The Denver Nuggets play host to the Charlotte Hornets at Ball Arena on Sunday.

The Hornets (7-22) come into this matchup amid a seven-game losing streak, possessing the worst record in the NBA. Most people had the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder or Detroit Pistons pegged as the worst team at the beginning of the season, and it's sad to see Charlotte take such a steep decline. The injuries have been the primary reason for the struggles, but reinforcements are on the way. LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward both returned from injuries this week, and it'll surely end that losing streak sooner rather than later. There's too much talent on this roster to have 22 losses through 29 games, and it'll be interesting to see if changes are on the way for this underperforming team.

The Nuggets (17-11) have been much better over the last two weeks, winning three of their last four games. With that said, they did lose to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, and it's hard to understand why they played so poorly. The defense is the thing that let them down, with the Nuggets sitting 26th in defensive efficiency. That's an inexcusable mark from a title contender, but that looks like it's going to be an issue all season. The good news is that the offense ranks second in offensive efficiency ratings, and that'll remain the case as long as Nikola Jokic continues his MVP ways. If the MVP is fully healthy, this team will always be competitive.

These teams split their two matchups last season, with the road team winning both meetings. With that said, the Nuggets have won six of their last seven games in this series.