2026 NBA Playoffs - West First Round - #3 Denver Nuggets vs #6 Minnesota Timberwolves (MIN leads 3-1)

[cupcakesnake]

Every game is winnable for either team. I don't have a favorite tomorrow.

For sure! I'm definitely not here saying Minnesota will win out the rest of the way. I'd be shocked if that happened! I just think many people underestimated Minnesota's chances coming into the series. Even many Timberwolves fans have underestimated their own team through most of the season.

I think the underestimating was more about health than anything

It's tough with this team because they'll have stretches of excellent play where you see the vision. Ball movement with a ton of guys who can both drive and shoot. Getting teams in rotation and ripping them apart with drives and creating open 3s. Rudy putting pressure on the rim and keeping teams honest. Ant going on heaters and being unstoppable, but also blending into the drive and kick ball movement. Jaden not missing when he drives into short range pull ups. Ju attacking with advantage, being too strong and skilled to handle on the weakside. Strong team defense around some true defensive stars. Being too big and athletic enough to overwhelm most opponents.

Then they lose focus for weeks at a time, and all I see is a team that can't pass the ball or create for each other. Ant and Ju can't make basic passes to Rudy, so Rudy is just in the way. Ant just chucking, Julius mashing postup fadeaways. Only Jaden and Rudy (and Clark and Slo Mo in their minutes) playing defense. Finch not trusting his bench.

I know this team can beat anyone on any given night. There's a reason they've made 2 straight conference finals. I also know their capacity to play like their worst selves. I just never know which team will show up, so I don't trust us against quality opponents in a playoff series.

[shrink]

For Minnesota, I think they would deserve the heat, not so much for losing to Denver, but for only winning 49 games in the regular season. Not many teams lose as many winnable games as the T-Wolves in the Ant era. A few more wins might have meant a first round against the injured Lakers, or punchless Rockets. Instead we're playing the Nuggets without home-court.

This is Monday morning quarterbacking. Until that inexplicable Spurs loss at the end of the season, it looked like the #6 seed was EXACTLY the right place to be to face the injured Lakers. The opponent for the 3-6 seeds were indeterminable with even a week left.

In addition, MIN has a history of getting up for the playoffs, and giving their opponents all they could handle regardless of their seed. And that opponent has often been the Nuggets. Plus, MIN is particularly good WITHOUT home court advantage, and Finch has the #1 record against playoff teams on the road, which is pretty surprising.

Your assessment of the Wolves mentality in your last post is spot on. This team has won series when they are the underdogs, and lost when they are favored. It is frustrating and nerve-wracking for fans watching them “turn it off” against lesser opponents, and “turn it on” when they play good teams. It’s been like that for three years, and it stems from Ant. I had hoped for a match up with the Lakers, but I have to admit, with this team, facing the awesome Nuggets in the first round forces them to be engaged.

[Mrakar]

Scott Foster tonight,its like NBA wants to **** up only good 1st round series...

[shrink]

Scott Foster tonight,its like NBA wants to **** up only good 1st round series...

You’re so right! You have the best cinema of all the match ups, and they bring in a ref who thinks he’s he star

[LeBronSpaghetti]

I think the Wolves win in a blowout tonight

[Deivork]

It feels to me like the Wolves figured something out in quarters 2 to 4 in G2. Even with Edwards at 70% the Wolves figured out how to attack the Nuggets. Nuggets don't have a great defense and played with fire. They threw that game as much as the Wolves claimed it.

It's been talked to death how the Wolves are the one team that matches well with Denver and they have very little margin for error and they already gave it away. Now Minnesota has HCA, no less. There's a world where they win both games, take a 3-1 lead and eventually the series.

I think the Nuggets really messed up losing that game and might regret for years throwing a 19-point advantage if they end up losing this series. With a 2-0 lead, teams win 92,6% of the time! With a 1-1 tie things fall down all the way down to 50-50. Which is crazy to think about, the drop-off that one single basket can do to the outcome of a series.
https://www.landofbasketball.com/statistics/playoff_series_2_0.htm

Nuggets sure are missing Peyton Watson. The series would have a different color with him on the court, both on offense and defense. Size-wise, Nuggets are looking small next to the Wolves and Watson does provide size, some rim pressure and shot-making, which are missed.

Someone needs to help Jamaal with ball-handling duties as well, he does too much for too long and McDaniels is a heck of a defender. Jokic has to be aggresive from the start and stop double-guessing. Both need to stop getting cute and secure the passing.

