Who would have ever thought that the phrase “good defense” would be associated with the Denver Nuggets? I certainly didn't.

Shoddy defense has plagued the Nuggets over the past few years. Despite having one of the most potent offenses in the Association with the high-scoring tandem of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, Denver has failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs the past two seasons. Watching the Nuggets play was frustrating; they clearly had so much talent and did not have much trouble scoring the basketball, but they were incredibly undisciplined on the defensive end. Some people tried to make the argument that Denver’s defense was not so bad by saying that their high-tempo style caused opponents to score a lot of points. While this was partly true, it did not explain countless wide-open layups and jump shots given up. And when playoff time came and the pace slowed down, the Spurs and Lakers (Denver’s last two playoff opponents) had no trouble racking up the points against the Nuggets.

Fast forward to November 3, 2008, a mere three games into Denver’s season. The Nuggets traded high-scoring guard Allen Iverson to Detroit for the tough-as-nails point guard Chauncey Billups. Why would any team want to trade a no doubt Hall of Famer for a solid, but not great player? Not a tough question in this case: defense and leadership, two aspects of the game the Nuggets clearly needed. While I am the biggest Allen Iverson fan out there, The Answer was simply…well, not the answer in Denver (original, eh?). The Nuggets played most of the time with no true point guard to lead the team. Welcome aboard, Chauncey Billups!

The differences in the Nuggets after the blockbuster deal are substantial. This really does not even resemble the same team as before the trade. Chauncey sets the tone for the new-look Nuggets, working his magic in the half-court set and providing lock-down defense on the opposing team’s tempo-setter.

Head coach George Karl certainly appreciates Billups’ style of play as well. When asked about the trade in a recent interview on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, Karl said, “My assistant coaches told me if I don’t stop complimenting Chauncey in the newspapers, they’re going to think I’m having a romantic affair with him.”

Easy there, George.

But the point is well-taken; everyone is happier in Denver. The Nuggets are 12-4 (including a win at Boston) since the arrival of Billups, and they are now playing the kind of defense that is needed to succeed in postseason play. With this being said, I really like Denver’s chances of advancing deep in the postseason this year. With Chauncey holding it down at the point, Carmelo doing his thing by scoring in bunches, and the emergence of Nene in the low post, the Nuggets seem to have a very balanced and dangerous team. Players like Dahntay Jones and Renaldo Balkman bring some of the same intangibles as Chauncey does, and the electrifying J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza pack a strong scoring punch off the bench.

As people like to say, defense wins championships. Can the defensive makeover lead the Nuggets to an NBA title? They are not there quite yet, but they are certainly getting closer.