Chris Andersen: Denver Is Gonna Need Me To Push For The ‘Ship
June 30, 2009 – 9:30 am by Tas Melas
Chris Andersen has cemented himself in this league for a long time. A little bit like Dennis Rodman, the Birdman has made blocking shots and putback dunks a spectacle of sorts. And, also a bit like Rodman, he’s pretty good at it. I don’t mean to say Birdman’s hustling style is a facade and there’s no substance to his game. He is an extremely hard worker, he’s focused, and he’s turned a rocky life that was filled with drug problems in to a stable one. As he enters free agency tomorrow, there’s no doubt in my mind the Nuggs will keep him around. It’s not just his play they’re paying for but essentially he’s a homecourt advantage in and of himself. When he steps on that floor, the emotional switch is turned on in the Pepsi Center. Even as a bench player, he changed the fortune of several playoff games in only a couple plays. Look at the stats (or the tatts) when it comes to the Birdman, but he offers a whole lot more. Andersen joined 104.3 The Fan in Denver to discuss Denver as his home, if the Nuggets can beat the Lakers next year, and why his team is that good.
Do you want to stay with the Nuggets?
“Yeah, I made a home for myself here. Way back when, my first round when I came to Denver, I always said, ‘If it’s gonna be real cold, might as well have some snow.’ And, Texas, it was real cold, man, blistering, freezing cold because of the humidity. I’ve loved it ever since I got here and I don’t plan on leaving but I’m real confident the Nuggets are gonna do the right thing. With a guy like myself, the talent I’m gonna bring to the table night in and night out, they’re gonna need that to really push for the championship next year.”
Can you beat the Lakers with a revamped lineup?
“We pretty much got it - it’s hard to say what to add and what to subtract, but for the most part we had them fighting there for a while. It’s a matter of getting to that point in the playoffs where you’re right there in the finals, the Western Conference finals I should say, we were so close. To put that team back together and to have that team ready to go at it again next year, it’ll be totally different. We’ll have all the firepower and the defensive stops for the Lakers next year.”
Why is this team special?
“It took us a couple games to really find out how special we can be, especially when everyone’s passing the ball, and everybody’s having a real good time playing defense, and having fun on defense, and just running the scoreboard up. It’s amazing how great we could be. When you play together like that and everyone’s on the same page and everyone’s got their focus down, you can just over exceed.”
Listen to Chris Andersen on 104.3 The Fan In Denver
Tags: Basketball, Chris Andersen, Denver Nuggets, NBA
