"Nuggets Ascending", by Four Prong 1/11/2005

If you wanna look really prescient, start telling every NBA fan you know that the Denver Nuggets are going to win the NBA championship. Even if they fail, the fact that this roster is underachieving so badly and will turn around dramatically will make you look like a seer.

The Nuggets, after making the playoffs last season for the first time in years, improved with the addition of tough, team-minded and NBA Finals-tested Kenyon Martin. With Marcus Camby healthy, Andre Miller, Carmelo Anthony, Nene and Co. have too much talent to languish around .500, even in the talent-rich Pacific Division. Phoenix will inevitably fall to earth, since Amare Stoudmire is simply not ready to play at an elite level all season and/or avoid injury and Stevie Nash will be worn down because of his small frame. Seattle is in for ominous times with the onset of tendonitis in key player Rashard Lewis, Sacramento is just waiting for Chris Webber to break down one last time and Dallas always finds a way to avoid the top tier. That leaves San Antonio, who will probably come out of the Pacific to the Finals since Tim Duncan is simply unstoppable and durable. But with defensive-minded Michael Cooper at the helm, look for the Rocky Mountain boys to bounce back big in the second half of the 2004-2005 campaign.

BBR Postscript - this article was written before the Nuggets brought George Karl aboard, but the prediction still holds.