2024 NBA Playoffs: West Semifinals: #2 Denver Nuggets vs #3 Minnesota Timberwolves (MIN WINS 4-3)

[Cubbies2120]

I’ve got Nuggets in 5

Same

[Takingbaconback]

I'm pulling for wolves in 7. Jokic is the hardest cover/ biggest matchup nightmare in the NBA, but I hope Wolves defense can slow down Murray just enough to eek this one out

[Bobbymcgee]

Gonna be embarrassing if Rudy Gobert wins DPOY and then gets ragdolled by Jokic this series.

[ChiTownHero1992]

I'm thinking Nuggets leadership/experience wins it at Home Court in Game 6...but this will be a good series to watch

[Homerclease]

I’ve got wolves in 7. This series is gonna be talked about for years to come. The true dawning of a new era with the defending champs taking on the upcoming star in Ant

[Sealab2024]

Couple of random thoughts:

The Wolves generally put Towns on Jokic and let Rudy roam so if that trend continues we'll see Karl Anthony Towns be the main defender on Kevin Durant and then Nikola Jokic so whatever a person may think about him KAT is gonna need to be given some credit defensively. That's gonna be a man sized slice of the pizza he's eating.

The Wolves have a clear advantage on the bench. This has two clear pressure points to put on Denver: 1 the bench can consistently give you plus minutes putting more pressure on the Nuggets starters and the fact that Denver's starting 5 will likely all be playing 40 minutes a game.... Will they wear down in the 4th?

It'll go unremembered but Jaden McDaniels had almost as much of an impact on how that Suns series played out as Ant did. Jaden completely crashed everything the Suns were trying to do for the first 3 games. If that happens again, wolves will win this.

I don't like Finch's availability up in the air. You generally can't have surgery until swelling goes down and for a guy in his 50's that can take a week to seven days. Can he coach while going through the process?

I've got Wolves in 6. I think they just have too much for this year's nuggets team.

[Special_Puppy]

This series is basically a tossup in my view, but if you forced me to pick I'd say Nuggets in 7

[Special_Puppy]

The key to Minnesota's dominating performance was their absurdly good offense (best offense of the playoffs so far). Minnesota's offense was just a hair above average in the regular season so that's a big step up that I'm curious if its sustainable

[kaansunman]

Couple of random thoughts:

The Wolves generally put Towns on Jokic and let Rudy roam so if that trend continues we'll see Karl Anthony Towns be the main defender on Kevin Durant and then Nikola Jokic so whatever a person may think about him KAT is gonna need to be given some credit defensively. That's gonna be a man sized slice of the pizza he's eating.

If KAT can stay out of foul trouble this seems like the best solution. Gobert can interfere Gordon's easy lay-ups / dunks.
Jaden McDaniels can be a problem for Murray, Ant is showing the signs of a superstar, it will be the most important test for his young career so far.

I pick Nuggets in 6 due to experience and home court advantage. But it will be a very close, physicallyy and mentally tough series.

[Jaqua92]

Interesting here. Last year's LA team got to the WCF and wins a ring if not for Denver. They were better this year.

LA was a top 5 team coming into the playoffs, and seem to be far closer to a second tier title contender than your standard 7 seed.

AND Denver played poorly. Denver probably had the toughest first round matchup.

Things that bode well for the Wolves is that they're hungry, they have an edge in the series in the regular system, and they have a proven defensive system that is great at slowing down Denver. Ant is a killer, and a certified bucket getter. They also look much better than Denver right now.

Things that bode well for Denver. They played horribly, and still outted probably the toughest opponent in the first round. Despite their difficulty shooting open shots, and Murray struggling, they've closed out every single clutch game. They're iron willed. I don't care how great the Timberwolves look. Denver will always have an advantage in tight games. MPJ is also sensational right now. They also have the highest ceiling offensively.


Outcome? Wolves in 6, or Denver in 7. This could go either way. If Denver gets out of this funk, they should take it. If they shoot well, AND play with intensity, they take it in 5.

The Wolves are great defensively, but on the offensive end, the Suns made them look a lot better than they were. They will have a tougher time scoring against a better defensive team like Denver.

