NFL
By Keith Richards
It’s time! It’s time! It’s playoffs time! After a mostly up, but recently down, season for the Denver Nuggets, the number one seed in the Western Conference now gets the chance to prove itself in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. The opponent? Northwest Division rival, 8th seed Minnesota Timberwolves. I’ll discuss the key players, and the wild card players, and give my predictions for the outcome of this series. So, let’s get it!
Key Players
For the Nuggets, the key player is obviously Nikola Jokic. The MVP candidate for the Nuggets had a phenomenal regular season. He is the engine that moves this Denver Nuggets team. While Jokic will need other players to shine, his performance is most important to the team’s success. Denver will need every bit of his season average of 24.5 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 9.8 APG if they have championship aspirations.
For the Timberwolves, the key player is Ruby Gobert. That may seem like a questionable choice, but Gobert has the toughest task of all the Wolves players. He will be charged with guarding Jokic of the Nuggets. Gobert’s success, or failure, in guarding Jokic will be what drives the success, or failure, of Minnesota.
In two games this season, Nikola’s averages against the Timberwolves, when Gobert plays, are 22 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 12.5 APG with an overall plus/minus of plus 31. It doesn’t appear to be bad numbers, but the Nuggets rarely lost this season when Nikola had a triple-double, which is about what he averaged against Minnesota when Gobert played. So, Rudy will need to find a way to limit Jokic if the Timberwolves have a shot of stealing this series.
Wild Cards
While the obvious choice seems like Jamal Murray, I’m going with Michael Porter, Jr. Quietly, MPJ has had a very efficient year for the Nuggets. Porter averaged 17.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 48.7% shooting overall from the floor, and 41.4% from three. More importantly, with the closest defender being six feet or further away, MPJ made 54.3% of his threes for the Nuggets. If he continues to shoot that percentage when open, Minnesota will have a long series.
For the Timberwolves, the wild card is Anthony Edwards. Gobert will have his hands full with Jokic. Karl-Anthony Towns missed all the games versus the Nuggets this season but averaged 29.3 PPG in the previous games he played. So, KAT will likely get his. It will be up to the Ant-Man to provide that additional spark for Minnesota.
In the four games against the Nuggets this season, Edwards averaged 21 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 3.5 APG with an overall plus/minus of plus two. Ant will need to average similar numbers, if not better, for Minnesota to have a shot. With Naz Reid and (likely) Jaden McDaniels out for the series, Edwards’ impact will be that much more vital.
The Prediction
The spotlight is on both teams for completely different reasons. For the Nuggets, it’s about just how good are they. They’ve been mostly healthy for the majority of the season for the first time in a long time. That health, and the play of Nikola Jokic, drove the Nuggets to the number one seed in the Western Conference. Now, it’s time to prove they can contend for a title. Anything less than the Conference Finals will be a disappointment.
Minnesota is, for lack of a better term, fighting to prove they can even get along. The acquisition of Rudy Gobert hasn’t been what the Timberwolves envisioned. Injuries to Towns earlier this season and now Reid and McDaniels have not helped either. They are clearly the underdogs in this series against the Nuggets. It took two play-in games for Minnesota to even get to this point. Needless to say, their backs are against the wall.
It’s possible, even likely, that this will be a short series. However, the Nuggets have to prove they’re over their spell of coasting in the second half of the season. Minnesota has been in playoff mode for weeks now, which I think will catch the Nuggets off guard. That being said, Denver takes this series 4-2. They’ll seem not up to the task early in the series, but then overwhelm the Timberwolves in the end.
Don’t forget to follow Team NBS Media on Twitter for commentary on all the playoff action. Other series previews can be found on the website as well. Don’t forget to rep your squad, specifically the Mile High City, for that playoff runs with new gear!
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