The Golden State Warriors are currently sit at 39-28, sit as the sixth-seed in the Western Conference and have transformed since returning from the All-Star Break and now have a solid chance of earning a bona-fide playoff berth over the last few weeks of the season.
Despite their recent success, the teams surrounding them in the standings, including the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, have all found their own wins over the past few weeks, making the Warriors' path upwards through the Western Conference standings significantly more difficult.
The Denver Nuggets, however, have only won four of their past eight games, and despite the consistently dominant play of star center Nikola Jokic, have begun to slip in conceding the two-seed to the upstart Houston Rockets.
In light of Jokic's recent comments, Golden State might now see a slightly easier path toward securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Jokic admits that the Nuggets have not lived up to their own standards
Following a brutal 126-123 loss to the lowly Washington Wizards on Saturday night, Jokic lamented the complacency of the Nuggets' roster and urged his teammates onward through this final stretch of the regular season.
"We cannot have that comfort zone that we're just going into the playoffs," Jokic said. "I think we're lucky that we're third in the [West] standings. We are not playing good."
Jokic, who is known for his blunt manners, has given an accurate appraisal of the Nuggets' recent play. Over their last ten games, the Nuggets have a -2.8 net rating which sits as the 10th worst in the NBA. While Jokic continues to dominate and Jamal Murray has mostly returned to form, the Nuggets have not been able to piece together consistent success to this point in the season.
This slump comes at the perfect time for the Warriors, who play the Nuggets on Monday night at Chase Center and have posted an absurd 11.4 net rating in their last 10 games, the best in the NBA during that span.
Furthermore, Jokic is questionable for the game against Golden State with a right elbow contusion and left ankle impingement, putting the Nuggets' chances of surmounting their Western Conference foes in even more doubt.
While the Warriors will also have to hurdle a number of other teams, what once seemed impossible following a severe mid-season slump is now surprisingly within the team's grasp -- a top seed and home-court advantage through the first-round of the playoffs.
A statement win against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night could make this goal all the more achievable.