Anybody else think the TWolves match up well with the Nuggets?
Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2024 5:07 pm
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?
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?