J-Speaks: 2024 Western Conference Semifinals Preview: Nuggets Versus Timberwolves

 

(2) Denver Nuggets versus (3) Minnesota Timberwolves
            (57-25)                                          (56-26)

Season-Series: Tied 2-2
Playoff History: MIN def. DEN 4-1 2004 Western Conference First-Round
                            DEN def. MIN 4-1 2023 Western Conference First-Round

Six seasons back, the boys from the “Colorado Rockies” lost out on the No. 8 and final Playoff spot in the Western Conference to the boys from the “Twin Cities.” They have not missed the Playoffs since, and last season took down their Northwest Division rivals on their way to winning their first NBA title in franchise history. Over the past two regular season, these two division rivals split their four-game regular season series. Now the two lock horns again, this time in the Western Conference Semifinals with the boys from the “Colorado Rockies” trying to move one step closer to back-to-back titles, while the boys from the “Twin Cities” are seeking to reach the Western Conference Finals for the just the second time in their postseason history.

At the close of the 2017-18 season, the now defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets lost out on the No. 8 Seed in overtime (112-106) at the Minnesota Timberwolves, missing the postseason for a fifth consecutive spring.

Head Coach Michael Malone’s squad has made the Playoffs in the ensuing six seasons since, including this one and last season captured their first title in their history.

They came back even more improved this season winning a franchise-record tying 57 wins and were in a battle for the No. 1 Seed in the West with the aforementioned Timberwolves and young Oklahoma City Thunder, who overtook the Nuggets and Timberwolves for the top spot in the West.

The Nuggets took down the No. 7 Seeded Los Angeles Lakers in an epic five games series where the Nuggets needed every bit of their chemistry and connectivity that they have developed over the past handful of season to get by a very game Lakers squad.

Leading the way for the Nuggets was their two-time Kia MVP and reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic (28.2 ppg, 16.2 rpg, 9.8 apg, 59.1 FG%) who was brilliant in the First Round against the Lakers registering double-doubles in all five games of the series, including two triple-doubles, bringing his career postseason total to 18. He also registered two games of 20-plus points and 20 rebounds, which included a performance of 27 points, 20 boards and 10 assists in the Nuggets 101-99 victory in Game 2 (TNT) versus the Lakers on Apr. 22, 2024. 

As great as Jokic was in that win, the Nuggets were on the winning side of things thanks to Jamal Murray, who capped his 14-point fourth quarter with the game-winning jumper at the buzzer over the Lakers’ Anthony Davis right in front of the Nuggets bench falling on the seat of his shorts. It capped a 20-point performance by Murray, who went 6/8 from the field in the final period after going 3/18 shooting the first three quarters.  

Murray nearly duplicated the same outcome making the go-ahead jumper with 03.6 seconds left to cap another comeback win for the Nuggets in 108-106 Game 5 (TNT) series-clincher versus the Lakers on Monday night. It was the crowning finish of a 32-point performance by Murray, who shot 13/28 from the field, including 5/10 from three-point range with seven assists.

“This one’s a little better,” Murray said of his second game-winning shot of the series to NBA on TNT’s Allie LaForce after the Game 5 win. “I’m speechless…It’s a dream come true; you know? All these fans on your side and to get it done in this fashion, you know what I’m saying? I don’t know what to say. I’m just happy for us.”

Outside of his two heroic fourth quarter performances, Murray shot just 36 percent from the floor in the other 18 quarters. While he averaged 23.6 points, 7.2 assists, and 4.6 boards for the series, Murray only shot 36 percent from the field in the other 18 quarters in the opening-round.   

It was also a performance that almost did not happen because Murray entered action with an injured calf and had to convince Coach Malone and the Nuggets medical staff, he was good enough to play. Murray convinced them and because of Murray’s heroics, the Nuggets advanced to the West Semis.

