Denver Nuggets Trying to Accomplish a Lot With a Little

The Denver Nuggets are starting to get hot right near the midway point of the 2013 NBA season. But how? They don’t have any superstars and they get literally no attention on a national scale, so how are the Nuggets quietly morphing into a Western Conference contender? The answer lies is an old-school philosophy: teamwork and good old-fashioned hustle.

Andre Iguodala simply isn’t a level 1-A superstar in the NBA. The guy is a fantastic player and that’s no knock against him, but he’s not a a LeBron James-type who can pick up a team and carry it at any given time. Teams like the 2008 Boston Celtics are able to win a title without such a player, but that’s because they have such a strong group of level 1-B players, both in quality and quantity.

The Nuggets have a star in Iguodala, but not a franchise face. Likewise, they have a closer in Danilo Gallinari, who is just simply clutch. If Ty Lawson would get out of his slump and start playing like the point guard he is, this team would have its own Big Three with one level 1-B player to go along with two level 1-C players.

So far, it’s clear the Nuggets can’t win a title with that, but they’ll get awful close. They’ve won eight of their last 10 playing George Karl-style basketball, which brings joy to the heart of this old-school basketball fan. The main reason you can’t discount the Nuggets this season is because they believe in each other, which might be enough to overcome their lack of stardom. Here’s at least one non-Nuggets fans who will be rooting for them.

Jeric Griffin is the Director of Content for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JericGriffin, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google