The Denver Nuggets<\/strong> were ravaged by injuries during the 2013-14 NBA season. As long as health is out of sight and out of mind this upcoming season, the Nuggets’ NBA odds\u00a0<\/strong>will improve, and the team\u00a0will be ready to compete for a spot in the 2014-15 postseason\u2014even if they make it as a surprise squad, considering how tough the Western Conference is at this juncture. <\/p>\n Cappers Picks provides free NBA HOOPS handicapping tips all season long.<\/p>\n Western Conference<\/strong> Believe it or not, the Denver Nuggets are one of the few teams across the Association that don\u2019t have a key loss entering the 2014-15 season. Instead, we forget about what the team could have lost and focus on what this team didn\u2019t get\u2014a superstar when it drastically needs one.<\/p>\n In the 2014 offseason, this group entered free agency with optimistic hopes of winning the Chris Bosh sweepstakes. The team was never in the running for players such as LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony, but Bosh, Kevin Love or even Mike Miller would have been considered a solid prize. Arron Afflalo \u2013 The Nuggets have been known for their fast-paced, high-octane offense for a while now. In fact, when Arron Afflalo was a part of this organization a few years back, he helped establish that reputation. Now, he\u2019s back in the Mile High City, and he\u2019s coming off a career year with the Orlando Magic that proved he can be a second-tier points-per-game player on a nightly basis.<\/p>\n Ty Lawson \u2013 Ty Lawson has improved since joining the NBA. He\u2019s still not considered an elite point guard (a group that belongs to the Derrick Roses, Chris Pauls and Russell Westbrooks of the league), but he\u2019s a player who an make a difference both in transition and in half-court sets, especially when he\u2019s hitting from deep range, which he usually is. Danilo Gallinari \u2013 This is a perfect example of what the Nuggets are actually gaining entering the 2014-15 season. They were without Gallinari much of the way, and if he can stay healthy, he\u2019s going to add depth to a roster that is already deep as is<\/p>\n Speaking of depth, this is Denver\u2019s strength, without question. The Nuggets are as deep as it comes, as it pertains to talent from the beginning of the starting lineup to the end of the bench, and this is what keeps them in the running even when health is a problem.<\/p>\n The other thing this group has going for it is an offensive mentality. Defense is consistently a problem, but when you\u2019re compared to a track team and you\u2019re willing to run up and down the floor at such an impressive pace, simply outscoring your opponents becomes the goal, and it\u2019s a goal that isn\u2019t too unattainable with so many offensive weapons.<\/p>\n As impressive as the depth is for this group, it is missing one key element to big-time success: a true superstar. Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari are all stellar players, and even Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson and JaVale McGee are complementary stars; but in a superstar-driven league, it\u2019s tough to win big without someone who can take over games night in and night out. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, the rest of the Western Conference has improved entering the 2014-15 season. Expect Denver to float around the eighth seed all year, but when it comes down to it, don\u2019t be shocked if it\u2019s just on the outside looking in when the postseason begins.<\/p>\n [dfads params=’groups=63706&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nuggets NBA Picks The Denver Nuggets were ravaged by injuries during the 2013-14 NBA season. As long as health is out of sight and out of mind this upcoming season, the Nuggets’ NBA odds\u00a0will improve, and the team\u00a0will be ready to compete for a spot in the 2014-15 postseason\u2014even if they make it as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":986,"featured_media":82684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[63714,5958,63719,66499,13032,1595,3942,749,19184,63736],"class_list":["post-81912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-2014-15-nba-season","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-denver-nuggets-predictions","tag-nba","tag-nba-championship-odds","tag-nba-gambling","tag-nba-handicapping","tag-nba-odds","tag-nuggets-odds","tag-nuggets-season-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/986"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81912"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82890,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81912\/revisions\/82890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
2014-15 Denver Nuggets<\/h3>\n
\n2013-14 Record: 36-46 (22-19 @ Home) .439<\/strong>
\nOdds to win Title: 100\/1<\/strong>
\nOdds to win Conference: 40\/1<\/strong>
\n[dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&orderby=random&return_javascript=1′]<\/p><\/blockquote>\nKey Losses<\/h3>\n
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\nUnfortunately, they\u2019re all now prizes that have already been claimed\u2014all by team other than the Nuggets.<\/p>\nTop Newcomers<\/h3>\n
Top Players<\/h3>\n
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\nKenneth Faried \u2013 Kenneth Faried is a machine on the boards. Although he doesn\u2019t have the size of a true power forward he has the athleticism\u2014and just as importantly, the work ethic\u2014the make a difference. He\u2019s even improving on the defensive end, which is important for someone who doesn\u2019t command shots to make a difference.<\/p>\nStrengths<\/h3>\n
Weaknesses<\/h3>\n
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\nIt would have behooved this team to trade some of its depth for a player such as Bosh or Love during the offseason, but when it comes down to it, there are worse things than having too much depth in a league where parity isn\u2019t often a major focus late in the year.<\/p>\nPrediction<\/h3>\n