Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are currently in the process of preparing for their upcoming second round postseason matchup vs the Minnesota Timberwolves, which is set to begin on Saturday evening from the Ball Arena in Denver. The Nuggets got to this point by dispatching LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers for the second straight year, while Minnesota shockingly swept the Phoenix Suns out of the playoffs in order to win their first playoff series in twenty years.
The Timberwolves are of course led by young rising superstar Anthony Edwards, who was dominant in his team’s annihilation of the Suns, and one person who knows that the Nuggets will have a challenge on their hands in trying to stop the former number one overall pick is none other than Jokic himself.
“He’s amazing. He’s a really dangerous player. He’s a really talented player who can do everything, who has everything in his arsenal. He’s actually a really funny guy to be around. Hopefully we’re going to have some fun too,” said Jokic, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.
Jokic went on to describe the impact that big man Rudy Gobert has made on the team since joining Minnesota via trade two summers ago, and what that will mean for the Nuggets.
“When Tim Connelly made that trade (for Rudy Gobert) everybody was laughing at him and what he was doing. But he made a great team. I think he deserves credit for doing that,” said Jokic. “… I think they’re built really well.”
An immense challenge
Indeed, many in the NBA community clowned the Timberwolves when they initially traded a stunning amount of draft picks for Gobert, who was coming off of yet another playoff flameout with his former team, the Utah Jazz. Gobert’s first season with the Timberwolves seemed to confirm the legitimacy of that mockery, as Minnesota struggled through two Play-In games only to be sent home by the Nuggets unceremoniously in the first round of the 2023 playoffs.
However, in 2023-24, the Timberwolves seem to have figured some things out, as the team has been among the best in the NBA throughout the duration of the year and finished just a game behind the Nuggets in the vaunted Western Conference playoff picture. A large part of the Timberwolves’ resurgence has been the emergence of Edwards as a legitimate star player capable of taking over games both in the regular season and the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets didn’t exactly look great in their first round win over the Lakers, as the team dug themselves a double digit hole in all five games of the series and suffered through some brutal shooting nights, particularly from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and virtually every member of the bench, which is going to be a major concern for the Nuggets as the playoffs proceed.
In any case, the Nuggets and Timberwolves are set to get things underway at 7:00 PM ET on Saturday evening from Ball Arena. The game will be carried nationally by TNT.
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