The Nuggets, in the words of the Nugg Doctor, have a lot to look forward to. Nene is getting ready to return, Chucky Atkins is coming back, and with the return of these two players (along with Steven Hunter) the Nuggets will have a healthy squad once again. With Nene’s return, the Nuggets have a dominant scoring big man that will allow Camby and Kenyon Martin to play more like they’re accustomed — off the ball, flying all over the court for blocks and rebounds. With Atkins return, the Nuggets will have a reliable shooter that will punish teams for loading up on A.I. and Melo’.

But will it be enough?

First of all, the return of Nene will be significant. Nene can split center and power forward duties with Camby and K-Mart, improving the Nuggets rebounding and helping to seal off the lane. With Nene in the game, Camby and K-Mart can focus on what they do best — hustle plays that take advantage of their size and speed. Finally, Nene’s return will improve the Nuggets half-court offense. Hopefully he will be in good shape and able to stay healthy, as his presence is fundamentally important to the team.

But Nene is only half the picture. I’ve said before that the Nuggets defense is awful. While there are a lot of things the Nuggets do well defensively, the fact is they’ve lost a few games now because of poor and/or lazy perimeter defense. A.I. isn’t really a great defender (he works the passing lanes well, but he takes risks that often expose easy baskets), and while Melo has shown glimmers of becoming an excellent defender, his efforts are spotty at best.

I can hear some Nuggets fans now saying “What about Carter? Or Diawara? They’re both great perimeter defenders.” While that’s true, neither one of those players is much of a long-range shooter. The problem with playing Carter or Diawara is that defenses cheat off of them to cover A.I. and/or Melo, gambling that Carter or Diawara will miss the open shots.

There’s one more issue the Nuggets have — A.I. plays best (and the offense flows best) when he’s not the primary ball-handler. So ideally the Nuggets would have a PG on the floor with Iverson at all times.

In other words, the Nuggets need a good perimeter defender that can shoot and play point guard.

This summer, when Denver looked at the free agent market, the player that best fit the bill was Chucky Atkins. His ability to lead a team and shoot from long range are more than good enough to satisfy those requirements. He was also suprisingly inexpensive.

But what about perimeter defense? Will Atkins be able to guard someone like Tony Parker or Deron Williams? What about a lower-level point guard like Jordan Farmar? At 5′ 11″, Atkins is vulnerable in the post to taller guards. Will opposing teams simply post Atkins up? No matter what, he’ll need to play above -average defense if the Nuggets hope to improve defensively (Melo and A.I. aren’t going to do it).

I anticipate George Karl will find a way to balance offense and defense when Atkins returns, splitting PG duties between Carter and Atkins in an attempt to balance long range shooting with defense. Time will only tell if this will work out, but one thing is for sure. Chucky Atkins has to play excellent defense if the Nuggets are going to become a dominant team. Nonetheless, Atkins should help the Nuggets shooting, opening up the floor and creating more scoring opportunities. At worst, Atkins return will make the Nuggets a more balanced team.