With just seven games remaining in the regular season, the Denver Nuggets are perhaps as desperate for a win as they have been since the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers a little less than a year ago.
The Nuggets have lost five of their last six games and are coming off of a brutal five game road trip. They fell from second place in the Western Conference to fifth place and watched their Northwest Division lead fall into the hands of the Utah Jazz, who lead the Nuggets by 1.5 games for the division lead.
With just seven games left in the regular season, every game will be crucial to the Nuggets but perhaps none more than tonight’s game against the Portland Trailblazers. The Nuggets will hope to get things turned around in the Pepsi Center where the Nuggets have won 12 of the last 13 games against the Blazers, a streak dating back to 2007. 
The Blazers are also fighting for playoff positioning as they are currently the seventh seed in the conference, just a half game up on the San Antonio Spurs for the eighth and final seed. They obviously are looking to gain separation to prevent a first round playoff meeting with the conference leading Lakers.
The Nuggets will have to face the Lakers one more time this season April 8 at the Pepsi Center. It will be the second game of a tough back to back just a day after playing a road game against the playoff bound Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Nuggets face even more tests to end the season as they play the Spurs and the currently fourth seeded Phoenix Suns before the end of the regular season on April 13, making each win a challenge.
Tonight’s game will go a long way in establishing what kind of momentum the Nuggets will finish with in these last seven games. Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups need to find their shot and find a way to lead the team when it seems like nothing is going their way.
The Nuggets have clearly missed Kenyon Martin’s presence the last 14 games and it is concerning to hear about his progress, or lack there of.
Nene and Chris Andersen need to elevate their play if the Nuggets are going to be able to climb back into the division lead and a top three seed heading into the playoffs.
Johan Petro has strugged with foul trouble recently and it will be necessary for him to play a more disciplined game to take the pressure off of Andersen and Nene. No one can replace Martin’s defensive intensity and acting head coach Adrian Dantley has to find a way to utilize Andersen and Nene in the proper units on the floor to maximize the front courts potential.
Nuggets fans can tune in to TNT tonight at 8:30 pm MDT to see if the Nuggets can bounce back. We can all sit around hoping for Martin and coach George Karl to come back, but the only thing that is going to help the Nuggets get some kind of home court advantage in the playoffs back is if the entire team plays with a playoff mentality.
