A little under 60 percent of the NBA season has passed, and the Denver Nuggets (34-14) find themselves in first place in the Western Conference with a 2.5 game lead after playing at an absolutely scorching pace since the second week of December. They’re 20-4 since December eighth with two of those four losses coming on the second night of back-to-backs on the road. Meanwhile, around the rest of the conference, it has been tough to predict who will be moving up and down on a weekly basis.
After winning 11 straight games, the Memphis Grizzlies (31-16) have lost three straight to fall behind the Nuggets by 2.