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Isn't it about time that the Nuggets get some credit for becoming a dominant team? ESPN and TNT can't seem to find their games. Nobody really writes about them. No one had them going far in this year's playoffs. All they do is win.

But perhaps it is time for the 'sports writers' to catch a Nuggets game or two. That way they can get the Nuggets onto the radar screen now, before the West finals.

The Nuggets have risen to second in the West, behind only the Lakers. I will grant that the Lakers are the team to beat. Who besides the Nuggets might do it?

Since trading Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups the Nuggets are winning at a .720 clip. Of their 17 losses, three occurred in the four games before Billups arrived from Detroit. Four occurred during the ten games Carmelo Anthony missed with a broken hand. The Nuggets win at a .750 rate in games with both Carmelo and Chauncey.

The East has three teams; Boston, Orland and Cleveland, with better records. However, they all play in the East, where there are basically three teams.

Denver slugs it out in the West, where there are nine viable teams. Right now, the Nuggets have the second best record in the West, percentage points above San Antonio. Denver has not separated from the pack in the West, yet. They do play an unselfish, complete game that gives them the opportunity to create that separation over the next few weeks.

Even if the Nuggets don't knock off the Lakers, they are playing better basketball than most teams put on the floor. That's worth watching. And broadcasting. Dallas v. Houston was last year's game.