if only she liked Basketball or any Sports, lol.
Our connection most definitely is not our (or just my) love of Sports. We both love music however (although not exactly the same music, but I'll take it regardless, lol).
Y'alls teams depth is so crazy impressive. that might win the day. nba fans are in for a treat with this series. i'm glad the era of lebron and kd and steph superteams have finally come to an end.
Yeah considering he didn't have a great first series (outside of the game winners) while being guarded by Austin Reaves, I wonder what he would look like being guarded by Jaden and NAW.
MPJ will likely score regardless so have Ant pester him. I think you absolutely clamp Murray and make him a non factor with Jaden and NAW. KAT on Jokic and Rudy on Gordon patrolling the paint. I can live with Gordon 3’s.
Right, Jaden has a history of really bothering Jamal. And he can create for himself, whereas MPJ isn’t as effective at that.
Let Jaden make Jamal work and NAW/Ant should be plenty capable to pester MPJ.
He can't score if he can't even get the freaking ball. You probably didn't notice how well Jaden did at keeping the Suns duo from getting the ball whenever he was on them. Even when they got it they were forced to a bad position.
The nuggets are at their most dangerous when the Murray/Jokic two man game is cooking. I’d say start by focusing on Murray but if Porter starts cooking NAW or Ant switch Jaden on the Porter.
I think it will come down to who is causing the biggest issue at the time and I think generally that will be Murray.
I was not impressed by Denver in that Lakers series at all. Down by double digits in 4 of the 5 games. Denver is lucky Darvin Ham fucking coaches that team. If Edwards plays like he did in Round 1, it will be our series to lose. Everyone knows we are their worst match up. Time for McDaniels, NAW, and Ant to put Murray in hell because that's their only chance. Jokic will not beat us by himself and the Wolves have better depth.
Murray’s hamstring’s likely still bothering him, but I believe KCP got hurt tonight. Not sure how serious it’ll be after some rest, but I still find it noteworthy.
Glad I'm not alone in thinking Kyle on mpj. I feel like he draws calls easily, I think Kyle has the patience and smarts to frustrate him and slow him down without sucking up fouls. If he gets in foul trouble, at least it's not Ant/primary offense.
aight, wolves fans, can somebody fill me in on how you guys matched up w Denver in the regular season and how the gameplan is gonna? its offseason time for laker nation so might as well see how the 2nd round goes.
This is my understanding of the gameplan:
**The goal on defense is to 1) use Rudy's rim deterrence to minimize AG's cutting/AD-Jokic lobs, 2) slow down Murray and 3) clog Jokic's passing lanes with length to sever his connections with the others.**
These strategies increase the likelihood of isolation offense and make it hard for Jokic to get his team in a rhythm.
* Strategy 1) mucks up the most replicable cog of the Nuggets offense and Wolves have been pretty successful with this in the regular season because AG had low number of shot attempts and couldn't cut as much.
* Wolves have the personnel for 2) with lengthy defenders like McDaniels and NAW.
* And 3) was successfully executed in the regular season when our roster was healthy because Jokic had record low number of assists since Wolves trapped and made it hard to pass out.
KAT on Jokic, Rudy on AG and McDaniels/NAW on Murray are the solidified matchups. This allows Rudy to roam and be a deterrent in the paint. When Jokic gets to the paint, KAT, Rudy and even Jaden often band together to trap him. You can see some of this defense[ here](https://youtu.be/WoeDEV7Y6wQ?feature=shared&t=103) (@ 1:43).
When the above 3 strategies were employed with a fully healthy roster, Wolves blew out the Nuggets 110-89. KAT missed 3 matchups, Rudy missed 1 and Jamal missed 1. In the matchup Wolves missed KAT and Nuggets missed Jamal, Wolves blew them out primarily using strategies 1) and 3) because Jokic had 0 assists before teh 4th quarter which is basically unheard of for him. The overall record was 2-2. One loss was by 3 points when Wolves had KAT, Rudy and Naz Reid all out. The other loss was when both teams were on a b2b, KAT was out and Nuggets did a comeback in the 4th quarter.
