The Unforgiven

The reason why the Nuggets are in third place in the Western Conference playoff landscape. Trust me when I say this team was going no where fast with AI at the helm.

Melo1

The biggest problem Denver faces at the moment would be...

Playing consistent basketball. Denver is a team that can shut you down one quarter, have problems scoring the next, and finish a game by allowing 40 points to be scored. So frustrating while yet being so intriguing. I've aged five NBA seasons this season. Thank God we're winning!

Carmelo Anthony? I've got to say...

He's improving his NBA IQ. Give Chauncey a lot of credit for his continued maturation, but the Olympics, All-Star snub (yes, it was a snub), and five straight years of being bounced in the first round are starting to mold 'Melo into a smarter NBA player.

LA can beat the Nuggets if...

They continue to do what they have been doing to the rest of the league?

Kidding, but we are very vulnerable inside right now with Nene on the sideline. Your best bet would be attacking the rim relentlessly, and isn't it lucky for you that Kobe Bryant is a Laker?

Denver are headed...

Hopefully, to the second round of the playoffs. Anything less would be a complete let down to me, this city, and the Nuggets Nation. We're due, and if not now, when?

*****

So there we have it. There's no doubting the impact that Chauncey Billups has had on the Denver Nuggets. For whilst Carmelo Anthony is the face of the franchise, and it's future - if you capitalize the "the", Chauncey Billups is The Man in Colorado.

He's definitely had a positive impact on 'Melo.

But will that equate into the ability to beat LA?

Hard to say, but probably not.

Even if Nene was available, he and K-Mart aren't enough to stop Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Not if those two Lakers continue to play the way they have been. It'll be an interesting enough game, and Billups presents the biggest threat for LA. His vision and leadership are amongst the best in the league... and of course Carmelo Anthony will get his. But J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza haven't quite taken the next step (yet?). They continue to show promise, but they didn't step up quite as well as they could've when Carmelo was absent.

LA seem to be going from strength to strength. I don't know if a team can will themselves to be better, but ever since Andrew Bynum went down with a bout of deja vu, they've stepped it up - and then some. Every member of the squad's playing at a better level.

Watching the Phoenix game, I was surprised at how well DJ Mbenga did on the Big Cactus.

Hell, Adam Morrison scored 5 points.

Kobe? Kobe's been whatever's needed for LA. And in Colorado - where he is none too-well-loved - he'll need to be at his hardest. But the nature of Kobe is that exactly. What's needed tonight... he'll be. The Pepsi Center will give him a rousing reception, but funnily enough, that's when #24 seems to be at his best. It'd surprise me not to see the Nuggets crowd vicious on Kobe, and he'll return it in kind: on the court.

With Nene - and at the Pepsi Center - this would be a very good contest. But the Lakers would still be favoured. Without Nene?

Forget about it.

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