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Blake believes he'll fit right in

Guard is excited to be passing the ball to Anthony, Iverson

Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 12, 2007 at midnight

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Steve Blake always has been a pass-first, ask questions later kind of point guard. That doesn't figure to change as he joins forces with two of the NBA's top scorers.

Blake is expected to make his Nuggets debut tonight after being acquired in a trade Thursday that sent Earl Boykins and Julius Hodge to Milwaukee.

After getting over the initial shock of the news, Blake couldn't help but salivate at the opportunity to boost his assists numbers while playing alongside scoring machines Carmelo Anthony (31.6 points a game) and Allen Iverson (29.4).

"I definitely like to get other guys involved before I score. That's just the way I've always played," Blake said. "Whenever you're a point guard, if you've got someone like Iverson and Carmelo to pass the ball to, it's going to be even better."

Surrounded by scorers aplenty, Blake will be asked to take care of the ball and shoot the occasional perimeter shot when necessary.

That has been his job description since helping Maryland to the NCAA title in 2002.

"Any team could use that, especially a guy like Steve Blake," Anthony said. "He's going to come in and run the team. He looks to pass first, then shoot second. I think he can fit right in with us."

The past-first style represents a contrast to Boykins, who was adept at creating his own shot but often aggravated coaches and teammates when he dominated the ball.

Blake's 3.6 scoring average pales in comparison with Boykins (15.2), but he is a career 37.7 percent three-point shooter who is capable of keeping defenses honest when they double team Anthony or Iverson.

"If you need to score on a certain night, then that's what you do, but I just try to be a solid point guard, distribute the ball to everybody, play good defense and knock down shots when they need to be made," Blake said.

Blake, 25, averaged 8.2 points and 4.5 assists for Portland last season, his third in the NBA. The Trail Blazers were coached by Nate McMillan, a disciple of Nuggets coach George Karl.

"I love coach McMillan, so I'm sure I'll love playing for coach Karl, too," Blake said. "Hopefully, coach McMillan can put in a couple good words for me."

The Nuggets had nothing but good things to say about Boykins and Hodge upon sending them to the Midwest.

For Hodge, the trade will represent a fresh start after a tough two seasons with the Nuggets. Selected 20th in the 2005 draft, Hodge played limited minutes as a rookie and saw his first season cut short after being shot in the legs and hip while driving north of Denver on April 8.

He returned to the court earlier this month and had four points and six assists in his first career start last week against the Lakers.

"I think he could use a little bit of a fresh start," Hodge's agent, Marc Cornstein, said. "He got to end his year and a half in Denver on a good note."

As part of the trade, the Nuggets will pay the remainder of Hodge's $1.23 million salary, roughly $700,000.