Albeit most experts around the league thought the Spurs would inevitably be a championship contender in this year’s NBA campaign, the franchise from Texas struggled to live up to their role so far. Trying to get their act together, Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs will try to steal one on the road when they meet the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center on Friday at 3:30 a.m. GMT.

Continuing their upswing under the guidance of veteran point guard Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets find themselves at the top of the Western Conference, trailing the L.A. Lakers by just 4.5 games. Besides Billups, Carmello Anthony is having another terrific year and rightfully earned his spot in the All-Star game after averaging no less than 29.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. Likewise, rookie guard Ty Lawson and forward Arron Afflalo significantly helped the franchise from Colorado as they put up 9.0 and 9.5 points per game respectively.

The Spurs on the other hand did not get off to the start they were hoping for and are just sixth in the Western Conference, posting a 29-20 record. That said, the team around All-Star forward Tim Duncan could still become a tough opponent to beat down the stretch, provided they start playing up to their full potential come playoff time. Most importantly, Greg Popovich’s squad will have to perform more consistently night in and night out, especially on the road where they won just 10 out of 20. Taking said circumstances into account, the Nuggets might have a slight advantage over the Spurs on Friday night, but will most likely have to bring their A-game to defeat the team around Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Either way, the audience can expect a hard-nosed battle between two of the better teams in the Western Conference when the game gets underway in Denver.  

You can watch all games of the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.