The Utah Jazz travel to Colorado to face the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Sunday.

The Jazz (28-14) find themselves in their worst stretch of the season, entering this matchup amid a four-game losing streak. What makes that even more shocking is the fact that they won 16 of their previous 19 games before that. It's easy to understand why they're losing, though, with Rudy Gobert missing all four of those games. The big man is quite simply the most impactful defensive player in the NBA, and it completely dismantled this defense to have him sitting in COVID protocols. The good news is that he's expected to return here, and it couldn't come at a better time since Utah has a date with the 2020-21 MVP in Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets (22-19) have blown numerous 20-point leads over the last three weeks, but they come into this matchup winning four of their last five games. The two most recent victories have been dominant, beating the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers by over 30 points apiece. Performances like that make it hard to understand why they've blown so many big leads because this is one of the most talented teams in the NBA. That's a scary thought for the rest of the NBA, too, with Jamal Murray (ACL) expected back sometime in the next month. Getting an All-Star caliber points guard back will only help the winning ways continue, and it makes Denver one of the most dangerous teams in the NBA for the final few months.

These teams have played twice this season, with Utah winning both matchups. That gives them four wins in their last five meeting with the Nuggets, dating back to last season.