Denver Nuggets vs. New York Knicks: Who Wins a Fictional Best-of-7 Series?

The fans in New York must be sick to death of hearing about how their blockbuster trade that nabbed them one of the league's elite superstars isn't turning out quite how they planned.

But I'm going to talk about it anyway. 

Before I get too deep into my thoughts on the chaos that continues to develop in the Big Apple, I want to preface by saying a few things. 

1. Nobody. Nobody can blame the Knicks for making the deal to acquire Carmelo Anthony. It doesn't matter whether the deal succeeds in moderation now or succeeds to the tune of a ring down the road. There isn't a single team on the hunt for a defining player that wouldn't have made a similar deal.

2. The Knicks were going nowhere. Regardless of the deal, regardless of however far the Knicks may or may not fall from here, the organization had the opportunity to snag one of the best offensive players of this generation (and in his prime, no less) and they took it.

3. The Knicks have given their faithful hope for the future. It is hard build a championship-caliber team without some championship-caliber players to build around. The Knicks have that player now—two of them, actually. 

Yes, the Knicks were playoff bound.

They had some significant pieces in place (Gallinari, Chandler, Felton, Randolph, Mozgov...OK, not Mozgov).

They had ignited optimism in a crowd that hadn't been blessed with much of it in the past decade—thanks to Isaiah Thomas (the recently re-employed Isaiah Thomas). 

Still, there was no chance of that Knicks team making any significant noise against whichever of the four Eastern powers they encountered in the playoffs. 

The chances of this new Knicks team having more of an impact on the 2011 playoffs may not be much greater. But now, the Knicks have pillars to build around rather than being forced to wait on the next big star to become available (and no, picking up Deron Williams or Chris Paul in the next couple years doesn't constitute waiting). 

The Knicks are 7-11 and in the midst of a six-game skid since acquiring Anthony.

His former team, the Denver Nuggets, are 11-4 with their new pieces. 

While the Knicks apparently need significant time to gel, the Nuggets have already come together and are now hot on Oklahoma City's trail for the No. 4 seed in the West. 

The reasoning that the Nuggets are the better team goes far beyond the brief amount of time the two squads have been together. 

Here are my reasons the Nuggets would romp the Knicks in fantasy land.

Selfish Superstar Syndrome

 The syndrome attacked Miami in full force this year. 

It wasn't about about effort. It wasn't about “trying” to become team players. 

Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh knew what they were doing when they came together last summer. They knew what they had to become. 

But it isn't that easy. 

Think about Ray Allen, LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol and Chris Paul. These guys are team players. It's not just that their positions call for a team aspect to their game.

Even as the only truly memorable player on the Sonics (pre-Rashard Lewis), Allen knew how to stay within the flow and rhythm of the game. 

When you are the go-to player your entire career and you are put in a situation where you must mesh with other go-to players to be successful, it doesn't always come easy.

LeBron is a prime example of this. If you weren't bred in a team environment, you're already way behind. 

Regardless of whether the intentions are there, the kind of ball-sharing ability necessary to bring cohesion to three superstars doesn't come naturally—if it has never been natural. 

OK, so now you can use this somewhat lengthy analogy to explain what is happening in New York. 

Even with Amar'e jacking up as many shots as possible, the Knicks were able to revolve around him. Amar'e had nine straight 30-plus point games from November to December, disproving my claim that he wouldn't be nearly as effective without the Nash-n-roll (that has made Marcin Gortat look like Super-Gortat). 

However, since 'Melo arrived, it has been difficult for either player to figure out exactly what they are supposed to be doing (with Chauncey Billups being the only one of the three that actually seems to know). 

Anthony is clearly dedicated to becoming a better team player (hence, intent without result).

He probably will, but it will certainly take more time than this season has to offer. 

Amongst other things (which we'll talk about later), both players need to improve their passing skills/vision.

Sharing the Rock

It's fairly well known that the merging of two superstars can lead to the clashing of their two super-egos (think Kobe and Shaq). 

One ego being inherently stronger than the other(s) can do damage to a team's success (think LeBron taking the final shot instead of Wade). 

Even if the team is so talented that it win multiple championships regardless of in-house issues (turn- of-the-century Lakers), they will eventually run into a team that is not necessarily as talented as they are, but one that plays the game of basketball so much better as a whole that they dominate them for four of five NBA Finals' game.

(OK, maybe Malone's injury had something to do with it but I still say the Pistons win that series). 

I am officially declaring these Nuggets the baby version of those Pistons (with a slight Peter Pan complex).

What the hell am I talking about? Don't worry, I'll explain everything. 

I always wondered how a team composed of arguably the best pure scorer in the game, one of the league's most reliable point guards, a fully capable center, a once-Eastern Conference champion power forward (albeit one of the worst Eastern champs ever) and a slew of quirky, yet extremely effective role players could never get over the “We finally take you seriously” hump. 

