WCS Game 2: Minnesota at Denver Monday 5/6/24 1-0

[younggunsmn]

Wow, here I keep thinking we just played our best game ever and we get even BETTER in the next one!

That first half was an amazing masterclass on defense. Just suffocating.
Got nervous when I read Rudy was out, and even more nervous when Anderson started, but we didn't miss a beat.
Karl was very good and Naz was phenomenal on defense guarding Jokic and protecting the paint.

And Jaden and NAW, my lord flying around like they were all hopped up on sugar cereal, getting their hands on everything, and making Murray look like a total chump. Just amazing!

When we can rotate 3 elite wings defenders and throw 3 elite big man defenders at Jokic, and then on top of that work in savvy vets like Conley and Anderson, all bought in and playing with crazy energy and mental focus.
I felt sorry for Denver at points tonight, not because they weren't getting calls, but because they were so badly over matched.

Glad the refs didn't buy into Murray's usual foul hunting and flopping bs garbage tonight.
Ant got a bad whistle at times too, but he kept his composure.
That was a flop from Murray and Jokic ran over Karl a little earlier on a very similar play, both no-calls.
Ref did the right thing and let them play on and kept the game flowing and the players in the game instead of on the bench.
They aren't calling many of the marginal body contact fouls that they did in the regular season, and I really like that, should be that way all the time. If they cleaned up all the foul hunting that goes on, NBA games would be so much more enjoyable to watch.

What I saw from Denver in the first half tonight gave me flashbacks from some of our lowest points earlier in the season where we lost some calls, lost our cool, and lost the game.
The playoff composure from the Wolves with regards to officiating has been nothing short of a revelation.

The 2nd half wasn't pretty, but we did take care of business as the defense carried the day.
Lead never got below 15.
There was some poor offensive decision making and sloppy turnovers (after only 3 in the first half resulting in zero denver points).
Jaden picked up some needless fouls and took himself out of the game.

From Denver's side, you can see there was an effort to be more deliberate on offense after we sped them up a lot in game one.
While it cut down the turnovers, it led to a lot of long possessions and bad shots late in the shot clock.

With Gobert out, I thought they would go to Joker more attacking in the paint.
Naz and KAT did a good job walling up and Kyle gave great help.
It looked like Jokic was making an effort this game to be more of a passer, but we did a great job forcing him to one side and cutting the court in half.

I don't think Murray has it this series, and Jackson is banged up. None of their other guys besides Jokic create their own offense.
Jokic is going to have to be a beast and dominate going forward for them to have any shot at all.

As Shem alluded to, our supporting cast no longer has the deer in headlights look.
NAW and NAZ really met the moment tonight, each draining 4 triples.

I hope Monte has a quick recovery from the sprained finger.
His defense has been a good surprise, he has a bit more size than Jmac.

[younggunsmn]

Oh and Reggie Miller and Kevin Harlan are the best in the business for national broadcasts, a joy to have them for 2 consecutive games.

[KGdaBom]

Watch on YouTube

Great interviews. I loved KAT when asked about what we needed to do at home he said "TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS."

[Battletrigger]

The baby was born this morning. The game is 9pm local. You don’t think he could have stayed for several hours than gone to work?

These are human beings, not video game characters.

I’m sorry that you feel your fandom is more important than his family, but it is what it is.

As a dad myself, there is NOTHING on god's green earth that compares to the birth of your first child.
I support Rudy missing the game 100%.

Congrats to Rudy and props to the new mama, it cannot be easy to give birth to a baby Gobert.

It must be a joke if someone pretends that Rudy put before a basketball game that be with his family in this or whatever other family important event.

[SunsRback4Good]

Thank you. Wolves. My series bet (MIN +1) is now safe (i doubt you can’t get to 3 wins, worst case scenario that you still manage to lose the series) and i can just relax the rest of the series. LOL


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I’ve seen enough to conclude the Twolves are winning in 5 maybe 6 games. But overall looks like this series is over in 5 games. Nuggets seem to lack any sort of energy and they’re missing Bruce Brown heavily in this series. But even with Brown this Nuggets team aren’t as hungry as they were last season. Like I said series over in 5 I’d be surprised if Nuggets win 2 games. The Twolves just look so much more dangerous it’s absurd.

[shrink]

I am beginning to wonder if Nori is going to use this as a springboard to get his own head coaching job.

There’s a thread on the Lakers board about them signing him. I’d be shocked though.

[winforlose]

I am beginning to wonder if Nori is going to use this as a springboard to get his own head coaching job.

There’s a thread on the Lakers board about them signing him. I’d be shocked though.

I would hate to lose him, but he probably deserves a HC job.

[frankenwolf]

*******. It's gonna be hard to win this without Gobert.

This did not age well

[shrink]

10

[shrink]

Gobert proud papa .. of the Wolves team defense

[jpatrick]

I’m just now seeing the videos of Murray throwing the heat pack on the floor at KAT as he’s going up for a layup. If KAT tears his knee on that play. Wow. I’m usually not a proponent on in-playoff suspensions but the NBA has to in this case. I’ve never seen a player throw something onto the floor during live action like that.

[Shaka_Zulu]

[Shaka_Zulu]

Pinch me this can't be real

[Movics]

10

Going 10-9 for the rest of the playoffs doesn’t seem that hard

[Colbinii]

10

Shrink.

I was thinking about this last night. 10 more Wins.

[Shaka_Zulu]

Gobert didn't play tonight and they did this

I don't wanna be that guy, but any chance they were able to do this because Gobert wasn't there?

No, this team are defensive specialists, and Rudy is the master, he is proudly watching his pupils/defensive sons put in work.

[winforlose]

10

Going 10-9 for the rest of the playoffs doesn’t seem that hard

It does to me. I cannot imagine the effort it would require for us to lose 9 games

[BlacJacMac]

Read on Twitter

[Guest84]

This was built up to be a "clash of titans" matchup. However, the wolves have completely dismantled the nuggets. Initially, you would think that the league would want to try and "help" extend the series. The wolves just seemed to be undeniable right now.

Then you start to see the "shift" in the national media towards Ant and the team and how the marketing for Ant has skyrocketed during these playoffs. Idk if I can see them wanting any other player in the finals besides Ant. This could be an interesting development for the league as they're looking for the NEXT STAR and Ant is filling that bill.

Do the wolves get a push now that media and players are thinking they're a championship level team currently? What better way to promote the next FACE than by taking a slum of a franchise to the promise land??

[winforlose]

This was built up to be a "clash of titans" matchup. However, the wolves have completely dismantled the nuggets. Initially, you would think that the league would want to try and "help" extend the series. The wolves just seemed to be undeniable right now.

Then you start to see the "shift" in the national media towards Ant and the team and how the marketing for Ant has skyrocketed during these playoffs. Idk if I can see them wanting any other player in the finals besides Ant. This could be an interesting development for the league as they're looking for the NEXT STAR and Ant is filling that bill.

Do the wolves get a push now that media and players are thinking they're a championship level team currently? What better way to promote the next FACE than by taking a slum of a franchise to the promise land??

Two things about that.

1. Having a golden age of small market contenders like Minnesota, Milwaukee, Denver, and OKC would certainly be interesting for the NBA.

2. Can you imagine if we win a chip coming out of the west and then immediately the NBA announces an expansion and we become an eastern conference team. That would set up a Nuggets vs Wolves round 3 in the NBA finals next year. That story is how legends get made.


I think the NBA will want us vs Boston once Denver is gone. I could see more favorable whistles, or failing that, more let them play officiating, (physicality heavily favors us.)