Here is just my list of things that the Nuggets need to do in order to beat the Spurs.

Melo is going to have to show his good passing game against whoever is guarding him, whether it be Keith Bogans or Richard Jefferson. We can't have him go 3-11 in the first half or whatever he did, although he did pass decently. The Spurs defense is rock solid, so I want to see Melo taking the ball to the rack many times early in the game to set the tone to the refs and to his teammates, as the Spurs' use of double-teams is going to make it harder for Melo to get his jumper working.

I'm not sure who Karl is putting on Tony Parker, but I have a sense that it might be Afflalo. If we can keep Tony out of the paint (no easy task) we'll contain him decently.

Kenyon Martin is going to have to bring his A+ defensive game against Timmy D, and Nene is going to have to show Dice who really is boss (I keep forgetting that today's Dice isn't the same one in 2000 before his injuries). The refs are probably going to blow calls in Duncan's favor, especially in their home court, so KMart is going to have to play intelligent defense.

It's the bench that is the main X-factor. J.R. is going to have to outplay Manu Ginobili, and Ty Lawson is going to have to buzz over George Hill, who is averaging a surprising 11.3 ppg with 3.2 apg so far this season. The Nuggets should have drafted Dejuan Blair with the 34th pick, as he's worth more than the 2.25 million that we sold the pick for.

And I'll leave you guys with a comment on the game preview over at Pounding the Rock:

I also can’t wait to see how Blair frustrates Lips. In the Moonmen’s blowout win on Thursday, K-Mart got tossed for arguing a foul call, when they were up by 20. I’d like to see a repeat of that.

I'm sure that he wanted a repeat 20-point blowout by the Nuggets...