1 – Denver Nuggets 2,345
2 – Dennis Rodman/Tommy Lee sack race team 1,234
3 – Northwestern University chess team 897
4 – Softball team sponsored by Al’s Tattoo Shoppe 800
5 – Toronto Maple Leafs 456

By Patrick Olson

Why They Might Be Good: All-world forward Carmelo Anthony had one helluva off-season. “I kicked [tail] at the World Championships,” said ‘Melo with a smile. “I trained like a mo-fo, and I didn’t appear in a single DVD in which one of my boys talked about selling drugs and capping snitches.” Also, fragile big man Marcus Camby managed to make it through the summer without shredding a single tendon.

Why They Might Suck: He may be an excellent tactician, but old-school Coach George Karl has had some trouble communicating with his young troops. “They throw around these terms like GPod, b-mail, and Z-Box. And what the hell is this winternet?”

The Dude Other Than Anthony Who I Want on My Fantasy Team: Andre Miller. Look for consistently solid effort from the dependable dime dropper has been on the trading block for his entire career, and wants nothing more than a home, some job security, and a stupid fat contract.

Bottom Line: Anthony is about to make the jump from “good” to “great.”  That’s all fine and good, but volatile forward Kenyon Martin is about to make the jump from “distraction” to “Artest-like,” and forward Nene is about to make the jump from “recovering from knee surgery” to “limping for life.”  All of which means the Nuggets are about to make the jump from “44-38″ to “44-38.”