Kenneth Faried nears a return for the Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets have lost five straight games and are at risk of falling below the .500 mark as they prepare to take the floor against the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday night. They might receive good news soon, though, as Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post reports that Faried should be nearing a return to the team.

Faried actually could have played Friday night, but the team chose to play it safe and hold him out of the lineup:

Considering that they are playing it “extremely” safe, they very well might hold him out again tonight against the Grizzlies, even with it being the second night of a back-to-back and with the team in desperate need of a victory. They are also coming off a loss to the Pelicans in which they were out-rebounded 53-42, so they are obviously feeling the sting of the Manimal’s absence.

The Nuggets entered this season struggling to find an identity. Many were especially curious how JaVale McGee and Faried would fit together in the starting lineup and in more featured roles. To this point injuries have prevented us more learning anything more on that front, and so it is unclear how much it might be hurting the Nuggets to be without two of their big men.