Nuggets thinking big

The big men for the Denver Nuggets are ready to take the next step.

After proving last year they could run up and down the court and play a fast-paced style, even more is expected from a front court that is finally getting healthy.

Kenyon Martin missed all but two games for the Nuggets last year, recovering from microfracture surgery on his right knee. Martin has kept the knee wrapped and iced for the first few days of training camp, but got his first full-contact action on Friday.

"It feels good. I'm doing more each day," Martin said. "Just incorporate more basketball the further we go. I felt if I was doing the four-on-four, three-on-three stuff, then I could do five-on-five."

A healthy Martin could make all the difference in the world.

The former All-Star brings a career average of 14.8 points per game, and most importantly, NBA finals experience.

"He's going to make a big difference," Marcus Camby said. "He's just going to make added depth to our front court. He's playoff tested, battle tested. He's been to back-to-back finals, he knows what winning is all about."

Camby is certainly frustrated at four consecutive first-round playoff exits. He did his part down low last year and was awarded as the NBA's defensive player of the year. Nene chipped in too, having his best season as a pro.

Though the Nuggets lost Reggie Evans in a trade with Philadelphia, the team replaced him with Steven Hunter, who spent the last two seasons with the 76ers.

If they can all stay healthy, the Nuggets seem to have one of the deepest front courts in the league.

"This is the most talented team I've been on," Hunter said. "Especially as far as depth wise. I played on the 2005 team in Phoenix. We had the talent with Amare (Stoudemire) and Steve Nash, but we didn't have as much depth as this team has."

That depth could be increased with Linas Kleiza in the fold.

Kleiza has spent most of his time on the perimeter in his two years in the league. But the 6-foot-8, 245-pound forward from Lithuania has the frame to play in the post. And he's spent plenty of time down low, playing for his national team and in college at Missouri.

"I think especially since coming off the last year, I was able to adjust playing a lot of positions," Kleiza said. "I played a lot of (power forward) for my country a lot in the European Championships. It was a good experience getting back inside and banging again. I hadn't been able to do that since college."

If the depth holds, he might not have to do that with the Nuggets. His .376 three-point percentage was good enough for second on the team.

"We've got talent from top to bottom. Everybody," Hunter said. "This is a team that can beat anybody any given night. I feel like, personally, we're one of the top four teams in the league."