NBA Championship: The Denver Nuggets can be considered underdogs to win it all this year.  The latest NBA odds show that the Nuggets are 30-to-1, meaning that they have approximately a three percent chance of winning the championship.

Western Conference Odds: According to the lines makers, Denver has the sixth-best opportunity of winning the conference this season.  You can get the odds of 15-to-1 on Denver, meaning there is a six percent probability this team will make the NBA Finals.

Strengths: The Nuggets have one of the better outside shooting squads in the NBA.  Point guard Chauncey Billups nails 39 percent of his three-point attempts and two guard Arron Afflalo hit at a 43.4 percent rate a year ago.  Reserves Ty Lawson (41 percent) and J.R. Smith (who hit 39 percent or higher in three consecutive seasons before last year) can also take advantage of open shots.

The pick up of Al Harrington will help this team stretch the defense, and he can also shoot.  That should leave plenty of room for Carmelo Anthony to do his thing on the inside.  Anthony was one of the top guys in the NBA early last year, but depended too much on his outside shot in the second half (bad idea when you shoot 31 percent from three-point land).

Weaknesses: Right now the injury status of Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin show a hole down low for Denver.  Harrington is a small power forward who doesn't do a good job of rebounding or defending.  Nene does well in transition and is a decent passer, but he doesn’t grab a lot of boards nor does he send back a lot of shots.  Early on I see the Nuggets having troubles defending on the inside, and allowing too many second shots.

Martin is going to miss some time this year due to his knee troubles.  He has invariably been known as a defensive stopper and finisher, but will that explosiveness return when he comes back from his injuries?

Andersen also has knee problems, but he shouldn’t lose as much time as Martin.  When Andersen was on the court the Nuggets were a lot better on defense, because he can overcome a lot of errors by the perimeter players.  He is one of the top shot blockers in the league when healthy.

Prediction – Seventh in the Western Conference: I’ll predict the Nuggets to make the playoffs this season, but that is depending on Carmelo being with the team the full year.  Since he hasn’t made a commitment to the franchise, they might have to offer him up before the trade deadline to make sure they get something in return.  Smith needs to find his touch, and Anthony needs to regain his early-season form from a year ago.  I also like Lawson and believe he could have a breakout year.  There are just too many problem areas for me to think of Denver as a serious competitor out West.

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