If both defenses are able to drag down the offense, it should go to Denver.

[Jaqua92]

The key to Minnesota's dominating performance was their absurdly good offense (best offense of the playoffs so far). Minnesota's offense was just a hair above average in the regular season so that's a big step up that I'm curious if its sustainable

I think a lot of this was Phoenix' really bad defense.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I think the biggest X factor for me is KAT. Will he step up and score, play defense or will he commit stupid fouls and dumb turnovers?

Towns has led the league in OFFENSIVE fouls multiple times. Those double as TOs.

Most of it is from him flailing and doing dumb stuff on his drives. Some of it is from a pretty tough whistle. I don't know if it's his awkwardness or that he's insufferable for officials... but he gets called for stuff regularly that other All Stars get away with regularly. The "best" part is that you can see it coming. Usually after he thinks he deserved a foul call... he'll get all bent out of shape and loses composure. That's when the charges, hooks, illegal picks and other fouls come out in force. You could make a drinking game out of it.

[Chuck Everett]

My last thought on this series before it begins. What if this playoffs just so happens to be Michael Porter's true coming out party? Where he proves to be a rich-man's Rashard Lewis, where he's giving you 23ppg with defense and rebounding and continuing to hit timely shots. The only thing (IMO) that he has ever truly lacked is consistency. If he's doing what he's been doing, game in and game out, then everything else I previously wrote might be moot.

[TravisScott55]

This is gonna be such a great series

[Jamaaliver]

Can the Wolves coach even fly to away games just days after surgery?

Read on Twitter

[Chuck Everett]

Can the Wolves coach even fly to away games just days after surgery?

Read on Twitter

He's pretty much out for the playoffs then. He can watch/breakdown film, but there won't be any sideline or behind of the bench coaching from him on game days. Huge loss.

[Wallace_Wallace]

Minny in 6 bc they got the best player in the series plus denvers bench is shallow.

people really started thinking ant is mj cuz they beat the suns lol

One series, he’s Kobe/Wade/MJ.

Donovan Mitchell beat OKC at 21 years old without home court advantage (OKC had to implode but so did Phoenix this year)

Devin Booker debuted in the playoffs at 24 with a 35 year old Chris Paul and went to the finals.

Jayson Tatum, the original “he’s only 19!”, went to the conference finals and went toe to toe with a prime LeBron and most in game 7.

I don’t hear no MJ comparisons….maybe they don’t sound slick on mic like The Rock, John Cena or DX?

[Ambrose]

I'm leaning Minnesota. Denver has the best player, and I'm rooting for them, but I think the Wolves have more margin for error. If Ant is off, they can still win games. If Jokic is off, it's much harder for Denver to win. This is one we could look at after the fact and call it the real finals.

[Ambrose]

I think the biggest X factor for me is KAT. Will he step up and score, play defense or will he commit stupid fouls and dumb turnovers?

Towns has led the league in OFFENSIVE fouls multiple times. Those double as TOs.

Most of it is from him flailing and doing dumb stuff on his drives. Some of it is from a pretty tough whistle. I don't know if it's his awkwardness or that he's insufferable for officials... but he gets called for stuff regularly that other All Stars get away with regularly. The "best" part is that you can see it coming. Usually after he thinks he deserved a foul call... he'll get all bent out of shape and loses composure. That's when the charges, hooks, illegal picks and other fouls come out in force. You could make a drinking game out of it.

Don't bail out Towns by saying he gets a tough whistle. He's an all-time bad foul guy. He spams those dumb kicks on his 3's, he shoves, he hooks, he holds, etc. It's his issue. Hell, there was a game against Phoenix where they missed two obvious fouls on him that would've given him 4 or 5 (don't remember which), then he blatantly fouls the guy to get in foul trouble again anyway, and then whined about it. Even Ant called him out for it.

[Jadoogar]

Wolves looked a lot better than the nuggets but idk how much is that due to the Suns? Lakers looked a lot more composed so that could be something that's made the Nuggets look worse.
For now i'll stick to my original prediction of Nuggets in 6 but i don't feel good about it.