27-year old Nene’ Hilario had a breakout season for the Nuggets as the starting center last year and he will try to improve on it this season. Nene’ played in 77 games for the Nuggets last season and he averaged 32.6 minutes, 14.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game. He has missed a lot of time in his career due to injury but he’s healthy now and showing the all-around ability that he has at both ends of the basketball court and the Nuggets need him to keep up the good work. Chris Andersen will likely be the top backup at center but he will also be playing a lot of power forward. With that in mind, 23-year old Johan Petro will likely also get a lot of playing time here. He played in 49 games for the Thunder & Nuggets last season in which he averaged 11.4 minutes, 3.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Petro has a decent little upside so he will help the Nuggets this season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: B

31-year old Kenyon Martin is still a defensive force despite his advancing age and he’s still one of the dirtiest players in the NBA. Martin played in 66 games for the Nuggets last season and he averaged 32.0 minutes, 11.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game. The Nuggets might try to lessen his workload this season in an attempt to keep him healthy. 31-year old Chris Andersen “The Bird Man” will be back to fly high at power forward and center for the Nuggets this season. He played in 71 games for the Nuggets last season and he averaged 20.6 minutes, 6.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game. Andersen is a great finisher on the fast break and he loves erasing shots near the basket. 31-year old Malik Allen will be third in line for minutes at power forward for the Nuggets this season. He played in 49 games for the Bucks last season and he averaged 11.8 minutes, 3.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B

25-year old Carmelo Anthony will be the starting small forward for the Nuggets again this season. He seemed to buy into the new “team” concept on offense last season after Chauncey Billups was brought in from the Pistons. He played in 66 games for the Nuggets last season and he averaged 34.5 minutes, 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. Look for Anthony to average closer to 25 points per game this season. 25-year old Renaldo Balkman will back up Anthony again this season. He played in 53 games for the Nuggets last season and he averaged 14.7 minutes, 5.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Balkman is a decent back up player but he would be stretched out too far if something happened to Anthony and he had to start.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: A

24-year old J.R. Smith will be the starting shooting guard for the Nuggets when he returns from his suspension to start the season. He played in 81 games for the Nuggets last season and he averaged 27.7 minutes, 15.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Smith loves to shoot the bomb and he made 39.7% from three point range so he will be a huge asset to the Nuggets’ offense especially when teams double Carmelo Anthony. 27-year old Joey Graham could get the chance to start until Smith is ready to return to action. He played in 78 games for the Raptors last season and he averaged 19.8 minutes, 7.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. If the Nuggets decide to bring Graham off the bench at the start of the season then 23-year old Arron Afflalo will start at shooting guard. He played in 74 games for the Pistons last season and he averaged 16.7 minutes, 4.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Afflalo also is a good shooter hitting 40.2% of his shots from three point range last season. 26-year old James White is likely 4th in line at the shooting guard position. He played in 4 games for the Rockets last season and he averaged 2.8 minutes, 1.8 points, 0.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

PREDICTED GRADE FOR THE SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2009-2010: C