The Nuggets had ended their final extended road trip of the season with a win over Washington on Wednesday, and most of the locker room had already cleared out.

The stragglers, on this night, included Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun, all seated in a row at their stalls and taking their time to shower and get dressed. The delay was, in part, due to what most NBA players do at this time of the year: check their phones for the scores and the stand- ings.

What followed was a semi-serious discussion of Denver’s potential first-round opponents, which won’t be determined for a few more weeks. With a stable lead on Memphis for the No. 1 seed heading into Saturday’s matchup against Milwaukee, who could fault Denver’s players for considering their postseason path?

At this point, at least six (if not seven) teams have a route to a first-round date in Denver. The Timberwolves, Lakers, Pelicans, Thunder, Mavs and Jazz could all realistically find themselves in the No. 8 seed at the conclusion of the play-in tournament. It’s fair to lump defending-champion Golden State in that group as well, since they began Saturday just 11/2 games ahead of Minnesota at No. 6.

While the T-Wolves would be fun for the obvious through-line between the two franchises, and Dallas would pit two close friends and generational superstars against one another, the Nuggets should want no part of the Lakers in the first round. Over its last 15 games, Los Angeles had the West’s third-best record at 10-5, and just two of those games came with a healthy LeBron James. In his absence due to a right foot injury, Anthony Davis has raised his game in conjunction with the Lakers’ role players. James is, reportedly, trending toward a return.

If the Nuggets are to reach their first-ever NBA Finals, they’re inevitably going to run into friction. Others will tell you that if a first-round dalliance with the Lakers is considered a threat, maybe Denver doesn’t have any business entertaining a deep run anyway.

But a cursory look at the West suggests a theme that’s been broadcast all season: it’s wide open.

Phoenix has been below .500 (8-9) since trading a bounty for Kevin Durant, who came back from injury only to suffer another freak injury when he slipped during warmups nearly three weeks ago. Whatever form he takes when he does return, what does that mean for their chemistry with barely two weeks left in the regular season? That’s to say nothing of the depth they sent to Brooklyn in budding star Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.

The Clippers, currently clinging to the No. 4 seed, can look like world-beaters on one night and an inconsistent, injury-plagued outfit the next. Since the All-Star break, their defense ranks 18th and their offense ranks 14th in the league. Paul George won’t be back for the regular season after suffering a recent knee injury, and he’ll only be reassessed in several weeks. That doesn’t bode well for a team many picked to win the Finals in the preseason.