Areas of Strength:
Chemistry and youth. Nuggets coach George Karl had to do his Mr. Wizard routine to bring this team together after that blockbuster trade deadline deal that saw Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups leave for New York. The new additions (Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov and Wilson Chandler) meshed with the holdovers and the Nuggets went into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league, only to get bounced in the first round by the Thunder. But they got much younger and improved their overall chemistry dramatically.

Needs Work:
The Nuggets have needs up and down the roster. Frontcourt, backcourt, bench and virtually any and everywhere else they can add bodies. They're going to be especially thin in the frontcourt if both Nene and Kenyon Martin depart via free agency. Sixth man and wild card J.R. Smith is also in the free agent pool.

Two Stats That Matter:
14.7 -- Gallinari was the Nuggets' scoring leader after the trade and enters this season as the most likely candidate to serve as the No. 1 offensive option for Karl's team.

24.1 -- The Nuggets assists average jumped from 21.4 after that blockbuster trade that sent Anthony and Billups to New York.

The Way To Go:
The Nuggets are in the market for bodies -- big bodies -- depending who stays and leaves via free agency. With the 22nd pick, they can dig in and take the best big available or hope that someone projected to go much higher falls in their lap (someone always falls). But if both Nene and Martin go elsewhere, the frontcourt depth will need replenishing.

2010-11 Team Stats:
Offensive: 109.5 (1st)
Defensive: 104.8 (16th)

Under Contract:
G: Raymond Felton
G: Ty Lawson
F: Al Harrington
F: Danilo Gallinari
C: Timofey Mozgov
C: Kosta Koufos
C: Chris Andersen

Free Agents:
G: Aaron Afflalo (Restricted)
G: Gary Forbes (Restricted)
G: J.R. Smith (Unrestricted)
F: Kenyon Martin (Unrestricted)
F: Wilson Chandler (Restricted)
F: Melvin Ely (Unrestricted)
C: Nene (ETO)

-- Sekou Smith