2024 NBA Playoffs: West Semifinals: #2 Denver Nuggets vs #3 Minnesota Timberwolves (MIN WINS 4-3)

[Calvin Klein]

This game isn't until Friday.


That's way too long off. Murray dodging his suspension with the extra worst. NBA might have put the Nuggets back in this series.

Its only fair other series to catch up.

If those other teams handled business earlier there wouldn't have to be catching up.

Wolves out here smoking folks and they get punished for it smh.


#CatchUpBums

I know you're basically a troll but the schedule would be the same if Denver was 2-0.

[Calvin Klein]

I just want to see a game where Jokic takes 35 shots and see what happens.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/202305070PHO.html

[life_saver]

Think Ant is getting more popular and well known among casuals.

The apparent changing of the guard in the NBA is showing some signs of catching on with viewers. Saturday’s Timberwolves-Nuggets second round Game 1 averaged a 2.4 and 4.93 million across TNT and truTV Saturday evening, up 12% in ratings and 20% in viewership from Suns-Nuggets last year (2.1, 4.10M), despite an earlier 7 PM ET start time that put the game in competition with the Kentucky Derby.

Each of Minnesota’s first five playoff games increased over the equivalent windows last year, with four in a row posting double-digit gains. Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves, who are undefeated in the postseason, are emerging as a favorite to come out of the West.

[BlacJacMac]

Read on Twitter

[iggymcfrack]

Hopefully Shaq lights a fire under Joker here and he drops 50 on the Wolves next game. This is ridiculous.

[KGDirkTD_Fan]

I look up the games being played each day and get sad when it's not Wolves vs Nuggets

[Sealab2024]

Finch seriously needs to sit these boys down and try to calm them as much as possible before game time. They smell blood and with tweets like that from Blackburn there's real concern on my part they go rabid and just foul the crap out of everything moving to start the game and get everybody sent to the bench early.

[Jedi32]

You could see this coming a mile away. The nuggets had no one to guard Edwards.. that's the problem. It's a game of matchups. Malone needs to try something different.

There is no way anyone saw this coming. In fact Denver was favored to win this series and Jokic was the clear cut best player in basketball.

This was a shocker. Now that 2 games have passed you now see Ant is clearly the best player in this series and the Wolves are just a flat out better team overall.

Not really Minny has played them tough recently. Let's be real if alot of posters had picked the wolves off top, folks would have just called them jokic haters. The series isn't over, but minny looked like a superior team. Didn't know they would manhandle the nuggets like that in game two. Now that was a shocker.

[ibraheim718]

You could see this coming a mile away. The nuggets had no one to guard Edwards.. that's the problem. It's a game of matchups. Malone needs to try something different.

There is no way anyone saw this coming. In fact Denver was favored to win this series and Jokic was the clear cut best player in basketball.

This was a shocker. Now that 2 games have passed you now see Ant is clearly the best player in this series and the Wolves are just a flat out better team overall.

I told my brother who lives in Denver before game 1 they were in trouble. If you look at how each team matched up you could see Denver would have problems. Size to throw at Jokic and no one who could guard Edwards. Everyone was hypnotized into thinking the Suns were going to be Minny because they beat Minny 3-0 in the regular season.

[Mrakar]

One of the most important things in this series is that officiating change after all-star game. Minnesota is one of the teams that benifited the most and Nuggets are on the other side of the spectrum.
Teams like Wolves or Knicks who have player who play on the edge of the foul all the time, can now do even more pushing, grabing, bothering, call it like you will, and the Nuggets who are not at all playing physical defense are now at disadvantage.
Nuggets defense was at ti best during last years playoffs, and even then they didnt play physical, just smart positioning and good rotation. Only player who did preasure was KCP and even he cant do that now on bad ankle.
On the other side Edwards, Mcdaniels, Naw, Anderson can now do more dirty work then ever.

And don't get me wrong, im in favor of the more physical basketball, and also this Minny team is so talented they would probably find a way to win those 2 games(1 for sure) even without that, but by being more physical on the champs who are fighting with opponent and themselves for sure helped them a lot.
That is also a thing that helped Knicks vs Philly and now vs Indy, same thing. Knicks are playing far more physical.
Both Minny and Knicks couldnt do that last season, they would be in bonus after 2 minutes in every quarter.

It was on the champs to figure this out, but now its too late IMO. Winning 5 out of 4 is too much even for the Nuggets. This will be either a sweep or best case gentelmans sweep. Nuggets will have to come back with different startegy next year, hopefully healthy and with an accetable bench.

[ChipotleWest]

One of the most important things in this series is that officiating change after all-star game. Minnesota is one of the teams that benifited the most and Nuggets are on the other side of the spectrum.
Teams like Wolves or Knicks who have player who play on the edge of the foul all the time, can now do even more pushing, grabing, bothering, call it like you will, and the Nuggets who are not at all playing physical defense are now at disadvantage.
Nuggets defense was at ti best during last years playoffs, and even then they didnt play physical, just smart positioning and good rotation. Only player who did preasure was KCP and even he cant do that now on bad ankle.
On the other side Edwards, Mcdaniels, Naw, Anderson can now do more dirty work then ever.

