Just making out the light at the end of a 15 game tunnel ahead, including tonight against Washington, Denver is in a hoof race with the surging Dallas Mavs who have gone on an incredible 13 game rip before losing Saturday night against the Knicks.

Denver is 7-3 over the last 10 games, and managed to take 3 victories on their 4 game road trip which ended with a loss last night in Houston. Coming off a tough, high scoring loss (123-125) will not be an easy task for Denver; however, there is no time to waste if the Nuggets hope to secure a second place seat in the West. Melo did pad his stats last night adding 45 points with 10 rebounds, but bricked the last second game winner.

With 15 games left, here are a few DN stats to brew over:

Denver sits 2 games ahead of Utah in first place of the Northwest Division

Denver is .500 on the road this season (17-17)

The Nuggets are 28-5 at home this season

Denver is averaging 108 points per game; second most behind the Phoenix Suns

Melo is averaging 28.8 points per game; 4 points above his career average

Billups is averaging 20.1 points per game; 5 points above his career average

All stats aside, this Denver squad has an undeniable swagger and an approach to charge into the playoffs not a feeling of protecting a division lead. Teams that succeed in the playoffs in any sport know that peak performance must be reached down the stretch, and I believe Denver is at arm’s length from reaching their peak potential.

Nuggets Future Forecast:

Coming off a 4 game road stint, Denver will play the next 3 games on home turf:

Washington: Tonight

New Orleans: Thursday

Milwaukee: Saturday

Denver better get their fill of the Mile High life, because after this short home stand the Nuggets will embark on a 5 game excursion including two East coast battles in Boston and Orlando.

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With 19 games remaining, Dallas stride-for-stride to their left, and Utah grabbing at their laces from behind, Denver can still keep a visual on the front-running Lakers.

At 42-21, the Nuggets are having the winningest season in their storied franchise history. With that in mind, they still sit 5 games back of the rival Lakers in the West. But coming down the stretch L.A. has carelessly stumbled upon a 3-game losing streak, unseen since the 2008 season.

A long way from a wish to make the playoffs, the hungry Nuggets and their fans now expect bigger, greater things; winning the division and getting to the conference finals. With such a great season keeping the expectation alive, surging Dallas and the pesky Jazz have decided to join the race to the finish.

Just to keep pace, Denver must maintain their winning gallop. After taking 7 of their last 10, the Nuggets go into a 2-day break coming off a secure stomping of the divisional Portland Blazers. George Karl, alongside his team of players and supporters, displayed a fresh look to the starting lineup tonight. Coach Karl substituted the French Wall in Johan Petro for the injured Kenyon Martin. Rookie Ty Lawson sat yet another game after injuring his shoulder last Sunday against the Lose…I mean Lakers.

Despite the injuries and the rotation shakeup, Carmelo Anthony rounded out a dominant night with 30 points. J.R. Smith made the most of his 29 minutes, scoring 22 points, and the Nuggets won as they should have, brushing aside Portland 118-106.

With no moves made at the break, and Denver managing to overcome a string of injuries & rehab to lead the Northwest Division, the usually constrained feelings I see in this team have suddenly broken free.

We must come to terms with this medley of rough, smooth, fresh & big athletes. They are the best chance Denver has had and will have for a Championship run over the next 2-3 years.

The Rough: Chris “Birdman” Andersen and Kenyon Martin regulate the paint for the Nuggets while J.R. Smith regulates the beating hearts of onlookers.

When not breaking ankles and smoking opponents, Anderson and Martin know how their roles, which include intimidate at the rim and kick out to the arch.

Great at dropping jaws and wearing seat edges, Smith is the best puzzle piece we force to fit in its place. If you stare at it long enough, you may actually see a ball player.

The Smooth: “Mr. Big Shot” and Melo are the floor managers.

Chauncey is averaging 20 points and nearly 6 assists per game. Melo has been abusing the nylon for 29 points per game this season. There is no argument that this season is built around and balanced on these two men’s shoulders.