“I didn’t want to sit,” Murray, who had his 17^th 30-plus point game of his postseason career, third in Nuggets Playoff history said to LaForce about not wanting to miss Game 5 versus the Lakers. “I think the training staff, they were just really cautious with it. They did not want it to get worse. And I was like, ‘I’m not going to leave my brothers out there.’”

“I got a little emotional in the back because I was like, ‘I’m not sitting. I don’t care. What it is we’ve got to figure out. And I’m just thankful that they let me play and I was able to get this opportunity and actually put the ball in the hoop.”

The series was not cakewalk for the Nuggets, who had to overcome halftime deficits in all five games against the Lakers, including coming back from double-digit deficits in the first three games to go up 3-0. They were behind all of Game 4 at the Lakers last week and dropped Game 4 (119-108) Apr. 27, 2024 (ABC) needing to go back home and take down the Lakers as mentioned two nights later.

What also proven in their series against the Lakers by the Nuggets was that the remaining three-fifths of their starting five in Michael Porter, Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Aaron Gordon is pretty good.

A big reason why the Nuggets took down the Lakers once again is the continued excellence of Porter, Jr., who managed to keep his focus in the series despite dealing with personal issues off the hardwood with one brother recently sentenced to prison for his role in a fatal car accident and his brother in now former Toronto Raptor Johntay Porter being permanently banned from the NBA for gambling.

Porter, Jr. scored 20-plus points in the final four games of the series, which included double-doubles of 20 points and 10 boards in the Game 3 triumph (112-105) Apr. 25, 2024 (TNT) at the Lakers to put the Nuggets up in the series 3-0, going 8/16 shooting. That game on the heels of 22 points with nine boards on 8/13 from the field, including 6/10 from three. In the Game 4 loss at the Lakers, Porter, Jr. was a bright spot with 27 points and 11 rebounds on 10/20 shooting with four made triples. In the Game 5 clincher, Porter, Jr. had 26 points on 8/12 from the floor, including 5/7 from three.

For the series, Porter, Jr. averaged 22.8 points and 8.4 rebounds on 55.3 percent from the field and 48.8 percent from three-point range.

Gordon, who nearly averaged a double-double himself against the Lakers in the First-Round with 13.8 points, and 9.8 rebounds with 4.6 assists on 52.8 percent from the field, got off on the right foot in the series with a near triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in Game 1 victory (114-103) Apr. 20, 2024 (ABC).

In Game 3, Gordon had the best game of his postseason career with Playoff career-highs of 29 points and 15 rebounds on 12/18 shooting.

In Game 5, Gordon had 13 rebounds and six assists to go along with seven points.

Caldwell-Pope, affectionately called “KCP” had his struggles in the opening-round against the Lakers.

He got off to a solid start in the series with 12 points on 4/10 from three with three steals in the Game 1 victory. His other double-figure scoring performance by the former Laker in the series came in Game 4 with 14 points with four steals. In the Game 5 clincher, Caldwell-Pope battled through an ankle injury and registered just five points going just 2/10 from the field, including 1/6 from three.

In their opening-round matchup a season ago with the Timberwolves, the Nuggets outside of blowing the doors off their division rivals in Game 1 (119-80), each game after that was very highly contested as the Nuggets prevailed in Games 2 and 3 by nine points each. The Timberwolves staved off elimination with an overtime victory in Game 4 (114-108) but the Nuggets took the series back home with a 112-109 win to take the series 4-1.

The Nuggets though enter this series tilt against a Timberwolves squad that seemingly with players that matchup well in three key spots. They have the presumptive four-time Kia Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert to go against Jokic. A cleaver and solid veteran lead guard in Mike Conley to tangle with Murray and NBA All-Defensive selection to be Jaden McDaniels to go up against Porter, Jr. and at time Murray.

“We see them four times a year. We saw them in the Playoff last year,” Murray said of the Timberwolves. “We know what they like to do, and they know what we like to do. I think the series will be decided on who can do a better job of taking away the strengths of the other team.”

