The Minnesota Timberwolves bounced back from some internal strife and a devastating overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the Play-In Tournament to crush the Oklahoma City Thunder in the play-in finale and earn the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. There, they'll face the Denver Nuggets, who were not in great form to close the regular season but still did more than enough to hold on for the No. 1 seed in the West at 53-29.
This is the first time the Nuggets have had the top seed since joining the NBA in the 1976-77 season.
The Nuggets and Timberwolves have met just once before in the playoffs, way back in 2004, when Kevin Garnett and Co. led the Wolves to a comfortable first-round series win in five games. Ahead of this season's meeting, here's everything you need to know.
(1) Denver Nuggets vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves
All times Eastern
- Game 1 (at DEN): Sunday, April 16 | 10:30 p.m. | TV: TNT | Live stream: TNT app
- Game 2 (at DEN): Wednesday, April 19 | 10 p.m. | TV: TNT | Live stream: TNT app
- Game 3 (at MIN): Friday, April 21 | 9:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
- Game 4 (at MIN): Sunday, April 23 | 9:30 p.m. | TV: TNT | Live stream: TNT app
- Game 5* (at DEN): Tuesday, April 25 | TBD | TV: TBD
- Game 6* (at MIN): Thursday, April 27 | TBD | TV: TBD
- Game 7* (at DEN): Saturday, April 29 | TBD | TV: TNT | Live stream: TNT app
*If necessary
Storylines
Nikola Jokic vs. Rudy Gobert
If you've spent enough time in the online basketball world, you've likely seen the infographic that relays on on-court quote from 2021, where Rudy Gobert says "I got him, I got him," referring to Nikola Jokic, who responds, "Brother, I have 47." Gobert was on the Jazz back then, but it's an apt reference heading into this series given the Frenchman's struggles against Jokic.
To be fair, no one has been able to slow down the reigning two-time MVP in recent years, but Jokic has had particular success against Gobert given his ability to draw him away from the basket. In his two games against Gobert this season, Jokic put up 24 points, seven rebounds and nine assists on 10-of-20 shooting and 20 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists on 8-of-10 shooting.
Making matters worse, Gobert has been battling back soreness in recent weeks and is listed as questionable for Game 1. He'll almost certainly play, but if he's well under 100 percent he'll have even more trouble guarding Jokic than usual.
The Timberwolves vs. themselves
The Timberwolves are a talented team. Anthony Edwards is one of the brightest young stars in the league, Karl-Anthony Towns has offensive gifts that few big men in the league have ever possessed and Rudy Gobert is one of the best rim protectors of his generation.
For numerous reasons, though, things have not clicked in Minneapolis this season. As much as the Timberwolves have been battling opponents, they've been battling themselves. The Gobert-Towns frontcourt has not been super successful in limited action (14-13 in 27 games together), and there's been internal strife ever since the blockbuster trade was made.
Prior to being traded, D'Angelo Russell would reportedly mock Gobert openly on the court and in the locker room, and most recently Gobert punched Kyle Anderson in the chest in the final regular season game of the season -- an act that saw him sent home for the second half of that game and suspended for the first round of the Play-In Tournament.
Add in Jaden McDaniels breaking his hand by punching a wall, and so many of the Timberwolves issues this season have been self-inflicted. The big question heading into the first round of the playoffs is how will they respond? Crushing the Thunder in the second round of the Play-In Tournament, but the Nuggets are a far more serious challenge.
Nuggets making history ahead of title push
The Nuggets were created in 1967 as an ABA team, and over their 56-year history they have never won a championship in either league. In fact, since joining the NBA in the 1976-77 season, they have never even been to the Finals, nor been the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
They checked off the latter this season, winning the West with a 53-29 record that was tied for the third-best mark in the franchise's NBA history. If they hadn't had such a big lead and been able to coast down the stretch, they likely could have challenged the 57-win mark they set in 2012-13.
With homecourt advantage throughout the West playoffs, and the best all-around team since Jokic's emergence as an MVP-level player, the Nuggets will be looking to add a Finals apperance and title to their franchise firsts. Given how wide-open the West is this postseason, this just might be their best chance ever to do so.
Prediction
The Nuggets' defense isn't good enough to predict a sweep, but they're clearly the better team here, especially given some of the Timberwolves' injury problems. This should not be a very long affair. Pick: Denver in 5
