The Denver Nuggets travel to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Friday.

The Nuggets (44-22) are among the hottest teams in the NBA, winning 18 of their last 22 games. That amazing stretch is hard to understand when you look at the injury report, with Denver losing Jamal Murray, Monte Morris, Will Barton, and PJ Dozier in that stretch. That's about every ball-handler on this team, and it's left Facundo Campazzo as the starting point guard. He's been awesome in this expanded role, too, playing some feisty defense while distributing the ball at ease. It's all Nikola Jokic's show, though, averaging 26.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 8.4 assists per game. That has him as the heavy favorite for MVP, and he'd be the first Nugget ever to accomplish that impressive feat.

The Jazz (48-18) still have the best record in the NBA, but they're desperately holding on to that spot, posting a 10-7 record over their last 17 games played. That still sounds like a good stretch, but it's easily the worst period this club has had all year. It's easy to understand why though, missing Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley for much of it. The good news is that both are expected back very soon, and that'd be a huge boost going into the playoffs. The Jazz now sit one game up on the Phoenix Suns for in second in the west, and if they win five of their final six games, they'll guarantee homecourt throughout the postseason.

These teams have played twice this season, splitting those two meetings. Denver has won four of their last five regular-season games over them, though, and took care of the playoff series against them last year.