Denver Nuggets' Possible Playoff Opponents: Utah Jazz

Denver (52-26) is currently flying a mile high on a seven game winning streak, one that has rocketed them to the second place position in the extremely competitive western conference.

The Nuggets latest win, a 110-87 blowout against a disappointing Minnesota Timberwolves squad, in accord with a Spurs loss Sunday, has spread the margin between Denver and San Antonio to two full games.

The Nuggets, also winners of 12 of the last 13, are the hottest team in the entire NBA right now, at a perfect time. Denver's winning streak has come in an important part of the season, during the stretch run, when many teams battle for playoff positioning and home court advantage.

Denver, who is relatively inexperienced in the playoffs overall, is in need of clinching home court advantage, something they are extremely close to with four games remaining.

Certainly, the Nuggets' determined defensive efforts are a good sign for the coming playoffs. The Nuggets have played well with this new-found commitment to defense, led by their leader, Chauncey Billups.

The Utah Jazz on the other hand, had been on a streak of their own, the losers of three in a row, until they defeated the Hornets, in New Orleans Sunday night.

They have dealt with injuries, losing Carlos Boozer for almost 50 games this season, when their star power forward missed playing time having arthroscopic knee surgery. His injury led to the Jazz sitting in seventh place in the West, and if the season were to end today, Utah and Denver would play each other in the first round of the playoffs.

This match up would be a fierce battle and quite interesting for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, the Jazz and Nuggets are rivals. Let's face it, the Denver Nuggets are not the Denver Broncos with rivalries that will give people lumps and bruises outside in the parking lot. But, Denver and Utah are the closest neighbors geographically, and just plain do not like one another.

Plus, let's not forget that the Jazz outed the Nuggets the last time they made it to the second round of the playoffs, a decade and a half ago, in 1994.

Jerry Sloan teaches his players to play rough basketball, allowing "no easy buckets" in favor of taking a hard foul rather than a wide open lay-in. The Nuggets, likewise, have been playing much more physical basketball lately, with hard-nosed defense leading the way.

Both have young stars that lead their teams into battle, and they seem to try to out-shine one another whenever the two teams play.

The match ups in this series are seemingly endless, in which stars would clash against stars, an aspect that makes the NBA such a great sport. It truly is "where amazing happens".

Carlos Boozer vs. Kenyon Martin

Carlos Boozer, the Jazz power forward, is their third leading scorer at 16.2 points per game, and is their leading rebounder at 10.4 per. He is great on the boards, getting position well. Boozer also has a decent offensive game, playing in the low post and receiving the ball on pick-and-rolls often, a main-stay of the Utah offense for over 20 years.

Matching up against Boozer would be the Nuggets' Kenyon Martin. The 2008-09 season has been a solid one for Martin, who averages 11.2 points, and 6 rebounds per game. K-Mart has a good offensive game, shooting jumping hook-shots in the lane, dunking hard on opponents, and even shooting the occasional three-pointer.

Kenyon though, is the immovable object on the defensive end, constantly using his quick hands to swipe at woud-be steals. His quick feet have him playing against the opposing team's best players at times, from Boozer one night, to Tim Duncan the next. No matter what the Nuggets do in the post season, Martin will be an intrical part for sure.

Deron Williams vs. Chauncey Billups

Utah's Deron Williams is a great young point guard, with Chauncey Billups-like size, and Chris Paul-like speed and quickness. He is an accomplished passer, leading the Jazz, and second in the NBA overall at 10.6 assists per game. He dishes a lot of the time to Boozer in the pick and roll, but also to Mehmet Okur, Ronnie Brewer, and others.

Williams can also score the basketball, leading the Jazz at 19.2 points per game. His offense is explosive at times, shooting threes on one possession, quickly driving the lane on the next, for an easy lay-up.

Chauncey Billups is Denver's answer to the great young Williams, and the veteran point guard is ready to lead the Nuggets into the playoffs. Billups was brought into Denver in the blockbuster trade of the year, for Allen Iverson.

He has brought with him a commitment to defense, and a winning attitude. Billups leads by example, and has really helped mature this young team.

He is second on the Nuggets in scoring, at 18.1 per game, and assists more than any other Denver player at 6.3 per. Look for this match up to be a defining one, if these two teams meet up come playoff time.

Mehmet Okur vs. Nene

Mehmet Okur, the Jazz starting center, is a force to be reckoned with on the offensive end, second on the team in scoring at 17.1 a game. He is comfortable in the low block, and likes to spin out of it, shoot a hook shot, or a sporadic three-point attempt. Okur though, is not the greatest defender, and is slow-footed.

Indeed, the Nuggets' Nene enjoys playing against Okur, and can score on him relatively easily. Nene, at 6'11", 250 pounds, is amazingly quick and can spin on almost any center in the game.

He is ferocious at times, dunking the ball from far away and with great force. His special is what I like to call "the Brazilian tomahawk", it's a traditional tomahawk dunk but performed at an explosive speed and power. If these teams do meet, Nene will be a huge factor defensively and offensively against Okur.

Carmelo Anthony vs. Matt Harpring/Andrei Kirilenko

Carmelo Anthony is one of the best players in the NBA, a true super star. 'Melo is easily the Nuggets leading scorer at 22.9 per game, and is seventh in the NBA at filling up the basket.

He loves his patented jab-step move, playing tricks on the defenders, able to drive or pull up for a jump shot at any time. He can post up, and shoot the three pointer better this year than ever before.

Anthony's biggest weakness on the offensive end is driving the basketball, in which he tries to draw fouls rather than dunking the ball. Although the refs seem to miss a lot of calls when he drives the hoop, he still attempts over seven free throws per game.

His most glaring weakness overall is on defense, in which he gets lost at times and is slow to rotate. But, the Jazz don't have any great scorers at his position, so he should be ok this series.

Matt Harpring, while not a particularly athletic player, is a scrappy, hard-nosed, borderline dirty player that gets into Carmelo's head at times. He can get 'Melo out of the flow of games, and throw his momentum off.

Andre Kirilenko has the height to attempt to guard Anthony, but is too slight to body-up listed at a questionable 225 pounds. He is too slow and not an accomplished defender and will lose out to the much better Carmelo time after time.

'Melo will be a huge part in this series, likely the leading scorer, and arguably the biggest star for either team.

All in all, Denver has the advantage over Utah on these grounds, the Nuggets are deeper than the Jazz, and Utah is sub par on the road.

Denver's bench is led by reservists J.R. Smith, Chris Andersen, and Anthony Carter, and play well every night. Smith provides offense, while Andersen defense, and Carter is a trustworthy ball-handler.

Utah is only 15-23 on the road, compared to Denver's third-best in the West home record at 31-7. It will be tough for the Jazz to steal any games in Denver, something they will have to do at least once to win the series.

In total, the series would be a great one, full of physical play, stars shining, and a clash of styles. Even though the Jazz pose some possible match up problems for the Nuggets, Denver is the much better team overall, and would win the series 4-1.