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The Denver Nuggets lost Game 1 at Ball Arena to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a relatively normal basketball contest. The Nuggets were right in the game until Naz Reid and […]
The Denver Nuggets lost Game 1 at Ball Arena to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a relatively normal basketball contest. The Nuggets were right in the game until Naz Reid and the Timberwolves went on a run late in the fourth quarter, giving the Nuggets little-to-no time to retaliate.
But in Game 2? The players may have been wearing Denver Nuggets jerseys, but they looked like a completely different team than the one that came out in Game 1, and certainly a different team than fans have come to expect after nearly two years of routine dominance over opponents, especially in the biggest moments.
The Nuggets faced a 61-45 halftime deficit and trailed by as many as 32 points in a shocking loss at Ball Arena. With many fans expecting the Nuggets to bounce back from a narrow Game 1 loss, the defending champions were essentially blown off the court by the end of the first quarter.
Nikola Jokic finished with 16 points, 16 rebounds, and 8 assists on 5-of-13 shooting, and a clearly injured Jamal Murray scored just 8 points on 3-of-18 shooting.
The Nuggets couldn’t get going offensively all night, with the referees allowing a physical game. The Timberwolves took advantage of that, on both ends of the floor, while the Nuggets look puzzled for the entire game.
Of course, Murray infamously lost his cool and threw multiple items, including a heating pack, at the floor of the active game, costing the former Kentucky guard a $100K fine.
The Nuggets lost 106-80 in Game 2, with a dejected and already half-empty Ball Arena hearing a mix of boo’s and “Wolves in Four” chants, as well as MVP chants for Anthony Edwards at the free throw line. Edwards finished with 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting: almost pedestrian numbers compared to what he’s capable of. Karl Anthony-Towns had 27 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, and Naz Reid continued to contribute off the bench with 14 points in 29 minutes.
This all came on a night where Rudy Gobert (named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for a record-tying third time the following day) was inactive for the Timberwolves as he was present for the birth of his first child earlier in the day.
Teams have come back from 0-2 deficits in the playoffs before, but the Nuggets face the added challenge of being down 0-2 despite being the home team in the series. If Minnesota wins both their home games, this series is over. Even a 1-1 split, giving the Timberwolves a 3-1 lead heading into Game 5 at Ball Arena, would give Denver an extremely challenging circumstance.
But if the Nuggets can dig deep and do the unlikely: respond with two straight wins in Minnesota, then the series is back to square one. A best-of-three, with the Nuggets holding homecourt advantage once again.
I can’t stress enough: winning both games in Minnesota is highly unlikely. Even calling each game a 50-50 toss-up, the Nuggets would have a 25% chance to win both games. Factoring in the Timberwolves’ homecourt advantage as well as their advantage on the court in this series so far, and that probability falls below 20%.
For the Nuggets, this is it: after tying the franchise record for regular season wins this year, the entire year will be labeled a failure if Denver doesn’t step up here. After winning their first-ever NBA Finals last season, the Nuggets said they would be back for more, and for almost the entirety of the regular season, Denver proved time and time again they could win games when it mattered most.
But Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves are threatening to thwart the Nuggets dreams of back-to-back championships in just the second round of the playoffs. Make no mistake, this is a great Minnesota team, that could easily represent the Western Conference in the 2024 NBA Finals or even win it all.
But does the buck really stop here for Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets? Are the defending champions going to go down without a fight?
In the 2020 NBA playoffs, the Nuggets overcame not one but two 3-1 series deficits in the bubble, overcoming the odds against the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers in back-to-back rounds before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
The Nuggets aren’t a perfect team, but once they figure out how to overcome an opponent, they can often repeat those results, which was necessary when facing elimination six times against the Jazz and Clippers combined in 2020 but winning every time.
“Figuring out” the Timberwolves is no easy task, but if the Nuggets can channel that same energy from 2020, it’s possible. The Nuggets can win three of four straight games against the same opponent: just ask the Lakers over the last two seasons.
If we’re being realistic, I wouldn’t bet on the Nuggets to win this series, at this moment in time. But with their season still at least two losses from being over, I’m completely unwilling to throw in the towel either.
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Header Photo Credit: AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post
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