NBA Week 12 Power Rankings: Questions for each team after the break

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8. team. 73. . 22-16. Previous: 5th. Denver Nuggets

Last Week: Beat Memphis Grizzlies 103-102, Lost to Dallas Mavericks 116-103

This Week: 3/15 vs. Indiana Pacers, 3/17 vs. Charlotte Hornets, 3/19 vs. Chicago Bulls

Question: Can Nikola Jokic make a push back into the MVP race?

Some may ask if Nikola Jokic has ever left the discussion. The Denver Nuggets big man has been stellar this season but has almost gone unnoticed due to the outstanding play of Joel Embiid and the narrative dominance of LeBron James. Struggling out of the gate by comparison as a team has put Jokic behind the rest for the award.

The injury to Joel Embiid Saturday night (more on that later) has opened the door again. The numbers for Jokic are impressive: 27.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. He has improved from distance, hitting 41.1 percent of his 3.7 attempts per game and continues to thrive overall with a 60.7 effective field goal percentage. That ranks 15th in the league among players who play at least 25 minutes per game and have appeared in at least 25 games.

As a team, the Nuggets have won seven of their last 10 games and appear to be slowly getting back to form. Should they continue to climb the standings it will be tough to argue against Jokic as the MVP of the league. With the potential struggles in the coming weeks for the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers that might just be easier.