Rite of (Northwest) passage

That’s what the NBA schedule suggests as the Nuggets open the season against Northwest Division rival Utah Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center, followed by another division game Thursday at Portland.

Two games in October won’t make or break a season, but they could prove pivotal when playoff seedings are up for grabs in April.

"It’s a tough way to start off – two division games, back to back games," Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups said. "We’ve got to hit the ground running. Even though it’s not do or die this early in the season, they are big games."

How big? Consider this: The Nuggets and Trail Blazers finished with identical records (54-28) last spring, but Denver won the Northwest title based on a better record within the division. Overall, one game separated the No. 2 seed Nuggets from fifth-seeded Houston in the Western Conference playoff picture.

A division title won’t satisfy the Nuggets, who are determined to prove that last year’s run to the West finals wasn’t a fluke. An NBA championship is the goal, though few outside of Denver seem to consider them to be a valid contender; San Antonio, Portland and Dallas are popular picks to leap-frog the Nuggets in the standings.

"I think there’s been a quiet humility to the challenge," Karl said. "There’s been a quiet talk that people are saying that we were a flash in the pan. There’s no reason to talk about it. We’ve just got a job to do, and the job is probably winning as many, or more, games as last year and be prepared to be a Top-1, Top-2 team in basketball."

To do that, the Nuggets will first have to finish at the top of the Northwest Division, and the high-stakes game of King of the Mountain starts immediately.

"I’d probably prefer it to be a couple weeks from now, but I think (Utah and Portland) probably feel the same way," Karl said. "Both games are going to be very difficult to win, but we’ll win our share."