A pair of first-place teams who figure to be upwardly mobile in the next edition of Mark Heisler’s power rankings meet Saturday night in San Antonio when the Spurs host the Denver Nuggets.
Neither team has a top 20 scorer, a top 20 rebounder or a top 10 assist man. However, both have established themselves as one of the league’s better teams in the early going.
The Spurs are fourth in Heisler’s rankings. They have won two in a row, including Thursday’s demolition of defending champion Dallas to moved them to 5-0 at the AT&T Center, the best home record in the league.
The Nuggets are seventh in Heisler’s rankings. They have won four straight games since a New Year’s Eve loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and boast a point differential of 9.5, the best in the Western Conference.
San Antonio’s last two wins have come without leading scorer Manu Ginobili, who is out six weeks with a broken hand. That puts pressure to produce on power forward Tim Duncan, whose numbers are the lowest of his career.
Denver has a frontcourt issue as well. Center Nene returned Friday after missing two games 
but scored just six points on 2-of-7 shooting in a win over New Orleans.
Something has to give in this game. The Spurs are sixth in the NBA in defense, allowing just 91.1 points. The Nuggets are second in offense, averaging 102.4 points.