After actually winning a road game against a team they should beat, the Nuggets are set for a huge showdown in Oakland on Thursday. GS and Denver have the same record, but Denver has the tiebreaker advantage. A win Thursday and the Nuggets take a de facto 2 game lead on the Warriors. So which Nuggets team shows up?
With one game left in the season, the Nuggets still have a chance at the 7th seed and they control their own destiny for getting into the playoffs. If the Nuggets beat the Grizzlies, they are in the playoffs. They also get in if Golden State loses either of their final two games. If Dallas loses to New Orleans and Denver wins, the Nuggets take the 7th seed because of the head to head tie breaker.
Dallas will almost certainly beat the Hornets because for the Hornets that game is a back to back road game. The Nuggets are most likely to play the Lakers in the best of 7. ROUGH ODDS 4-3 Lakers 0.2% chance (1/500) 4-2 Lakers 30% chance 4-1 Lakers 45% chance 4-0 Lakers 25% chance