Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets Power Rankings - 2011-12

Power Ranking
WEEKRECORDRANKCOMMENT
Week 1736-2811The Nuggets might not inspire Memphis levels of fear, but they won't be any fun to play in the playoffs, either. They're one win shy of sealing just the third winning road record in the club's 36 NBA seasons and are as healthy and deep as they've been all season, starting with Afflalo, Lawson and Dre Miller.
Week 1633-2713Six games left on the Nuggets' schedule, four of them on the road and all but one or maybe two games (depending on how the seedings look for Orlando come Sunday) against teams as needy as they are for late-season victories. Starting things off right Monday night in Houston would thus be h-u-g-e.
Week 1530-2616The Lawson/Afflalo backcourt is increasingly prolific and doing what it can. But my NBA.com counterpart John Schumann sagely notes that Denver's playoff push would be in far better shape if not for L's to the Cavs, Wolves, Raps, Hornets and Warriors since the All-Star break ... teams at a combined 39-79 in that span.
Week 1429-2413Trying to keep alive a playoff streak that dates to 2004, Denver caught a huge break Sunday night in Orlando when back spasms shelved Dwight Howard. Let's see if the Nuggets actually build on that this time, after celebrating their rout in Chicago by somehow losing in Toronto with a full night off between games.
Week 1326-2317Struggling to process how the Nuggets, even with all their injuries and roster turnover, have dropped 12 home games already. It's just as hard to believe that they've got only six home games left. We've all raved about the depth at George Karl's disposal, but missing out on the playoffs is growing more and more real.
Week 1225-207If Corey Brewer or Kenneth Faried nudges past the 10-ppg plateau, Denver will have a league-leading seven players averaging double figures in scoring ... and that's before newly re-signed Wilson Chandler joins in. And, yes, I am indeed a fan of the Nene-for-JaVale McGee swap. Click here for the detailed explanation.
Week 1123-1910On top of Faried's rapid rise, Afflalo has led the Nuggets in scoring six times in 16 games after leading his teams just five times in the first 323 games of his career. A 2-5 mark in games decided by three points or less, however, softens George Karl's claims that Denver can contend without a dedicated closer.
Week 1021-1712Maybe they did need the All-Star break more than any team west of Philadelphia, but the Nuggets have certainly responded. Weekend road wins in Houston and San Antonio add up to a big step back toward their 14-5 form, with the bonus of knowing that Gallo and Nene should be back this week.
Week 918-1717Something tells me that the Nuggets believe they (and not Philly) needed the All-Star break more than anyone else. Denver remains one of just three teams averaging better than 100 points nightly ... but that's pretty much the only thing that's carried over from a 14-5 start torpedoed by injuries and up-and-down focus.
Week 817-1517Depth is what was supposed to make them special in this lockout-compacted season, but even the Nuggets don't have enough in reserve to win minus Gallinari and Nene with their offense-by-committee approach ... as evidenced by their ongoing 2-8 nosedive. We repeat: Wilson Chandler can't re-sign fast enough.
Week 716-1211The injuries have been stacking up and, uncharacteristically, so have the home losses. The Nuggets are suddenly a modest 7-7 at the Pepsi Center, where they haven't lost more than eight games since the 2006-07 season. In other words? Wilson Chandler can't get back from China soon enough.
Week 615-98You can live with the sort of losses Denver absorbed last week before and after its road rout of the Clips. Last week's schedule certainly didn't make it easy on 'em. What has to worry the Nuggets (unless it's temporary) is that Nene and especially Arron Afflalo haven't responded well to their big contract scores in free agency.
Week 514-63It's a bittersweet day for the oh-so-close Nuggets, but props to Professor Hollinger. Although I suppose there might have been others to proclaim it, PH is the first person I remember who went on record telling the world how dangerous these starless but ridiculously deep Nuggets would be. He was all over it.
Week 412-53They're a win in Sacramento away from a 5-0 road trip and sport the league's third-best record at 30-12 since the Melo trade last February. No wonder Frank Isola of the New York Daily News proclaimed Saturday night on Twitter that we should start calling it the Gallo trade.
Week 38-58They've thumped Dallas in Dallas and rung up 117 points on Miami as recently as Friday night ... but the Nuggets could be sporting an 8-0 record at home if they hadn't lost to New Orleans and Utah in games George Karl says they took too lightly.
Week 26-34The Nugs are feeling so secure in their post-Melo life, riding that up-tempo offense and some withering D even with Nene limited by a heel issue, that they're legitimately and justifiably disappointed not to have beaten the Lakers and Spurs on the road.
Week 13-24Maybe I'm saying so because the committee (of one) was there in person to see Denver splatter the defending champs in its season opener, but the Nuggets -- with all their speed and depth -- look as dangerous as a team can when it loses two early.
Preseason50-329I hear fretting about the $110 million investment in Nene and Afflalo. I hear Hollinger has the Nuggets forecasted to be the second-best team in the West. I would suggest Denver's fate lies somewhere between such proclamations of doom and dominance.
Training Camp17-150Depth is what was supposed to make them special in this lockout-compacted season, but even the Nuggets don't have enough in reserve to win minus Gallinari and Nene with their offense-by-committee approach ... as evidence by their ongoing 2-8 nosedive. We repeat: Wilson Chandler can't re-sign fast enough.

Denver Nuggets