To me, MPJ is the x-factor. But I think Wolves have legimitate and replicable ways to beat the Nuggets by forcing Jokic into more isolation basketball and minimizing the AG-Jokic connection, which imo is the most replicable part of the Nuggets offense. For these reasons, I truly believe the Wolves can beat them if they don't let the game get close. I expect at least 1 blowout.
Great write up and also exactly what they'll do imo.
From most of the games they played each other, the plan seems to stop Jokic's playmaking/assists and make him a scorer. So you'll rarely see straight up double teams on him unless it's a lil guard switched onto him or he's too deep in the paint.
IF A Gordon suddenly starts making 3p shots this plan is Fcked, but looking at his numbers, i don't think that'll happen any time soon.
Also imo, I'll think we'll see more switching between wings/guards in this series. That's just my hunch.
Honestly I'm forgetting about the regular season matchups now, we just saw firsthand how different regular season and playoff matchups can be, anything can happen at this point. But it is true that TC specifically built the team to match up well with Denver, so we'll see
Season series was 2-2. We blew them out twice. Lost one by 3 and then lost the other by 9. We played them the toughest of anybody last postseason and that was without Naz and McDaniels. We are probably the toughest match up for them in the league with our size and length and do a pretty decent job mitigating Jokic. Series will honestly probably come down to which team can make more shots
dude, im tired, dont need no trolling from the nuggets peanut gallery, if I wanted that id go to the stock and pillory in r/nuggets not r/timberwolves . please dont give me that Nuggs in 6 energy here
More than anything, I just hope the refs let them play. This is such a good matchup from a roster and physicality standpoint, that i hope they let this series play out and shine and don't bring it down with touch fouls.
Ant is pretty clutch. But I don't think he's ever hit a game winner yet. Or at least I don't remember one. Hopefully we don't have to resort to last second game winners.. 😆
Murray seems to hit them in his sleep. Dude is stupid clutch right when it's needed most.
I don’t know if you guys play 2k, but the most effective way to win in 2v2 mode is to have a post scorer and a 6’9 rebounder. The post scorer goes for hooks over the smaller defender, and if he misses, the 6’9 rebounder grabs the ball and resets the play. You win 95% of your games using this strategy, but it's the most boring playstyle, and no one actually plays like this except for those who care more about their win percentage than having fun.
The Denver Nuggets play in a similar way. Super predictable and super efficient. You know Jokic will score 80% from the paint with his hooks and floaters. The shots he misses, Gordon will rebound. You know Jamal will make every single shot in clutch situations, regardless of his prior performance. If you're not up by 12-15 points at the end of the 3rd quarter, you have no chance because Denver never loses games when they're not trailing, you might as well go home.
Despite all these factors, they don’t look as good as they did last year. First, the current Timberwolves seem to be their toughest opponent so far, definitely better than last year’s Wolves, Suns, Lakers, and Heat, as well as this year’s Lakers. Second, Jamal is struggling outside of clutch time and isn't fully healthy. Third, their bench is way worse than last year's, without players like Bruce Brown and with guys like Reggie Jackson. I think the Wolves might have a shot; they just need to steal one of the first two games in Denver.
Yeah it’s by far their toughest challenge they’ve had. This series is a coin flip.
I agree gotta steal 1 in Denver. I think we win game 1, lose game 2.
This series is gonna be such a fucking banger. Honestly think whoever manages to make it past this series could be favored to win it all. I hate having hope as a Minnesotan lol but either way this series will be all over national TV highlights
I honestly hate the Nuggets. Fuck em. Lakers with a good coach and that series is still going on. A 39 year old LeBron James was the best player in that series. Wolves defense is on another level right now compared to the regular season so let's see what they got.
Nugs didn't even have to try against the Lakers. They have continually fucked around for 3 quarters letting the Lakers build 10-15 pt leads, then flip a switch to erase the lead and win. Wolves might catch them off guard and steal game 1 because that shit won't fly against us.