A lot of this is the Wolves bringing their best and figuring things out. They're now clearly motivated and their regular season woes matter not at this time. Gobert has to be feeling good about how he's done against Jokic. Wolves defense is very good and disruptive and their roster is maybe the most balanced in the league. Do you take any other Top-7 league wide? Expect their role players to do better at home.

I'm afraid Wolves have the coaching advantage, and that could prove deciding. Adelman needs to give trust to role players. There's no series win with their role players not doing well. Nuggets need Braun and Johnson to be aggresive both on O and on D. Gotta resist until Peyton Watson comes back. Maybe give Val a proper chance if you're gonna lose the non-Jokic minutes anyway. Try something diffferent.

Needless to say, Game 3 is absolutely key. I hope I'm wrong and Nuggets can totally take Game 3 but I think with HCA now the Timberwolves are favourites to take this series.

[Castle Black]

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[Wolfgang630]

If he stays hurt and they lose in the first round then it’s time to trade AG. This is what the 3rd year in a row he’s injured?

[Tnasty4l]

WINNER
NUGGETS:
JAMAL: 25+pts 6+asts 4+rbs
JOKER: 22+pts 11+rbs 10+asts

LOSER
WOLVES:
ANT: 22+pts 5+rbs 4+asts
JULES: 17+pts 6+rbs 4+asts

[bisme37]

Schedule update:

Game 5 is Monday April 27, 10:30pm ET on NBC/Peacock

[Klomp]

I think the underestimating was more about health than anything

Not among 50% of Timberwolves fans, trust me. For a Raptors equivalent, at least half of the fan base has been begging for months and even years to do what Toronto did to Dwane Casey.

[Klomp]

Someone needs to help Jamaal with ball-handling duties as well, he does too much for too long and McDaniels is a heck of a defender. Jokic has to be aggresive from the start and stop double-guessing. Both need to stop getting cute and secure the passing.

It's too bad Denver didn't try to address this on the buyout market. Instead, they wasted a roster spot by signing Tyus Jones. Just think what a ballhandler could do for them!

[Klomp]

Schedule update:

Game 5 is Monday April 27, 10:30pm ET on NBC/Peacock

The last Monday night 8:30 local tip was a banger in Game 1, so why not do it again!

[shangrila]

Scott Foster tonight,its like NBA wants to **** up only good 1st round series...

Bet against the Wolves then, we're ****.

[Klomp]

The Jaden McDaniels comments were a great reminder that....

Anthony Edwards wants all of the smoke!
Jaden McDaniels wants all of the smoke!
Naz Reid wants all of the smoke!

This is ingrained in the DNA of the Timberwolves. Say what you want about the regular season, but when the ball goes up at the start of Game 1 of the postseason, this team is fired up and ready to go!

[shrink]

Scott Foster tonight,its like NBA wants to **** up only good 1st round series...

https://www.si.com/nba/timberwolves/onsi/scott-foster-assigned-to-timberwolves-game-3-against-nuggets

Buckle up, Wolves fans. Scott Foster has been assigned as the crew chief for Thursday night's Game 3 between Minnesota and Denver at Target Center in Minneapolis.
…
In a 110-108 overtime win over the Rockets, Foster ejected Naz Reid and missed a total of six calls in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime. Reid was tossed for having words with Foster after a review of an offensive foul went against Reid. What did Reid supposedly say? By reading lips, it appeared Reid said, "Stop that s***, bro. He's moving."

Reid was fined $50,000 for "questioning the integrity of the game officials."

Foster is known to carry grudges against players and teams he dislikes, and was part of the Donaghy scandals with dozens of phone calls between the two before games that Donaghy bet on. He has a history with the Wolves (he’s the guy Gobert made the money sign at) and he makes himself the show. I don’t know what disparaging info he’s got on Silver that he continues to be a referee, let alone get to ref playoff games,

[Homer38]

Gordon is out

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[Castle Black]

Game just got a lot tougher for Denver.

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[Chuck Everett]

After two playoff games, Gordon's calf is bad again? I'm feeling iffy about my Nuggets run to the WCF pick.

[Dadouv47]

After two playoff games, Gordon's calf is bad again? I'm feeling iffy about my Nuggets run to the WCF pick.

somehow the Spurs are in a incredible spot to reach the Finals despite Wemby concussion.