Behold the wacky world of the NBA's wild Western Conference. After defeating the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night, the Denver Nuggets now have a rather comfortable 2.5 game lead on the Utah Jazz for the West's eighth seed, but after clawing their way back into the playoff picture, they bizarrely now find themselves closer to shooting up the standings then falling back.
At 28-24, the Nuggets now find themselves only 1.5 games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the West's fifth seed. There are a few more hurdles to clear, though, before Denver finds themselves that high up the ladder. As they enter play on Sunday, the Nuggets are currently tied with the Houston Rockets who, with a better conference record, hold the tiebreaker. Denver is also one full game behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the conference's sixth seed.
The Nuggets' remaining schedule has its fair share of cupcakes, but they also have seven remaining games vs. projected playoff teams, so this saga is obviously far from over.
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