It was a perfect storm. As a team, Denver shot almost 60 percent from the field, coupled with the fact that they only turned the ball over twelve times it’s no wonder they won. Shooting that kind of percentage from the field in any game almost always seals a victory no matter the opponent. Not to mention the huge contributions off the bench. J.R. Smith might be the key to this team winning a championship. If he can stay on his game on a consistent basis, I think that would put them over the top.

 As excited as I am for the minimal amount of momentum, I’m equally worried that this game wasn’t a blowout. As usual I’m not completely sold on the idea that this team is for real. With Kenyon Martin out of the lineup for the past couple games and maybe forever, they have no real rebounders. They allowed Portland to grab 13 offensive rebounds and that led to 10 more shot attempts. If they converted on just four of those and actually made some free throws this is a completely different game. It also helps that Brandon Roy had a horrible game, which isn’t going to happen too often.

Let’s see what happens in the coming week, when the competition is less skilled. After all, that’s the problem with this team lately, they only show up against the tough teams.

At one point they led by over 20 and started giving the regulars some rest. Oops. That’s when the magic happens. The Thunder made a comeback and that forced most of the starters back out to the court, so much for a much needed break.

So that brings to mind yet another question. Is the Nuggets’ banch deep enough to make a real run? I think that at certain times it is. The place where you start to see problems is, again, being mentally prepared. Every player on the team has to be mentally prepared to go whenever they’re called upon. But they aren’t. Not all of them anyway. And that’s a big problem for any team that wants to call themselves contenders.

By not blowing out Indy I have to stand by that conclusion. And I really will, until I’m proven wrong. Now would be a good timeto start building some momentum. It seems like every time they string a couple wins together they fall back to complacency. Hopefully tonight they take care of business against Portland.

To me, it looks like they just don’t have that same mental edge. Sure they’ve beaten them a couple times this season. Maybe that’s what the problem is. Is it possible to be too confident? I think in this case it is.

Looking at the box score after the game, I see a few things jump out at me. The fact that as a team the Nuggets shot 36 percent and allowed 46 percent against them. I also noticed the fact that they attempted 25 three point fg’s, hitting on 7, but they allowed 8 hits on only 16 attempts the other way. The last thing I saw was a huge margin in the defensive stats, with LA posting 22 combined steals and blocks to Denver’s 13.

It took me about 30 seconds to digest this info. And here’s my conclusion. You have to play better defense. Allowing a team to shoot 50 percent from three is downright ridiculous. So after you stop that small problem, stop shooting so many three’s and pass the damn ball. As the number one team in free throw attempts you should be able to create foul trouble for the opposing frontcourt in every game, just drive the lane and go up strong. For some reason it looked like they went away from that in the second half.

At this point in the season, I’m hoping that this is just a small bump in the road and whatever problems there may be are corrected. Hopefully this was a humbling experience that will drive this team to work hard instead of waiting for someone to hand them a title based on talent and expectation alone.

After playing some inspired ball for most of the game, it looked like Detroit just gave up. How a team like that is even in the same gym as the Nuggets is beyond me. I couldn’t believe how close that game was if I didn’t follow those teams so closely. Knoing how bad the Nugs play after an emotional win and how hot the Pistons have been recently,the writing was basically on the wall.

Hopefully, this is the start of a trend. Maybe we’ll see 7 or 8 wins in a row. Oh wait, is that LA on the schedule for Sunday?

One thing I’ve noticed since I took this gig is the Nuggets don’t usually play very well against teams they’re supposed to beat. Especially after big time games where they have something to prove. I understand it takes a lot out of you, but you can’t afford letdowns like that in the playoffs. What I’m hoping is that this is just a growing phase, or maybe a team that thinks they can turn it on and off whenever.  It could also be due to lingering injury issues.

After going to LA and beating the Lakers, it was the buzzsaw known as the Utah Jazz that did them in. Now, it wasn’t the worst loss of all time, but a loss is a loss. It’s tough to win in Utah. It’s always been like that. Good teams go in there all the time and lose, that’s part of playing on the road and also why it’s referred to as a home field “advantage”. However, great  teams win close games no matter where they’re being played. You can argue that the difference between good and great is having a healthy Chauncey and Carmelo. That’s fine, I’ll buy it. But I’m countering with the argument that if Joey Graham can score 16 points, why can’t Nene or Arron Afflalo come up with more than a combined 7 points. When all you need is 7 extra points to win and you have 2 guys that can get you that, why didn’t they?

