The Denver Nuggets play host to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Pepsi Center on Saturday.

The Thunder (11-13) come into this matchup winning five of their last seven games, getting them one game below .500. They actually had a chance to reach that .500 threshold in their last game but took a one-point defeat at the hands of the Sacramento Kings. That shows just how much better this team is performing right now and it's about time with the talent that this roster possesses. The thing that the hot streak definitely has done is slow down the trade discussions. Everyone seemingly believes that veterans like Danilo Gallinari, Chris Paul and Steven Adams won't hang around but they're proving that this core can get it done. That pairs beautifully with a young stud like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who's leading the team in almost every usage statistic. Dennis Schroder has developed into a nice spark off the bench too and they're actually one acquisition away from being one of the most dangerous teams in the west, if they choose to go that route instead.

The Nuggets (15-8) come into this matchup losing five of their last seven games which is easily their worst stretch of the season. In fact, they were 13-3 before that poor run, losing many of those games on the road. What's even more concerning about that is the fact that each of their last four wins has come against teams below .500 while almost all of the losses have come against teams above that threshold. That says a lot about where this team is at, as they can dominate any bad team but struggle with the good ones. That has to make fans worried about the playoffs but it's hard to argue that this isn't one of the most dangerous regular season teams in the NBA.

Denver has won eight of its last nine games over Oklahoma City. Prior to that, the Thunder won 13 of their previous 15 games over the Nuggets.