Five days into 2011, the Denver Nuggets are riding a four-game winning streak and have a real chance to stretch it into five tonight, when they travel to Los Angeles to battle the Clippers, the third-worst team in the NBA’s Western Conference. CBS Sports notes that the Clippers lost the first two games between the two teams this season and four straight going back to last year. With Carmelo Anthony playing again, things should work out for Denver tonight. (Melo posted 33 points and 11 rebounds in his second game back after taking time off to deal with the death of his sister.) Denver Stiffs is confident the Nuggets will get it done but points out that they’ve only pulled off five road wins this season.

Assuming that many Colorado sports fans are shifting their focus to the Nuggets, The Denver Post has compiled a handy primer on the major story lines of this season, although you don’t need to follow the game closely to know about the most pressing one: the Melo trade. And as of right now, it’s looking more and more likely that he will be traded by the February 24 deadline, writes one NBA.com columnist. So enjoy watching him in his Nuggets uniform while you can. Carmelo Anthony probably won’t be in Denver very much longer.