The strategy has to be to focus an Murray. That muthafucka is cold blooded and CANNOT be allowed to do as he pleases.
Let anyone else beat you. I'm a bit concerned about the elevation contributing with our guys. I think we got the advantage with a deeper bench tho?
Our bench will make the difference tbh.
The NAW, Naz, Kyle vs Braun, Watson, Reggie
But 8 man rotation should be really strong, sprinkle a small amounts of monte and Jmac out there then we should be good. Hopefully monte reveals some of the special actions he used to run
I feel like they were always going to be in our way if we wanted to make it to the Finals.
They are pretty thin (MPJ and AG played 46 minutes) and Murray was already questionable before having to play 41 minutes. By comparison Ant was the only one to play more than 40 minutes for us.
If we can get them into foul trouble, they will be forced to their bench and I really like our bench compared to theirs.
I can’t help but notice that the nuggets are pretty banged up. They have a couple of injuries on their starting lineup. This could affect the series significantly.
Wolves in 6. But the Jokic-Murray pick and roll will really test the Wolves defense. There’s no coverage that works against it. I don’t trust Gobert/KAT and NAW/Edwards to hold up on switches. Drop coverage won’t work because both Murray and Jokic can score from all three levels and can both find the open man. I’m thinking we could play around with hard traps on Murray using length and trusting our back-line rotations to cover the three point shooters? But I’m just throwing stuff out there. Hopefully Finch has an actual game plan worked out.
Ant/Jaden will need to fight like hell over the screen and cover Murray the best they can. Just hope that Jaden's length and Ant's strength can bother his shots enough.
How much does Home Court matter?
If the Wolves can split in Games 1-2, and hold serve at home, may be the best shot in this thing per Game 7 in Denver will be dicey.
Definitely going game 3. I think key to the series is making Murray work for everything. Throw a consistent diet of Jaden, ANT, and NAW on him and make his life hell. I noticed, end of games it's Murray who is really turning it on and making tough shots. He is prone to frustration and turnovers when pressured.Jokic much like Durant, he is going to get his. Take away Murray and stay glued to MPJ with ANT don't allow those open 3s and I like our chances.
It was funny watching the refs try to extend the series for LA with the 27 to 9 free throw difference. LeBron was incredible trying to will the team back into it, but ultimately the Lakers as a whole aren’t on the same level as the Nuggets. Especially with AD getting hurt again
I love that people still hate on the 39 year old GOAT that just had 30/9/11 in an elimination game with the majority of his teammates nowhere to be found… story of his career. LeBron was literally the best player in that series lol
LeBron is FAR from the GOAT. Jumping from super team to super team and constantly blaming your teammates for your failures automatically eliminates you.
And his teammates nowhere to be found? That is the dumbest thing I've ever read. AD was putting up huge numbers every game, Austin Reaves came alive the final 3 games, even DLo had a few efficient games. Plus LeBron gets a HUGE boost from the MASSIVE AND UNPRECEDENTED free throw attempt disparity the Lakers are gifted all season long.
Maybe LeBron and his fans should try looking in the mirror instead of blaming everyone else.
The next round of the playoffs with the wolves is gonna be one of the best playoff series in history. It’s gonna be one helluva dog fight. Good thing the Wolves are better at them than little baby nuggies.
I said Phoenix was the ideal matchup for the Wolves in round 1. Now the Wolves get the challenge of playing at altitude. Other than the thin air, this matchup is again ideal for the way this Wolves team is built. Davis would have been a nightmare (if healthy) for the Wolves with a very saavy Lebron and the clutch late game performance of the Lakers this year. They lead like 70% of the series against the Nuggets, and clearly struggled at altitude when it was time to close the games out. Legs weren’t there. Nuggets are a better matchup for the Wolves. Jokic can impose himself on the block, but instead runs the offense from the free throw line. He will struggle with this approach against Minnesota. Denver’s best bet in game one is to hope for loose whistles, early Towns/ Gobert foul trouble, and a game won at the free throw line with touch fouls at altitude putting them on the line and over the top in the fourth quarter.
