Nuggets vs. Timberwolves NBA playoffs preview: Why this could be the best first-round series

Atlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksTracking Awards EligibilityHot Seat WatchInside NBA Sneaker CultureNBA Season The rivalry between Jamal Murray's Nuggets and Anthony Edwards' Wolves is must-watch. Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images Share full article2Welcome to Round 3 of Nuggets-Timberwolves. 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. The Nuggets, winners of their last 12 games, will own homecourt advantage against a Minnesota team that limped to the regular season finish line with a 9-10 record. The Nuggets beat Minnesota in five games in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, but the Timberwolves exacted revenge in the 2024 semifinals, winning in seven games. This season, Denver (54-28) won three of the four meetings against Minnesota (49-33), including an overtime classic on Christmas Day that featured Nikola Jokić recording a triple-double of 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists and Anthony Edwards scoring 44 points. There is more than just on-court history. The foundation of the Nuggets were established by Tim Connelly, who is now the Timberwolves’ president of basketball operations. And the Nuggets this season welcomed the return of Jon Wallace to their front office after he spent the past three seasons with Connelly in Minnesota. Plus, Nuggets head coach David Adelman once served as an assistant coach in Minnesota under his father, Rick. As my colleague Jon Krawczynski said: All great fights deserve a trilogy. Here we go. Jon Krawczynski, Timberwolves beat writer: Do the Timberwolves have a switch to flip? Coming off of two straight Western Conference finals appearances and bringing back everyone but Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the Timberwolves talked in training camp about taking the final step to the NBA Finals. I thought we would see an ultra-motivated, locked-in group in the regular season, one that was out to atone for a 4-1 wipeout at the hands of the Thunder last May. Instead, we saw a team that was largely complacent all season long, appearing to treat these 82 games as beneath them. The question they will answer in this series is do they have a switch to flip? Or are they a team in decline? They will need Anthony Edwards playing at his two-way best after mailing in the defense on too many nights in the regular season. He has always been a playoff riser and should enter the postseason as healthy as he’s been in weeks after getting some time to rest an aching right knee. Julius Randle slayed a lot of his previous playoff demons last season and will be healthy and rested, as will Jaden McDaniels after missing six games with a bone bruise in his left knee. The Wolves believe they have the talent to beat anyone. At times this season they have probably believed in themselves too much. Now it’s time to see what they’re made of. Jason Quick, covering the Nuggets: Can the Nuggets defend consistently? The Nuggets have the NBA’s top offense, but a bottom third defense. However, during its 12-game winning streak to close the season, Denver coach David Adelman thought the Nuggets defense defined the streak. “We flipped defensively at some point in all these games, meaning we’ve been inconsistent all year with that,” Adelman said. “At some point, you have to sit down and guard, and that leads to what we are really good at … fastbreak points.” A factor in the Nuggets’ defensive efforts will be the availability of perhaps their best perimeter defender, wing Peyton Watson, who has battled hamstring injuries this season. Watson hasn’t played since April 1, when he aggravated his right hamstring. The same hamstring caused him to miss 19 games earlier in the season. Watson has started on court workouts but there Nuggets have not said if, or when, they expect him to return. The midseason acquisition has been everything the Wolves could have hoped for and more. Before they got him from Chicago, they were severely short on ball-handlers and shot creators. Dosunmu has come in and given them a very capable handler who instantly became one of the team’s best downhill scorers. Dosunmu’s ability to get out in transition has been a shot in the arm for the offense. His perimeter defense, while not as good as Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s, has been a huge upgrade. He is playing for a contract this summer and finally on a good team after five years in Chicago, and that hunger has been big for a Wolves team that has often looked complacent. Dosunmu is averaging 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and shooting 41 percent from 3 since joining the Timberwolves. The Wolves will need all of that go-go juice and more to give Edwards the scoring help he will need against Denver’s terrific offense. There is something about Minneapolis that brings