As it currently stands, the Nuggets lead Northwest Division challengers Portland Trail Blazers by 1½ games and Utah by three games. Under the Doug Moe system, awarding plus-1 for a road win and minus-1 for a home loss, the Nuggets still have a comfortable cushion on both teams.
The Nuggets are hoping Oklahoma City buys out big man Joe Smith, enabling Denver to pursue him. In the meantime, Johan Petro, a former Oklahoma City big man, has stepped up.
An interesting development late Sunday in Milwaukee. It looked like free-agent big man Mikki Moore was going to decide on a new team by midnight, but his agent said that a final decision won't be made until Monday. Mark Bartelstein added that the Nuggets are still among the teams Moore is considering.
In addition to their own record, the Nuggets are paying close attention to doings in Charlotte and Oklahoma City to see where they will pick in June's draft.
Friday's death of Larry H. Miller, one of the NBA's most accessible owners, was sad news.
Even with the tough economy, I thought NBA owners would still have an appetite for excitement at the trade deadline. Bold moves. Power shifts. All that corporate board room, rah-rah stuff. Instead, most contenders in both the East and West decided to save their money for a rainy day.
Even forward Linas Kleiza remains with the Nuggets past Thursday's trade deadline, he faces an uncertain future in Denver.
The Nuggets making a deal by Thursday's trade deadline seems even less likely after the weakening this week of West rivals New Orleans and Houston.
It could help the Nuggets that Carmelo Anthony might be motivated by his All-Star snub and that he got rest during All-Star Weekend.
Will Allen Iverson go to heaven or hell? That was debated during All-Star Weekend _ by Iverson himself.