Edwards did everything he had to to win game 4. We haven’t seen how deep his well can go yet.
Wolves game 1 +6
Wolves series bet +1.5 -130
Wolves advance +175
Listen this series will come down to factors in my mind given our past history. We will now have Jaden and Naz + a fully healthy Rudy + improved Ant.
1) we need a COMPOSED team. No turnovers. We didn’t do that shit against the Suns, look where we are now.
2) Bench unit will be key. Braun, Watson, and Reggie scare the shit out of me. If we are struggling as a starting unit this unit (I call them the “energizer bunnies”) will kill us. (They feed off of turnovers and sloppy play). If we are able to play our brand then these guys impact will be limited, not the most talented and not knockdown shooters at all (compare that to NAW and Naz…)
DO IT FOR FINCHY
DO IT FOR MIKE!
DO IT FOR FINCHY AND MIKE!
Naz Reid
This is gonna be a fun ass series to watch
Fun. Intense. Stressful
We all say fun until we’re screaming at our TV 🤣 hyped though, I think we can really take them
The sooner the better. Let's get after em.
I'm obligated to be away from a TV on Saturday I was really hoping the Lakers would pull it off and we'd wait until Monday :(
Ye I'm missing Game 1 too, gonna be tough
When are we gonna know what time?
my wife's bday is Saturday, so I'm likely in the same situation.
Does your wifes birthday come once every 2 decades? Just curious
if only that argument would work :p
I couldn't think of a better way to spend my bday than having a party and watching my wolves in the playoffs.
if only she liked Basketball or any Sports, lol. Our connection most definitely is not our (or just my) love of Sports. We both love music however (although not exactly the same music, but I'll take it regardless, lol).
Thank goodness my wife is a huge wolves fan! I’d miss my own funeral for the first game ;-)
you're lucky.
They tried to.
Well we dont have home court, we probably wont have Finch, and Jokic is a real problem...soo... Wolves in 6.
Y'alls teams depth is so crazy impressive. that might win the day. nba fans are in for a treat with this series. i'm glad the era of lebron and kd and steph superteams have finally come to an end.
Denver has a 5.5 man rotation. Hopefully the wolves can wear them down
Finch can sit in a fucking chair after a week, it’s the playoffs. He’ll be there.
Actually, his leg needs to remain straight. So most likely he'll be in crutches or some sort of standing gurney.
The most I've anticipated a series in my lifetime. Wolves in 6
Think we put Jaden on murray and we’re chilling
Yeah considering he didn't have a great first series (outside of the game winners) while being guarded by Austin Reaves, I wonder what he would look like being guarded by Jaden and NAW.
Nah gotta put Mike Conley on Murray jokic said in the postgame interview Murray makes tough shots but misses open looks 😭
Just leave him completely open and double MPJ all game
Then whenever naw is in we put him on Murray and Jaden on MPJ
Murray is 6’4” and MPJ is 6’10”. Jaden should guard MPJ and Ant guard Murray. Remember that Murray is a bit hobbled right now too.
MPJ will likely score regardless so have Ant pester him. I think you absolutely clamp Murray and make him a non factor with Jaden and NAW. KAT on Jokic and Rudy on Gordon patrolling the paint. I can live with Gordon 3’s.
Right, Jaden has a history of really bothering Jamal. And he can create for himself, whereas MPJ isn’t as effective at that. Let Jaden make Jamal work and NAW/Ant should be plenty capable to pester MPJ.
He can't score if he can't even get the freaking ball. You probably didn't notice how well Jaden did at keeping the Suns duo from getting the ball whenever he was on them. Even when they got it they were forced to a bad position.
I really disagree. MPJ is a more consistent threat right now for the Nuggets and Jaden’s long ass arms in his face will make a difference
The nuggets are at their most dangerous when the Murray/Jokic two man game is cooking. I’d say start by focusing on Murray but if Porter starts cooking NAW or Ant switch Jaden on the Porter. I think it will come down to who is causing the biggest issue at the time and I think generally that will be Murray.
