The Portland Trail Blazers play host to the Denver Nuggets at Moda Center on Thursday.

The Nuggets (14-10) looked to be one of the best teams in the NBA when they won 14 of their first 21 games, but they've gone on to lose three straight since then. The most recent loss was particularly distressing, getting beat by a struggling Dallas Mavericks team at home. They only led in that game for a few minutes, and it's even worse when you consider that the Mavs were playing the second half of a back-to-back set. Those are losses this team can't commit, but the talent is still there for this club to be the best in the NBA. Nikola Jokic is the two-time reigning MVP, while Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon have had bounce-back years as well. Once they get Michael Porter Jr back, we'll really know where this team truly is sitting.

The Trail Blazers (13-11) welcomed back Damian Lillard over the weekend, and it's led to a modest two-game winning streak. The winning ways are a promising sign, though, because Portland lost seven of their previous eight games before that. Most of those were narrow losses, and it's clear that having Lillard in the lineup is what changes things for this team. The superstar averages about 30 points and seven assists per game, and they really struggled without him last year. The good news is that Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant look like different players this season, and it has Portland looking like one of the biggest surprises in the NBA.

These teams played on October 24, with Portland prevailing, 135-110. With that said, Denver has won 14 of their last 19 games over Portland in this series, dating back to 2017.