The Fresh: Additions of the fast paced Ty Lawson and the hot-handed Aaron Afflalo have landed youth and experience in one basket.

Lawson seems at ease since his days in North Carolina, still driving up the court as though he is being timed.

Afflalo has been a consistent contributor through 62 games this season.

The Big: After doubts swirled above fans heads about Nene’s toughness inside at the beginning of this season, the big Brazilian Center has gone toe-to-toe with every big-name Center in the league.

Averaging 14 points per game, Nene’s quick step and smooth touch have encouraged Coach Karl and others to lean on “The Brazilian” through another run-in with Pau Gasol and the Lakers.

Last 3 Games:

Oklahoma City: 119-90 (Win)

Indiana: 122-114 (Win)

Portland: 118-106 (Win)

Next 3 Games:

@Minnesota: Wednesday

@New Orleans: Friday

@Memphis: Saturday

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Maintaining ambitions with a team in Denver, fans, players & coaches have reached a crossroads.

A successful, healthy Nuggets team is reaching to tag the Lakers in the West, and at the same time being closely shadowed by their divisional rivals. Denver must not only focus on the fate of the season ahead, but support a coach and his family who were struck with health issues of their own. Coach Dantley filled-in for Coach George Karl as he was absent for tonight’s game in Oakland against the Warriors to receive treatment for cancer.

Coming off a stupendous victory against Boston at the Pepsi Center on Sunday, Denver met the injury-plagued Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena in Oakland tonight. I want to say Denver was expected to route the Warriors and sweep the team 4-0 on the season. However, with the Nuggets’ erratic play on the road against weaker opponents, well, nothing is guaranteed.

Although Denver controlled the game well into the 3rd quarter, Golden State began pushing the ball and forcing its tempo on the laxing Nuggets squad. By the fourth quarter Denver found themselves in a shootout with Stephen Curry (30 points) and the rest of the young Warriors. Chauncey Billups (37 points)  was able to stop n’ pop a couple threes to quiet the enthusiastic crowd, and J.R. Smith (25 points) followed up to find the target from down-range with a few threes of his own (7-13 beyond the arch).

Golden State at one point trailed by 19 points, but were able to sprint back late in the 3rd and early 4th quarters to pull within 4 points of Denver. Fortunately, Melo piled on his 27 points to help lift Denver over the energetic Golden State Warriors 127-112.

*Injury Note: Kenyon Martin bumped knees with another player before heading to the locker room at half time and eventually being sidelined the rest of the game.

With 25 games remaining in the regular season, the expectation that Denver makes the playoffs is a near lock. However, the Nuggets’ unsteady play on the road has Denver leaning  just out of reach as they hold off the rival Utah Jazz by a half game.

Last 3 Games

@ Washinton (Loss 97-107)

Boston (Win 114-105)

@ Golden State (Win 127-112)

Next 3 Games:

Friday, Detroit

Sunday, @ L.A. Lakers

Monday, @ Phoenix

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Fresh off the All-Star break, Carmelo had a long distance call to answer from his pal LeBron James in Cleveland. The Denver leader and the Cavaliers’ savior did not disappoint onlookers tonight, as the league’s two brightest superstars ran the hardwood for a combined 83 points (35% of the total points) in a charged overtime bout.

Nuggets star Melo had a a rhythmic night scoring 40 points with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Team leader Chauncey Billups carried the tempo and got his scoring; 18 points with 8 assists. The two starters earned their ice-packs for the night, with Melo putting in 48 minutes and Billups chewing up 43 minutes in this back-and-forth game.

Coming down the stretch I had concerns with Kenyon Martin handling the ball too much, but Cleveland was never able to capitalize on a late-game fumble by the veteran. Kenyon did, however, hook 17 boards for Denver. Cleveland’s own Shaquille O’Neil did not pose a threat down the stretch either, missing 2 important free throws late in the fourth quarter (only 52% from the line this season). LeBron was unable to come up with his usual clutch 3 pointers late in the fourth quarter & overtime allowing Denver to come out victorious against a strong Cavs team, 118-116 in OT.