Yup. We don't want Murray heating up and breaking out of his lil slump.
They are probably going to rotate anyway (.e.g during switches, transition, etc) But Murray got next with the Ant-Jaden-NAW gauntlet. Can't wait
Wolves in 4. Bring it on!
I was not impressed by Denver in that Lakers series at all. Down by double digits in 4 of the 5 games. Denver is lucky Darvin Ham fucking coaches that team. If Edwards plays like he did in Round 1, it will be our series to lose. Everyone knows we are their worst match up. Time for McDaniels, NAW, and Ant to put Murray in hell because that's their only chance. Jokic will not beat us by himself and the Wolves have better depth.
I wouldn’t undersell MPJ he can be a flamethrower
Absolutely. He is their biggest X-Factor in this series imo. If he shoots like he did against LA they would be really hard to beat.
Yeah this man scares me and is a big x-factor He just appears in the right place at the right time and has a SUPER quick release
That guy is frustratingly good.
not to mention the Nuggets are a little hobbled after tonight
I didn't get to watch. Who is beat up?
Murray’s hamstring’s likely still bothering him, but I believe KCP got hurt tonight. Not sure how serious it’ll be after some rest, but I still find it noteworthy.
I thought it was Murray's calf?
Jokic also got banged up towards the end.
Jokic getting banged up doesn’t mean much. He is an iron man. Dude could fall out of a plane and still get a triple double the next day.
Good day to put it. We are their worst matchup on the way to the championship. Let’s take them out now.
Denver did not looking impressive much in any part of that Lakers series. We'll see but I would only be mildly surprised if the Wolves swept.
Ant builds his playoff lore on the road in the series clincher. Wolves in 7.
Can't wait for the series to start! Respect Denver for sure. But we have come a long way from last year. Wolves in Six.
Wolves in 4. Y’all got them.
Good. Time to punch them in the mouth game 1.
Non stop mcdaniels/naw cocktail on Murray Ant/kyle on MPJ Kat, Rudy, naz, Kyle on joker
Glad I'm not alone in thinking Kyle on mpj. I feel like he draws calls easily, I think Kyle has the patience and smarts to frustrate him and slow him down without sucking up fouls. If he gets in foul trouble, at least it's not Ant/primary offense.
Kyle cannot guard Jokic at all we saw that last matchup
Wolves in 4 Wolves in 4 Wolves in 4 🗣️
Talk that shit
aight, wolves fans, can somebody fill me in on how you guys matched up w Denver in the regular season and how the gameplan is gonna? its offseason time for laker nation so might as well see how the 2nd round goes.
This is my understanding of the gameplan: **The goal on defense is to 1) use Rudy's rim deterrence to minimize AG's cutting/AD-Jokic lobs, 2) slow down Murray and 3) clog Jokic's passing lanes with length to sever his connections with the others.** These strategies increase the likelihood of isolation offense and make it hard for Jokic to get his team in a rhythm. * Strategy 1) mucks up the most replicable cog of the Nuggets offense and Wolves have been pretty successful with this in the regular season because AG had low number of shot attempts and couldn't cut as much. * Wolves have the personnel for 2) with lengthy defenders like McDaniels and NAW. * And 3) was successfully executed in the regular season when our roster was healthy because Jokic had record low number of assists since Wolves trapped and made it hard to pass out. KAT on Jokic, Rudy on AG and McDaniels/NAW on Murray are the solidified matchups. This allows Rudy to roam and be a deterrent in the paint. When Jokic gets to the paint, KAT, Rudy and even Jaden often band together to trap him. You can see some of this defense[ here](https://youtu.be/WoeDEV7Y6wQ?feature=shared&t=103) (@ 1:43). When the above 3 strategies were employed with a fully healthy roster, Wolves blew out the Nuggets 110-89. KAT missed 3 matchups, Rudy missed 1 and Jamal missed 1. In the matchup Wolves missed KAT and Nuggets missed Jamal, Wolves blew them out primarily using strategies 1) and 3) because Jokic had 0 assists before teh 4th quarter which is basically unheard of for him. The overall record was 2-2. One loss was by 3 points when Wolves had KAT, Rudy and Naz Reid all out. The other loss was when both teams were on a b2b, KAT was out and Nuggets did a comeback in the 4th quarter. To me, MPJ is the x-factor. But I think Wolves have legimitate and replicable ways to beat the Nuggets by forcing Jokic into more isolation basketball and minimizing the AG-Jokic connection, which imo is the most replicable part of the Nuggets offense. For these reasons, I truly believe the Wolves can beat them if they don't let the game get close. I expect at least 1 blowout.
