The Wizard of Madison Square Garden and America's Team: Why you should like the Denver Nuggets

If three weeks ago, you said that the Nuggets would be a better basketball team after the Melo trade, you would have been laughed at.  Given Melo's request for a trade and the need to include former NBA finals MVP Chauncey Billups in the deal, this was felt to be the beginning of rebuilding period for the Nuggets.   Even Denver Nuggets General Manager Masai Ujiri in his post-trade press conference said

            "We feel we got killed in the trade because we lost a couple of pretty good players.  Obviously,   Carmelo Anthony. I feel sad for the city of Denver. I feel bad that this was done on my watch. To lose a guy like that. And also Chauncey. But I think we had to do it"

But just 19 days after the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman, and Anthony "AC" Carter to the Knicks for Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari Timofey Mozgov, multiple picks and cash: the Nuggets appear to be the better team.  A team that can focus on reloading not rebuilding.

What ESPN didn't report was that the trade also included a brain for guard J.R. Smith, some heart for their defense, and courage for their coach George Karl to actually coach and not just tiptoe around a one-way NBA superstar. 
A look at the data for both teams:

Since February 21st:
                       W-L            Opponent Winning Percentage                     
Denver             6-2                      .530            
                                                  One loss was to Portland in overtime on road on end of a back to back
New York       6-4                      .535
                                                  Two losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers (12-52) in this stretch
But how could the Nuggets get better when they lost a "Hall of Famer" in Carmelo Anthony.

Scoring defense (points per game)
                  Before                  After
Denver        105.1                  94.6

Of note, the Knicks defensive statistics have not changed since the addition of Melo (since Mike Dantoni teams never play defense to begin with).  Although Melo did play defense on Lebron when the Knicks beat the Heat on February 27th since he knew those plays would be on Sportscenter.

New York  105.8                  105.5

As a result the Nuggets have increased their points per game off of the fast break by 6 points due to their disruptive ball hawking defense.

Things could get even better.  Danilo Gallinari, widely felt to be the best Knick involved in the trade, has missed most of the games since the trade with a broken toe. 

But what does this mean in the big picture?  These Nuggets aren't going to win the NBA finals, but they weren't going to before the trade. 
Could they win a playoff series (something that they only did in 1 of Melo's 6 seasons)?
           It is a distinct possibility.  Defense becomes more important in the post-season.
Will you need to google their the members of the Nuggets roster to try and remember what college they went to because that was the last time you heard anything about any of them? 
          Definitely.  Sample conversation: Wilson Chandler did he go to Wake Forest?....(Iphones are unholstered).....Depaul, seriously.

So despite making a trade that they never wanted to make, the Nuggets might have stolen the wallet of the guy who was holding the gun to their head.  As a result, the Nuggets have become a team that is more about the process than the players.  More Hoosiers and less Miami Heat.  And in a year in which there has been more talk about "Decisions" and "Melodrama" than actual basketball, this could be a team for basketball fans to get behind.