The Milwaukee Bucks travel to Colorado to face the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Friday.

The Bucks (11-8) had many fans wondering what was happening when they started with a 6-8 record, but a five-game winning streak coming into this matchup has quieted those skeptics. These are the NBA Champs, after all, and it's just a matter of time before they climb near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The recent run is all about health, with Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton returning to the lineup amid that stretch. Those two proved themselves in last year's postseason, and it's a dangerous combination with a former MVP like Giannis Antetokounmpo. Bobby Portis has actually been one of the team's best players, though, providing 28 points and 10 rebounds in the most recent win on Wednesday. That's quite the core, and it'll be fun to see what they look like when Donte DiVincenzo and Brook Lopez return in the coming weeks as well.

The Nuggets (9-9) got off to a really nice start when their roster was at full health, but once players started going down with injures, the record fell down with them. Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr have been out for a week now, and it's led to the Nuggets losing five straight fixtures. The nature of those losses is equally as disturbing, losing four of those by double-digit margins. What makes those injuries even more infuriating is the fact that Jamal Murray remains out as well. That's the three-best players on this team, and the only one expected back soon is Jokic. That's obviously the most important addition, though, carrying this team en route to an MVP Award last season.

These teams split their two-game season series last year, with the road team winning both outings. They were actually both blowouts, with the winner scoring at least 125 points in both.