The question that's going to be answered is whether the melding of Iverson and Anthony has come too late to extend the Nuggets' playoff life longer than one series.
With 18 games remaining, it would take a major miracle for Denver (34-31) to catch the Utah Jazz (44-23) in the Northwest Division.
In fact, the way the Western Conference stands, it is unlikely that Nuggets will finish any higher than the sixth seed.
That means Denver is all but locked in to a first-round matchup against Dallas, Phoenix or San Antonio.
When push comes to shove, I'm not picking Denver in a series against the Mavericks, Suns or Spurs. But if Anthony and Iverson have reached a complementary balance, you have to at least think about a puncher's chance - and that's something you wouldn't have done as recently as 12 days ago when the Nuggets were coming off back-to-back losses to Golden State and Detroit.
Since then, however, Denver has beaten Sacramento, Portland, the Lakers, Phoenix and now New Jersey to match its
season-high winning streak.
If nothing else, the recent success has given Iverson back that confidence he demonstrated for a decade with the Sixers.
"No matter who we are playing against, we have to feel that we are the better team and execute what we do in practice," he said. "I feel like we can be as good as we want to be.
"With this team, you get us in a seven-game series, you've got to beat us four times. That's the way I look at it."
Let's be honest, this is the first time the Nuggets have shown any kind of hint at potentially being a contender since they acquired the electric Iverson from the Sixers on Dec. 19.
Certainly there were extenuating circumstances, the biggest being Anthony missing the first 14 games of Iverson's Denver career while serving a league suspension.
