Carmelo Anthony the reason Denver wins NW
The NBA's Northwest and Southwest remain the two closest divisions on the professional hardwood. In the NW, Carmelo Anthony and Denver cling to a half-game lead over the Utah Jazz, with the Thunder and Trail Blazers both within striking distance. Dallas has a slightly more comfortable lead in the SW with a three-game gap over the Spurs. Can either or both squads hold on to take division crowns in the end?
There are a few things we know about the NBA’s Western Conference. We know that the Los Angeles Lakers (42-14 SU, 25-29-2 ATS) are almost certain to win the West this year; they’re 8-13 favorites on the futures market and five games ahead of the Denver Nuggets in the standings.
But while the Lakers are dominating the weak Pacific Division, it’s a free-for-all in both the Northwest and the Southwest. Nine of the 10 teams involved have winning records. Who will come out with a division title and a high seed in the playoffs? Glad you asked.
Northwest: Denver Nuggets
The No. 2 team in the West is sitting less than comfortably atop the Northwest at 37-19 (26-27-3 ATS), fending off the Utah Jazz, the surging Oklahoma City Thunder and the pesky Portland Trail Blazers. The only losing team in the division is the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It’s a tough gauntlet to run, especially with the Blazers adding Marcus Camby (18.19 PER) at the trade deadline. But the Nuggets have the horses to make it through.
Let’s start with Carmelo Anthony. He’s having the best season of his young career with a 24.13 PER, seventh overall in the NBA, but Anthony seems destined to play in the shadow of LeBron James. Heck, Anthony even takes a back seat on his own team to point guard Chauncey Billups (21.76 PER), a respected champion with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 and still one of the very best pivots in the game at age 33.
None of the other three teams in the Northwest title hunt can boast such a dynamic duo – not even Utah and its combo of Carlos Boozer (20.47 PER) and Deron Williams (20.25 PER).
Denver also has all the necessary supporting players to make a deep run into the playoffs. Eight different Nuggets are getting at least 20 minutes of action per game; each has something different to offer, from the defensive flair of Chris Andersen (3.23 blocks per 40 minutes) to the precocious shooting talents of former college stars Arron Afflalo (44.7 percent from downtown) and Ty Lawson (42.9 percent).
The Nuggets are loaded for bear and deserving of their spot as the second favorites in the West at betting odds of 5-1.
Southwest: Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks (35-21 SU, 23-33 ATS) have the easier path to a division title. They’re three games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs, the only other club in the Southwest with a realistic chance of winning. The Spurs have a much better point differential (plus-4.1 to plus-1.8 for Dallas), and they have shorter betting odds for taking the West (8-1 to 9-1 for Dallas). But that’s the playoffs.
As far as the regular season is concerned, the Mavericks have 15 home games and 11 road games remaining. San Antonio has just 12 home games left on the schedule and 16 road games.
Dallas also has some new talent to work with. The deal that brought Caron Butler (13.58 PER) and Brendan Haywood (16.55 PER) to Big D has already paid dividends with three wins in four games. Haywood has been particularly impressive taking over for the injured Erick Dampier in the starting rotation; he racked up 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in Saturday’s 97-91 win over the Dwyane Wade-less Miami Heat (+10). Depth at center is a concern as long as Dampier is out, but once he returns, the Mavs will be well represented at every position on the floor.
That goes double at power forward. Dirk Nowitzki (22.55 PER) may be playing below his MVP level of 2006-07 (27.70 PER), but Nowitzki is still one of the best in the league at his or any other position. He’s an incredible shooter (56.6 true shooting percentage) for a 7-footer and his defense is getting stronger every year.
Nowitzki has been very happy paired with Haywood on the frontline; both are excellent passing big men, and the Dallas offense is all about ball movement. The creaky Spurs simply can’t keep up with this – until the playoffs, at least.
The NBA's Northwest and Southwest remain the two closest divisions on the professional hardwood. In the NW, Carmelo Anthony and Denver cling to a half-game lead over the Utah Jazz, with the Thunder and Trail Blazers both within striking distance. Dallas has a slightly more comfortable lead in the SW with a three-game gap over the Spurs. Can either or both squads hold on to take division crowns in the end?
There are a few things we know about the NBA’s Western Conference. We know that the Los Angeles Lakers (42-14 SU, 25-29-2 ATS) are almost certain to win the West this year; they’re 8-13 favorites on the futures market and five games ahead of the Denver Nuggets in the standings.
But while the Lakers are dominating the weak Pacific Division, it’s a free-for-all in both the Northwest and the Southwest. Nine of the 10 teams involved have winning records. Who will come out with a division title and a high seed in the playoffs? Glad you asked.
Northwest: Denver Nuggets
The No. 2 team in the West is sitting less than comfortably atop the Northwest at 37-19 (26-27-3 ATS), fending off the Utah Jazz, the surging Oklahoma City Thunder and the pesky Portland Trail Blazers. The only losing team in the division is the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It’s a tough gauntlet to run, especially with the Blazers adding Marcus Camby (18.19 PER) at the trade deadline. But the Nuggets have the horses to make it through.
Let’s start with Carmelo Anthony. He’s having the best season of his young career with a 24.13 PER, seventh overall in the NBA, but Anthony seems destined to play in the shadow of LeBron James. Heck, Anthony even takes a back seat on his own team to point guard Chauncey Billups (21.76 PER), a respected champion with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 and still one of the very best pivots in the game at age 33.
None of the other three teams in the Northwest title hunt can boast such a dynamic duo – not even Utah and its combo of Carlos Boozer (20.47 PER) and Deron Williams (20.25 PER).
Denver also has all the necessary supporting players to make a deep run into the playoffs. Eight different Nuggets are getting at least 20 minutes of action per game; each has something different to offer, from the defensive flair of Chris Andersen (3.23 blocks per 40 minutes) to the precocious shooting talents of former college stars Arron Afflalo (44.7 percent from downtown) and Ty Lawson (42.9 percent).
The Nuggets are loaded for bear and deserving of their spot as the second favorites in the West at betting odds of 5-1.
Southwest: Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks (35-21 SU, 23-33 ATS) have the easier path to a division title. They’re three games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs, the only other club in the Southwest with a realistic chance of winning. The Spurs have a much better point differential (plus-4.1 to plus-1.8 for Dallas), and they have shorter betting odds for taking the West (8-1 to 9-1 for Dallas). But that’s the playoffs.
As far as the regular season is concerned, the Mavericks have 15 home games and 11 road games remaining. San Antonio has just 12 home games left on the schedule and 16 road games.
Dallas also has some new talent to work with. The deal that brought Caron Butler (13.58 PER) and Brendan Haywood (16.55 PER) to Big D has already paid dividends with three wins in four games. Haywood has been particularly impressive taking over for the injured Erick Dampier in the starting rotation; he racked up 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in Saturday’s 97-91 win over the Dwyane Wade-less Miami Heat (+10). Depth at center is a concern as long as Dampier is out, but once he returns, the Mavs will be well represented at every position on the floor.
That goes double at power forward. Dirk Nowitzki (22.55 PER) may be playing below his MVP level of 2006-07 (27.70 PER), but Nowitzki is still one of the best in the league at his or any other position. He’s an incredible shooter (56.6 true shooting percentage) for a 7-footer and his defense is getting stronger every year.
Nowitzki has been very happy paired with Haywood on the frontline; both are excellent passing big men, and the Dallas offense is all about ball movement. The creaky Spurs simply can’t keep up with this – until the playoffs, at least.
