Monday Night Looms Large In Playoff Seeding For West, Denver Nuggets

Denver comes into Monday night's home game against the New Jersey Nets on an upswing. After losing eight of 11, the Nuggets have rebounded by winning two straight against Oklahoma City and Los Angeles(Clippers).

Denver not only won, they won in a convincing fashion, by 13 both nights.

Against the Thunder, Denver came out on fire, up by 12 after the first quarter and growing their lead to 19 in the first half. Similarly, against the Clippers Denver started with a seven point lead after one, but let it drop to five at halftime. Though, the Nuggets played strong out of the half and won the game.

Both games were needed, especially against sub-.500 opponents at home.

Tonight, though, is likely more important than either of those wins.

Denver plays New Jersey at home, in the teams first meeting since the Nets blew the Nuggets out by 44 points in January.

The Nuggets, who had slipped to seventh in the West, have risen to the fourth spot with their last two wins. They need to keep winning to stay on top of key division opponents Portland and Utah.

Currently, Denver is tied with Portland, but has the season-series tiebreaker, both half a game above New Orleans, and a game ahead of Utah. All teams played tonight, besides the Jazz, who lost Sunday.

Portland won, and New Orleans lost their games respectively. The Blazers winning makes this even win more important for the Nuggets, who will only have 14 games remaining after tonight.

Hopefully, Denver will come out sore from their last game against New Jersey, play hard, and get a must-win game under their belts.