The Nuggets won’t get much rest tonight as they head south into the Capital City to meet the Wizards tomorrow night.

Denver currently holds a 1.5-game lead over the Utah Jazz in the Northwest Division.

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Coach George Karl has announced he will be taking a leave of absence from coaching due to health issues. Karl will be treated with chemotherapy as he takes on a second bout of cancer. This time it is a “very treatable and curable” form of throat cancer. Karl was treated for prostate cancer through July 2005.

The team is expected to receive official confirmation tonight at practice.

Assistant coach Adrian Dantley is expected to take Coach Karl’s place for the rest of the season. What this means for the team is that for now all game time decisions will lay in the hands of Coach Dantley, a retired 7 year memeber of the Utah Jazz and committed player who spent 15 years in the NBA. Coach Dantley was an inductee to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. Dantley shares the one game free throw record of 28 with the legendary Wilt Chamberlain and was also named rookie of the year in 1977.

The Denver Nuggets are in their 5th of a 6 day game break since losing to the San Antonio Spurs 111-92. The all-star has provided the Nuggets with valuable rest as they head on a collision coarse to meet “King” James and “The Diesel”, Shaquille O’Neil, in Cleveland on Thursday, then tour south to meet Gilbert Arenas and the powerless Washington Wizards.

Denver currently sits alone atop the Northwest Division and ranked 5th among the NBA’s top teams.

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Carmelo Anthony returned and the Nuggets laid waste to the Mavericks. Image via Wikipedia

With Denver rolling through top  opponents in L.A. and again tonight in Dallas, one can only wonder why and how they are allowing the divisional rival Jazz to climb their way within reach of the powder blue Nuggets. For now let’s play the injury card and cut the Mile High crew some slack; they did embarrass the Lakers in L.A. and dominated at home tonight with an outstanding maximum team effort. For now Denver can no longer worry about the Jazz playing them the blues as the teams do not meet again this regular season. All Denver can do is continue to win the big games and find a way to beat the lesser competition on a more regular basis.

So, forget about those frustrating Utahnians and instead draw the focus on the dominant resurgence Denver presented tonight at the Pepsi Center. Dallas rode into town today off a high scoring victory over Golden State, and Denver was coming off a loss in Utah. In the previous meeting in December, Denver was foiled by the Mavs 104-96. Tonight the Nuggets brought the fire power to blaze the nylon in front of an eager home gathering as fans welcomed back the league star Carmelo Anthony, coming off an ankle injury that cost him four straight games.

Anthony started where he left off, scoring 19 points in 30 minutes of work, hitting 3 of his 5 shots from downtown. Chris ‘Birdman’ Anderson filled in for the injured Kenyon Martin, pounding the boards and the Dallas players inside, scoring 14 points and gathering 10 boards. And ‘The Brazilian’, Nene, had his way with Dallas, scoring 21 and spearing 8 rebounds. The starting five did their jobs to pull ahead of the Mavs, but a tip of the hat goes to the great effort from the Nuggets bench, who helped widen and maintain the lead to allow plenty of rest for the injury prone squad. The bench provided  57 points to help trample Dallas 127-91. This is the largest margin of victory (36) for Denver so far this season.

