The Los Angeles Lakers sit No. 6 in the West, just a game and a half back from the Nuggets, who are 3-4 since their return from the All-Star break. Denver has a tough remaining schedule for the rest of the season, as in the toughest in the league (literally), which includes two matchups against LA in the next two weeks. You should get where I'm going with this.
The Nuggets have been in a sort of freefall for the past few weeks, even after Nikola Jokiu0107 returned from a 16-game absence with a hyperextended knee.