The Denver Nuggets were one of the surprise teams in the NBA last season. Not many expected the Denver Nuggets, who were apparently known for losing in the first round, to make it to the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets were outmatched and played the Lakers, but that doesn’t take away from the excellent season they had. The Nuggets are looking to improve this coming season and reach the finals.

There’s no question the Nuggets can score with the best team in the league, averaging 104 points per game, sixth in the NBA. When teams are a big scoring team, they usually don’t defend well. This was the case for Denver a few years ago, but last season their defense improved dramatically. Chauncey Billups came over from the Detroit Piston in a trade for Allen Iverson: The Billups trade worked out well for Denver, not so much for the Pistons.

The Denver Nuggets are in a loaded Western Conference, so taking the next step toward the NBA Finals won’t be easy. This could potentially be Carmelo Anthony’s MVP season, which he hasn’t had yet, given that Carmelo is still only 25, but his prime is fast approaching. This could be Carmelo’s year, he will be talked about at the same time as Lebron James and Kobe Bryant as the best player in the games, not just the best scorer in the league.

The San Antonio Spurs added Richard Jefferson, the Dallas Mavericks added Shawn Marion and the Los Angeles Lakers added Ron Artest. The Denver Nuggets have the same core of players they had last season and it wasn’t enough to beat the Lakers, maybe Denver can add one more piece to their team to give them a better chance this season.