Last 5 Games: 3-2

• Sacramento: 112-109 (Win)
• Phoenix: 97-109 (Loss)
• @ L.A. Lakers: 126-113 (Win)
• @Utah: 116-106 (Loss)
• Dallas: 127-91 (Win)

Upcomng Games:

• Feruary 11th: San Antonio (Home)
• February 18th, @ Cleveland
• February 19th @ Washington

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Billups & Anthony have anchored the league's 3rd-best team

Before characterizing the Nuggets, who have quietly been ambushing opponents and analysts alike, let’s review where they currently stand in relation to the rest of the league:

With 35 games to be played…

-Denver is currently in first place in the Northwest Division with a record of 32-15, which is 4 games ahead of both Utah and Portland,

-Denver holds the second-best home record in the league at 21-3,

-the Nuggets have the third-best overall record in the NBA behind only Cleveland and the L.A. Lakers; both of whom Denver has defeated,

-finally, Denver has defeated Cleveland, L.A. and Orlando; each of which stands atop their respected divisions.

With all of these impressive stats in place, the Nuggets are still lacking two important elements; bench productivity and size.

Compared to last year Chris “Birdman” Anderson is averaging less points and blocks per game, and J.R. Smith is also averaging less points per game, yet receiving more minutes (due to team injuries.) Neither player is producing as they did the previous year, and it is putting pressure on the rest of the Nuggets’ reserves. A lot of that pressure has been placed upon a rookie point guard in Ty Lawson & new starter Aaron Afflalo, both of whom seem to have embraced their hastily-given responsibilities.

In relation to size, Denver’s Nene does have a nice quick shot and great game endurance, but he lacks attitude and gives up a little in height to consistently pull down offensive and defensive rebounds. Melo, Chauncey and Kenyon Martin, despite injuries have managed to develop a great on-court relationship, leading to greater point and assist production for each.

An adversary of this season’s Nuggets has undoubtedly been the challenge to sustain a healthy starting five. Melo, Chauncey, Nene and Kenyon Martin have all seen their unwanted share of the bench this year, with that in mind it is fare to say that the Denver Nuggets are a better team than their impressive record indicates. Heading down the stretch I believe this team can push themselves to peak in time for the playoffs, while maintaining a rotation that gives Melo and Chauncey time to rest and recover. That means Coach Karl will not only have to game-plan against specific opponents, but also game-plan for the best interest of his star players as well.

With all that said, I believe the Nuggets will be the greatest threat to the Lakers as Los Angeles tries to repeat last year’s Championship run.

With a tough 35 game schedule ahead, I predict the Nuggets, healthy or not, can come away with a 23-12 record and take the division running away. This week the Denver Nuggets schedule looks like this:

Monday, February 1st, Sacramento (Home) *Must Win

Wednesday, February 3rd, Phoenix (Home) *Shoot-Out, Win

Friday, February 5th, L.A. Lakers (Away) *Hangover, naw, we’ll beat ‘dem Lakers

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With all the success as of late, I remain apprehensive of this team’s ability to make a serious playoff run if they cannot remain at full-strength. Looking back to the 10 games the Nuggets were without their one shot “Mr. Big Shot”, after his groin injury against Oklahoma City, Denver lost 6 of 10, and I believe they would have lost more if not for some late game magic throughout that stretch.

Luckily Chauncey made his return just in time to welcome “King” James and the Cleveland Cavs into Denver on January 8th, a game in which Melo was unable to take the floor. Denver, despite some poor late game ball handling, was able to hold off the Cavs 99-97.

The following night, the Nuggets carried a hometown hangover into Sacramento where they spoiled a dominating first half performance, falling to the unworthy Kings 102-100.

Since the Sacramento sleep walk, the Denver Nuggets have managed to gather their feet and boost their stride to go on a 6 game rip, including 2 overtime victories in Golden State and again tonight against Chris Paul and the Hornets.

Denver and New Orleans locked heads once again in the Pepsi Center tonight; Denver was out bested in their last meeting 98-92 in the bayou. Both teams established themselves early on, going shot for shot. Coach Karl made one of his better decisions of the season by entrusting the vet Afflalo to encase the speedy CP3. The Denver starting five maintained a high level throughout the game, eventually smothering the lingering Hornets in OT as Aaron Afflalo made his shot known, sinking 2 overtime 3 pointers to lock a ‘W’ over the opponents. Chauncey put in work gathering 20 points and 9 assists, and Melo crashed the Hornet party adding 30 points and 11 boards.

