Nuggets game day: Tim Connelly wants his team to play a certain way down the stretch

DENVER — The middle part of the Western Conference standings have gotten more jumbled than your sister’s sock drawer.

As of Tuesday morning, three games were all that separated the fifth-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder (32-25) from the team in 10th place, the Utah Jazz (29-28). The Thunder are a game ahead of the Trail Blazers, who are a half game ahead of the Nuggets and Pelicans, who are a half game ahead of the Clippers, who are a game ahead of the Jazz.

Two months of regular season remain, but with the way things are shaping up, it looks like the Nuggets need to avoid any serious stumbles if they want to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2013. So what can Denver do to keep pace down the stretch?

Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly gave his thoughts during his post-trade deadline press conference on Monday.

“I just want these guys to play a confident brand of basketball and relax,” Connelly said. “We have a very hard working team. Our coaching staff is the hardest working coaching staff in the league. So I think the preparation should allow us to play with a degree of confidence and swagger as we approach these last 20-plus games.”

Last season, the Nuggets had control of a playoff spot until a poor stretch of play at the end of March doomed them. This time around, Connelly hopes Denver plays a little more loose as the intensity ratchets up.

Paul Millsap’s return from the wrist injury he suffered in November should help. Millsap is expected to play again in early- to mid-March. The addition of veteran point guard Devin Harris should boost Denver as well.

Connelly acquired Harris in a three-team deal at Thursday’s trade deadline. Harris played well Saturday against Phoenix. He’ll suit up for the second time as a Nugget on Wednesday when his new team takes on the San Antonio Spurs (8:30 p.m., TNT) in a nationally televised game.

The Nuggets are 0-2 against the Spurs so far this season, but the odds are working in their favor in the third matchup.

San Antonio will be without its top two players. Kawhi Leonard (quad) has only appeared in nine games this season and will not play. Neither will LaMarcus Aldridge, who’s undergoing treatment on his knee and is expected to return after the All-Star break.

The Spurs also roll into Denver on the second night of a back-to-back. They fell to the Jazz in Salt Lake City on Tuesday in a game that only made the middle portion of the West standings that much tighter.

“It’s pretty much up to us to do it,” said Harris — the player Denver traded for last week, not the starting shooting guard. “We have the resources. We have the talent to do so. Can we win enough games? We control our own destiny to make that playoff push.”

Nuggets Projected Starters

Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton, Wilson Chandler, Nikola Jokic

Spurs Projected Starters

Dejounte Murray, Danny Green, Kyle Anderson, Davis Bertans, Pau Gasol