Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves look to win their fifth straight playoff game as they go a Mile High to take on two-time MVP Nikola Jokić and the defending champion Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
It’s time, Minnesota Timberwolves fans… The second round is upon us for the first time in 20 years.
Across the sports landscape, winning a playoff series is but a ho-hum achievement. For Wolves Nation, this has been two decades in the making. An entire generation of Minnesota sports fans have grown up while the Timberwolves have floundered around in the cellar of the NBA. As the incompetence on 1st Ave. continued to mount, the Timberwolves were left in a perpetual free fall with zero hope in sight. To make matters worse? As the rest of the NBA world thrived under the stewardship of the LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors’ dynastic run, the Timberwolves were thrown into the corner and forcefully given a dunce cap as the rest of the NBA routinely placed the Wolves as the butt of all their jokes.
No longer. These Timberwolves have made a joke out of the Phoenix Suns, cooling down the Suns’ radiating offense on their way to sweeping them right out of the 2024 NBA playoffs. The Wolves will now square off against the very team that punted them right out of the 2023 NBA playoffs in five games. The Denver Nuggets are a force that have taken the NBA landscape by storm. Serbian big man Nikola Jokić has cast an inescapable shadow over the 29 NBA franchises. The pathway to winning an NBA Championship will inevitably lead you into the belly of the beast. The Timberwolves have been presented with an opportunity to slay the dragon who desperately seeks to defend their treasure.
Fortunately Wolves Nation, the Timberwolves have their own fire-breathing basketball savant. Anthony Edwards has quickly ascended to the forefront of the NBA. Unafraid of the moment, the 22-year-old superstar is knocking on the door of greatness.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards has generated more than 100 million video views across NBA social and digital platforms since the start of the NBA Playoffs, second among all players (trailing LeBron James with 130M video views). Edwards finished the regular season as the 7th…
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 30, 2024
As bright as Edward’s star shines, he does not walk into this battle alone. These Timberwolves are a monster of their own. With enough length to warp themselves around the Earth’s circumference, this team is capable of utter disruption to NBA offense. This is a true clash of two titans that NBA fanbases far and wide will bear witness to.
Remember to enjoy this Wolves fans.
Let’s dive into the matchup and what to expect as these two titans prepare themselves for battle Saturday night.
Game Info
- Who: #3 Minnesota Timberwolves (4-0) vs. #2 Denver Nuggets (4-1)
- When: Saturday, May 4th at 6:00 PM CT
- Where: Ball Arena — Denver, CO
- National TV: TNT (Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Jamal Crawford and Allie LaForce)
- Radio: KFAN FM 100.3, Wolves App
- Line: Wolves +4.5 | Total: 208.5 (courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Jerseys: Wolves (Association), Nuggets (Statement)
Injury Report
Updated as of Saturday, May 4 at 11:00 AM CT
Minnesota
Fully Healthy
Denver
Questionable
- Jamal Murray (calf)
Murray has been in and out of practices this week leading up to the Round 2 clash.
What to Watch For
Chris Finch’s Capacity to Coach
In the closing minutes of Game 4, Mike Conley raced Suns guard Devin Booker up the court. With Conley a step ahead, Booker bumped Conley sending him out of control into the sideline where he abruptly collided with Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch. The beloved coach took the brunt of the collision and ultimately suffered a torn patellar tendon in his right knee; he underwent surgery on Wednesday and traveled to Denver on Friday morning before meeting the team for practice at Ball Arena that afternoon. While the Wolves promptly dispatched the Suns in the waning minutes, losing Finch to injury has thrust lead assistant Micah Nori into a pivotal role in leading this team with Finch’s ability to patrol the sidelines in doubt.
Micah Nori says Finch’s surgery went well. Team still looking at options for him for Game 1, including joining them on the bench by moving some seats around or having him watch from a suite and joint them pregame and at halftime
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) May 1, 2024
After years of turnover and instability, Finch has established a culture of accountability, confidence, and optimism in a team without a talent shortage but little know-how. With his status in doubt, Nori will be asked to lead the Wolves into Denver and put his imprint onto the game plan and rotation. This isn’t the first time Nori has filled in for Finch, who sat out a March 8th game in Cleveland with illness.
This team features veteran talent capable of holding to their standard on both sides of the ball. Center Rudy Gobert already commands the defense, as he calls out coverages and constantly communicates with his teammates to effectively rotate defensively. On offense, Mike Conley is an elite organizer, pulling the strings of his teammates. Both players know what needs to be done, and look for their leadership among Nori to keep this team focused and firing on all cylinders.
How Will Denver Guard Anthony Edwards?
The Timberwolves have long established themselves as a premier defensive powerhouse this season. Clocking in with a defensive rating of 108.4, the Timberwolves are far and away the top defensive team in the league and a commanding 2.2 points ahead of the second-in-line Boston Celtics. We know this team will show up and play defense, but how will they keep pace with the high-powered Denver offense? It’s an important question that begins and ends with how the Nuggets attempt to contain Edwards.