Denver will attempt to defend their 6 game win streak at home against the erratic Charlotte Bobcats who dropped the Nuggets by 12 in their previous meeting. From there, Denver takes a three game road trek into Houston, Oklahoma City and finally San Antonio. I say, let’s hope for a healthy return when they meet Sacramento at the Pepsi Center on February 1st.

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Tumbling into a new decade with 3 straight losses, Denver finds itself face to face with the notorious injury plague. With Chauncey battling to recover from a groin pull, Nuggets players seem to be falling from the sky as Carmelo Anthony, Chris Anderson, Nene and Ty Lawson have all been touched with the injury bug. Now fans will get a glance at the coaching prowess George Karl must display to keep his team atop the Northwest, as he and the Nuggets are in quite a predicament to maintain their dwindling division lead.

Saturday, January 2nd, Denver opened the 2010 year in Utah without team stars Melo and Billups. However, the remaining Nuggets seemed to approach game time ignorant of the fact they were outmanned by Utah. Denver played the bully by stealing away the juice at EnergySolutions Arena. And not offensively, but by grinding out a defensive performance seen few and far between in recent Nuggets games. The Bench Brigade forced an incredible 26 turnovers by the Jazz. Denver led the Jazz in each of the four quarters thanks to a career-best night from the rookie Lawson, who had 23 points and 9 assists, and Kenyon Martin‘s 12 points and 12 boards. Nene also seems to be finding his touch, as he worked the lane for 22 points. Denver shook the slopes of Utah and stalled their 3 game losing streak with a 105-95 victory.

Sunday, Denver would play host to returning teammate Allen Iverson and the 76ers. Again, without the offensive firepower of Billups and Anthony, the Nuggets came out of the gates strong, leading Philly into the 2nd quarter. From there the Nuggets’ lack of offensive tempo caught up with them as the 76ers began to dig themselves out of an early hole. The 3rd quarter proved to be the point of derailment for Denver, as they were outscored 25-16 and entered the 4th quarter down by 8 points. Iverson once again made himself at home in Denver, scoring 17 points and 7 assists, and he nabbed his 2nd victory at the Pepsi Center since being traded by Denver. Nene kept his hot hand riding with 24 points, but the Nuggets fell short in the end, getting thumped by Philly 108-105.

Last night, January 5th, the Nuggets would have a chance to redeem themselves after a disappointing loss at home just 2 days earlier. The Golden State Warriors were coming off 2 straight losses to the Lakers and Blazers and hoping to break the losers code in Denver. The injury-riddled Nuggets would make an effort to defend the home fort without Chauncey, Melo and now Chris Anderson (injured against Philadelphia), and in the process made this one of the most exciting back-and-forth games of the season.

After a rollercoaster ride through 3 quarters, Denver entered the 4th with a 2 point lead, but the Warriors found the Nos tanks to fire past the Nuggets going on an 11-0 run. With 15 seconds left in the game, Warriors star Monta Ellis dropped a huge turnaround jump shot to give Golden State its final taste of the lead.

From there the night and the game would come to rest in the hands of long-range sniper J.R. Smith. From 40 feet away, Smith took a contested last-second shot that missed the mark. As J.R. turned to leave the court, he noticed that the referee had blown the whistle, hitting Golden State’s Ellis with a foul on the shot. With 0.4 seconds left and down by 1 point, J.R. was awarded 3 free throws; he dropped 2 in the basket to lift Denver to an amazing 123-122 win in a game gone berserk. Kenyon Martin led the night with a season high 27 points and 13 rebounds. Ty Lawson and J.R. Smith teamed up with 21 point apiece on the night.

With a great win and confidence boost for the bench, Denver took 2 more shots in the leg as Center Nene went down with an aggravated sprained ankle, and rookie Lawson fell hard on his ankle after a late-game layup. Both are questionable for Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavalry led by “King” James.

