Voshon Lenard hopes to play in Denver next season, while maintaining hope he'll be able to return this season as well.

Lenard has been out of the line-up since tearing his left Achilles tendon against the Los Angeles Lakers in the season opener Nov. 2.

He has a team option for $3.52 million next season, and the Nuggets would have to pay Lenard $250,000 if he is waived by July 14. Monday, Lenard said he hopes general manager Kiki Vandeweghe takes the option for next season.

"(Vandeweghe) knows what I can do," said Lenard, who averaged 14.2 points and had a league-best 106 3-pointers last season. "He knows that the foot's good. I just don't want to come back and mess the nucleus up right now while we're playing well. ...

"I'm glad to see we are doing well. It's tough to sit out and be out all year. But it feels good to see the guys competing."

The Phoenix Suns, a team considered by many to lack any kind of depth, were forced to take on the NBA?s hottest team minus one Amare Stoudemire.  That is 26 points per game out with an ankle injury, nearly 25 percent of the Suns scoring sitting helpless in street clothes, forced to watch his Suns take on a Denver Nuggets team that is 21-5 under new coach George Karl.  

So how did it all end?  

The Suns held on to beat the Nuggets 123-114 behind the 30 points and 14 rebounds of super-athlete Shawn Marion.  The seldom used Steven Hunter stepped in for Stoudemire to score 14 points on 6-7 shooting, most of his buckets coming off of vintage Steve Nash dimes (Mr. Nash finished with 23 points and 12 assists).

After a very disappointing first few months, including two coaching changes, the Denver Nuggets have climbed their way into the Top-5 of RealGM.com's Team Rankings.  They have won six in a row and are 21-5 since George Karl was named head coach.

On Monday they will travel to Phoenix to face the Suns, who are number two in the rankings, right behind the Miami Heat, who maintained the number one post, even though they stumbled in Charlotte on Saturday.

Rounding out the Top-5 are the Spurs and Sonics.

With the Nuggets 113-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, they improved to a 21-5 record since George Karl became head coach.

Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points for Denver.

``We're better, a lot better,'' said Nuggets point guard Andre Miller, who had 18 points and 10 assists.

``We're not improving as fast as we did the first two weeks when I got here,'' said Denver coach George Karl, 17-25 when he replaced Michael Cooper as coach. ``But we are still making improvements each game.''

``I don't have to take or make shots like I had to last year when I had to carry this team on my back,'' Anthony said. ``This year I have help from Earl and others and I can take what the defense gives me.''

DerMarr Johnson, whose NBA career nearly ended in a car accident in 2002, is making the most of his one-year contract with the Nuggets and would like to remain with the  club when he becomes a free agent in the summer.

"Hopefully I've found a home," Johnson said Thursday before the Nuggets' victory against the Los Angeles Lakers. "I'm comfortable here. I like Denver. I love the team, love my teammates."

Johnson is averaging 6.8 points in 16.9 minutes this season.

Johnson started for the 13th time in 14 games. Denver has won all 13 times.

"Starting the game is easier," Johnson said. "I just want to play, though."

The Lakers are 5 ? games behind Denver with 14 to play. They?ve lost 7 in a row, their longest streak in 11 years, which was also the last time they missed the playoffs.

To put things in perspective: even if the Lakers ignite and win 12 of those final 14, the Nuggets would have to finish 6-9 in their final 15. Given that Denver has won 13 of 14, a collapse seems as unlikely as a Lakers surge. While the Nuggets improved to 20-5 under coach George Karl, the Lakers fell to 10-17 under interim coach Frank Hamblen.

Hamblen seemed particularly upset over the Lakers? defensive breakdowns, which led to
63 second-half points, by a short-handed Denver team missing Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin. The Lakers, though they were without Lamar Odom, were with Devean George for the first time all season. And they had Kobe, who scored 14 points in the first half but went 1-4 in the second.

But any hopes of staying with the high-flying Nuggets evaporated in the third quarter, when Denver pushed a 5-point halftime lead to 13. Early in the quarter, Caron Butler stole the ball and went the length of the court for a lay-up that missed. No Laker bothered to run the floor with Butler, and the Nuggets came right back and scored. On the bench, Hamblen looked apoplectic, and later accused the Lakers of quitting.

Mark Pope was placed on the injured list on 3/20 due to a strained left hamstring.  

Pope, who was previously on 10-day contracts with the Nuggets, was offered an extension thru the rest of the season last month.

The Denver Nuggets have activated F Nen? from the injured list, team General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe announced today.  

The Nuggets have also placed F/C Mark Pope on the injured list due to a strained left hamstring.

Nen? has missed the last 13 games after suffering a sprained left knee against New Jersey on 2/13.  He has appeared in 37 games this season, averaging 9.6 ppg and 5.9 rpg.

Pope has appeared in nine games, averaging 0.4 ppg and 0.9 rpg.

Marcus Camby had one of his best performances of the season on Friday, posting a 20-point, 17-rebound night in Denver's 115-96 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

``The only thing I'll say is, he's a lot better than I ever thought he was,'' said George Karl. ``If you look at the kid, he's playing at a top-10, top-15 level in all of basketball right now.''

The Nuggets won for the 10th time in 11 games and took a 2 1/2-game lead over the Lakers and Timberwolves in the race for the eighth playoff spot in the West. They're only 3 1/2 games behind seventh-place Memphis.

``We've got the eighth spot, now we'll try to go out and get the seventh,'' Anthony said. ``All we've got to do is keep winning games and we'll see what happens.''

Nuggets center Nene said he expects to return to the court before the month ends.

He has been on the injured list since Feb. 13 with a sprained left knee. Trainer Jim Gillen said Nene took part in 5-on-5 drills at Tuesday's practice with no problems. Nene, who ran sprints Wednesday, said he still struggles moving side to side.

"I can't exactly say what day," Nene said about his return. "Soon. Very soon."