Predict The Nuggets Opening Day Line-Up/Subs
 

So, we've got a brand new roster to look at here, and it might not be as easy as it seems to predict who will play where and when.

For example. Who starts at PF? I mean, Kenyon, for all his faults, is still on this team. And he is getting paid a lot. Do you possibly shift Nene to Center and play both of them? Do you make Camby a reserve to try and get him through the whole season uninjured?

What about the reserves? What about Evans & DJ, will they be back? What do you think about the development of Julius and Linas?

Here is the roster per Nuggets.com.

Carmelo Anthony F 6-8 230
Earl Boykins G 5-5 133
Marcus Camby C-F 6-11 230
Yakhouba Diawara F-G 6-7 225
Reggie Evans (FA) F 6-8 245
Julius Hodge G 6-7 210
DerMarr Johnson (FA) G-F 6-9 210
Linas Kleiza F 6-8 245
Kenyon Martin F 6-9 240
Andre Miller G 6-2 205
Eduardo Najera F 6-8 220
Nenê F-C 6-11 268
Jamal Sampson F-C 6-11 235
J.R. Smith G 6-6 220
Joe Smith F 6-10 225

Starters:
1-Andre
2-JR Smith
3-Melo
4-Kenyon
5-Marcus

Rationale: The real issue is the PF spot, obviously. I heard on the radio the other day from Scott & Al that Nene still says he's like 80%. Now that could very well change by the time November rolls around, but who knows. I think the Nuggets might want to ease Nene back into the rotation for two reasons:
1) They don't want to make the same mistake by running a guy who is hurt out onto the court, a la Kenyon last year.
2) They want to show the NBA that Kenyon can still play and can be effective to up his trade value down the line.

Subs:
1-Boykins
2/3-Julius
4/5-Nene/Joe Smith/Linas

I don't think DJ will be back, personally. Reggie might, but we'll see where he fits in with the squad. I'm really interested to see how Linas can stack up against Nene (or K-Mart) and Joe Smith coming off the bench. They're NBA veterans, and he's still new to the league. Can he take reserve minutes away from them? I don't see Eduardo getting a lot of minutes, which sucks. It's really hard not to love the guy. And Earl is Earl... I don't even want to talk about it. Also, it should be noted that Jamal Sampson is 6-11. That may not mean much if he sucks, but you can't teach height, so who knows what happens with him.

Anyways, who do you guys have? I'm really interested to see what you guys think about the PF spot. That will be an issue to watch.

I see Linas being a de facto SF. Just due to the log jam at PF and the fact that he ain't getting a lot of minutes unless he's taken a big step forward and Melo will be on the court a lot. Leaves Hodge to take SG, Joe Smith PF, and Nene C...

Though given Joe's game you might see him at the 3 as well.

The real thing is to get some value for K-mart which would be a good shooter at the 2.