And don't get me wrong, im in favor of the more physical basketball, and also this Minny team is so talented they would probably find a way to win those 2 games(1 for sure) even without that, but by being more physical on the champs who are fighting with opponent and themselves for sure helped them a lot.
That is also a thing that helped Knicks vs Philly and now vs Indy, same thing. Knicks are playing far more physical.
Both Minny and Knicks couldnt do that last season, they would be in bonus after 2 minutes in every quarter.

It was on the champs to figure this out, but now its too late IMO. Winning 5 out of 4 is too much even for the Nuggets. This will be either a sweep or best case gentelmans sweep. Nuggets will have to come back with different startegy next year, hopefully healthy and with an accetable bench.

But then you look at Dallas/OKC Game 1 and SGA got regular season calls. So there's just no consistency at all.

[thinktank]

The playoffs are always more physical.

[Sealab2024]

Michael Malone said in his presser after practice that he was disappointed that when the team faced adversity they "separated". This is interesting because it's exactly what Devin Booker said after game 2 of the Suns series.

Wolves out here creating broken homes.

[Sealab2024]

One of the most important things in this series is that officiating change after all-star game. Minnesota is one of the teams that benifited the most and Nuggets are on the other side of the spectrum.
Teams like Wolves or Knicks who have player who play on the edge of the foul all the time, can now do even more pushing, grabing, bothering, call it like you will, and the Nuggets who are not at all playing physical defense are now at disadvantage.
Nuggets defense was at ti best during last years playoffs, and even then they didnt play physical, just smart positioning and good rotation. Only player who did preasure was KCP and even he cant do that now on bad ankle.
On the other side Edwards, Mcdaniels, Naw, Anderson can now do more dirty work then ever.

And don't get me wrong, im in favor of the more physical basketball, and also this Minny team is so talented they would probably find a way to win those 2 games(1 for sure) even without that, but by being more physical on the champs who are fighting with opponent and themselves for sure helped them a lot.
That is also a thing that helped Knicks vs Philly and now vs Indy, same thing. Knicks are playing far more physical.
Both Minny and Knicks couldnt do that last season, they would be in bonus after 2 minutes in every quarter.

It was on the champs to figure this out, but now its too late IMO. Winning 5 out of 4 is too much even for the Nuggets. This will be either a sweep or best case gentelmans sweep. Nuggets will have to come back with different startegy next year, hopefully healthy and with an accetable bench.

But then you look at Dallas/OKC Game 1 and SGA got regular season calls. So there's just no consistency at all.

I've noticed a completely different whistle out east as well. There's something to going out there and being physical from the jump. It makes the refs decide to either bench starters with fouls or let them play physical. So far they've chosen the latter.

[ChipotleWest]

One of the most important things in this series is that officiating change after all-star game. Minnesota is one of the teams that benifited the most and Nuggets are on the other side of the spectrum.
Teams like Wolves or Knicks who have player who play on the edge of the foul all the time, can now do even more pushing, grabing, bothering, call it like you will, and the Nuggets who are not at all playing physical defense are now at disadvantage.
Nuggets defense was at ti best during last years playoffs, and even then they didnt play physical, just smart positioning and good rotation. Only player who did preasure was KCP and even he cant do that now on bad ankle.
On the other side Edwards, Mcdaniels, Naw, Anderson can now do more dirty work then ever.

And don't get me wrong, im in favor of the more physical basketball, and also this Minny team is so talented they would probably find a way to win those 2 games(1 for sure) even without that, but by being more physical on the champs who are fighting with opponent and themselves for sure helped them a lot.
That is also a thing that helped Knicks vs Philly and now vs Indy, same thing. Knicks are playing far more physical.
Both Minny and Knicks couldnt do that last season, they would be in bonus after 2 minutes in every quarter.

It was on the champs to figure this out, but now its too late IMO. Winning 5 out of 4 is too much even for the Nuggets. This will be either a sweep or best case gentelmans sweep. Nuggets will have to come back with different startegy next year, hopefully healthy and with an accetable bench.

But then you look at Dallas/OKC Game 1 and SGA got regular season calls. So there's just no consistency at all.

I've noticed a completely different whistle out east as well. There's something to going out there and being physical from the jump. It makes the refs decide to either bench starters with fouls or let them play physical. So far they've chosen the latter.

Pacers are filing a complaint to the league about 78 calls in the series so far that they feel are incorrect.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40111250/pacers-file-complaint-78-calls-nba-source-says

[SweetTouch]

Jokers legacy is on the line Friday night

Murray is trade bait next year if he doesn’t show up

He has been exposed as a primadonna entitled dude

Man up and win against a 50+ win team

[BlacJacMac]

Read on Twitter

[TheFire]

Jokic and Jamal combining for 80 tomorrow and bringing the T wolves down to earth.

[chudak]

MVP announcement is today I think. There's no way Joker wins it and then goes down 0-3 right?

It's a regular season award and this is west semifinals

[Baseline81]

Jokic and Jamal combining for 80 tomorrow and bringing the T wolves down to earth.

It's possible. But I'd imagine you said the same thing about Phoenix going back home down 0-2 against the Wolves...