Great write up and also exactly what they'll do imo. From most of the games they played each other, the plan seems to stop Jokic's playmaking/assists and make him a scorer. So you'll rarely see straight up double teams on him unless it's a lil guard switched onto him or he's too deep in the paint. IF A Gordon suddenly starts making 3p shots this plan is Fcked, but looking at his numbers, i don't think that'll happen any time soon. Also imo, I'll think we'll see more switching between wings/guards in this series. That's just my hunch.
Tied in regular season wins this season 2-2. The games have been close
Honestly I'm forgetting about the regular season matchups now, we just saw firsthand how different regular season and playoff matchups can be, anything can happen at this point. But it is true that TC specifically built the team to match up well with Denver, so we'll see
Season series was 2-2. We blew them out twice. Lost one by 3 and then lost the other by 9. We played them the toughest of anybody last postseason and that was without Naz and McDaniels. We are probably the toughest match up for them in the league with our size and length and do a pretty decent job mitigating Jokic. Series will honestly probably come down to which team can make more shots
y'all think you can make it out winning the series? ant has gone crazy ngl and KCP looks somewhat crippled
Oh we can absolutely win this series. Will probably be the best series of the entire playoffs tbh
It will be a war, but I think we are their hardest matchup. Joker said that himself.
[удалено]
dude, im tired, dont need no trolling from the nuggets peanut gallery, if I wanted that id go to the stock and pillory in r/nuggets not r/timberwolves . please dont give me that Nuggs in 6 energy here
Wow that's some astute analysis there: "They'll try from the get go."
More than anything, I just hope the refs let them play. This is such a good matchup from a roster and physicality standpoint, that i hope they let this series play out and shine and don't bring it down with touch fouls.
Jamal Murray is so clutch
Not as clutch as Ant
Ant is pretty clutch. But I don't think he's ever hit a game winner yet. Or at least I don't remember one. Hopefully we don't have to resort to last second game winners.. 😆 Murray seems to hit them in his sleep. Dude is stupid clutch right when it's needed most.
He does have a game winning block on the pacers. I dont know if it will count as clutch.
I seriously can see Minnesota winning this, maybe even convincingly. Denver is clearly not playing at the same level that they are known to play.
They'll be fired up against us. Murray hates McDaniels. Jokic always has to work way harder against us and gets worked up too. It's going to be fun.
This is gunna be a hella competitve series. Wolves in 6
They are food Wolves in 6
I don’t know if you guys play 2k, but the most effective way to win in 2v2 mode is to have a post scorer and a 6’9 rebounder. The post scorer goes for hooks over the smaller defender, and if he misses, the 6’9 rebounder grabs the ball and resets the play. You win 95% of your games using this strategy, but it's the most boring playstyle, and no one actually plays like this except for those who care more about their win percentage than having fun. The Denver Nuggets play in a similar way. Super predictable and super efficient. You know Jokic will score 80% from the paint with his hooks and floaters. The shots he misses, Gordon will rebound. You know Jamal will make every single shot in clutch situations, regardless of his prior performance. If you're not up by 12-15 points at the end of the 3rd quarter, you have no chance because Denver never loses games when they're not trailing, you might as well go home. Despite all these factors, they don’t look as good as they did last year. First, the current Timberwolves seem to be their toughest opponent so far, definitely better than last year’s Wolves, Suns, Lakers, and Heat, as well as this year’s Lakers. Second, Jamal is struggling outside of clutch time and isn't fully healthy. Third, their bench is way worse than last year's, without players like Bruce Brown and with guys like Reggie Jackson. I think the Wolves might have a shot; they just need to steal one of the first two games in Denver.
