2004–05 Denver Nuggets season

2004–05 Denver Nuggets season
2004–05 Denver Nuggets season
Head coach	Jeff Bzdelik (games 1-28); Michael Cooper (interim, games 29-42); George Karl (games 43-82)
Owners	Stan Kroenke
Arena	Pepsi Center
Results
Record	49–33 (.598)
Place	Division: 2nd (Northwest); Conference: 7th (Western)
Playoff finish	First Round; (lost to Spurs 1–4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
< 2003–04	2005–06 >

The 2004–05 NBA season was the 29th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 38th season as a franchise.^[1] During the offseason, the Nuggets acquired Kenyon Martin from the New Jersey Nets. Coming off their first playoff appearance in nine years, the Nuggets got off to a shaky start at 13–15. Head coach Jeff Bzdelik was fired after 28 games and was replaced with Michael Cooper as the team lost 10 of their next 14 games. Cooper was then replaced with George Karl, who then led the Nuggets with a 32–8 record for the remainder of the season, including a ten-game winning streak in April.^[2] The Nuggets finished second in the Northwest Division with a 49–33 record. Second-year star Carmelo Anthony led them in scoring with 20.8 points per game.

Entering the playoffs as the #7 seed in the Western Conference, the Nuggets won Game 1 over the 2nd-seeded San Antonio Spurs, but would lose the series in five games. The Spurs then defeated the Detroit Pistons in seven games in the NBA Finals, winning their third championship in franchise history.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	20	Jameer Nelson	PG	United States	St. Joseph's

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	From
SG	15	Anthony, Carmelo	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Syracuse
PG	11	Boykins, Earl	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	133 lb (60 kg)	Eastern Michigan
SG	7	Buckner, Greg	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Clemson
PF	23	Camby, Marcus	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	UMass
C	56	Elson, Francisco	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	California
PG	12	Flores, Luis	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Manhattan
SF	3	Johnson, DerMarr	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Cincinnati
SG	1	Lenard, Voshon	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Minnesota
SF	6	Martin, Kenyon	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Cincinnati
PG	24	Miller, Andre	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Utah
PF	21	Nájera, Eduardo	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Oklahoma
C	31	Nenê	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Brazil
G/F	10	Person, Wesley	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Auburn
F	41	Pope, Mark	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Kentucky
G/F	9	Russell, Bryon	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Long Beach State

Head coach

George Karl (North Carolina)

Assistant coach(es)

Scott Brooks (UC Irvine)
Adrian Dantley (Notre Dame)
Doug Moe (North Carolina)
Chip Engelland (assistant/player development)
Rex Kalamian (assistant/player development)
Bill Branch (director of scouting)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Northwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	–	26–15	26–15	11–5
x-Denver Nuggets	49	33	.598	3	31–10	18–23	9–7
Minnesota Timberwolves	44	38	.537	8	24–17	20–21	10–6
Portland Trail Blazers	27	55	.329	25	18–23	9–32	4–12
Utah Jazz	26	56	.317	26	18–23	8–33	6–10

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Phoenix Suns	62	20	.756	—
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	59	23	.720	3
3	y-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	10
4	x-Dallas Mavericks	58	24	.707	4
5	x-Houston Rockets	51	31	.622	11
6	x-Sacramento Kings	50	32	.610	12
7	x-Denver Nuggets	49	33	.598	13
8	x-Memphis Grizzlies	45	37	.549	17

9	Minnesota Timberwolves	44	38	.537	18
10	Los Angeles Clippers	37	45	.451	25
11	Los Angeles Lakers	34	48	.415	28
12	Golden State Warriors	34	48	.415	28
13	Portland Trail Blazers	27	55	.329	35
14	Utah Jazz	26	56	.317	36
15	New Orleans Hornets	18	64	.220	44

