One of the budding rivalries in the Western Conference will get another chapter when Denver and Minnesota meet in the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons. Winners of their last 12 games, the Nuggets will have homecourt advantage against a Minnesota team that reached the regular season finish line with a 9–10 record.
The Nuggets defeated Minnesota in five games in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, but the Timberwolves got revenge by winning seven games in the 2024 semifinals.
This season, Denver (54-28) won three of four meetings against Minnesota (49-33), including an overtime classic on Christmas Day in which Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double of 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists and Anthony Edwards scored 44 points.
There is much more to the court than just its history. The foundation of the Nuggets was founded by Tim Connelly, now the Timberwolves’ president of basketball operations. And this season the Nuggets welcomed the return of John Wallace to their front office after spending the last three seasons with Connelly in Minnesota. Also, Nuggets head coach David Edelman once served as an assistant coach in Minnesota under his father Rick.
As my colleague John Krawczynski said: All great battles deserve a trilogy. Here it is.
-Jason Quick
What’s the biggest story for my team heading into the playoffs?
John Krawczynski, Timberwolves beat writer: Do the Timberwolves have a switch to flip? After appearing in two consecutive Western Conference Finals and bringing back everyone except Nickell Alexander-Walker, the Timberwolves talked about taking the final step to the NBA Finals in training camp.
I thought we’d see a hyper-motivated, locked-in group in the regular season, out to atone for a 4-1 loss to the Thunder last May. Instead, we saw a team that was largely complacent throughout the season, and appeared to treat these 82 games as beneath them.
The question they’ll answer in this series is do they have a switch to flip? Or are they a team on the decline?
They will need Anthony Edwards to be at his two-way best after matching up on defense on several nights in the regular season. He’s always been a go-to player in the playoffs and should enter the postseason healthy after getting some time to rest due to soreness in his right knee.
Julius Randle battled many of his previous playoff demons last season and will be healthy and rested, as will Jaden McDaniels after missing six games with a left kneecap injury.
Wolves believe they have the talent to beat anyone. At times this season he has perhaps become too confident in himself. Now it’s time to see what they’re made of.
Anthony Edwards will have to be at his best against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. (Jamie Schwabero/Getty Images)
Jason Quick, covering the Nuggets:Can the Nuggets play consistent defense?
The Nuggets have the NBA’s top offense, but bottom third defense. However, during a 12-game winning streak to end the season, Denver coach David Edelman thought the Nuggets’ defense defined the streak.
“At some point in all of these games we’ve flopped defensively, which means we’ve been inconsistent all year,” Edelman said. “At some point, you have to sit back and play defense, and we’re really good at that … fastbreak point.”
A factor in the Nuggets’ defensive efforts will probably be the availability of their best perimeter defender, wing Peyton Watson, who has battled hamstring injuries this season. Watson has not played since April 1, when he suffered a strain in his right hamstring. Due to this hamstring, he had to miss 19 games at the beginning of the season. Watson has begun on-court workouts, but the Nuggets have not said whether they expect him to return.
Who or what is the biggest X-factor for my team?
krauzinski: Ayo Dosunmu.
The midseason acquisition is everything Wolves hoped for and more. Before bringing him over from Chicago, they were sorely lacking ball-handlers and shot creators. Dosunmu came in and gave them a very capable handler who immediately became one of the team’s best downhill scorers.
Dosunmu’s ability to get out in transition has been a huge asset for the offense. His perimeter defense, while not as good as Nickell Alexander-Walker’s, is a huge upgrade. He’s playing for a contract this summer and is finally on a good team after five years in Chicago, and that hunger has been huge for a Wolves team that has often looked complacent.
Dosunmu has averaged 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and shot 41 percent from 3 since joining the Timberwolves. The Wolves will need all that go-go juice and more to give Edwards the scoring support against Denver’s fearsome attack.
Quick:Tim Hardaway Jr.
There’s something about Minneapolis that brings out the best in Hardaway.
In the first two matchups this season, both in Minneapolis, Hardaway bounced back from halftime deficits with third-quarter explosions. In the third game of the season, Hardaway went 5-for-5 from 3 in the third game, helping turn a 65–57 halftime deficit into a 127–114 victory. Then in the second meeting, Hardaway had 23 points, 13 of which were in the third quarter, overcoming a 65–60 deficit and giving Denver a 123–112 victory.