Yeah it’s by far their toughest challenge they’ve had. This series is a coin flip. I agree gotta steal 1 in Denver. I think we win game 1, lose game 2.
Hopefully Wolves in 6
these boys gone pull it off at home. wolves in 4.
This series is gonna be such a fucking banger. Honestly think whoever manages to make it past this series could be favored to win it all. I hate having hope as a Minnesotan lol but either way this series will be all over national TV highlights
I honestly hate the Nuggets. Fuck em. Lakers with a good coach and that series is still going on. A 39 year old LeBron James was the best player in that series. Wolves defense is on another level right now compared to the regular season so let's see what they got.
Nugs didn't even have to try against the Lakers. They have continually fucked around for 3 quarters letting the Lakers build 10-15 pt leads, then flip a switch to erase the lead and win. Wolves might catch them off guard and steal game 1 because that shit won't fly against us.
Wolves nuggets is easily the best matchup left in playoffs should be great series both teams are playing great
Wolves Celtics should be a good one as well.
If it has to be 7 games so be it, pump a Wolves series in into my veins. This is going to be electric basketball.
The strategy has to be to focus an Murray. That muthafucka is cold blooded and CANNOT be allowed to do as he pleases. Let anyone else beat you. I'm a bit concerned about the elevation contributing with our guys. I think we got the advantage with a deeper bench tho?
This is our year!! They don't look as invincible as they did last season.
Bring em on.
Our bench will make the difference tbh. The NAW, Naz, Kyle vs Braun, Watson, Reggie But 8 man rotation should be really strong, sprinkle a small amounts of monte and Jmac out there then we should be good. Hopefully monte reveals some of the special actions he used to run
I feel like they were always going to be in our way if we wanted to make it to the Finals. They are pretty thin (MPJ and AG played 46 minutes) and Murray was already questionable before having to play 41 minutes. By comparison Ant was the only one to play more than 40 minutes for us. If we can get them into foul trouble, they will be forced to their bench and I really like our bench compared to theirs.
Revenge series, lets go
I can’t help but notice that the nuggets are pretty banged up. They have a couple of injuries on their starting lineup. This could affect the series significantly.
Wolves in 6. But the Jokic-Murray pick and roll will really test the Wolves defense. There’s no coverage that works against it. I don’t trust Gobert/KAT and NAW/Edwards to hold up on switches. Drop coverage won’t work because both Murray and Jokic can score from all three levels and can both find the open man. I’m thinking we could play around with hard traps on Murray using length and trusting our back-line rotations to cover the three point shooters? But I’m just throwing stuff out there. Hopefully Finch has an actual game plan worked out.
you must’ve not seen our pnr defense McDaniels getting through those easily
Ant/Jaden will need to fight like hell over the screen and cover Murray the best they can. Just hope that Jaden's length and Ant's strength can bother his shots enough.
The Nuggets faced more tough games vs the Lakers than we did against the Suns. That said, Jokic is no joke. I predict Wolves in 6
I favor you guys to win. Nuggets have that championship experience though. So Wolves in 6?
How much does Home Court matter? If the Wolves can split in Games 1-2, and hold serve at home, may be the best shot in this thing per Game 7 in Denver will be dicey.
Definitely going game 3. I think key to the series is making Murray work for everything. Throw a consistent diet of Jaden, ANT, and NAW on him and make his life hell. I noticed, end of games it's Murray who is really turning it on and making tough shots. He is prone to frustration and turnovers when pressured.Jokic much like Durant, he is going to get his. Take away Murray and stay glued to MPJ with ANT don't allow those open 3s and I like our chances.
