The Denver Nuggets clearly don’t miss Carmelo Anthony. Last night’s 115-112 win over the league-best San Antonio Spurs marked the 11th win since the Melo trade (Associated Press), leading fans and pundits to ponder whether a team necessarily needs a big-name superstar to win. “They’re a little more unpredictable [since the trade],” the Spurs’ Manu Ginobili says of the Nuggets. “They have a bunch of players that can score and they can go to down the stretch.” Indeed. Six Nuggets finished last night’s game in double digits, led by Al Harrington’s 27 points (NBA.com).

Writers at the Washington Times and ESPN are agreeing that Denver is on the better end of the trade deal and are more capable than the New York Knicks of making a deep run in the playoffs. The Nuggets have, however, racked up some losses to the league’s best—most recently, a 103-98 loss to the Miami Heat—but it’s clear various players are capable of taking the lead late in the game, a significant departure from the Melo days.