In their season series this season, Jokic was a handful for the Timberwolves and Gobert, like he is against the rest of “The Association” with averages of 33.3 points and 11.8 boards on 58 percent from the field. What the Timberwolves did take away from Jokic was his playmaking abilities as he only averaged 4.3 assists in the four-game season-series against the Timberwolves.

In their last tilt in Denver, CO on Apr. 10, 2024 (ESPN), Jokic was dominant as a scorer, rebounder, and passer with 41 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists with three steals on 16/20 from the floor and 7/12 at the foul line.  

“Nikola always embraces the physicality,” Coach Malone said of his two-time MVP center. “He never shies away from it. Rudy Gobert is going to be a Hall of Fame player one day. Rudy Gobert is going to be regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. And it just speaks to how great Nikola is. I don’t think anybody in the NBA can guard Nikola one-on-one.”  

For the Timberwolves, this is their finest season in two decades, which saw them win 56 games, their second most in a season in their history, just two short of their 58-win mark set in 2004 where they went on to the Western Conference Finals and lost in six games to the Hall of Fame trio of Shaquille O’Neal, the late Kobe Bryant and head coach Phil Jackson led Los Angeles Lakers.

The Timberwolves two decades back were led by the trio of Hall of Famer and that season’s Kia MVP Kevin Garnett; Latrell Sprewell; and current Boston Celtics assistant coach and three-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets and Celtics Sam Cassell.

The 2024 Playoff version of the Timberwolves is led by possible future Kia MVP in Anthony Edwards and perennial All-Star big-men in Karl-Anthony Towns and the aforementioned Rudy Gobert.

Over the course of his young career, Edwards, the No. 1 overall pick in 2020 out of the University of Georgia has shown flashes of being this league’s next face or one of its headliners, especially in the postseason. 

Back in the 2022 First-Round, which the Timberwolves went down in six games to the then No. 2 Seeded Memphis Grizzlies, Edwards averaged 25.2 points on 45.5 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from three. In the five-game setback to the Nuggets the next spring, Edwards averaged 31.6 points five rebounds and 5.2 assists with two blocks and 1.8 steals on 48.3 percent from the floor and 34.9 percent from three.  

In that Game 5 setback, Edwards had a chance to send the game into overtime but his three-point attempt at the final buzzer missed.

Edwards and the Timberwolves have used those two setbacks as fuel to put on the display they did in the First-Round of the 2024 Playoffs against the Phoenix Suns.

During the regular season, the Suns won the season-series over the Timberwolves 3-0, winning by an average of 15.7 points and allowing on average of 118.3 points.

In authoring their first postseason series sweep (4-0), the Timberwolves held the Suns to 103.3 points, holding them to under 100 points in the first two games of the series.

The story of the series though was Edwards and how he was the shining star against a Suns squad that featured established stars in Kevin Durant, Edwards’ childhood basketball idol, and fellow perennial All-Stars in Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal.

After averaging just 14.3 points with six boards and 3.7 assists on 31 percent from the field and 27.3 percent on his triple tries, Edwards averaged in the four-game series sweep 31 points, eight rebounds, 6.3 assists, and two steals on 51.2 percent from the floor, 43.8 percent from three, and 83.9 percent from the charity stripe on 7.8 attempts.

Edwards got things rolling in the Timberwolves’ 120-95 win in Game 1 versus the Suns on Apr. 20 2024 (ESPN) scoring 18 of his 33 points in the third quarter, going 8/11 from the field in the period. He finished the contest also with nine rebounds, six assists and two steals on 14/24 shooting, including 4/8 from three.

In Game 2, Edwards struggled scoring just 15 points on 3/12 shooting with five boards and eight assists in the team’s 105-93 victory three nights later (TNT).

On this night it was Edwards’ teammates that shined like McDaniels, who had Playoff career-high of 25 points with eight rebounds on 10/17 shooting. Conley scored 18  with two steals on 7/13 shooting, including 3/6 from three. Gobert, who followed his Game 1 performance of 14 points and 16 rebounds with 18 points and nine boards with three steals. Towns scored 12 with eight boards and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 10 with five assists.