Record vs. opponents

2004-05 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MEM	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NOH	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	1–3	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–3	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–2	1–1	0–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–2	0–2	0–4
Boston	3–1	–	4–0	2–2	1–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	3–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	3–1	3–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–0	3–1
Charlotte	3–1	0–4	–	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–1	2–1	0–2	2–0	0–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–3	3–1	0–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–2	1–1	0–4
Chicago	4–0	2–2	4–0	–	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–2	2–0	0–4	1–1	4–0	3–0	2–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–2
Cleveland	4–0	2–1	4–0	2–2	–	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–3	3–1	0–3	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–2
Dallas	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	–	2–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–2	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	4–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–0	3–0	2–0
Denver	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–2	–	1–1	2–2	1–2	2–0	2–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	3–1	1–2	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–2	2–0
Detroit	3–1	3–1	1–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	–	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–1	2–2	1–1	2–1	2–0	3–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	4–0
Golden State	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	–	1–2	1–1	0–4	1–3	1–3	0–2	2–0	1–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–3	2–2	1–1	2–1	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–1	0–2	2–1	–	1–1	3–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–1
Indiana	3–0	2–1	3–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	–	0–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–1	2–0	2–2
L.A. Clippers	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–2	0–2	4–0	0–3	2–0	–	2–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–2	0–4	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–2	1–1
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	–	0–3	0–2	2–0	2–1	1–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	2–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	0–2
Memphis	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	3–0	–	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	0–3	3–1	0–3	2–0	3–0	0–2
Miami	4–0	2–1	3–1	3–1	3–0	0–2	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	–	4–0	1–1	3–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	2–0	4–0
Milwaukee	2–1	1–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	–	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–3
Minnesota	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–1	2–1	0–2	3–1	1–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	–	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	4–0	3–1	1–2	1–3	0–2	3–1	1–1
New Jersey	3–0	3–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2	2–0	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–3	1–2	0–2	–	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–3
New Orleans	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–1	1–3	0–3	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	–	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–1	1–2	0–4	0–3	0–2	2–2	1–1
New York	3–1	1–3	3–1	0–4	3–1	0–2	1–1	0–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	–	1–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	2–0	2–1
Orlando	3–1	0–3	1–3	0–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–1	–	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–2
Philadelphia	3–1	3–1	3–0	1–2	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–2	4–0	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–3	2–2	–	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–1
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	–	3–0	2–2	1–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	1–1
Portland	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	2–2	1–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–3	–	1–3	1–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	0–2
Sacramento	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	–	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–1	2–0
San Antonio	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1	3–0	2–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	–	2–2	1–1	2–2	1–1
Seattle	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–2	3–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	3–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	–	2–0	3–1	0–2
Toronto	2–1	1–3	2–1	0–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	–	2–0	1–3
Utah	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–3	2–2	1–1	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	3–1	0–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	–	0–2
Washington	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–1	2–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	1–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	—

Game log

Playoffs

2005 playoff game log

First Round: 1–4 (home: 0–2; road: 1–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 24	@ San Antonio	W 93–87	Andre Miller (31)	Marcus Camby (12)	Andre Miller (5)	SBC Center 18,797	1–0
2	April 27	@ San Antonio	L 76–104	DeMarr Johnson (12)	Marcus Camby (12)	Andre Miller (7)	SBC Center 18,797	1–1
3	April 30	San Antonio	L 78–86	Carmelo Anthony (19)	Marcus Camby (14)	Andre Miller (7)	Pepsi Center 19,913	1–2
4	May 2	San Antonio	L 115–126 (OT)	Earl Boykins (32)	Marcus Camby (14)	Anthony, Boykins (5)	Pepsi Center 19,776	1–3
5	May 4	@ San Antonio	L 89–99	Carmelo Anthony (25)	Marcus Camby (10)	Andre Miller (6)	SBC Center 18,797	1–4

