Anybody else think the TWolves match up well with the Nuggets?

[Ugly Duckling]

with them (likely) facing up shortly, it's become even more interesting to think about.

obviously denver is the fav with joker surpassing his airness in terms of career PER (king james at 3). blue arrow as clutch as ever with that huge shot in game 2, which was one of the best games i've seen in a long time. the main thing that's become apparent is mpj's improvement. guy is finally healthy and playing up to his potential, which is scary. you can tell he's sacrificing for the team and could put up big numbers if he wanted to. and then aaron gordon just keeps getting better. he's arguably the most athletic player in the league and is doing it on both ends.

but how do they match up?

blue arrow vs mike conley. clearly the advantage here is blue arrow, but it's not a complete blowout by any means. mike conley's no chump. tons of experience, highly efficient player, doesn't force shots, doesn't turn the ball over. good passer, good shooter, gets steals/decent defender. so you can say advantage denver

caldwell-pope vs antman. this is a blowout. ant is playing out of his mind for the most part. he struggled from the field in game 2, but helped in other areas. i think no one, including himself, knows how good he is just yet and it's about to show when he really gets tested. i feel like caldwell-pope is a decent look matchup for him tho as he's known for his perimeter d, is long and experienced. the thing is he's getting old and won't be able to keep up. most likely they'll switch aaron gordon onto him (who should do as good of a job as anyone given his athleticism as ant may have actually surpassed him as the best athlete), but this is just position comp for the sake of overall match up analysis

mpj vs jayden mcdaniels. edge mpj. looks like he's finally recovered from all the back injuries and surgeries and could be a 1b if needed. jayden is playing incredible defense tho and looks better than advertised offensively. they might and should put him on blue arrow for stretches in the 3rd and 4th

aaron gordon vs kat. edge kat. despite gordon playing so well, kat is still better because he's so unique at his size. he can shoot lights out, which makes him dangerous with so much focus on ant. but consistency has been an issue for him so the edge isn't that big

joker vs gobert. obviously joker is the best player in the world rn, so has the advantage by a wide margin, but gobert is dpoy and will get under his skin. he has long ass arms and will disrupt the passing lanes joker loves to exploit and also contest his shots. maybe the best match up for joker, although isn't nearly as smart so will get tricked a lot

christian braun sticks out in terms of denver's bench. he plays with a lot of confidence and might be the x factor. wolves obviously have 6moy in naz reid and and naw. kyle anderson and monte morris aren't too shabby. the bench advantage clearly goes to the wolves.

malone obviously seems like a good coach. i don't know enough about chris finch to compare them tho, so you guys can chime in on that.

overall, i wouldn't be surprised if denver wins given joker's command over the game, blue arrow's ability to consistently take over late, mpj's ascension and aaron gordon's versatility. but once antman feels his back against the wall, it could bring out another side of him none of us have seen. with their defense and bench, the wolves could win it. thoughts?

[ScrantonBulls]

Nobody is stopping Jokic of course. He's going to get his. Having the best defensive center isn't bad in that situation. Towns will be able to abuse MPJ. Murray hasn't been great yet. I think Ant matches up well with him. I just don't think the Nuggets have the talent outside of Jokic to match the TWolves this year. TWolves have had time to gel and are scary when healthy. Their defense and size are no joke.

TWolves will beat the Nuggets. Book it. Ban bet me somebody.

[Hobo4President]

Yes. I've thought the wolves are the strongest threat against the Nuggets from the west all year. They did surprisingly well against them last year and they're a much better team this year while the Nuggets are worse.

[EmpireFalls]

Absolutely. It’s their depth too. With Alexander-Walker absolutely balling and Reid (6MOY) they really bring it for all 48 minutes. They don’t have any weak spots where they run trash lineups.

[One_and_Done]

Yes and no. They're good enough to challenge them, but Gobert stops them from going 5 out which negates some of their advantages.

[Ugly Duckling]

dang only 5 votes so far, but wolves got 4 of em. surprising. need a bigger sample size and some insight into the coaching match up. finch seems like a smart guy

[ChipotleWest]

Hold everything, Lakers have figured out Jokic. They're going to win in 7.

[Patches Perry]

I don't know if they "match up well" but people tend to overrate teams with championship mystique. Minnesota has been as good as Denver all season and I expect the series to be highly competitive.

[Lala870]

If Murray is even slightly hobbled I wouldnt count LA out. Nuggets have massively overachieved the last couple seasons

[HMFFL]

Absolutely. It’s their depth too. With Alexander-Walker absolutely balling and Reid (6MOY) they really bring it for all 48 minutes. They don’t have any weak spots where they run trash lineups.

They're the biggest threat to Denver. Like you, I believe Minny has the depth, and what it takes.

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[Lala870]

Hold everything, Lakers have figured out Jokic. They're going to win in 7.

Jokes aside I could see this happening. 3-2 with momentum in LAs favor could be the next headline

[Statlanta]

Without HCA I can’t believe in Minnesota. Even with the bench advantage I feel Minnesota will do stupid stuff like in the Memphis series.

[jkvonny]

Without HCA I can’t believe in Minnesota. Even with the bench advantage I feel Minnesota will do stupid stuff like in the Memphis series.

Minn is a lot more mature these days.

[jkvonny]

IDK. Possible upset?

Denver cant play like this against Minny. They will regret it.

They better fix things ASAP.

[brutalitops]

We do very well but I can't see us beating Denver. Have them in 6. I don't think KAT is still 100% and while Edward will be fine I think because Denver are a much more polished offensive team we will have to score more and hopefully get some 20ppg from Towns/Conley rather than relying on strangling then to sub 100 PPG and have Edwards do the majority of the lifting.

[jkvonny]

IDK. Possible upset?

Denver cant play like this against Minny. They will regret it.

They better fix things ASAP.

[LaLover11]

Lakers matchup up better than the Wolves

[advent11]

That time spent in the lead stat is concerning for Denver. It's like possession in football. Can't win consistently while losing that so frequently.

[Chuck Everett]

If the Nuggets continue to get nothing on offense from Braun and Watson, even hustle garbage baskets, they can't win. I'm saying combine for 14 points, nothing egregious. They're playing defense, but what good is getting stops if you also aren't making the opponent pay on the other end.

[GSP]

Wolves will beat Denver if Denver doesnt choke the 3-0 lead which is possible Tbh

They were up 3-0 on Wolves last year and were a possession away from going game 6. Won game 5 by 3pts.

Denver lost alot of depth w.o Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. They got 5 from their bench tonight and they have one of the worst benches in the league in general.

Also last series last year that was a hair from going 6................Wolves didnt have Naz Reid OR Jaden Mcdaniels. Thats 2 of their top 5 players. Murray isnt gonna have the series he had last year w/ Jaden back guarding him. And thats just obvious much more depth for em. And Denver had everyone last year and couldnt guard Ant at all itd be no different this time around.

Wolves in 6 if it happens but dont count out La