Steve Jones

Not much was expected of the Nuggets this season, but Chauncey Billups has changed all that.

In a blockbuster deal in early November, Detroit sent Billups to Denver for Allen Iverson. Figure on a transition period for Billups, right? Wrong. In the Nuggets' first 21 games with Billups, the team went 16-5, and since his arrival, Denver is 35-14.

The Nuggets hit the All-Star break leading the Northwest Division, and behind only the Lakers and the Spurs in the Western Conference standings. It’s been a dream first half of the season for Denver -- not the nightmare many expected after the team’s offseason basically consisted of lowering salary.

The Nuggets dealt Marcus Camby, the NBA’s leading shot blocker, to the Clippers for a second-round draft pick in 2010, and they let Eduardo Najera leave as a free agent. They also didn’t sign any quality free agents.

A somewhat bleak picture for the season turned bright when Billups hit town. Once the trade was made the personality of the Nuggets changed. They started to win games that they hadn’t been winning before. Now they have a certain level of confidence and belief that in tough games, they will find a way to prevail. The Nuggets have found ways to win games this season that they lost last season.

With Billups calling the shots, the right decisions are being made. He is getting the ball to teammates in positions where they can be most effective. The veteran point guard has brought to the Nuggets a more disciplined style of play and improved attention to detail.

He orchestrates on the court, and when things start to get off track, he takes on the responsibility of getting them under control. Billups, an NBA Finals MVP and three-time All-Star, has changed the chemistry and character of the Nuggets.

He doesn’t run as fast or jump as high as he did earlier in his career, and physically he doesn’t recover from tough games as quickly, but he’s a smarter player. He brings those smarts to the court, and his teammates benefit from that. His forte is playing well in big games, something that the Nuggets will find especially valuable since they have been knocked out in the first round of the playoffs for the last five consecutive seasons.

Subtracting Iverson and adding Billups has allowed Nuggets coach George Karl to mix and match and come up with different combinations that make his team more effective. Having Billups at the point has allowed Karl, who can be very emotional over how the Nuggets play, to be a lot calmer. The team has responded positively to that.

Billups is second on the team in scoring behind Carmelo Anthony, averaging 18 points, and he leads the Nuggets with 6.2 assists. A key is he doesn’t need as many shots as Iverson did. That allows the Pistons to more easily get into their offense. Billups’ job is to get the offense rolling and keep the four other Nuggets on the floor with him involved in the game at the offensive end.

When the Nuggets had two prominent scorers in Anthony and Iverson they were always trying to be creative to make sure that both stars got enough scoring opportunities so that the two of them were not feeling like they were fighting each other for shots.

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Before Billups arrived, the Nuggets were not good at executing in the halfcourt. They struggled the most when they had to play halfcourt basketball because they were primarily a perimeter, jump-shooting team. Now with Billups when they have to execute in the halfcourt, they have a better chance of going inside to center Nene Hilario and giving him the option of kicking the ball back out. No longer does Denver rely solely on a perimeter game. When Billups is out of the game, that’s when Denver will struggle the most to execute its offense.

The addition of Billups is the main reason I see Denver winning its division. But there are other reasons as well. Nene has done his best to ease the pain Nuggets fans felt when Camby was sent packing.

With Nene the Nuggets get more of a power game inside, and they use a combination of Nene and Kenyon Martin to block shots, which makes up for the loss of the shot blocking of Camby. Nene plays deep in the paint, and can score inside. He’s stronger than Camby, and can be more physical, but most importantly he is healthy. After playing in just 16 games last season, Nene had missed only one game at the All-Star break.

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