The defending NBA Champions, Denver Nuggets, had an excellent regular season. They won the Western Conference second seed, and Nikola Jokić will win his third MVP in the last four years.
They also showed that they still had some guts by defeating the Lakers in a close five-game series. After two games in their Western Conference Semifinals series, that has not been the case, and things appear dire.
Following a close Game 1 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Nuggets needed to win Game 2 at home to avoid losing 0-2 in Minnesota. Before the game, they got lucky since Rudy Gobert, the great center for the Timberwolves, was ruled out due to his wife giving birth to their first child.
Rudy Gobert’s absence was, to put it mildly, not something they could capitalize on. The Nuggets lost 106-80 in a game that was genuinely as large of a blowout as the score indicated, getting completely dominated on their home court.
The way they played was far worse than the result. Without a doubt, the Timberwolves were outstanding. They had a swarming, extremely active defense. The Denver Nuggets are really bothered by their length, particularly near the rim. Moreover, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns scored goals with effectiveness and efficiency.
However, the Nuggets appear to be inactive. Jamal Murray shot 3–18 from the field, and his postseason performance would have been dreadful if not for his two game-winning baskets against the Lakers. Additionally, based on the punishment NBA Commissioner Adam Silver decides to impose, he can miss Game 3 after hurling a heat pack onto the court during live action in the second quarter.
The Timberwolves’ length appears to be causing Nikola Jokic a great deal of trouble. Just 16 points on 5-13 shooting was his total. In other words, if they want to save this, he needs to score a lot more points in the series than that. Although he did had 16 rebounds and 8 assists, 16 points is insufficient when Murray is having trouble scoring.
In the end, the younger Timberwolves might just be the more skilled, resilient, and well-rounded team. However, the Nuggets are still superior to a sweep, which at this point appears to be a serious possibility.
