Denver Nuggets Tickets

Before the start of the season, one would look at the moves made by the Denver Nuggets and think they were ready to start over.

The team traded away center Marcus Camby for just cash, which angered many fans and players alike. The move seemed like one simply made for the sake of saving the organization money, which never goes over well.

The Nuggets later made a much more significant move, ending the Allen Iverson experiment by shipping him off to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for veteran point guard Chauncey Billups.

Instead of going into rebuilding, the team has taken the acquisition of Billups and run with it. The Nuggets are in first place in their division with a solid lead over the Portland Trailblazers and own one of the best records in the Western Conference.

The addition of Billups has added the much-needed steadying influence at point guard that they haven't been able to find in the longest time. It has also given them much-needed toughness and a strong mindset on the defensive end of the floor, which they have never had before.

Billups has been great on both ends of the floor, averaging 18.4 points and 6.2 assists per contest. He is also averaging almost 1.5 steals per game.

Another big addition has been forward Nene Hilario. While Nene was on the team last year, he didn't see much playing time while battling cancer. Finally healthy, Nene is averaging almost a double-double per game.

Making their record all the more impressive is the fact that star forward Carmelo Anthony has missed significant time with a wrist injury that simply won't go away. Just wait until Anthony is finally healthy, then this team could really take off.

Anthony's numbers are down significantly this season, possibly because of the way the wrist injury his limited what he can do on the floor. He is averaging 21.2 points per game but has been more active on the boards, hauling in seven rebounds per game.

I'm not sure if the Nuggets are for real or not, but they are certainly making believers out of a lot of people. It's going to be really interesting to see how they fare in the playoffs this time around.