The newer NH-D15 fin alignment (introduced with the NH-D15S and copied on every release since then) is offset so you get more RAM clearance. You can also install the stock fans in the center and on the side away from the DIMMs to get additional clearance. Alternatively you can use an HSF like the Dark Rock Pro 4 that has less RAM clearance trouble (I think).
Also, if you try removing the stock heatsink on an NVMe drive, you may void the warranty. My 970 Evo didn't have a heatsink, so I used the (admittedly very nice) stock NVMe heatsink on my x570 Aorus Master. It's thick and heavy. Yours may not be the same since your board is further down the product stack. But I do not recommend removing the stock heatsink regardless. I ran a 480gig BPX NVMe drive "naked" for over two years and had no real issues with it, other than throttling some during long file transfers. It still works.
I got a deal on em on eBay. Appeared to be unopened, so I don't think they were thrown out from someone binning privately (usually they bin the cheap stuff anyway for personal use). They've been a little disappointing since they won't do DDR4-3800 14-14-14-28 like some b-die out there.