The Denver Nuggets are in the midst of their worst stretch of the season, going 1-4 in their past five games, with their most recent result being a 119-117 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who came back in the fourth quarter. Against four of the toughest teams they've faced on their schedule recently, the Nuggets have lost all four of them.

They now have one game left before the All-Star break, as they'll take on the Memphis Grizzlies at home on Wednesday before having over a week off. Still considered contenders to reach the NBA Finals, health and focus are exactly what this team needs to find.

Speaking to reporters after the loss to the Cavaliers, Jamal Murray spoke about the importance of the All-Star break for himself and his teammates to regroup and refocus on the goal in mind.

"Helps us just get healthy. I think we've had a lot of guys in and out of the lineup. This extra week of doing nothing or rehabbing will hopefully get guys back a little sooner than normal. So, it's just a good week of rest," Murray said.

Both Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun recently made their returns to the Denver lineup, but they are still down key players as both Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson are sidelined till likely the end of February. Even though Denver has won games without players all season, they'll need to be fully healthy at some point before the playoffs.

Looking ahead to Denver's post-All-Star schedule, there are some very tough matchups ahead for them, including road contests at Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Los Angeles, as well as home contests against Boston, New York, and Houston.

Denver's recent stretch has them a few games back of the second seed in the Western Conference, but there's still plenty of time left in the season to make up ground. Factoring in that they'll play the San Antonio Spurs three more times this season, there are plenty more chances to close the gap.

Luckily for Denver, Murray and Nikola Jokic are the only two players on the team who are participating in All-Star weekend, meaning the rest of the team has the week to rest and get back into top form before a brutal second-half stretch.

It might get rocky before Gordon and Watson are back, but when Denver has their full rotation healthy, there might not be a team in the NBA that can match up with them in terms of depth, and that's even counting the reigning NBA Champions in the Oklahoma City Thunder.