Nuggets' rise all about 'Melo -- and more

SEATTLE -- On this particular evening on the long and winding NBA trail, it took about a minute to figure out which player was that precocious Denver Nuggets teen -- Carmelo Anthony.

Within 30 seconds of tipoff, he stole the ball from helpless Seattle center Jerome James, pushed it up the floor and then dished with a brilliant left-handed wraparound pass to the equally exciting 22-year-old Brazilian power forward Nene for the slam.

Andre Miller has found his game again in Denver and it's no coincidence the Nuggets are taking off.(AP)

A half-minute later, Andre Miller stole another pass and found Anthony racing up the wing, and he finished with another resounding slam.

"This," Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said, "is a league of talent."

Indeed, which is how the unlikely sight of the Nuggets atop the Midwest Division with a 16-9 record has come to pass nearly one-third of the way through the season. With 57 games left, they have two more road victories and just one less victory than they had all of last season.

Yes, all eyes are on the affable Anthony, the supremely gifted 19-year-old playing NBA basketball just months after being named most outstanding player for NCAA champion Syracuse. After all, he has the ridiculous -- nearly impossible -- chance to become the first NBA player ever to win a state high school title an NCAA title and NBA title in consecutive years.

Under the radar screen soars the massively built 6-11 Nene. An oversized and more athletic version of Karl Malone, he is improving rapidly while he adjusts to a brand new language, culture and just one name (his last name was Hilario). Averaging 12.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals, he is teasing with his potential at the moment and sometimes breathtaking.

"I think he gets lost a bit in all that's going on," Bzdelik said. "He was one of the top five young players in the league last year, and he's gotten better."

Both benefit from the superb interior play of a (let's keep our fingers crossed) healthy Marcus Camby, now fifth in the league in blocks and offensive rebounds in the middle. The trio is a rapidly improving and sometimes imposing front line.

And it's all tied together with the rebirth of free-agent signee Miller, a former league assist champ who proved you can't go home again in a lost season for the Los Angeles Clippers a year ago. He was one assist shy of a triple-double Wednesday. If Camby is the defensive anchor, certainly Miller is the offensive leader, with veteran Voshon Lenard another solid defender and a streaky 3-point shooter.

"Last year, we established a discipline and an effort," Bzdelik said. "We had an identity. The players weren't quite where they needed to be. Now, I can just say there's been an injection of talent in addition to the guys just getting better.

"We're off to a nice start, but that's all it is."

Well, not quite. First of all, they've become cool again in Denver after an absence of nearly a decade from when Dikembe (Mt.) Mutombo would wag his nasty finger as the daunting Pike's Peak of the NBA. That's huge considering how empty the new Pepsi Center had been the past couple of seasons.

Most of it begins and ends with Anthony.

As he enters the locker room with a slight boogie while singing along to whatever his headphones are booming, he provides the same refreshing aura that Magic Johnson did as a rookie. All smiles and just happy to be there, Anthony already is averaging 18.5 points and 6.6 rebounds. Wednesday night in Seattle, his drive to the glass with six seconds left provided the winning margin just before Camby's block clinched it.

"The block wasn't that big a deal, Carmelo's basket was," said Camby, dealt with the rights to Nene from New York for Antonio McDyess and the rights to Frankie Williams.

"Carmelo is very mature for a guy who's only 19. He's got big-game experience, he's got confidence in his game and he's a guy that can create his own shot. Sometimes, when you watch him play, you forget he's just a teenager."

The wide eyes and ready smile remind you quickly. He groans from sleepiness, having blown out the tough New Orleans Hornets the night before at home a time zone away in the Mile High City. But for someone with so much fame and acceptance among the elite at such a young age, he is amazingly grounded.

A great relationship with his coach and bonding with his teammates are the only priority -- which he learned while being raised by his mother in Baltimore, coached at nationally acclaimed Oak Hill Academy (Va.) by Steve Smith and then at Syracuse by Jim Boeheim.

The toughest part of the transition has been the losses, followed by all the games and the traveling. And then there are the extended periods on the bench that total more than a quarter per game.

But realistically, his floor time averages out to all of about 30 seconds less than the 36-plus minutes he averaged in college. Besides, the previously woebegone Nuggets have lost only nine games so far. That just happens to be almost twice as many as he'd ever lost in his life, but half as many as his buddy, LeBron James, who shares the rookie marquee from Cleveland.

Carmelo Anthony has been an instant hit, as evidenced by his November rookie of the month trophy.(AP)

"I try not to talk to him about losing because I know it's tough," Anthony said. "We lost nine games, they were a tough nine games to lose. I never dealt with losing, but now we're winning and winning is fun. There's nothing better than winning."

Which may just be his version of the Johnson's catch phrase: "It's winnin' time."

It's so early in the season, so much can happen to this young team. Nobody has dared pinching Bzdelik yet, but they might soon.

A seven-year assistant for Pat Riley at Miami in various forms, he came to Denver anonymously last season and spread the Riley mindset of playing harder than the other guys. Meanwhile, general manager Kiki Vandeweghe plotted to complete his second year of reconstructing the team.

The bench is led by diminutive star Earl Boykins, demonstrative Jon Barry, erratic but talented young Rodney White and shot-blocker Chris Andersen. It's not a team that frightens anybody, and with the injury prone Camby (he has never played more than 28 games in a row during his nine-year career), it's a fragile existence.

And yet, Anthony is the wild card Bzdelik is nurturing with tender loving nudges. He is of that special breed apart that can take control of the floor at any time during the course of a game.

"The first conversation I had with him prior to the draft -- when we thought there was a chance we could get him -- I said, 'Look, you are going to be the target of bringing out the very best in your opponent. Veteran players are going to make a statement every time you step on the court. You can't even imaging how hard you are going to have to work just to get the basketball.'

"It's been a pleasant surprise. He's so receptive to learning and improving his game. He's all about the right things. He asks questions. He's very coachable, very concerned about developing his total game. He's very concerned about being a good teammate."

At the moment, nobody knows just how good that teammate is. All we know for sure is he's good. Very good. But with more than two-thirds of the season left, it remains to be seen if all of this can stay on track.

"We have made a conscious decision not to compromise effort," Bzdelik said. "The first thing on the board before the game is 'Make hustle plays.' There's always some kind of statement to that effect every game. Your effort has to be great than your opponent to start with. Then you have to play well. Then if you do that, you have a chance to win."

From ground level, it plays well. From the air, it's all 'Melo ... high tops skying, dreadlocks flying and opponents crying ... it's a sight to behold.

So far.