After the first postseason sweep in franchise history, the Minnesota Timberwolves now turn their eyes to the defending champs. Of course, the Denver Nuggets are not an easy task. At times, Nikola Jokic appears to be an unsolvable problem. His passing vision makes doubling him nearly impossible. However, his strength and touch make him a one-on-one nightmare.
In addition to Denver’s MVP, Jamal Murray is no slouch come playoff time. Despite his struggles in the first-round series with the Los Angeles Lakers, Murray drilled not one, but two game-winners to propel the Nuggets to the second round. The two-man game between Murray and Jokic will test Minnesota’s pick-and-roll coverages more than any other team in the league.
Outside of the Nuggets’ two primary stars is a collection of perfect complementary fits. The final big Tim Connelly trade acquisition in Denver completed the fit with Murray and Jokic. Aaron Gordon’s backside rim pressure has translated into a perfect lob threat for Joker in short rolls and high post-ups. The combination of Gordon’s size and athleticism has been devastating for most teams who haven’t valued size in their roster construction.
Michael Porter Jr. is perhaps the most confident shooter in the entire association. MPJ has become known for his willingness to shoot the rock even if he’s heavily guarded. On impressive volume, the Nuggets’ wing shot an impressive 44.7% on wide-open threes this season. Not only is MPJ a threat when covered, he’s absolutely lethal when left alone.
Christian Braun and Peyton Watson bring the energy, athleticism and youth to surround the NBA’s best starting five. Denver is a daunting task. However, the Timberwolves have a secret weapon. Their defensive matchup versatility stands alone in the association, giving them a real shot at upsetting the Nuggets.
Karl-Anthony Towns takes the Nikola Jokic matchup
While many national talking heads who haven’t watched Minnesota all season will assume Rudy Gobert will defend Jokic this series, that likely isn’t the Wolves’ primary matchup. During the regular season, Karl-Anthony Towns was often the primary defender on the two-time MVP. When healthy, KAT’s size is invaluable as the four man, a luxury most teams do not have.
Even when Towns was out, the Timberwolves elected to use Kyle Anderson and Naz Reid on the Joker for long durations. Gobert then takes on the Gordon matchup with the intent of roaming as a help defender frequently. The idea behind this decision isn’t to simply stop Jokic. It’s to make him think while limiting Gordon as a lob threat.
Gobert’s size makes any lob pass to Gordon more difficult than normal. The Nuggets’ forward is just a career 32.3% three-point shooter so Minnesota will be willing to live or die with Gordon shooting a ton of triples in the series. When Jokic does look to score, Gobert will be around the paint with the chance to block a few shots and, perhaps, even deter the league’s best player from looking to score as often as he should.
If Minnesota wins the series, it will likely stem from Gordon shrinking from the moment and hesitating to shoot — or flat-out missing — wide-open threes as Gobert and the Wolves disrespect his perimeter game.
The Jaden McDaniels’ assignment
In the dominant series win over the Phoenix Suns, McDaniels displayed his defensive dominance against Devin Booker. One of the best screen navigators in the league, the assumption most nights is that Slim will defend the opposition’s primary ball handler. However, against the Nuggets, that might not be the Timberwolves best option.
With Anthony Edwards and Nickeil Alexander-Walker both as special point-of-attack defenders, the Wolves have the luxury of matching up multiple perimeter defenders on Murray. On the other hand, Minnesota doesn’t have a ton of 6’10” wings capable of shutting down Michael Porter Jr. McDaniels may be best used completely removing MPJ from the equation in order to prevent the same fate the Lakers met in round one.
In all five games, Porter Jr. scored 19 points or more. In that stretch, he shot 50% or better from the field every single game. The Lakers’ allocation of size on Jokic left the Nuggets’ sniper far too comfortable in the series. With Towns on Jokic and Gobert on Gordon, the Wolves cannot afford to put a guard on MPJ for the entire series. Mcdaniels is Minnesota’s key to locking down Porter Jr. and limiting the big runs Denver can go on.
It’s no surprise that Wolves’ President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly, former Denver GM, has built the best possible counter team to defend Jokic and company. Minnesota’s secret sauce is defensive versatility. The Wolves will be challenged to match up and a lot lies on the shoulders of Karl-Anthony Towns to stay out of foul trouble and at least slow down Denver’s best player as much as possible.
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