Yes, all 82 games count the same.

But that doesn’t mean all 82 feel the same.

The Denver Nuggets are about a week away from a well-earned All-Star break. But before that they will play five games in eight nights – against some stiff competition.

Sitting at 23-28, Denver is currently the eighth seed in the Western Conference, but we’ll know a lot more about their playoff chances after this stretch.

It is indeed just five games, but how the Nuggets fare over that stretch will give a strong indication whether this team is serious about a playoff run, or if it could fade in the season’s final two months.

It’s not like the Nuggets have to go 5-0. Not even close. They just can’t go 0-5 or 1-4.

If Denver goes 2-3, they’re fine. If they go 3-2, that’s a success. Four or more wins and you might as well buy postseason tickets now.

Does that not seem like high enough expectations?

Then you clearly haven’t looked at the schedule.

Wednesday kicks off a very difficult three-game stretch, playing at Atlanta, followed by games in New York on Friday and Cleveland on Saturday.

That’s followed by home games against Golden State next Monday and Minnesota on Wednesday.

Gun to your head: Who plays in the NBA finals this year?

If you didn’t say the Warriors and Cavaliers, you’re in the minority. A very small minority. The Nuggets get those two teams in a roughly 48-hour span.

Atlanta also isn’t the easiest place to play in the world (15-11 at home) and even the Knicks are playing .500 ball at MSG (13-13) despite a down season.

The last game against Minnesota at Pepsi Center appears the most winnable, but that comes after a brutal four-game stretch with vacation looming for the majority of the roster. Translation: Focus might be tough to come by.

So what does Denver have to do to escape this stretch with a decent record and still lock in to the No. 8 seed?

First, they must continue to feed Nikola Jokic.

By now, you’ve heard of the kid from Serbia. If you haven’t, you’re probably not still reading this article.

Jokic has 10 double-doubles already in the calendar year of 2017, including a triple-double in a dazzling effort against the Bucks at Pepsi Center last Friday night.

And feeding him the ball doesn’t mean he’ll shoot it every time. He’s not Carmelo Jokic.

“Passing makes two people happy. Scoring only makes one person happy,” Jokic said after the blowout win against the Mavericks Monday night.

Man, that kid is the best.

Next, Denver must find a way to take their occasional defensive prowess on the road. Right now it is just that, occasional, but within the last few weeks they’ve played three of their best defensive games all season.

On average, the Nuggets have given up 111.3 points per game this year, but that number is headed in the right direction after holding the Clippers to 98 points on Jan. 21, Utah to 93 points on Jan. 24 and Dallas to just 87 points on Monday.

The common thread is that all those games were at home. That trend has yet to transfer to the road; finding a way to make it happen in the next few games would be huge.

Finally, the Nuggets’ depth must continue to shine.

Some have made the case Denver has too much depth – something that seems hard to wrap your mind around – but with a rash of injuries / personal issues / rest lately, it’s been huge.

Take that game against the Mavericks earlier this week: Three (sometimes) starters didn’t even play. Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried and Emmanuel Mudiay were all out for different reasons, and the Nuggets didn’t miss a beat.

The up-and-down Will Barton led the way with 31 points in his best game of the campaign and Gary Harris chipped in 20. Combined, the two went 9-for-12 from 3-point distance, and Denver led wire-to-wire in the win.

That’s what Denver needs in these next five games. A 30-point outburst from Wilson Chandler. Darrell Arthur to get hot from behind the arc. Jamal Murray to have a 15-plus-point quarter or two. You get the idea; random outbursts from role players can be huge.

Dallas and Portland are right on the Nuggets’ heels, and both have a lot more recent playoff experience than Denver.

If the Nuggets survive these five games with an okay record, they should still be in the lead entering the All-Star break.

All 82 games count the same, but some feel bigger.

These next five have that feel.