Column: Nuggets still strong after trading ‘Melo

Knicks fans do not have as much to be happy about as Nuggets fans do. Let’s rewind to Feb. 22. Two days before the trade deadline, the Knicks and the Nuggets announced a trade that sent Anthony and Chauncey Billups to the Knicks for Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, some draft picks and some cash. Knicks fans roared in approval of the arrival of the second “superstar” to the Big Apple in one season while many critics (including myself) looked on skeptically at a gutted roster that featured two stars who are also considered defensive liabilities. Since the trade, New York has gone 11-12, including two losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers, two losses to the Milwaukee Bucks and a loss to the Detroit Pistons.

While Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire have worked on putting some kind of cohesive offense together that isn’t just high-post and wing isolations, Gallinari has led his teammates to the fifth playoff spot in the West by averaging a team high of 16 points per game. Raymond Felton has also put in solid numbers to help the team with 11 points per game and six assists per game behind Ty Lawson, who is averaging 11.5 ppg and 4.6 assists per game. These numbers may not look that impressive, and they aren’t; that’s the beauty of this Denver team though. Denver has one of the deepest rosters in the league, with several players that can put in quality minutes at each position. Denver does not have a player that it lives and dies with: UConn lived with Kemba Walker throughout the March Madness tournament, and Brigham Young University died with Jimmer Fredette. One night, Nene Hilario may be playing well, so they go to him. Another night, the extremely talented, but extremely streaky, J. R. Smith may be on fire, so they go to him. Whatever the case, they’ve managed to make it work so far and look as though they could move some mountains this postseason.

With the best records in the West, the Spurs and the Lakers both look strong heading into the playoffs, but the momentum the Nuggets have managed to create could put them in contention for the Western Conference Finals for the second time in three years. The Nuggets could be heading back to face the Lakers in the Conference Finals if they can make it past a Spurs team that has dropped six of its last eight games in the second round.

I’m getting way ahead of myself here by putting them in the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets will have to make it past the Oklahoma City Thunder, which added Kendrick Perkins for this time of year. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were sent packing by the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs this year. I’m sure that they’ll come prepared this year with one year of playoffs experience under their belt.

The Nuggets-Thunder matchup should be the most anticipated series in the West, unless Portland can make the third-seeded Dallas Mavericks sweat. Though I spent the first half of the column ripping the Knicks and applauding the Nuggets for the trade, I’m looking forward to New York’s first-round match-up. The Knick beat the and Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night in a game that was integral in deciding who gets the sixth seed in the playoffs, but both teams will play strong opponents in the first round. Depending on who finishes the season stronger, the Celtics or the Miami Heat, which are currently tied with 54-23 records, will duke it out for the second and third spots in the East. If the Knicks draw the Celtics in the first round, I expect an exciting series that will probably be dependent on how well the Celtics defense can contain Melo and Stoudemire. If the Knicks draw the Heat (which I’m not-so-secretly hoping for), we’ll get to “witness” an offensive slugfest between two teams with stars surrounded by less-than-average players. Melo and Stoudemire will not win a championship until they can make defense a priority for New York basketball, but they can win a series — or at least make one very interesting.