In last year’s playoff matchup, Edwards ran rampant against the Nuggets, averaging 31.6 points per game on 54.8 eFG%. Denver threw all they could at the flamethrower that is Edwards to no avail.
Anthony Edwards’ totals in Round 1 vs. Denver last year when defended by…
Caldwell-Pope: 37p | 52% FG
Jokić: 32p | 43.3% FG
Gordon: 28p | 47.6% FG
Murray: 25p | 44% FG
Brown: 21p | 50% FG
Green: 21p | 63.6% FG
Porter Jr.: 12p | 50% FGWho’s stopping him this year?
— Charlie Walton (@CharlieWaltonMN) May 3, 2024
Aaron Gordon is an elite defender with the capability of playing physically while possessing enough athleticism to stick with the uber-athletic Ant. That said, if you pull Gordon up to guard Edwards, the Nuggets leave Karl Anthony-Towns in a favorable matchup where he can settle into the game. This leaves Denver in a position where they are going to have to pick their poison. Do you utilize Gordon to try and take Towns out of the game while letting Ant get his, or do you sell out on Ant and leave Towns room to operate?
When you hear people say Minnesota is a tough matchup for Denver, this is why. They do not have a clean way to match up with the Timberwolves offensive weapons. Their usual perimeter stopper Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, struggles to slow down bigger wings who can play with force and physicality, as you can see in the clip from last year’s playoffs below:
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I expect the Nuggets to throw several different bodies and looks at Edwards, but who matches up with him in game one will be a point of interest.
Can the Timberwolves’ Bench Keep Cooking?
A staple during round 1 was the enormous contribution from the Wolves bench, outscoring the Suns’ bench 27 – 21.5 in points per game in Round 1. Nickeil Alexander-Walker played a crucial role in holding the Timberwolves defensive standard. Of the five best three-man lineup pairings from the first round, you can find Alexander-Walker in three of them:
- Rudy Gobert, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Anthony Edwards – +14
- Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert, Nickeil Alexander-Walker – +10.5
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Naz Reid, and Anthony Edwads – +9.5
I talked quite substantially in the last second on how the Nuggets will try and guard us, but NAW will play a crucial role in how we guard the Denver. Jamal Murray has quickly become the epitome of the saying “Playoff Riser”. See last year’s difference:
- 2022-23 Regular season – 20 PPG | 6.2 AST | 4 REB | 45.4 FG%
- 2022-23 Playoffs – 26.1 PPG | 7.1 AST | 5.7 REB | 47.3 FG%
Alexander-Walker was perhaps the best defensive matchup Murray saw on Denver’s pathway to a title. In 40 minutes guarding Murray, NAW held the elite shotmaker to 36% from the floor and 13/36 overall. Look for Nickeil to play a crucial role in disrupting the flow of the Denver offense.
You can’t talk about the Timberwolves bench without bringing up the newly minted sixth man of the year Naz Reid. I expect the towels to be out in full force throughout the series. Naz will be crucial in punishing the weak Denver bench unit while Jokić sits. Like the series before, the depth of this Wolves squad plays into the ability to wear teams down with fresh legs and constant effort on both ends of the court.
Keys to Victory
The Timberwolves have a legitimate shot to win this series. You read that right, but one more time so you believe it: the Wolves CAN beat the Nuggets. Denver does not have the same level of bench as last year, and there are vulnerabilities for Minnesota to exploit. I have four keys to securing a Game 1 victory:
- Disrupt Denver’s offensive flow
- Force Jokić to be a scorer
- Obliterate Denver in the non-Jokić minutes
- Find secondary scoring outside of Edwards
The Wolves will need to lean into their length. By clogging passing lanes, you force Jokić into scoring the basketball and take away tilted floor situations that lead to open shots from sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr. On offense, getting Towns percolating within the flow next to Edwards is option number one. That said, if Denver sells out on taking Towns out of the game with Gordon and doubles, then we need the veteran big man to continue making smart reads as a passer and open up tilted floor looks for Jaden McDaniels or open shots for Conley and Alexander-Walker.
Above all else, remember to soak this up. Win or lose, this is going to be a battle. These are two of the premier teams in the NBA currently and remember to appreciate the Wolves being in this position. We are here to win, but these moments have been so fleeting over the last 20 years, remember to appreciate what we have while we have it.
With that said, go kill everything in front of you Edwards.
Anthony Edwards : “I just want to kill everything in front of me man, thats the main thing pretty much, that’s all there is to it.”
Ant man adding to his growing personality.
Link: https://t.co/EYZpA1govw pic.twitter.com/UOVbfsBrrj
— The Whole Delivery (@TWDTV1) April 27, 2024