In Games 3 and 4, the Timberwolves, who have been known for their defense this entire season put on an incredible offensive display in closing out the Suns in their house.

In their 126-109 victory in Game 3 Apr. 26, 2024 (ESPN), Edwards led the way with 36 points, nine boards, five assists, and two steals going 12/23 from the field and 11/11 at the foul line. He scored 18 of his 20 second half points in the fourth quarter, going 5/7 from the floor and 8/8 at the foul line.

Gobert had his second double-double of the series with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Town also had a double-double with 18 points and 13 boards on 7/16 shooting, including 3/5 from three. Alexander-Walker added 16 points with five assists, going 4/10 from three. Conley scored 15 with seven assists on 3/7 from three. Naz Reid added 13 points off the bench.

In the Game 4 series-clinching win (122-116) two nights later (TNT), Edwards scored a Playoff career-high of 40 points with nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks going 13/23 shooting, including 7/13 from three and 7/10 at the free throw line.

Things did not start off well for Edwards, who scored just nine points on 2/8 shooting, including 1/6 from three in the opening-half, including 4/6 at the foul line. He got it going in the third quarter with 15 points on 5/8 from the floor and 4/5 on his triple tries. Then finished things off in style with 16 points on 6/7 from the floor, including making both of his threes in the fourth quarter, which also included a massive dunk that turned out the lights on the Suns’ season.

Towns registered his second double-double of the series with 28 points and 10 rebounds on 11/17 from the field, including 4/6 on his threes. McDaniels scored 18 and Conley added 10 with seven assists.

Last season, the Timberwolves struggled to put this all together in terms of the pecking order between Edwards, Towns, a fellow former No. 1 overall pick and Kia Rookie of the Year, and Gobert.

This season and in these Playoffs so far, the Timberwolves have found that pecking order in Edwards, who is just 22 years old as the head of the snake and Towns and Gobert, with Conley following behind.

Towns in the opening-round versus the Suns averaged 19.3 points and 9.5 rebounds on 53.1 percent from the field and 52.9 percent on his triplet tries. Gobert averaged a double-double of 15 points and 11 boards versus the Suns on 61.3 percent shooting.

In speaking with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt following the Game 3 win, Edwards shouted out Alexander-Walker and McDaniels saying that both of them have played at a “high-level” to start this postseason.

“I just want to kill everything in front of me. That’s the main thing pretty much. That is all there is to it,” Edwards said to Van Pelt about his mentality on the hardwood and how it has evolved in his basketball career.  

He also said how “thirsty” he was to end the Suns season in Game 4, which he and his teammates did and they did it against one of the best star trios in Durant, who will be Edwards’ teammate for USA Basketball this summer in Paris, Booker, and Beal.

“It felt great,” Edwards, who said to the “Inside the NBA” on TNT crew of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal. “I’ve got the upmost respect for KD, man. Like he comes in and compete every night. I’ve watched every last one of his games since I’ve been about 5 [years old]. So I love that guy, man, and I’m excited to play with him this summer. Talk a little trash and let him know I sent him home.”

When asked by Johnson, fellow University of Georgia alum about the most satisfying moment of the Game 4, it was the play of Towns, who made a brief appearance during Edwards’ postgame interview with “Inside the NBA” crew.

“Like a lot of people think it was me the reason we won. Without KAT in that second half, we wouldn’t have been close to winning man. So, big shout out KAT.”

Last postseason, the Timberwolves felt they lost to the Nuggets because they did not have McDaniels, and Reid, who were both on the shelf due to injury.

Both have comeback and were superb in the regular season and were solid in the First-Round against the Suns, especially Reid, the 2023-24 Kia Sixth Man of the Year.

McDaniels, leading candidate to make one of the two All-Defensive squads when they are announced later on this postseason averaged against Suns 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds on 50 percent from the floor. Reid averaged 9.5 points.

