The Denver Nuggets travel to The Big Apple to face the Brooklyn Nets at Barclay's Center on Tuesday.

The Nuggets (5-5) got off to a really disappointing start to the season but entering this matchup with two-straight wins is certainly a promising sign. What's also nice is that both of those games were won in dominating fashion, holding the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks to a combined 192 points. That turned one of the worst defenses in the NBA into a league-average one and that's where this team really surprised people last season. The one guy who's not surprising anyone is Nikola Jokic, who's definitely earned some MVP consideration with his triple-double ways. He's now averaging 24.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game and continues to dominate whoever he faces.

The Nets (5-6) had some of the highest expectations of any team coming into the year and they've been fairly disappointing up to this point. What's really frustrating is that they can't seem to get Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant on the floor together. KD missed games last week because of COVID protocol and Irving is now missing games for personal reasons. Having those two superstars is the reason why this club was so highly touted and they simply won't be great until both guys are fully healthy and playing every night. What makes the poor start even more bizarre is the fact that Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen continue to have career years. That's a heck of a foursome and one has to believe a lengthy winning streak is on the horizon once these four guys get on the floor together. That won't happen here though, with Kyrie sitting yet again.

These teams split their two-game season series last year, with the home team winning both games. Prior to that, the Nets won eight of their previous 11 games over the Nuggets.