out the best in Hardaway. In the first two matchups this season, both in Minneapolis, Hardaway ignited comebacks from halftime deficits with third-quarter explosions. In the season’s third game, Hardaway went 5-for-5 from 3 in the third, helping turn a 65-57 halftime deficit into a 127-114 win. Then in the second meeting, Hardaway had 23 points, 13 of them in the third quarter, to flip a 65-60 deficit and lead Denver to a 123-112 win. If Minneapolis fans think they have seen this before, they are right. In college at Michigan, he had two memorable performances at Williams Arena — hitting four 3-pointers in the opening five minutes en route to 22 points as a freshman, then a 21-points game in No. 5 Michigan’s win over No. 9 Gophers in 2013. Over 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, even when I was with Michigan, we played at The Barn and we had some of our best games there. For me, it’s just the city alone, the vibes, the energy, the arena. It feels good there.” Krawczynski: Defensive rebounding. The Timberwolves are 19th in the league in defensive rebounding percentage. Their inability to close possessions on defense means they routinely give their opponents multiple chances to score. They absolutely cannot do that against the Nuggets, who will feast on them with kickout 3s if Jokić and Aaron Gordon can control the offensive glass. Denver is only 24th in offensive rebounding percentage, but that is of little solace to the Timberwolves. When they are at their worst, they turn the ball over and get crushed on the offensive glass, losing the possession game and getting run out of the building. To beat the Nuggets, especially in their building, the Wolves will have to take care of the ball and close possessions after one shot. They are a REALLY good defensive team in the halfcourt against the first shot. It’s after that great first contest when they run into real problems. Adelman said the Nuggets’ on-ball defense will be key, because the team’s greatest weakness is the ability to defend at the rim. The Nuggets’ centers — Nikola Jokić and Jonas Valančiūnas — are vertically challenged, and the team’s best leapers — Watson, Spencer Jones and Gordon — are either injured or ended the season having their minutes monitored. “Most of our issues are usually when whoever is on the ball gets beat,” Adelman said. “We know that rim protection for us isn’t great. We don’t have great size right now with Peyton out, Spence out and Aaron on a minutes restriction.” That puts a microscope on the defense of perimeter players Jamal Murray, Christian Braun and Cam Johnson, and whether they can stop the aggressive forays of Anthony Edwards. “When you get beat off the dribble, now we are in rotations, and now we have a tradition true center that is not built to be in rotations like that.” Krawczynski: They are as healthy as they’ve been in more than a month. Edwards missed 10 of 12 games down the stretch with a balky right knee, but all signs are that he will be ready to roll now that the playoffs are upon us. McDaniels is 100 percent after a bone bruise in his left knee, Naz Reid’s bothersome shoulder injury appears to be improving and Gobert and Julius Randle both got some much needed time off in the final three games after they locked in the sixth seed. They also get the full week off to gear up for the playoffs, rather than have to play in the Play-In Tournament. In each of the last two seasons, the Wolves coaching staff has utilized that week to prepare the Wolves for their first round opponent. It resulted in a 4-0 sweep of Phoenix in 2024 and the 4-1 handling of the Lakers last year. Quick: The Nuggets all season prioritized being fresh for the playoffs, and they will largely be rested thanks to resting most of their starters for the last two games. In addition, the end-of-season schedule broke for the Nuggets — they had three road games over the last month, quick trips to Phoenix, Utah and San Antonio — allowing them to recalibrate and refresh at home. Krawczynski: Timberwolves in 7. They will be the decided underdog in this series, and they should be. It’s been an up-and-down regular season that did not meet the lofty expectations they set for themselves. But they are 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’ve done it before. I think this series will be an absolute bloodbath from two teams that have played each other so much over the last four years. A playoff rubber match. I can’t wait. Quick: Nuggets in 6. Why? Nikola Jokić. The Wolves haven’t shown they can stop the world’s best player. In the first game this season, he had 25 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. The second game: 27-12-11. Third game: 56-16-15 (!!!). And the fourth game: 35-13-9. To complement Jokić, Murray has had games of 43 and 35 and the only time Minnesota beat Denver this season, Gordon missed it because of injury. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms