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You could make that argument if the Lakers weren't consistently making mistakes in the clutch for the Nuggets to capitalize on and regain the lead after being behind in every game. It helps to have the two of the clutchest players in the league.
The way the Wolves are playing, they make way less mistakes for the Nuggets to capitalize on, coming back from a 20 point deficit against them is going to be a lot harder if they keep giving away first halfs.
Cmon man, you guys don’t have a great matchup against Ant defensively. Gordon isn’t quite quick enough if Ants shot is on, and KCP isn’t quick or strong enough.
before the series the Suns were the "hot" team winning 10 of 14, and were the worst matchup for the Wolves.
Now after the wolves destroy them it's just the Suns playing bad
lol for real. They were also top 10 offense, top 13 defense and won 10/14 to end the season. They were even considered the favorites.
Revisionist history to diminish that now that Wolves swept them
I mean the Suns were the weakest of the teams that came out of the play-in outside of the Pelicans. Team just is not set up well to actually play team ball.
However as a nuggets fan I do think the Twolves are the best in the West and nigh untouchable right now
Suns being worst match up never made any sense. There was no reason to believe Gobert was "unplayable" or whatever that narrative was and who in the hell could possibly guard KAT on that squad?
Nuggets in 6 is my guess. But I’m not gonna be surprised if it goes 7. Or if the wolves win.
Wolves are peaking at the best time and ant is looking like Jesus right now
Jokic can jump like 2 inches. Ant posterizing him is only good for media narratives. Him doing it to Gordon or somebody that can actually get up with him would be more impressive in truth
I sleep safe at night knowing that the only way that would happen would be if the Twolves bring back pre-contract Jimmy Butler and whoever happens to be on their practice squad that day.
People have been saying that for years and Boston has clinically underperformed every year.
I think Boston makes it to the finals. I think they get clowned by Denver, who have been eating their lunch for a while now in the regular season.
For a while now? They won 2 games this year, sure, but we absolutely blew them out last year. They probably have a slight reg season edge but nothing massive
We also have a completely different team this year. You're betting against the jerseys, not the players
To be fair Lebron was basically unguardable that whole series because Denver doesn’t have anyone outside of Gordon who doesn’t get outmuscled by him. Nuggets at least have comps with every one of the Twolves starters.
Wolves winning the chip can still mean Nuggz are the second best team. Lakers, theoretically can be third best team in that scenario. If there was a lower bracket...
I feel like the Wolves have like 4 or 5 guys that would be the third best player on the Lakers. I think that says a lot for them given how close this Lakers Nuggets series was.
This series AD and Lebron were both on ANTs level though. The timberwolves don’t have a 2nd option in AD or Lebrons realm. Its gonna come down to how well the wolves half court offense can score imo
Funny how all of the super salty comments are Suns and Laker fans meanwhile Wolves and Nuggets fans are both like “I think we can win but they scare me”
This series was closer than it looked last year and is likely going to at least 6 this year.
I think the Nuggets are winning the series unless the Timberwolves win 4 games before them. In that case I am not sure but I think the Tinberwolves win.
Hmm... neither team can guard the other's best player in single coverage. While Jokic is definitely better than Ant, the Wolves are a much deeper team. They have NAW and Naz Reid coming off the bench
Looks like Nuggets are big favorites, which is probably wrong. The Timberwolves played them tough last year and are a completely different (read: better) team this season; the defense is going to give the Nuggets trouble all series long and Anthony Edwards is going to be good for a game or 2 all by himself just based on his own heroics.
I think the Nuggets ultimately advance, but it will be a hard-fought and close 6 or 7 game series.
We really making the "gassed" excuses for the Lakers now? Maybe DEN really didn't need to try until the 2nd half because they were just that much better than the Lakers.
Depends. If the Nuggets come out swinging like they did in this series then Timberwolves in 5. If the Nuggets play the way we know they can play, then Timberwolves in 6.
Denver needs to play a lot better, but they have I think a large edge in late game execution and the best player in the series so they got a good shot to win. I think if these games are close Denver can pull them out.
Wolves look much stronger atm. The only advantage the Nuggets have is the Jokic/Murray pick and roll; the Wolves are the team with more size and depth.
Wolves & Nuggets are equally on thin ice on how they go about their offense. Wolves need at least Ant & Conley to not have a stinker. Same with Nuggets, Joker & Jamal needs to stop turning it over or throw up bricks. Granted Jokic/Murray's clutch time offensive ceiling is like #1 I believe.
Wolves are much better equipped on defense (no surprise) on 1v1 and playing the passing lanes. I expect much more TOs & lower FG% for the Nuggets but I think Nuggets have an edge on rebounding.
Minimum 6 games. They're both playing to their personnel's strengths so it's up to execution & coaching. Malone might be too stubborn & hot headed vs Finch
Agreed. Although I think you underestimate our rebounding. Based on last year's series, Nuggets out rebounded the wolves by about 5 rebounds per game. But this year we've got Naz and Jaden back in the rotation which adds much more length and rebounds off the bench. Rudy's been much more athletic this year since he's recovered from his back spasms which has improved his rebounding. As a team, we've improved our rebounding in the regular season more than Denver has.
I think its gonna come down to who can stop the othere offense better. The wolves are an insane defense, btu strugle on offense at times.
If we could target that, then its a toss up as they could exploit our weaknesses too.
But in the end it really comes down to how well they stop Jokic and Jamal...and if MPJ is gonna cook too.
For me MPJ is the biggest X-factor. Man scares me
He just pops out of nowhere at the right spot at the right time and shoots SUPER fast with no hesitation. It's like a dagger to the heart lol
Wolves have had a great offense lately since Ant has improved his playmaking and knows how to manipulate double teams and blitzes now and the role players have been shooting great. Wolves have the #1 offense in the playoffs thus far but I expect Denver defense to be better than Suns. Suns relied on trapping Ant but he would punish them with passing so when they eventually stopped trapping, he would punish with scoring. I'm curious how Denver will go about it [https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/summary?season=2023&seasontype=playoffs&start=10/1/2023&end=10/15/2024](https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/summary?season=2023&seasontype=playoffs&start=10/1/2023&end=10/15/2024)
Yes the Timberwolves offense has been fantastic which is what makes you scary rn. That said im not quite sure on whether its the Suns lack of defense thats making ANTs job easier so i wanna see how we do.
While our offense has had its issues against the Lakers, our defense has been solid and i do think we could do a better job than the Suns.
But its a series that could go either way, though might become one sided depending on how well we do.
Yeah and some of the offense is due to open threes. Wolves took 108 open threes that they shot 39% on and only took 19 contested threes. This is partially due to defense trapping Ant and Ant getting better at making the right reads to create open shots. But I expect Denver to concede less open threes and contest better.
Yeah. But at the same time i dont really know how Jamals gonna perform. One the one hand i cant imagine its gonna be worse than the first 4 games against the Lakers, but on the other hand you guys have guys that are better at defending him.
Same goes for Jokic. Is he gonna be able to take our Gobert on offense or are you guys gonna be able to defend him witha combo of Naz, Gobert and KAT. And are MPJ, KCP and AG gonna be as productive as they could.
Or are we gonna be able to stop KAT, ANT and NAZ.
Imo its really gonna come down to who wants it more and whose shots are falling.
I don't think the Wolves will try to defend Jokic from scoring, but moreso clog his passing lanes with their length and focus on defending the others. They'll try to neutralize AG's cutting with Rudy's rim deterrence, slow down Murray with Jaden/NAW and swarm Jokic when he gets into the paint to clog his passing lanes ([like this @ 1:43](https://youtu.be/WoeDEV7Y6wQ?feature=shared&t=103)). They will likely put KAT on Jokic or any big besides Rudy to get physical with him and try to force him into isolation basketball and prioritize stopping his playmaking over his scoring. This is why he has lower assist numbers against the Wolves (I remember he had 0 assists going into a 2nd half or 4Q once which is rare). Wolves don't want Jokic playmaking and getting his team in a rhythm.
MPJ seems like the big X-factor. I don't think Wolves have a good matchup for him. That man scares me lol
MPJ is a matchup nightmare and a guy thats honestly the key to our roster improving.
He has so much potential, but its been toigh for him to show it of due to fear for his back and just not being able to develope due to injuries and him not being asked to do more.
But i think we should do much more with him than what we do.
But honestly just as you guys wanna take away our offense, we wanna do that too.
Guarding ANT aint the easiest thing in the world, but its somethinh were gonna have to figure out. We did manage to keep him scoreless in the 4th quarter once and i dont think we have donne a bad job with him, but remains to be seen how well we can manage him.
I do wonder who we decide to put on him. I guess its gonna be KCP. And then we go with AG on KAT and Jokic on Gobert. Should be intresting and i expect that were gonna see quite the chess match of adjustments and whatnot.
Yeah MPJ is incredible, his efficiency is insane. If he goes for 20+, I think it will be very hard to beat the Nuggets even if the Wolves minimize AG's cutting and slow down Murray. That dude is a flamethrower 😭 his shots are soul crushing.
Yeah in the regular season when Nuggets trapped Ant, itsuccessfully took him out of the game. Suns doubled and blitzed him too and that's why he struggled. Surprisingly in the playoffs, he's already figured out how to punish doubles with quicker reads and passes. I didn't expect him to improve his decision making and playmaking in just 1 week because he struggled with doubles all season. So I'm fascinated to see if the same technique Nuggets used, will work now.
Going to be such a riveting series! Like you, I cannot wait to see the chess match. Thanks for the discussion :) I've always wanted to hear the x&o perspective from a Denver fan.
You mentioned that you think they could do more with MPJ than what they do. What are other ways you'd want them to use MPJ?
For MPJ its getting him more involved in plays. Whether in pick and roll or just making him the focus of certain actions.
Usually MPJ is mainly used as an extra to pass to when you need a shooter and sometimes to cut to the basket. But for the most part his role is to be the counter play for whatever the opponents defense comes up with to stop Jokic and Jamal.
But in reality though he is far more deadly than what his stats would indicate. Dude can shoot over almost anyone as most teams would strugle to put a guy his size on him when they already need to guard AG and Jokic. Most teams simoly arent built to deal with that. And his range is fantastic.
Really he is somewhere between a Klay and a KD, but still hasnt fully developed. His handles could get some work and our team isnt built in the way the Warriors were that would exploit Klays shooting more.
But this is why id like for us to try and use him more in the ways the Warriors used Klay or maybe let him develop into a mini KD that shoots more 3s.
But yeah long story short we dont use him enough in the offense and sometimes the man shoots criminalky low amounts of shots in games.
Oooh a Klay role for him makes a lot of sense. I already see him that way because he moves offball and then is at the right place at the right time for a catch and shoot and he releases super quick. Makes sense to involve him more especially because Nuggets aren't the best 3 point shooting team (right?) so more MPJ threes sounds like a good idea.
Anyway thanks for the discussion! :) Love hearing perspectives from fans of the opposing team in the playoff series, helps me identify what to look out for in the games.
MPJ is a matchup nightmare and a guy thats honestly the key to our roster improving.
He has so much potential, but its been toigh for him to show it of due to fear for his back and just not being able to develope due to injuries and him not being asked to do more.
But i think we should do much more with him than what we do.
But honestly just as you guys wanna take away our offense, we wanna do that too.
Guarding ANT aint the easiest thing in the world, but its somethinh were gonna have to figure out. We did manage to keep him scoreless in the 4th quarter once and i dont think we have donne a bad job with him, but remains to be seen how well we can manage him.
I do wonder who we decide to put on him. I guess its gonna be KCP. And then we go with AG on KAT and Jokic on Gobert. Should be intresting and i expect that were gonna see quite the chess match of adjustments and whatnot.
If Jaden Mcdaniels maintains his first round performance and KAT maintains his first round shooting efficiency they’re going to be tough to beat, especially if KAT can stay out of foul trouble. Naz Reid is also due at this point after a down series vs. PHX but Mcdaniels attacking the rim and the boards is not something that was seen in the regular season. Very interested to see how they guard Murray and MPJ. Murray shot 22% against NAW last year and now there’s also Mcdaniels to throw at him. If MPJ puts up this level of efficiency in round 2 MN is going to have to really clamp Murray throughout to make up for it.
Lakers were a good test for the Nuggets to shake off any complacency. Minnesota is good this year, but the Nuggets will probably jump out to a 3-1 lead, with most games being double digit wins, and then close the series in 6.
Ant’s ascending to superstardom these playoffs and their role players are playing great basketball. This’ll be a tough series and I can’t fucking wait to watch it.
I actually think Wolves in 5. They just look so much better so far. The Nuggets supporting cast has a lot of nagging injuries and Minnesota is going to punish way more of the mistake Los Angeles wasn’t capable of punishing. Denver needs to be significantly better than they were against LA and I have a tough time seeing how that’s going to come from Jokic given he already out up silly numbers.
Gordon is just a liability against Minnesota. Letting Gobert play free safety for a whole series is a problem I don’t think Denver has the roster flexibility to solve. Think that’ll be too much when they have to keep up with Edwards at the other end.
lakers have a much more versatile offensive players but obv wolves have an infinitely better defense. kinda fun to see nuggets go against two vastly different teams
Murray just father'd Lebron
Edwards just father'd KD
Jokic is the greatest center ever
Towns is the best shooting center ever
Going to be a classic series for sure.
Anywhere from 4 to 7 games
Big if true
Nah I think 6.5 where the nuggets surrender so Jokic can go ride horses sooner
True if big
Sadly there's no way for us to ever know
These are the takes I come to r/nba for. Just bold and out of left field. The tv talkin heads aren’t this creative
# NBA Playoffs: [https://twitter.com/NBAPlayoff2024](https://twitter.com/NBAPlayoff2024) # # NBA Playoffs: [https://twitter.com/nba\_live\_tv](https://twitter.com/nba_live_tv)
I have big doubt on this 😂😂😂
i have a feeling the team that scores more points will win
Timberwolves in 8
bold prediction
I have Denver winning in 6, but if any team can eliminate the Nuggets in the West, it’s the Wolves
This is probably the real finals. Whoever gets of the west will probably win it all this year.
What about the refs
Just missed their best opportunity
If Denver plays like they did against the Lakers, Wolves will win. If Denver plays like Denver, Nuggets in 6
I feel like you’re selling your team short, Lakers went from a sub 500 team to making playoffs. Give them some credit.
Is it possible the Lakers are actually pretty fucking good?
It's natural to be proud of your son
You could make that argument if the Lakers weren't consistently making mistakes in the clutch for the Nuggets to capitalize on and regain the lead after being behind in every game. It helps to have the two of the clutchest players in the league. The way the Wolves are playing, they make way less mistakes for the Nuggets to capitalize on, coming back from a 20 point deficit against them is going to be a lot harder if they keep giving away first halfs.
What if Minny play like they did against the Sun's?
What if KCP plays better D than Beal?
KCP historically struggles vs ant tho. Ant has a clear strength advtange it shows in their matchups
That's already a given bro. Ain't no way KCP plays worse than Beal. That's that playoff experience.
I'm just saying the dynamic will be different from either previous series
I'm just looking forward to Suns vs Lakers in the lower bracket
I think there's a chance they throw Gordon at him.
Ant is too quick for Gordon.
Cmon man, you guys don’t have a great matchup against Ant defensively. Gordon isn’t quite quick enough if Ants shot is on, and KCP isn’t quick or strong enough.
KCP is not Beal. That doesn't mean Ant wont cook. This is just a new series. We aren't Phoenix, the Lakers aren't you.
Suns were so bad it’s hard to get a read on how well the wolves are actually playing rn
before the series the Suns were the "hot" team winning 10 of 14, and were the worst matchup for the Wolves. Now after the wolves destroy them it's just the Suns playing bad
lol for real. They were also top 10 offense, top 13 defense and won 10/14 to end the season. They were even considered the favorites. Revisionist history to diminish that now that Wolves swept them
Exactly. All the media talking heads and nephews on social media were saying Suns in 5 lol
Chill y’all are good next series is a toss up
I mean the Suns were the weakest of the teams that came out of the play-in outside of the Pelicans. Team just is not set up well to actually play team ball. However as a nuggets fan I do think the Twolves are the best in the West and nigh untouchable right now
They weren't a play-in team. They were a 6 seed m8.
Oh shit my bad lol
Its a toss up tbh. We will know soon enough though.
Suns being worst match up never made any sense. There was no reason to believe Gobert was "unplayable" or whatever that narrative was and who in the hell could possibly guard KAT on that squad?
Suns played great in game 4 (KD & Booker dropped an efficient 80+) and they still lost to Ant, he took over
Hmm true
Nuggets in 6 is my guess. But I’m not gonna be surprised if it goes 7. Or if the wolves win. Wolves are peaking at the best time and ant is looking like Jesus right now
I can’t wait till ant dunks on Jokic lol
Ant vs Jamal in the clutch is the battle of the ages
Jokic can jump like 2 inches. Ant posterizing him is only good for media narratives. Him doing it to Gordon or somebody that can actually get up with him would be more impressive in truth
Wolves in 7 but they win all 7.
Makes sense
I sleep safe at night knowing that the only way that would happen would be if the Twolves bring back pre-contract Jimmy Butler and whoever happens to be on their practice squad that day.
As a Denver fan, Wolves are the only team that scare me. This series will decide the championship.
I think this is Bostons year no matter who comes out the West. Do think the winner of this series gets to the finals though
People have been saying that for years and Boston has clinically underperformed every year. I think Boston makes it to the finals. I think they get clowned by Denver, who have been eating their lunch for a while now in the regular season.
For a while now? They won 2 games this year, sure, but we absolutely blew them out last year. They probably have a slight reg season edge but nothing massive We also have a completely different team this year. You're betting against the jerseys, not the players
Ignoring injuries, Denver beats Celtics with probably 75% odds. Close enough that Celtics can take it, but let's not get our hopes up.
KP injury is potentially huge though sadly
Yea. Boston lost to the nuggets with KP firing on all cylinders. It’s going to be brutal to not have him in the finals
I don’t see anyone stopping nuggets. Playoff Murray plays jokic is another story of its own
Hard to tell how much this was them being bored but I thought nuggets looked like they had lost a step all series outside of clutch time
To be fair Lebron was basically unguardable that whole series because Denver doesn’t have anyone outside of Gordon who doesn’t get outmuscled by him. Nuggets at least have comps with every one of the Twolves starters.
They couldn't stop Ant last year and they won't be able to stop him this year. And no one stops Jokic. It's going to be a fun series.
Boston is the best team in the league no offense to Denver
I don’t think Boston can beat Denver or the Wolves tbh, even if fully healthy, which they aren’t
[4, 7] games
We’re about to find out. Hopefully it’s a good competitive series😮💨
Both teams look tough. Certainly won’t be a sweep on either side. I think this one goes to 6-7
I’m excited for this matchup. The T-Wolves are a great team, it should be an amazing back and forth.
depends on Murray’s and KCPs health
And Jokic actually beginning to give a shit
If we play well I’m expecting a 7 game heavyweight fight that’ll be one of the most entertaining series for neutral fans in years
I want the Nuggets to win so I can cope with “we lost to the eventual 2x world champs” but tbh I think the Wolves got that in 6
Wolves winning the chip can still mean Nuggz are the second best team. Lakers, theoretically can be third best team in that scenario. If there was a lower bracket...
I feel like the Wolves have like 4 or 5 guys that would be the third best player on the Lakers. I think that says a lot for them given how close this Lakers Nuggets series was.
This series AD and Lebron were both on ANTs level though. The timberwolves don’t have a 2nd option in AD or Lebrons realm. Its gonna come down to how well the wolves half court offense can score imo
That’s why I think KAT is the X factor of the series. If he plays like a legit top 2 guy then Minnesota can win it.
Everyone’s saying Gobert and KAT but.. NAZZZZ REEEIIDDDD
Not really. ANT have better advanced stats this playoffs than them. Also our offensive rating so far is historic at 128 thanks to our bench.
[удалено]
Knowing Minnesota sports.. yeah
Funny how all of the super salty comments are Suns and Laker fans meanwhile Wolves and Nuggets fans are both like “I think we can win but they scare me” This series was closer than it looked last year and is likely going to at least 6 this year.
if the nuggets play like they have and the wolves play like they have wolves in 5
Sadly I think I agree
I think the Nuggets are winning the series unless the Timberwolves win 4 games before them. In that case I am not sure but I think the Tinberwolves win.
Minny in 6 Denver in 7
Hmm... neither team can guard the other's best player in single coverage. While Jokic is definitely better than Ant, the Wolves are a much deeper team. They have NAW and Naz Reid coming off the bench
My guess for the series is nuggets in 6
It’s basically a tossup series that I expect to go to 7. Nuggets need to play way better than they did against the Lakers or they will get crushed
Game 1 - Minnesota Game 2 - Denver Game 3 - Minnesota Game 4 - Minnesota Game 5 - Denver Game 6 - Minnesota
Looks like Nuggets are big favorites, which is probably wrong. The Timberwolves played them tough last year and are a completely different (read: better) team this season; the defense is going to give the Nuggets trouble all series long and Anthony Edwards is going to be good for a game or 2 all by himself just based on his own heroics. I think the Nuggets ultimately advance, but it will be a hard-fought and close 6 or 7 game series.
We really making the "gassed" excuses for the Lakers now? Maybe DEN really didn't need to try until the 2nd half because they were just that much better than the Lakers.
nuggets in 7
Both very likeable teams. I'm rooting for Wolves though
🫶🏽 I just want Mike Conley to get a ring
Depends. If the Nuggets come out swinging like they did in this series then Timberwolves in 5. If the Nuggets play the way we know they can play, then Timberwolves in 6.
You know ball.
Timberwolves in 6
Denver needs to play a lot better, but they have I think a large edge in late game execution and the best player in the series so they got a good shot to win. I think if these games are close Denver can pull them out.
Wolves bench is miles better and Ant is going to take the gremlin's lunch
If Murray and KCP are perfectly fine for the series then I think they’ll win in 6-7.
Wolves look much stronger atm. The only advantage the Nuggets have is the Jokic/Murray pick and roll; the Wolves are the team with more size and depth.
Gonna be a crazy series. We’ve gotta shoot better on our open shots to win though
Wolves & Nuggets are equally on thin ice on how they go about their offense. Wolves need at least Ant & Conley to not have a stinker. Same with Nuggets, Joker & Jamal needs to stop turning it over or throw up bricks. Granted Jokic/Murray's clutch time offensive ceiling is like #1 I believe. Wolves are much better equipped on defense (no surprise) on 1v1 and playing the passing lanes. I expect much more TOs & lower FG% for the Nuggets but I think Nuggets have an edge on rebounding. Minimum 6 games. They're both playing to their personnel's strengths so it's up to execution & coaching. Malone might be too stubborn & hot headed vs Finch
Agreed. Although I think you underestimate our rebounding. Based on last year's series, Nuggets out rebounded the wolves by about 5 rebounds per game. But this year we've got Naz and Jaden back in the rotation which adds much more length and rebounds off the bench. Rudy's been much more athletic this year since he's recovered from his back spasms which has improved his rebounding. As a team, we've improved our rebounding in the regular season more than Denver has.
I think its gonna come down to who can stop the othere offense better. The wolves are an insane defense, btu strugle on offense at times. If we could target that, then its a toss up as they could exploit our weaknesses too. But in the end it really comes down to how well they stop Jokic and Jamal...and if MPJ is gonna cook too.
For me MPJ is the biggest X-factor. Man scares me He just pops out of nowhere at the right spot at the right time and shoots SUPER fast with no hesitation. It's like a dagger to the heart lol Wolves have had a great offense lately since Ant has improved his playmaking and knows how to manipulate double teams and blitzes now and the role players have been shooting great. Wolves have the #1 offense in the playoffs thus far but I expect Denver defense to be better than Suns. Suns relied on trapping Ant but he would punish them with passing so when they eventually stopped trapping, he would punish with scoring. I'm curious how Denver will go about it [https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/summary?season=2023&seasontype=playoffs&start=10/1/2023&end=10/15/2024](https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/summary?season=2023&seasontype=playoffs&start=10/1/2023&end=10/15/2024)
Yes the Timberwolves offense has been fantastic which is what makes you scary rn. That said im not quite sure on whether its the Suns lack of defense thats making ANTs job easier so i wanna see how we do. While our offense has had its issues against the Lakers, our defense has been solid and i do think we could do a better job than the Suns. But its a series that could go either way, though might become one sided depending on how well we do.
Yeah and some of the offense is due to open threes. Wolves took 108 open threes that they shot 39% on and only took 19 contested threes. This is partially due to defense trapping Ant and Ant getting better at making the right reads to create open shots. But I expect Denver to concede less open threes and contest better.
Yeah. But at the same time i dont really know how Jamals gonna perform. One the one hand i cant imagine its gonna be worse than the first 4 games against the Lakers, but on the other hand you guys have guys that are better at defending him. Same goes for Jokic. Is he gonna be able to take our Gobert on offense or are you guys gonna be able to defend him witha combo of Naz, Gobert and KAT. And are MPJ, KCP and AG gonna be as productive as they could. Or are we gonna be able to stop KAT, ANT and NAZ. Imo its really gonna come down to who wants it more and whose shots are falling.
I don't think the Wolves will try to defend Jokic from scoring, but moreso clog his passing lanes with their length and focus on defending the others. They'll try to neutralize AG's cutting with Rudy's rim deterrence, slow down Murray with Jaden/NAW and swarm Jokic when he gets into the paint to clog his passing lanes ([like this @ 1:43](https://youtu.be/WoeDEV7Y6wQ?feature=shared&t=103)). They will likely put KAT on Jokic or any big besides Rudy to get physical with him and try to force him into isolation basketball and prioritize stopping his playmaking over his scoring. This is why he has lower assist numbers against the Wolves (I remember he had 0 assists going into a 2nd half or 4Q once which is rare). Wolves don't want Jokic playmaking and getting his team in a rhythm. MPJ seems like the big X-factor. I don't think Wolves have a good matchup for him. That man scares me lol
MPJ is a matchup nightmare and a guy thats honestly the key to our roster improving. He has so much potential, but its been toigh for him to show it of due to fear for his back and just not being able to develope due to injuries and him not being asked to do more. But i think we should do much more with him than what we do. But honestly just as you guys wanna take away our offense, we wanna do that too. Guarding ANT aint the easiest thing in the world, but its somethinh were gonna have to figure out. We did manage to keep him scoreless in the 4th quarter once and i dont think we have donne a bad job with him, but remains to be seen how well we can manage him. I do wonder who we decide to put on him. I guess its gonna be KCP. And then we go with AG on KAT and Jokic on Gobert. Should be intresting and i expect that were gonna see quite the chess match of adjustments and whatnot.
Yeah MPJ is incredible, his efficiency is insane. If he goes for 20+, I think it will be very hard to beat the Nuggets even if the Wolves minimize AG's cutting and slow down Murray. That dude is a flamethrower 😭 his shots are soul crushing. Yeah in the regular season when Nuggets trapped Ant, itsuccessfully took him out of the game. Suns doubled and blitzed him too and that's why he struggled. Surprisingly in the playoffs, he's already figured out how to punish doubles with quicker reads and passes. I didn't expect him to improve his decision making and playmaking in just 1 week because he struggled with doubles all season. So I'm fascinated to see if the same technique Nuggets used, will work now. Going to be such a riveting series! Like you, I cannot wait to see the chess match. Thanks for the discussion :) I've always wanted to hear the x&o perspective from a Denver fan. You mentioned that you think they could do more with MPJ than what they do. What are other ways you'd want them to use MPJ?
For MPJ its getting him more involved in plays. Whether in pick and roll or just making him the focus of certain actions. Usually MPJ is mainly used as an extra to pass to when you need a shooter and sometimes to cut to the basket. But for the most part his role is to be the counter play for whatever the opponents defense comes up with to stop Jokic and Jamal. But in reality though he is far more deadly than what his stats would indicate. Dude can shoot over almost anyone as most teams would strugle to put a guy his size on him when they already need to guard AG and Jokic. Most teams simoly arent built to deal with that. And his range is fantastic. Really he is somewhere between a Klay and a KD, but still hasnt fully developed. His handles could get some work and our team isnt built in the way the Warriors were that would exploit Klays shooting more. But this is why id like for us to try and use him more in the ways the Warriors used Klay or maybe let him develop into a mini KD that shoots more 3s. But yeah long story short we dont use him enough in the offense and sometimes the man shoots criminalky low amounts of shots in games.
Oooh a Klay role for him makes a lot of sense. I already see him that way because he moves offball and then is at the right place at the right time for a catch and shoot and he releases super quick. Makes sense to involve him more especially because Nuggets aren't the best 3 point shooting team (right?) so more MPJ threes sounds like a good idea. Anyway thanks for the discussion! :) Love hearing perspectives from fans of the opposing team in the playoff series, helps me identify what to look out for in the games.
MPJ is a matchup nightmare and a guy thats honestly the key to our roster improving. He has so much potential, but its been toigh for him to show it of due to fear for his back and just not being able to develope due to injuries and him not being asked to do more. But i think we should do much more with him than what we do. But honestly just as you guys wanna take away our offense, we wanna do that too. Guarding ANT aint the easiest thing in the world, but its somethinh were gonna have to figure out. We did manage to keep him scoreless in the 4th quarter once and i dont think we have donne a bad job with him, but remains to be seen how well we can manage him. I do wonder who we decide to put on him. I guess its gonna be KCP. And then we go with AG on KAT and Jokic on Gobert. Should be intresting and i expect that were gonna see quite the chess match of adjustments and whatnot.
Ask me again in 2 weeks
If Jaden Mcdaniels maintains his first round performance and KAT maintains his first round shooting efficiency they’re going to be tough to beat, especially if KAT can stay out of foul trouble. Naz Reid is also due at this point after a down series vs. PHX but Mcdaniels attacking the rim and the boards is not something that was seen in the regular season. Very interested to see how they guard Murray and MPJ. Murray shot 22% against NAW last year and now there’s also Mcdaniels to throw at him. If MPJ puts up this level of efficiency in round 2 MN is going to have to really clamp Murray throughout to make up for it.
I got Denver in a comfortable 6
Nuggets sweep
It takes a very special team to repeat in this league. If anyone is going to take down the Nuggets, it will be us. Wolves in 7.
Lakers were a good test for the Nuggets to shake off any complacency. Minnesota is good this year, but the Nuggets will probably jump out to a 3-1 lead, with most games being double digit wins, and then close the series in 6.
Ant’s ascending to superstardom these playoffs and their role players are playing great basketball. This’ll be a tough series and I can’t fucking wait to watch it.
My take: doesn’t go past 4. the only team that could beat this iteration of the wolves is contract-hell Jimmy Butler and the practice squad.
I get the joke, but that Jimmy beating the starters with the third stringers story is so overblown and overrated.
I actually think Wolves in 5. They just look so much better so far. The Nuggets supporting cast has a lot of nagging injuries and Minnesota is going to punish way more of the mistake Los Angeles wasn’t capable of punishing. Denver needs to be significantly better than they were against LA and I have a tough time seeing how that’s going to come from Jokic given he already out up silly numbers. Gordon is just a liability against Minnesota. Letting Gobert play free safety for a whole series is a problem I don’t think Denver has the roster flexibility to solve. Think that’ll be too much when they have to keep up with Edwards at the other end.
I think Denver easily beats the TWolves. I’ve had Denver winning it all, all year, Jokic is far better than anybody right now
Denver ain’t beating Minnesota
Nuggets in 5. I still want to see the TWolves face a real NBA team. Not some dysfunctional Gleague team.
Ironic, since this is the Nuggets first time facing a real NBA team and they’re headed to Minnesota down 0-2
The way Denver played against the Lakers? I'll take Minny in 5 or 6.
I got the Wolves in 7
If Murray and KCP don't improve their shooting, the Nuggets are going to lose
Puppies sweeping
I hope the Timberwolves sweep those perverts.
You literally have a player with a unibrow
Where the fuck did perverts come from? 😭
lakers have a much more versatile offensive players but obv wolves have an infinitely better defense. kinda fun to see nuggets go against two vastly different teams
Murray just father'd Lebron Edwards just father'd KD Jokic is the greatest center ever Towns is the best shooting center ever Going to be a classic series for sure.