Enemy Lines An Opposing Team's Scout Sizes Up The Nuggets

Last year they had the worst collection of talent I've seen on an NBA team. They were last in turnovers and in all the shooting categories, but they pulled off upsets in 17 games by playing hard every night....

This year's team is almost the opposite of last year's. They might go from number 29 in scoring to number 1, because they're going to be like the old Doug Moe-coached teams and try to run you off the floor in that high altitude....

The Nuggets have two big weaknesses. First, Jeff Bzdelik is big on discipline and defense, but he has offensive-minded guys who will have to work hard to play good D. Second, their only big men are Marcus Camby and Nen�, and both of them get in foul trouble. Still, if Camby can stay healthy—he looked good in preseason—this should be a comeback year for him. He's playing for a new contract, and the running game is good for him because he's so mobile....

Nikoloz Tskitishvili has gained 30 pounds and he's more confident playing inside, but he's so inexperienced that it's going to take another two or three years to see how good he is....

Every team dreams of having a second unit of hustlers like Chris Andersen, Jon Barry, Ryan Bowen and Earl Boykins....

I'm not one of those who wrote off Andre Miller, who is coming from a bad situation with the Clippers. He can do whatever they ask, whether it's push the ball or run the half-court offense, and he's smart and big enough to play good positional defense....

Carmelo Anthony might lead the team in scoring, and he'll give LeBron James a run for Rookie of the Year. Anthony can score inside and outside, and he's a much better shooter than I thought. He's a bit like Adrian Dantley: You don't know how he gets it all done in the post and on the perimeter. He's very crafty and he plays much older than he is.