DENVER -- On the roster, 36-year-old Mike Miller is listed as a shooting guard/small forward. His most essential position is mentor.Its an assignment Miller takes seriously on a young squad still learning how to consistently win.The Denver Nuggets boast a rookie sharpshooter (Jamal Murray), an array of up-and-comers (Emmanuel Mudiay, Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic) and a few veteran leaders hoping to blend it all together.Being a dinosaur in this league, and seeing everything that I have, Ive been a part of really talented teams that have won 23 games. Ive been a part of talented teams that have won championships, said Miller, who agreed to a two-year deal in July. Whats the difference? To me, its the culture and having that understanding in the locker room where you can hold guys accountable. Those are things you have to start developing.These days, the Nuggets are all about development. That begins with Mudiay, a 20-year-old point guard who steadily improved during the second half of last season. Theres also Jokic, a versatile big man who is loaded with confidence after a summer in which he helped Serbia to a silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. And its hard to overlook Nurkic, a bruising 7-footer who pairs nicely in the middle with Jokic.The reason so many of our young players grew last year is we allowed them to play through mistakes. It wasnt a situation where a guy made a mistake and looked over at the bench and was like, `Am I coming out? said coach Michael Malone, whose team finished 33-49 in his first season in Denver. Guys had the confidence to play through their mistakes.That approach certainly will apply to Murray, the seventh overall pick during the June draft. No doubt, Murray can shoot. No doubt, the Kentucky product will at times play like a rookie.All part of the process, Malone said.For a change, the Nuggets actually head into a season healthy. Wilson Chandler is back from a hip injury that sidelined him all last season and Danilo Gallinaris ankle -- the one that forced an early end to his season -- is healed.Im well rested and ready to go, Gallinari said Monday.This city has grown on Gallinari, so much so that the Italian forward has a house in Denver. This roster has grown on him, too. So much so that hes voiced his desire to remain with the squad whenever trade rumors seem to surface.I think were close and getting closer, Gallinari said.Still, the Nuggets are a team without an alpha player -- a LeBron James or Steph Curry type that can take over in big moments.The way general manager Tim Connelly sees it, maybe that top-notch player is already on the roster, and just needs some time to mature. Possibly even Mudiay, the seventh overall pick in 2015.Im an alpha player. Ive been like that my whole life, Mudiay said. I dont plan to change that.Nor do the Nuggets want him to. Millers task is to help Mudiay & Co. elevate their games -- and think big.Our expectations and our goals have got to be playoffs, Miller said. I wouldnt say that if I didnt think it was realistic, because nothing good comes out of making unrealistic goals, especially for a young team.Keep winning and the fans should return, too. At times last season, the Pepsi Center looked half-empty.President Josh Kroenke understands. The Nuggets have to earn back respect after missing the postseason for a third straight year. This offseason, Kroenke made a big push to bring in Dwyane Wade, before Wade signed with Chicago.Fans are going to see a direction with a young roster that has a chance to be pretty good, Kroenke said.Game notes The Nuggets will retire Dikembe Mutombos No. 55 jersey in a ceremony on Oct. 29, even wearing the Rainbow Skyline throwback jerseys for the occasion. Mutombo was drafted fourth overall by Denver in 1991 and played for the Nuggets before leaving after the 1995-96 season. Los Angeles Lakers Gear .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Los Angeles Lakers Pro Shop . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. https://www.lakersjerseycheap.com/ . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. Lakers Jerseys 2019 .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. Custom Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. Jenson Button says he is expecting a challenging race for McLaren after admitting he was a long way off in Friday practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.Button ended the day 16th fastest, as teammate Fernando Alonso -- who is running an upgraded engine for Hondas home race -- was eighth. The 2009 world champion says McLarens race pace is his greatest concern, while he also suspects he could have a problem on his car.The long runs are a big issue that we need to solve, Button said. Normally thats my forte, but today it wasnt, were a long way off. Were looking into the reasons, to see if there was something wrong with the car or not.Fernando had some slightly different bits on his car but even so we should have been more competitive in the long runs and not way off. I think there are some things we need to look into. I think theres something wrong rather than a set-up issue, so we have to get that right for tomorrow.Although he expected to be higher up the order, the Briton remains optimistic aboout McLarens pace over one-lap and reckons the Woking-based outfit could challenge for a place in the top 10 during qualifying on Saturday.ddddddddddddOur one-lap pace wasnt too bad but I just didnt get a great lap in. its actually very close, between 7th and where I am, 16th, just 0,4s. If we get a good lap tomorrow, I think we could be popping into the top ten, which would be great.The 2011 Japanese Grand Prix winner confessed he is hoping for rain in Suzuka, believing it will provide McLaren with the teams best chance to record a strong result.Id love it to rain; its the only chance we have to get a big result here. If its dry, as long as we get everything together tomorrow, we can still get into the top ten. Then, as I said, degradation is massive, although I can get the tyres to work well over the first lap. Thats why I think theres something wrong in my car. ' ' '