If Minneapolis fans think they’ve seen this before, they’re right. In college at Michigan, he had two memorable performances at Williams Arena – scoring 22 points as a freshman by hitting four 3-pointers in the opening five minutes, then scoring 21 points in a 21-point game in No. 5 Michigan’s win over the No. 9 Gophers in the 2013 NFL Draft.
In his 13-year career, Hardaway averaged 16.6 points against Minnesota, his highest average against any team. This year, he averaged 19.8 points and shot 61 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3 (15 of 27).
“I think it’s just Big Ten country,” Hardaway said. “I mean, when I was with Michigan, we played at The Barn and we played some of our best games there. To me, it’s just the city alone, the vibes, the energy, the area. It feels good there.”
What is the Achilles heel or biggest concern for my team?
krauzinski: Defensive rebound.
The Timberwolves are 19th in the league in defensive rebounding percentage. Their inability to shut down possession in defense means they regularly give their opponents too many chances to score. They can’t do that at all against the Nuggets, if Jokic and Aaron Gordon can control the offensive glass, they will have a feast on kick-out 3s.
Denver ranks only 24th in offensive rebounding percentage, but that’s little consolation for the Timberwolves. When they are at their worst, they turn the ball over and get crushed on the offensive glass, lose the game of possession and get run out of the building.
To beat the Nuggets, especially in their build, the Wolves will have to take care of the ball and get possession of the ball after one shot. They’re a really good defensive team in the halfcourt against the first shot. It is after that great first competition when they face real problems.
Quick: Rim Protection.
Edelman said the Nuggets’ on-ball defense will be important, as the team’s biggest weakness is its ability to defend at the rim. The Nuggets’ centers – Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas – have been challenged vertically, and the team’s best jumpers – Watson, Spencer Jones and Gordon – are either injured or having their minutes watched due to their season ending.
“Most of our issues usually happen when whoever is on the ball gets beat,” Edelman said. “We know rim protection isn’t good for us. We don’t have great shape right now with Peyton out, Spence out and Aaron on a minutes restriction.”
This puts a microscope on the defense of perimeter players Jamal Murray, Christian Brown and Cam Johnson, and whether they can stop Anthony Edwards’ offensive attack.
“When you lose off the dribble, we’re in the rotation now, and now we have a traditional true center who isn’t built to be in that kind of rotation.”
The biggest reason for optimism for my team?
krauzinski:They are as healthy as they have been for more than a month. Edwards missed 10 of 12 games due to a right knee injury, but all indications are that he will be ready to roll now that the playoffs are upon us. McDaniels is 100 percent healthy after suffering a left hamstring injury, Naz Reed’s nagging shoulder injury appears to be on the mend and Gobert and Julius Randle both got some much-needed playing time over the final three games after being seeded sixth.
They also get an entire week off to prepare for the playoffs instead of playing in the play-in tournament. In each of the last two seasons, the Wolves coaching staff has used that week to prepare the Wolves for their first-round opponent. This resulted in a 4-0 loss to Phoenix in 2024 and a 4-1 loss to the Lakers last year.
Quick: The Nuggets made it a priority to stay fresh for the playoffs throughout the season, and will be heavily rested having rested most of their starters for the last two games. Additionally, the end-of-season schedule break for the Nuggets – they had three road games in the past month, quick trips to Phoenix, Utah and San Antonio – allowed them to recalibrate and refresh at home.
series prediction
krauzinski:Timberwolves in 7th. He will be the decisive underdog in this series, and he should be. It has been an up-and-down regular season that hasn’t lived up to the high expectations they set for themselves. But they’re healthy and rested… and they have Anthony Edwards, a player Denver has never been able to handle. Most importantly, they believe they can beat the Nuggets because they have done it before. I think this series will be an absolute bloodbath between two teams who have played each other a lot in the last four years. A playoff rubber match. I can’t wait.
Quick: 6 gold nuggets. Why? Nikola Jokic.
Wolves haven’t shown they can stop the best player in the world. He had 25 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in his first game of the season. Second game: 27-12-11. Third game: 56-16-15 (!!!). And the fourth game: 35-13-9. Complementing Jokic, Murray has played 43 and 35 games and played the only time Minnesota beat Denver this season, with Gordon missing due to injury.
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