Dallas at Denver

Denver thought the run-and-gun version of Melo and AI would vault them into the NBA's elite. They fell short of even winning a single game in the playoffs last year and after a sluggish start, they decided that wasn't the answer. The Nuggets are now trying again with Billups and McDyess in lieu of Iverson. The problem is that they got worse when Marcus Camby wasn't resigned as he gave them a great rebounder, shot-blocker, and funnel for all the offensive penetration entering the lane. Billups and McDyess aren't going to fill that void. Now with the season started, Denver doesn't have any identity as to what kind of team they are. That won't help against a veteran road-savvy Mavericks team that has already won at San Antonio. This is a great time to fade Denver as they try to figure out how to put mis-fit pieces together to make a whole, which Dallas has already done. I'll take the Mavericks in this one.