Bottom line is when you go to LA and Cleveland and get tough wins, you’ve got to find a way to build on that. Losing to Washington when they just traded their entire roster for new faces is not a way to establish dominance. I expect to see it sorted out in the long run as these guys are just too talented to settle for sloppy play like that.

First, I’ll start with what didn’t happen. Over the last week or so, the rest of the legitimate playoff teams were trading expiring contracts for talent. The Nuggets reportedly tried to get in on the bidding, but fell short at the buzzer. I especially find it ironic that they were trying to get Antonio McDyess back, for a third time. In the long run I think they made the all the right moves and didn’t make a trade just to make one. Although, it would’ve been nice to see Tyrus Thomas in a new environment on a team with high expectations. Sorry Chicago, making the playoffs doesn’t count as high expectations, especially in the east.

Second, and more importantly, your Denver Nuggets went into Cleveland and took care of business. It wasn’t pretty, but in what might go down as one of the worst displays of officiating to date (home court advantage was taken to a new level tonight), Denver pretty much led wire-to-wire. So by my count that gives Denver two wins on the road against teams with better records,not to mention three extra players, in different colored uniforms. The Cavs must have been paying the refs, to ensure they got to the line TWICE as often as their opponents. Does the league really love Lebron that much?

If this game doesn’t prove my point that not making a trade was the best option for this team, this year, hopefully they will  bring home a championship to better my argument, After all, you can trade for talent or future cap room, but you can’t trade for chemistry and that is the main ingredient to winning.

 Not sure how anyone would want to add Ben Wallace who is clearly past his prime and an offensively liability. Especially at the line when, in the past, the hack-a-Shaq strategy has been used in close games.  To me it all comes down to what it would take to get him, and right now, I wouldn’t give up anything but a 2nd round pick or someone like Renaldo Balkman who doesn’t usually crack the rotation.

Tyrus Thomas is another story. This kid can play. I love his game as it is, but I believe his ceiling is pretty high. He’s got a ton of athletic ability and seems to be a lock for a block/steal combo of about 3 a game if he gets 25 – 30 minutes and you can throw in 8 boards and about 10 – 12 points off the bench. Not a bad deal if all you give up is a pick and maybe an end of the  bench guy to help match contracts. One knock against him is his attitude, which might be remedied by coming to a team full of verteran leaders, with a quality coaching staff.

If this was my team I’d be on the phone with Chicago day and night trying to get Thomas, who has the ability to crack the starting lineup if he can keep his head right. On the other side of things, why mess up a good thing. Sometimes the best move you can make, is to not make one at all, but where’s the fun in that.

The return of Melo was a welcome sight, to me, and to Denver fans everywhere.  The welcome back party didn’t last very long as most of the starters played less than 30 minutes. Lost in the hoopla was the solid bench play to hold that lead. Both Birdman and J.R. Smith were a crazy +31 for the game, and Ty Lawson led the team with 7 assists in just 21 minutes.

Here is where I’d like to apologize to Nene.  Sorry dude. There I did it. I didn’t mean what I said about you being “underwhelming” this year, and especially recently. That was a nice line 21 and 8 is nothing to sneeze at, but wait you did it in 9 shots and 26 minutes, that’s very effecient. I hope we see more of that, maybe we will, if K-Mart misses more time. But please, can you let me know next time you plan on time traveling back to last year, when I could count on that at least twice a week. I’ll be sure to keep it a secret.

Billups is going to attempt to play on not one, but two, sprained ankles. Anthony, after missing 8 games because of his own ankle troubles, will look to pick up where he left off.  In the five games before being hobbled by his ankle injury, he posted some monster numbers.

Also set to start with minor injuries are Kenyon Martin, Arron Afflalo, and Nene. Nene has been mighty underwhelming of late and K-Mart the exact opposite, while Afflalo was on a streak of double digit scoring efforts until the clunker he put up against the Jazz.

Some Nuggets aren’t so lucky, J.R. Smith is listed as a game time decision and Renaldo Balkman is out.