On opposite sides of the court, but only one's feeling a positive streak

Opponent File
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets play in the Pepsi Center in Denver. Their 2004 - 2005 record was 49 - 33 (second in the Northwest Division). Here's the Denver Nuggets roster.

Local Papers:
Denver Post | Nuggets
Denver Rocky Mountain News | Nuggets
Team Pages:
CNNSI.com | Nuggets
ESPN.com | Nuggets
FoxSports | Nuggets
NBA.com | Nuggets
Sportsline.com | Nuggets

Head Coach: George Karl
2005 Draft: G Julius Hodge (#20), North Carolina State; G Jarrett Jack (#22), Georgia Tech (traded to Portland); F Linas Kleiza (#25), Missouri (acquired from Portland); F Ricky Sanchez (#35) IMG Academy (acquired from Portland); F Axel Hervelle (#52), Spain.
New Players: G Earl Watson (Free Agent).
Season Goal: Run and Gun with Anthony, Miller, KMart and co, and let Genius George Karl figure out the rest.
Record vs. Nets: 0 - 1
G14: Nets 101, Nuggets 92

Denver Nuggets (12 - 10) – Friday, December 16, 2005, 7:30PM EST – Continental Airlines Arena
Freaky Streaky
The NBA is about parity (14 of the league's 30 teams are within 3 games of .500, either plus or minus), streaks (both winning and losing, there are 9 current streaks of either 3 or more wins in a row, or 3 or more losses as I write this) and no one seems to know what to make of it. Why is the NBA so streaky?

The Nuggets come in having won four of five directly after losing three straight (including to the Nets at home back on November 28), but they've had to battle through injuries (Nene is out for the season, Kenyon Martin has missed time because of injury and now Earl Boykins has a hammy strain) to get themselves to where they are now. Carmelo Anthony is leading the Nugs' resurgence, with a 30.8 scoring average over the last five (including two wins against the Heat), and two games of 40 points or more.

The Nets are also one of those streaky teams, now having lost four straight on the home court and three straight overall. A win, in any format, would be the freakiest thing of all right now. Can the Nets stop the madness and pull off a home court win against a Nugget squad that's primed for revenge? Or will Denver unleash KMart and 'Melo on the Jersey front line and watch as they go medieval all over their asses?
- Joe

Denver Nuggets Cheat Sheet
The Story From Denver: After 253 consecutive games played, Earl Boykins sat Tuesday with a strained left hamstring. He said he had not been forced to miss a game because of injury since a concussion his senior year at Eastern Michigan in 1997-98.

"I just want to get it taken care of. I don't want it to linger on," Boykins said, adding: "It's not the end of the world. I'll sit back and watch the game. I'll try to get ready for Thursday (at Cleveland)." Miller, who has played 225 straight games, credited

Pain Game: C Nene (surgery on knee) and F Bryon Russel (surgery on knee) are out for the season. G Earl Boykins is questionable with a hamstring injury.

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