(The pre-playoff talks about those Nuggets teams are almost but not quite comparable to this never-ending chatter of an impending Dallas Mavericks rise to power).

I can just hear Jon Barry saying it: “Don't sleep on this Mavericks team. They are the real deal and the re-emergence of Tyson Chandler is a big part of it. I'm not the only one that thinks they could be a spoiler and come out of the Western Conference.” 

You can throw all the regular-season stats at me you want, but I refuse to believe that the X-factor for the Mavericks breaking through this year is the services of Chandler (or the maybe-maybe not arrival of Ridrigue Beaubois, Peja Stojakovic's shot or Jose Barea's squirrel-like dashes to the bucket).) 

Note: Mentioning anything about the Allen Iverson era would completely destroy my argument. Let's just throw that waste of time on the back burner.

In fact, let's put the main burner on high and torch it. How George Karl survived that organizational blunder is beyond me. 

We are talking about the Billups era here. 

At the time, I was sure Anthony had met his match by acquiring the one-time Finals MVP Billups by trading—guess who—Iverson, thereby ruining the Pistons' chances of making any noise for the remainder of the 2000s, all so that the organization could “cover itself” with Iverson's expiring contract.

Joe Dumars attempted to put a positive spin on how a historically renowned ball-hog with beyond suspect defense could be a big addition to one of the most unselfish and well-defending teams of my generation.

Poor Detroit. 

The Nuggets continued to play “Let's see how far we can get trying to outscore teams” basketball and they suffered from it. 

The greatest example of a team that defines this “It works...unless you force us to play another way” mentality is the 2006-07 Golden State Warriors.

You remember this team. Baron Davis, Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson and Jason Richardson all in their prime, with Monta Ellis an emerging rookie.

They made up the perfect recipe for a No. 8 seed topping the No. 1 seed Mavericks and season MVP Nowitzki (not to mention the perfect crowd to help the Mavs gag). 

Add Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes to the equation and you have a talented team that can only function well playing one way.

Speed ball. 

Harrington and Jackson were the perfect instruments for this philosophy. They were successful (in their younger years, mostly) benefiting from a quick run-and-gun offense or knocking down unwarranted three-pointers. 

The new Nuggets have the speed and the (albeit second-tier) skill level to play at this speed while having a defense that can lock it down. Much better than it used to, anyway. 

The Nuggets' new additions have been, on the whole, an excellent fit. 

The thing about second-tier players is that they are often selfless. They operate within a defined role that doesn't carry a sense of entitlement but complements the players around them (we'll mark J.R. Smith and Harrington as questionable in this category). 

Has anyone noticed that George Karl is gleaming with delight every time a report mentions his team lately? 

With Anthony gone, Karl is once again able to coach up the pieces like he did with the Sonics of the '90s and the turn-of-the-century Milwaukee Bucks (that featured who? A young Ray Allen). 

Karl never kept his praise of Anthony's offensive game a secret, nor his feelings about Anthony's play on the other side of the ball. This brings us to our next point.

The Defense is the Backbone

I can't rightfully compare this new Nuggets team to the best defense in the league, but Karl is showing the kind of impact he can have a younger group that actually does follows his schemes. 

The problem was Anthony. 

Whether it was a learning curve issue, laziness or a lack of effort that seemed to progressively increase, Anthony plagued the Nuggets with his defensive ineptitude. 

If Knicks fans weren't busy rejoicing about what they naturally believed to be an instant Eastern power, maybe they would have noticed this issue. 

While Stoudemire had an offensive explosion upon his arrival, his defensive woes instantly affected an already troubled defense squad. 

Coach Mike D'Antoni was frequently discouraged by Stoudemire's efforts when the pair were in Phoenix, but D'Antoni's offensive methodologies haven't always encouraged solid defense. 

Now, with Stoudemire and Anthony, you have two of the worst defensive superstars in the league on one team with a lot of learning to do. 

Anthony seems much more committed to improving his game and finding his place on a t-e-a-m than he ever was in Denver.

Funny how the ultimate spotlight makes you try harder, despite earning over $20 million a season. 

It is a lot easier to work together as team when one or two players aren't the focus of the touches, regardless of ego.

No player is above the rest on the Nuggets, and the role players off the bench are just as good as the players in the starting lineup (not to mention Aaron Afflalo being injured for a stretch). 

Karl has concocted an amazing rotation and has shut up naysayers that said Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton couldn't play together. 

Moreover, it seems he has influenced Danilo Gallinari to start attacking the hoop with greater frequency (8.4 free-throw attempts/game compared to 6.0 with the Knicks). 

The Nuggets have only allowed over 103 points (in regulation) once since the trade (a 115-112 win against the San Antonio Spurs). 

Besides the two superstars, the Nuggets are better at nearly every position and their bench is leaps and bounds ahead of the Knicks. 

Add the team chemistry (and one of the best coaches of all time), and I have little doubt the Nuggets have a much better chance of making noise in the playoffs.

The Knicks still require multiple pieces to become truly relevant.