With all due respect to Peyton Manning, the 36-year-old quarterback would’ve had a better chance to win a championship if he had signed with the Nuggets.

On a mission from the basketball gods, the Nuggets are bent on busting the myth that the NBA title can only be won in a big city of bright lights and single-name stars.

The Nuggets aren’t buying the hype. “If I really didn’t think we could win a championship before the season began, I don’t know why we’d be here, working hard to get better,” Lawson insisted.

While the Broncos have no Plan B and barely a clue on D, Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri has reconstructed an up-and-coming contender from the rubble of the Carmelo Anthony trade.

At a time when Jim Tracy told the Rockies being manager was a job not worth keeping, the biggest worry for Nuggets coach George Karl is his players might be overconfident. “Coming from the underdog role is easier, because there aren’t as many distractions,” Karl said.

“We have an organization that has a nucleus we think is going to challenge the top echelon of teams,” Karl said.

Throughout the league, Karl added, “There are as many, or more, good small-market teams than there are big-market teams.”

via Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post