Alexander-Walker chipped in with 12.3 points and 1.8 steals against the Suns, while Conley averaged 11.8 points and 6.3 assists on 36.4 percent from three-point range.

The Timberwolves others will provide a big advantage in this upcoming series against the Nuggets, whose second unit of Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Reggie Jackson, Justin Holiday, and DeAndre Jordan did not produce much in the opening-round against the Lakers.

“They have championship pedigree,” Towns said of the Nuggets. “They’ve got guys who, almost all of them, have been there, winning a championship with them.”

The only issue facing the Timberwolves entering this series is whether they will have their head coach with them on the sidelines.

Late in the fourth quarter of their First-Round clincher at the Suns, Conley bumped into Head Coach Chris Finch’s leg and he suffered what turned out to be a ruptured patella tendon in his right knee in the closing seconds of Game 4.

Coach Finch had surgery on his right knee on Wednesday and the plan is according to a report from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin for Finch to sit in a seat slightly behind the rest of the courtside seats comprising the Timberwolves bench when they play Game 1 of the West Semifinals at the Nuggets on Saturday night (TNT). The scorer’s table that will be to Finch’s right should serve as a barrier to protect him from any careening players along the sideline.

“I feel pretty good, all things considered,” Finch said following his surgery. “The plan is to try to be here all along. Just see how I felt day by day and then just kind of figure out logistically how it might work being on the bench and with the other coaches.”

While Coach Finch will still coach his squad, he said that he will lean heavily on assistant coach Micah Nori for the many mobile responsibilities that will come during Game 1 and throughout the series.

“I’ll be on the bench, but the game interaction, the game flow will be largely run by Micah,” Finch said. “And I’m obviously not in a position to be able get up, call timeouts, interact with the players, that kind of stuff. But being right there with the coaches and the players in the huddles, that stuff will be the same.”

They battled it out for the final Playoff spot six seasons back as both were trying to rise to the level that they are now not just in the Western Conference but in the entire NBA as two legit title contending teams.

When the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves met the in the opening-round in 2004, it was the boys from the “Twin Cities,” the No. 1 Seed then in the West led by the aforementioned Kevin Garnett that took down the Nuggets, who were led by then rookie and future Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony in five games on their way to their first West Finals berth, which they lost in six games to the aforementioned Lakers.

Last season, it was the Nuggets who were the No. 1 Seed in the West and as previously mentioned took down the Timberwolves 4-1 and they won their first title in their history.

The two teams meet again and while the Timberwolves are much improved, the Nuggets have home court advantage. They have the better duo in Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray coupled with a stellar complimentary trio of Michael Porter, Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They also have the kind of continuity that has been their go-to, especially in close games, which got them past the Lakers and will definitely be on their side against the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves though have better depth in Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Naz Reid to go alongside Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, and Mike Conley. They also have the defensive mentality that has served them well this season and so far in these Playoffs.

Prediction: Nuggets in seven games.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 4/27/2024 12:30 a.m. ESPN’s “Sportscenter With Scott Van Pelt,” from Washington, D.C.; 4/29/2024 10 p.m. “Los Angeles Lakers versus Denver Nuggets,” Game 4 2024 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google Pixel, First-Round TNT, presented by Nerdwallet with Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Jamal Crawford, Allie LaForce; 4/29/2024 12 a.m. “Inside the NBA,” TNT, presented by Kia With Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal; 4/30/2024 www.nba.com story, “NBA Playoffs: What To Expect In Nuggets-Timberwolves Series,” By Shaun Powell; 5/4/2024 www.espn.com story, “Timberwolves Chris Finch Will Coach Courtside After Surgery,” By Dave McMenamin; www.nba.com;  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Denver_Nuggets_seasons; https://www.landofbasketball.com/head_to_headgi/timberwolves_vs_nuggets; https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2024-nba-western-conference-first-round-suns-vs-timberwolves.html; https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/den/denver-nuggets; https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/min/minnesota-timberwolves; and https://ww.nba.com/game/min-vs-den-0042300231.