PLAYOFF PUSH UNDERWAY

820 NBA GAMES DOWN, 410 TO GO

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There's no NBA player who is a bigger fan of harness racing than Denver's. He owns horses, goes to tracks whenever he can and even accepted one of his MVP awards while riding around at his farm in Serbia.

He knows the stretch run often decides races.

And the same holds true in the NBA, which is entering its stretch run.

The All-Star break is over, games resume on Thursday and the defending champion Nuggets - along with a slew of other contenders - are hoping that this is the time when they can start hitting their best stride. Denver is coming out of the break in fourth place in the Western Conference, three games back of No. 1 Minnesota.

"We don't try to listen to what people say," Jokic said. "We know what we are capable of. And it's working for us. So, I don't know what people are saying, that we are not good. I don't say that we are the best, but we are not bad."

They were the best last season. This season, the best won't be crowned until June, of course. The next couple of months are all about jostling for playoff position - or in some cases, fighting for playoff spots.