DENVER NUGGETS
26-25, 2nd in Division, 8.5 GB, 7th in West
Looking Back: The best word to describe the Nuggets’ season so far is inconsistent. They’ve had a couple of five-game winning streaks, a couple of four-game losing streaks, and a whole lot of up and down in between. One of their defining moments came early on with yet another injury to power forward Kenyon Martin. They have compensated because of the league-leading scoring clip of Carmelo Anthony and the amazing work of center Marcus Camby and forwards Nene Hilario and Reggie Evans. Camby has been the unsung (nationally) hero of the team and deserves a lot of credit for keeping the team in contention. The second watershed moment was the infamous "brawl" against the Knicks where Anthony and several teammates drew multiple-game suspensions. During the 15-game stretch without their leading scorer the team went 7-8 but it was against generally sub-par competition. The final defining moment to date was the trade for Allen Iverson. The team has not prospered greatly since picking up a second all-world scorer but due to the suspension and a subsequent injury to Iverson’s ankle the Dynamic Duo have spent little time on the floor together. Honorable mention goes to the acquisition of Steve Blake who provides a complementary, unselfish player at the helm of this scoring circus. All the drama surrounding the team has served to obscure the fact that coming in a distant second place (so far) in a division most expected the Nuggets to win handily is a disappointment.
Looking Forward: There’s considerable temptation to speculate on a glorious late-season run by the Nuggets. When Tweedlejuke and Tweedlejunk finally get on the floor together that’s theoretically an unstoppable, bankable 60+ points every night. However the Nuggets have squandered much of the make-good part of their schedule. They have only seven games left against the weaker Eastern Conference, five of them on one road swing in March and all of those against playoff-caliber teams. They face more games on the road than at home. They’re scoring plenty already even without a full roster. Their problem is they also allow a ton of points which their twin superstars are unlikely to help.
It’s unlikely that the Nuggets will fade but they’ll probably be slapped with the dreaded "Team Nobody Wants to Face in the First Round" label, which is something like being the girl everybody’s friends with but nobody wants to date.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
25-27 3rd in Division, 10 GB, 8th in West
Looking Back: This is not supposed to be rocket science for the Timberwolves. You have one of the greatest players to ever play the game, a guy who gives you 22 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a lot of heart almost every night. He’s a defender. He’s a team player. All you have to do is surround him with the right pieces. Then why, season after season, do the Timberwolves look like they brought Tinkertoys to a Lego convention? This year’s wingmen candidates are offensive-minded forward Ricky Davis and newly-signed (long-term, no less) point guard Mike James. Either of these players can explode for 20 any given night but they’re so mercurial you don’t know whether to expect double-digits or double doughnuts. It’s like a professional poker player going to the casino and spending two-thirds of his time playing roulette. As a result the 'Wolves have lost two games more than they have won and they are barely clinging to the 8th seed in the West with the Clippers, Warriors, and Hornets all within a single game. There are various reasons to favor any of those four teams for a low playoff seed. It will be a shame if Minnesota wastes yet another year of Kevin Garnett’s rapidly-expiring shelf life.
Looking Forward: Unlike the Nuggets the Timberwolves have a lot of games against the East remaining on their schedule. They also have a couple more home games than road games. Thus far they are a much better home team (16-9) than road team (9-18). Because of their inconsistency it’s hard to bet on anything but their percentage remaining the same though. They just have to hope that the Clippers or Hornets don’t catch fire.
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS
22-32, 4th in Division, 14 GB, 13th in West
Looking Back: Any analysis of the Blazers must be tempered by the fact that most people expected them to be the worst team in the league going into the season. They’ve made progress. They’re the 8th worst team at the break. Zach Randolph has been a scoring machine, averaging 24 points per game and adding enough offensive rebounds to stake his total rebounding average at 10 per game. The statistical pickings are pretty slim after that, with only two other Blazers averaging double figures. They are excited about their rookie trio of Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Sergio Rodriguez but only Roy is making a measurable (by grown-up team standards) impact this year. At the end of the day Portland has trouble scoring the ball and remains a horrible defensive team. The only real comfort is they’re not completing last year’s trifecta by being one of the worst rebounding teams known to man besides.
Looking Forward: Seven of Portland’s remaining twenty-eight games are against teams with no shot at all to make the playoffs. That means they have 21 really good chances to lose to position-hungry teams. They have some games against the East but their home record against their sister conference is horrible, so that’s no sinecure. The Blazers will probably be doing well to remain only the eighth worst team in the league by season’s end.