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The Good News:
Last Wednesday, December 23rd, the Nuggets were without Chauncey Billups (groin) so rookie Lawson and the rediculous Smith were handed the keys and let loose in the Pepsi Center. Who knew that night would result in a bench domination over ATL’s finest. Melo quietly filled the basket with 24 points, and the newly nabbed Tar Heel, Ty Lawson, dropped 16. But the lights and the night belonged to the one J.R. Smith, who went batty on the Hawks, seemingly lapping defenders around the court to find space with the rock. Teammates, feeling the heat coming off J.R.’s fingers gave up some good looks out of respect to the hot handed Smith who finshished the Hawks and the game with 41 points as Denver dropped the Hawks 124-104.

The Bad News:
On Friday, December 25th, the Nuggets celebrated Christmas in the grand city of Portland; however, Denver would regret ever stepping foot into the Rose Garden Arena. Chauncey returned to the lineup for Denver, contributing 10 points and 5 assists before sitting the second half for precautionary reasons, leaving an injured Billups to watch his team get torched by a motivated Blazer squad. The Blazer Brandon Roy took charge scoring 41 points, supported by ex-Nuggets point guards Steve Blake with 17 and Andre Miller’s 14. Carmelo did his best to recover the Nuggets early lead fumble adding 32 points, and J.R. Smith continued his hot hand with 20, but the lack of defensive consistency from Denver allowed Portland to pull away as Steve Blake dropped 3 from beyond the arch in the final 4 minutes. Denver left Portland in a not so jolly mood, losing 107-96.

More Bad News:
On Sunday, December 27th,  after shaking off the ash left over from Portland, the leagues best home team in Denver would try their hand against the struggling Mavericks. Before stating the outcome, what do you as a fan think would be the outcome if I stated the following statistics for the night: 7 Mavs score in the double digits; Melo scores 16; Mavs Drew Gooden grabs 19 boards (8 more than the leading Nuggets rebounder); Kenyon Martin leads the Nuggets in scoring with 18. I’ll tell you what that sounds like, it sounds like a home town train wreck, and it was. Denver was once again without team leader Chauncey Billups, and once again they never seemed to keep a defensive or offensive rythm. Despite the horrific stats, Denver kept themselves in the game, but the clutch shooting Nowitzki kicked the comeback the ladder aside with a late 4th quarter 3 pointer as the Mavericks out gunned and outmanned the Nuggets 104-96.

Even More Bad News:
And finally, last night, December 28th, the Denver Nuggets found hope to discontinue their recent losing habit, meeting the young and frail Sacramento Kings. The game started as expected by NBA enthusiasts, as the Nuggets bruised the Kings early ending the first quarter ahead by 6. Now was the time for Denver to unleash their frustrations and roll-up the Kings to help put aside the last two defeats, now was the time to show that Denver can bounce back from adversity…dang it! Why couldn’t the Kings just go away? Sacramento came out in the second quarter alive and agile, unwilling to accept defeat as the team compiled 3 pointer after 3 pointer. Andres Nocioni scored his season high with 21 points, hitting 4 from beyond the arch and helped spoil a Denver revival game, as they conquered the Denver Nuggets 106-101.

I understand the ratio of good to bad news is not appealing, but the Nuggets performance as of late has been nothing short of shoddy. How and when will they find a foothold and regain a dominant stance in the West and once again strike fear into opponents who dare to enter the Pepsi Center, home of Melo, Mr. Big Shot and the Brazilian? When will the Nuggets overcome injuries to hold off the opposition? Hopefully some time soon. A few bright lights ahead are Chauncey’s return to full strength on Saturday, the ever increasingly confident Nene and the rise of J.R. Smith as he once again takes us on the ramp of his abilities.

Luckily Denver has a 4 day break before ringing in the New Year and riding the slopes to Utah on Saturday, then heading back over the mountains home to match up with the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

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