There are a few bangers on this week’s schedule. The defending champions scale the mountain to duel with Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, while the teams with the best record in each conference face off Wednesday night. Here’s your viewer’s guide to the week ahead in professional basketball.

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MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic is sitting out of the Nuggets' matchup against the Celtics. The 29-year-old has been on a tear as of late, securing Western Conference Player of the Month honors after averaging 32.

Their spirit was willing but the depleted Nuggets couldn’t quite hang with the defending NBA champions Celtics Tuesday night at Ball Arena. Playing without center Nikola Jokic, who was scratched before the game with a non-COVID illness,

The 2024-25 Denver Nuggets are, statistically speaking, the worst NBA team in over a decade when their three-time NBA MVP is not on the floor. But even without superstar Nikola Jokic, who was a late scratch due to illness,