The Minnesota Timberwolves are making the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets look bad — real bad.
Oh, and now Minnesota gets to go back home. That’s right, as you know, the Timberwolves took Game 1 in Denver … and then absolutely blasted the Nuggets in Game 2.
So much for high altitude. So much also for the Nuggets looking like a team that won’t have to overcome some adversity finally. Hey, not every NBA playoff series can come against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Actually, the Lakers led the majority of that first-round series, but the Nuggets finished at the end — thanks in large part to TWO game-winners from Jamal Murray.
But in Game 2 against the Timberwolves, Murray couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean (3-of-18 shooting). He could, however, throw a heating pack on the court, and now the NBA office is reportedly looking into it.
Sadly, that was the most memorable moment for the Nuggets in this series so far.
“They punked us,” guard Reggie Jackson told reporters, via Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
Basically, there is no reason to believe the Nuggets will bounce back. They were drilled in Game 2, at home, in what should have been a revenge game from Game 1. And the Timberwolves didn’t even have starting center Rudy Gobert.
Now, for the record, I went on ESPN Sioux Falls before the series and picked the Timberwolves to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. I still believe that’s a strong possibility.
But I also believe they must win Game 3 at home. Nobody has ever come back from 3-0. No one probably will.
But if they lose Game 3 — even if they win Game 4 — I think it may not be that difficult to think the Nuggets will emerge. Let’s say it’s 3-1 going back to Denver. The Nuggets are due to win at home. That makes it 3-2. So all Denver really will need to do is win a road game to make it 3-3, with Game 7 back in Denver.
I’m not guaranteeing anything here. I’m just thinking out loud. I don’t see a better player in the NBA right now than Anthony Edwards, and usually, a team with the best player wins — especially when you’ve been as utterly dominant as the Timberwolves guard.
All I’m really saying is, I don’t suspect the Nuggets to die easily, despite the fact they’ve hardly been world-beaters in these playoffs. I suspect they will pull their act together for at least one game. How the Timberwolves respond when that happens could be the series.
Murray, Nikola Jokic and the rest are too good to go out this easily. Hopefully for the Timberwolves sake, they’re well aware of that.
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