The Denver Nuggets travel to the Beltway tonight to face the Washington Wizards and last year's first overall draft pick, John Wall.
While Wall might not be the best rookie this season - that distinction belongs to Blake Griffin - he is still putting up solid numbers for a first year player. Averaging 15.1 points and 9.2 assists per game, the first year guard out of Kentucky is showing NBA fans why Washington told Commissioner David Stern to call his name first.
Wall does have holes in is game, as evident by his 40 percent shooting percentage from the field, 30.3 percent from behind the arc and 3.9 turnover average per game. But given the way he has played this season, those numbers might increase over time.
The game is the first of five on the road for Denver, who will travel through the Rust Belt and East Coast, before returning home on Feb. 2. Though it is a long stretch away from the Pepsi Center, teams the Nuggets will face - Wizards, Pistons, Cavaliers, 76ers and Nets - are a combined 65-149 (30.3 win percentage), so a clean sweep isn't out of the question.
For Nuggets fans hoping to catch Carmelo Anthony wearing home white, this next week will be a long one. Though trade rumors seemed to have died down a bit, Nuggets phone lines are open and Melo can be shipped any day. With less than a month until the Feb. 24 trade deadline, Nuggets brass understands that if they don't trade him soon, then Denver might not receive anything in return if he signs as a free agent over the summer someplace else, ahem New York.
Tonight's game tips at 5:00 p.m. MT and can be seen on Altitude.