Mile High Sigh: Denver Nuggets' Tumble Could Continue Since Both Stars Out

For the Denver Nuggets (20-12) tonight's Northwest Division contest against the Jazz  in Utah is important. Denver has missed their leader in Chauncey Billups, and has seen production and energy drop in without Mr. Big Shot.

The Nuggets are a paltry 1-5 in Billups' absence with their offense only scoring 100.8 points per game, over six points less than their season average. And on the other side, the defense is allowing 1.8 points more, showing that Billups is the link that holds the Nuggets together on both ends of the court.

Denver's offense has been held afloat with Carmelo Anthony's big scoring, averaging 27.3 per without Billups, but his offense may be missed tonight as well as Melo has a knee contusion.

If the Nuggets don't have Anthony tonight, JR Smith will start at small forward for the first time in his career. Smith's offense will definitely be needed tonight if Denver wants to hang in the game with the Jazz, and others will have to step up as well. Starters Kenyon Martin and Nene must play big, literally and in the box score, and bench player Ty Lawson will have to put in some buckets too.

But life in the NBA is a constant physical struggle, and Utah has their own injuries to worry about.

The Jazz (18-14) could be forced to play without their star point guard Deron Williams (stomach flu) and three-point threat Kyle Korver (knee) as both are game-time decisions. Williams is Utah's points and assists leader with 19.7 and 9.8 per game and he would be missed immensely for the Jazz.

In all, the game is important for both teams. Denver is tied with Portland for the Northwest lead and they need the win to create a little breathing room. Plus, the Nuggets haven't won a road game since Dec.7 in Philadelphia. Utah is two games behind both Denver and Portland and this win would bring them within only a game.

No matter who plays, this game is sure to be a tough battle between two division rivals. The action tips off at 7 p.m. MT.

Update: Despite missing their stars, Denver beat the Jazz 105-95 in Utah for the first time since April 11, 2007. The win is also the Nuggets first road victory in six games and could be a statement win for the rest of the season.

The Nuggets' bigs were huge against the Jazz as Nene and Kenyon Martin combined for 34 points and 16 rebounds. Nene ran up and down the court with ease, attacked the hoop aggressively and his defense was superb. The 6'11" center poked away six steals and capitalized on most.

Even though Ty Lawson, at 5'9", is the smallest Nugget player, he was a behemoth on the court tonight. Lawson dashed past would-be defenders for easy layups and made some sweet jumpshots as well. Besides that, Lawson's dimes were diamonds and he had nine in all.

The most telling stat of this game is the 25 turnovers the Nuggets forced the Jazz to commit. Denver tallied 15 steals on those turnovers and their defense was better in this game than any other all season. Hopefully the Nuggets can build on this win and realize they are capable of greatness when they play as they did tonight.