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The Denver Nuggets are on the rise in the NBA power rankings of web pundits, with a winning record in December and a blowout of the Sacramento Kings serving as contributing factors.
The Nuggets (13-12) have yet to find a consistent winning rhythm, but they have a wide range of contributors helping out. Denver has six players contributing double digits in points-per-game, with second-year player Kenneth Faried averaging a double-double.
SB Nation NBA contributor Seth Rosenthal promoted the Nuggets three spots to 15th in his latest set of rankings:
Denver's still not quite at the point where they can count on every one to chip in on a given night -- each game is a process to figure out who of Andre Iguodala, Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, etc. is on and who is horribly off -- but they're inching toward some consistency.... Meanwhile, it was encouraging to see Denver's stable of springy big men genuinely bother the talented but comparably sedentary Grizzlies frontcourt in that impressive win over Memphis.
CBS Sports/Eye on Basketball blogger Matt Moore bumps Denver up two slots to 17th in his estimation, while NBC Sports/ProBasketballTalk writer Kurt Helin has the Nuggets climbing four ranks to 13th. ESPN's Marc Stein is even more bullish, with Denver edging up three spots to the ninth-best ranking in the league for him. But former colleague John Hollinger's rankings lead the bandwagon, as his algorithm has the Nuggets seventh in the league.