first round match up with the San Antonio Spurs. When he went down there was obviously a major hole to fill offensively and the Nuggets pulled the trigger on a deal which netted them the NBA’s second leading scorer at the time. Melo, at the time, was the leading scorer in the NBA as the Nuggets had a solid open to the season. The second reason Decemis earmarked in Denver’s history is because that’s the day the NBA handed down a fifteen game suspension to Carmelo Anthony for his role in the brawl at Madison Square Garden with the New York Knicks. Iverson’s acquisition filled an immediate need for the Nuggets. Though Nuggets fans may have got Iverson past his prime, his acquisition, presence and at times his still transcendent talent made him one of the most impactful players to suit up for Denver in past twenty years. By and large, the heavy lifting on Iverson’s resume was done in Philadelphia and his departure to Denver in many ways represented the beginning of the end of a hall of fame career. The disgruntled superstar had worn out his welcome in Philadelphia and the Nuggets were looking to make a title contending move. Why? Two reasons, first it was the day the Nuggets sent Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first round picks to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Allen Iverson. December 20, 2006…it’s a date that is earmarked in Denver Nuggets history.
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