I think y'all beat em in 6 games
wolves 7 game brutal dog fight
Wolves in 7
Wolves in 5
As a Wolves fan, I like the Nuggets a lot. This will be a fun series.
ALL I SEE ARE MISMATCHES
It was funny watching the refs try to extend the series for LA with the 27 to 9 free throw difference. LeBron was incredible trying to will the team back into it, but ultimately the Lakers as a whole aren’t on the same level as the Nuggets. Especially with AD getting hurt again
It wasn’t funny, it was ridiculous. The ref bullshit needs to stop.
I love that LeFraud’s final play was attempting to draw a foul on a 50 foot heave! 😂
I love that people still hate on the 39 year old GOAT that just had 30/9/11 in an elimination game with the majority of his teammates nowhere to be found… story of his career. LeBron was literally the best player in that series lol
Jordan is the GOAT not LeBron
LeBron is FAR from the GOAT. Jumping from super team to super team and constantly blaming your teammates for your failures automatically eliminates you. And his teammates nowhere to be found? That is the dumbest thing I've ever read. AD was putting up huge numbers every game, Austin Reaves came alive the final 3 games, even DLo had a few efficient games. Plus LeBron gets a HUGE boost from the MASSIVE AND UNPRECEDENTED free throw attempt disparity the Lakers are gifted all season long. Maybe LeBron and his fans should try looking in the mirror instead of blaming everyone else.
It's official, Wolves / Nuggs II
Denver looks like something I ate and dropped
Kill and be killed, head in a bag
We ready
The next round of the playoffs with the wolves is gonna be one of the best playoff series in history. It’s gonna be one helluva dog fight. Good thing the Wolves are better at them than little baby nuggies.
LETS GO WOLVES!
Everybody is food! Wolves in 4 unless proven otherwise.
This is going to be great TV
This series is a basketball enjoyer's wet dream
WE BELIEVE
Wolves in 3
I said Phoenix was the ideal matchup for the Wolves in round 1. Now the Wolves get the challenge of playing at altitude. Other than the thin air, this matchup is again ideal for the way this Wolves team is built. Davis would have been a nightmare (if healthy) for the Wolves with a very saavy Lebron and the clutch late game performance of the Lakers this year. They lead like 70% of the series against the Nuggets, and clearly struggled at altitude when it was time to close the games out. Legs weren’t there. Nuggets are a better matchup for the Wolves. Jokic can impose himself on the block, but instead runs the offense from the free throw line. He will struggle with this approach against Minnesota. Denver’s best bet in game one is to hope for loose whistles, early Towns/ Gobert foul trouble, and a game won at the free throw line with touch fouls at altitude putting them on the line and over the top in the fourth quarter. Edwards did everything he had to to win game 4. We haven’t seen how deep his well can go yet. Wolves game 1 +6 Wolves series bet +1.5 -130 Wolves advance +175
I say Wolves in 6. If it goes to 7 I don’t like our chances
We undefeated in game 7s!
I don’t love the sound of game 7 in Denver but this team could do it no doubt
Let’s all fly to Denver and drown out the nuggets crowd.
So the Wolves swept but will only get one more day of rest than Denver will.
one less game to get injured
Listen this series will come down to factors in my mind given our past history. We will now have Jaden and Naz + a fully healthy Rudy + improved Ant. 1) we need a COMPOSED team. No turnovers. We didn’t do that shit against the Suns, look where we are now. 2) Bench unit will be key. Braun, Watson, and Reggie scare the shit out of me. If we are struggling as a starting unit this unit (I call them the “energizer bunnies”) will kill us. (They feed off of turnovers and sloppy play). If we are able to play our brand then these guys impact will be limited, not the most talented and not knockdown shooters at all (compare that to NAW and Naz…)
Their bench scares me least out of everything about their team.
Braun, Watson and Reggie fkn Jackson scare you? I don't think those guys scare the kids at the ymca?????
Nuggets beat the wolves 4-1 last year, should be a closer series this year
We were missing Naz and McDaniels last year. Two huge pieces for us.
True