2005 schedule

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Carmelo Anthony	75	75	34.8	.431	.266	.796	5.7	2.6	0.9	0.4	20.8
Kenyon Martin	70	67	32.5	.490	.000	.646	7.3	2.4	1.4	1.1	15.5
Andre Miller	82	82	34.8	.477	.154	.838	4.1	6.9	1.5	0.1	13.6
Earl Boykins	82	5	26.4	.413	.337	.921	1.7	4.5	1.0	0.1	12.4
Marcus Camby	66	66	30.5	.465	.000	.723	10.0	2.3	0.9	3.0	10.3
Voshon Lenard	3	1	18.0	.385	.333	.625	2.0	2.0	0.3	0.0	9.7
Nenê	55	18	23.9	.503	.000	.660	5.9	1.5	0.9	0.9	9.6
Wesley Person	25	0	18.4	.485	.485	.556	2.4	1.1	0.5	0.2	8.1
DerMarr Johnson	71	40	17.4	.499	.358	.792	2.1	1.1	0.6	0.3	7.1
Eduardo Nàjera	26	0	22.1	.500	.000	.630	4.8	1.1	0.9	0.5	6.9
Greg Buckner	70	41	21.7	.528	.405	.778	3.0	1.9	1.1	0.1	6.2
Rodney White	42	2	12.6	.432	.432	.618	1.8	0.9	0.7	0.2	5.6
Bryon Russell	70	2	14.7	.377	.376	.792	2.5	1.0	0.6	0.2	4.4
Francisco Elson	67	11	14.0	.468	.333	.570	3.0	0.5	0.5	0.6	3.7
Luis Flores	1	0	4.0	.500	1.000		1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0
Nikoloz Tskitishvili	23	0	6.9	.294	.000	.571	1.3	0.2	0.3	0.3	1.5
Mark Pope	9	0	3.0	.333			0.9	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.4

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Carmelo Anthony	5	5	36.0	.422	.000	.813	5.4	2.0	0.6	0.2	19.2
Andre Miller	5	5	36.8	.424	.500	.719	5.2	5.2	2.0	0.2	16.2
Earl Boykins	5	1	30.4	.397	.000	.895	1.0	3.8	0.8	0.2	14.2
Kenyon Martin	5	5	32.8	.466	.000	.615	5.6	1.2	1.0	1.0	12.4
Marcus Camby	5	5	36.8	.415		.630	11.2	1.8	0.6	3.2	10.2
DerMarr Johnson	4	2	19.5	.550	.364	1.000	2.0	0.8	0.5	0.5	7.3
Nenê	5	0	20.2	.429		.652	5.0	0.4	0.4	0.4	6.6
Wesley Person	4	0	13.5	.429	.375		0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	3.8
Greg Buckner	5	2	20.0	.222	.222		3.2	1.0	0.4	0.2	2.0
Bryon Russell	3	0	3.0	.000	.000	1.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0
Eduardo Nàjera	2	0	6.5	.000			1.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0
Francisco Elson	1	0	6.0	.000			3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Player Statistics Citation:^[3]

Awards and records

Marcus Camby, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Transactions

References

^ 2004-05 Denver Nuggets
^ Schuhmann, John (January 24, 2013). "L.A. Recovery Wouldn't Be Unprecedented". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
^ "2004-05 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2021.

[1] 2004-05 Denver Nuggets

[2] Schuhmann, John (January 24, 2013). "L.A. Recovery Wouldn't Be Unprecedented". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.

[3] "2004-05 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Denver Nuggets
Founded in 1967 Formerly the Denver Rockets (1967–1974) Based in Denver, Colorado
Franchise	ABA–NBA merger All-time roster Draft history Records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Denver Auditorium Arena Denver Coliseum McNichols Sports Arena Ball Arena
Personnel	Owner(s) Ann Walton Kroenke President Josh Kroenke General manager Calvin Booth Head coach Michael Malone
G League affiliate	Grand Rapids Gold
Retired numbers	2 12 33 40 44 55 432
NBA championships	2023
Rivalries	Minnesota Timberwolves Utah Jazz
Culture and lore	Alex English Mt. Mutombo The Hey Song "Cartman Finds Love" (South Park) Kansas City (ABA) 1976 ABA All-Star Game Knicks–Nuggets brawl The Joker