Carmelo Anthony aside, one of the most important players for the Denver Nuggets to focus on is the recently acquired Al Harrington, a six-foot-nine-inch power forward who plays the same position as defensive leader Kenyon Martin but brings an entirely different game, writes The Denver Post [2].

While Martin, when healthy, is tenacious and excels at stifling defense, as well as the occasional bucket, Harrington is a much more natural scorer, able to hit from the post or beyond the three-point line. Martin has averaged 13.9 points per game over his career [3], compared to Harrington's 14.1 points per game [4] career average.

"With Al, we're going to have someone who is going to space the court, and defenders can't really double-team me in a pick-and-roll because of the fear of a pass-back for a three-pointer, so that's going to open up our offense a whole lot," says Chauncey Billups.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets are also impressed with the play of a guy most fans have never heard of: Gary Forbes, a six-foot-seven-inch former University of Massachusetts Amherst standout who came to the Nuggets' training camp as a free-agent invitee, which basically means that he was brought in as filler for the other players in practice, notes The Denver Post [5] in a separate article. Apparently, Forbes might see some preseason playing time as a point guard, shooting guard, or small forward, giving Billups some rest as he regains full strength after his gold-medal run [6] with Team USA in the FIBA World Championships over the summer.