Secretly, quietly and quietly, a real rivalry has developed in the Northwest Division: Once again, Denver and Minnesota meet. The conference semi-final between the reigning champs and the meteoric newcomer (Game 1 on Sunday, from 12:55 a.m. on ProSieben MAXX, Joyn, ran.de and in the ran app) could become a real classic.
From Seb Dumitru
The first time it happened was in 2018: Minnesota beat Denver on the very last day of the season and reached the playoffs – for the first time in 13 years. The Nuggets lost the heartbreaker in overtime and missed the postseason, but changed their approach significantly and kept getting better.
In 2023, they got revenge en route to their first championship, brusquely knocking the young, up-and-coming Timberwolves out of the title race in a gentleman’s sweep in round one. The cheeky team from the far north challenged the veteran team from the Rocky Mountains decisively – and swore revenge.
The team from the Twin Cities can take that starting next Saturday: then the second round series, which is eagerly awaited by the entire basketball world, starts between these Northwest Division rivals, who have so many overlaps and similarities that they almost look like the Spiderman meme .
Both clubs are led by an outstanding big/wing duo with star qualities (Nikola Jokic/Jamal Murray and Anthony Edwards/Karl Towns), which they drafted and developed on their own, both traded for an elite defender (Aaron Gordon and Rudy Gobert), both secured a former high school superstar deep in the draft who had fallen out of favor due to question marks (Michael Porter Jr. and Jaden McDaniels), and both filled their rosters with an effective mix of smart veterans ( Kentavious Caldwell-Pope/Reggie Jackson and Mike Conley/Kyle Anderson) and useful youngsters (Peyton Watson/Christian Braun and Naz Reid/Nickeil Alexander-Walker).
Nuggets vs. Timberwolves: Division rivals with many parallels
Timberwolves president Tim Connelly, head coach Chris Finch and assistant coach Micah Nori (who will fill in for the injured Finch) once worked for the Nuggets and were even instrumental in creating their championship DNA. Nuggets GM Calvin Booth and assistant coaches Ryan Saunders and David Adelman were previously in – you guessed it – Minnesota. Wolves backup Monte Morris played for Denver for five years and was even the full-time starter at number one in 2021/22.
As division rivals, they see each other at least four times a year, including, as I said, recently in the playoffs. So they know each other inside and out, know each other’s strengths and weaknesses – and respect each other immensely.
Denver is the reigning champion, won 57 times, had the fourth-best net rating and ranked in the top ten in offense and defense. Minnesota won 56 times, exceeded all expectations with home field advantage and won its first playoff series in 20 years, had the third-best net rating and the most suffocating defense in the league.
She will also need that to eliminate the super-brain Jokic and his constantly rotating, improvising colleagues. On the other hand, the Nuggets will face Anthony Edwards, whose scoring, highlights, leadership qualities and meteoric rise to global megastar status have catapulted the Wolves to a whole new level.
Nuggets vs. Timberwolves: Like a heavyweight fight
How will the Wolves respond when challenged for the first time in these playoffs? Is Minnesota forcing Jokic to be more of a scorer than a playmaker again? Who will take over as Joker if “KAT” gets into foul trouble?
What do the Nuggets do when “Ant-Man” physically harasses his counterpart KCP? And if Gordon has to step in, who will check the Twin Towers? What about Murray’s damaged knee joint? And speaking of knees: Is Nori ready for the bright playoff lights as Finch’s replacement?
Here at #ranNBA we will be going into individual matchups, tricky details and crucial lineup tricks over the next few days and weeks.
Until then, however, it’s time to sit back, relax and watch two similarly skilfully put together and coached teams in the anticipated heavyweight fight, which for many already represents the early Western Conference final. It could be a real classic…
2024-05-04 21:41:00
#Denver #Nuggets #Minnesota #Timberwolves #early #West #final
