The Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Colorado to face the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Monday.

The Cavaliers (1-2) are a tough team to figure out. They started the season with two ugly losses against the Charlotte Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies but followed it up with a victory over the Atlanta Hawks. That most recent win shows just how much talent this team has, but the two previous losses are a better indicator of where this team has been for the last few years. The players are there for this club to succeed, with Collin Sexton and Darius Garland holding down the backcourt and, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley dominating the frontcourt. That's a heck of a core to build around, and this club needs to show some signs of the rebuild rather than continue using it as an excuse year after year.

The Nuggets (2-0) have been one of the biggest surprises over the last two seasons, and they look well on their way to another gem of a year. They've kicked off the season with two comfortable wins, beating the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns. Those are certainly not easy teams to prevail against, and it's quite a testament to see them play so well, despite Jamal Murray (knee) still being sidelined. Nikola Jokic has been living up to his MVP ways, but guys like Aaron Gordon and Will Barton have also stepped up. That's what's really going to be critical with this team going forward because this could be a true title contender when Murray returns somewhere around January or February.

These teams played twice last season, with Denver winning each matchup by at least 17 points apiece. Ironically, these clubs have traded off season sweeps in each of the previous three years.