[SnyderBock]

Dallas Mavericks are the only other team to make the playoffs the last 5 season along with the Nuggets. However, Dallas seems to be going downward, whilst Denver is on the up and up.

San Antonio and Phoenix are a couple teams which have been as consistent as Denver in the regular season, over the last 3-4 seasons, but Phoenix missed the playoffs and Tim Duncan is getting old, Manu is out for season and a couple key role players have retired. Like I said, Denver is young and on the up and up...

I said trading Camby made Denver better, because Camby is poor at primary defense (one-on-one and defensive rotations), but tops at secondary defense and also that Camby was getting old and was inhury prone and had run his healthy streak about as long as it could go. Nene is the opposite, better at primary defense, but weaker at secondary defense than Camby (yet still proficient). Furthermore, Nene is a post presence on offense and defense, Camby is most definitely not and as I predicted, Camby had an injury filled season.

ESPN broke down player efficiency numbers and while no one wants to acknowledge it, the numbers suggest Nene has had more than three times the positive impact on the Nuggets than Chauncey Billups has. I found this very interesting. It appears Billups gets a lot of the credit (as he should, because his numbers show he too has made this team better), but a healthy Nene in the starting lineup may in fact be the true key to Denver's success.

There is no doubt that a healthy Kenyon Martin has impacted the defense immensely. many consider K-mart to be a top 3 defensive PF in the NBA when healthy (as he is now). He is also adequate on offense.

However, I was also ridiculed for calling JR Smith Denver's Poor man's Kobe Bryant. Yet, that is exactly what he has emerged as this season (particularly the 2nd half). He is like a cross between Manu and Kobe. He is Denver's x-factor. JR Smith can singlehandedly take charge of any game and shoot his team to a win. I mean, he scores nearly twice as many points per minute played, wen his teams asks him to save them. That is absolutely special.