Wolves vs Nuggets

[AbeVigodaLive]

Injury report as of this morning:
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Denver Nuggets:
Gordon, Aaron - Probable - Left Calf; Tightness
Watson, Peyton - Out Right Hamstring Strain

Minnesota Timberwolves:
Edwards, Anthony - Questionable - Right Knee; Injury Maintenance

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Aaron Gordon popping up is new. I know he'll play, but he hasn't looked 100% out there in the first two games. Peyton Watson plays the Aaron Gordon role off Denver's bench and he continues to be out.

All the more reason for us to continue with a 10-man rotation and relentlessly attack downhill. This is why I think Denver will pack the paint at times and make us shoot over the top of their defense. We certainly have the shooters, but they can go cold at the most in-opportune times!

I also thought Gordon looked limited. I’m not sure he is going to make it through the entire playoffs should Denver get by the Wolves.

And I’ve heard that Watson may not be back for this series. He apparently had a setback in early April on his hamstring recovery.

Hamstring injuries seem so dicey... they seem to linger.

[FNG]

Nuggets are still a huge favorite (-230) to win the series, but my homerism kicked in after game 2, so I'm more optimistic than I was when I picked Denver in 5. I almost see it closer to a tossup right now.

But one thing that has bothered me more and more in the past two days is the stupid comment Jaden made about Denver's defense...I'm concerned it may come back to haunt us in a pivotal game 3. Denver is saying all the right things..."if you can't get up for the playoffs, there's something wrong with you", etc. But I suspect they are pissed, and it might lead them to find another gear. Rudy clearly found another gear on defense in game 2 after his DPOY snub, so I don't think we can conclude Denver won't do the same. And oddly, the guy I'm most worried about finding another gear on defense is Jokic. He has been incredibly bad around the basket...Ant, Ju, and Jaden have gone at him like he isn't even there, sort of like opponents do to Naz. Jokic is big, but he doesn't seem to have any sense of urgency on defense. If that changes, the paint is no longer going to be as open as it has been in the first two games. I think we will find out quite early, because after a disastrous first quarter last game, the light bulb went on. I just wish Jaden hadn't announced it to the world.

[FNG]

One reason I'm feeling more optimistic than I was coming into the series is that I think our role players are showing up better than there's. I think we all know who the three best players are in this series...I know most here would go 1 Joker, 2 Ant, 3 Murray, but I would reverse Ant and Murray, especially if we think Ant's knee is slowing him.

But I would have thought Gordon was the 4th best player in the series, and I didn't like our chances of beating a team that had 3 of the best 4 players. But injured Gordon has not been very effective, and I could even make a case for the order after Ant going something like this:

4: Rudy
5: Ju
6,7: Donte, Jaden, tied

So, I'm arguing that with Gordon hampered and Watson out, the Wolves might have 5 of the best 7 players in the series. This is not an original thought by the way...Dane and Kyle Theige go into this in detail on yesterday's pod. If our role players continue to outplay theirs, we have a chance of winning this series.

[Q-is-here]

Nuggets are still a huge favorite (-230) to win the series, but my homerism kicked in after game 2, so I'm more optimistic than I was when I picked Denver in 5. I almost see it closer to a tossup right now.

But one thing that has bothered me more and more in the past two days is the stupid comment Jaden made about Denver's defense...I'm concerned it may come back to haunt us in a pivotal game 3. Denver is saying all the right things..."if you can't get up for the playoffs, there's something wrong with you", etc. But I suspect they are pissed, and it might lead them to find another gear. Rudy clearly found another gear on defense in game 2 after his DPOY snub, so I don't think we can conclude Denver won't do the same. And oddly, the guy I'm most worried about finding another gear on defense is Jokic. He has been incredibly bad around the basket...Ant, Ju, and Jaden have gone at him like he isn't even there, sort of like opponents do to Naz. Jokic is big, but he doesn't seem to have any sense of urgency on defense. If that changes, the paint is no longer going to be as open as it has been in the first two games. I think we will find out quite early, because after a disastrous first quarter last game, the light bulb went on. I just wish Jaden hadn't announced it to the world.

I don't think it matters that much FNG. I fully expect Denver to win one of two games in Minnesota simply because they have the best player in the NBA and overall are higher IQ than us. Finch and Co. need to play the long game and stick with the plan of being physical, attacking the basket, putting Jokic and Murray in action over and over again, etc. Then we just hope that they wear out by Game 6 or 7 and we beat them physically.

Of course Ant's knee deteriorating further or Gordon getting knocked out of the series are distinct possibilities that could also tilt the odds in a material way.

[FNG]

Nuggets are still a huge favorite (-230) to win the series, but my homerism kicked in after game 2, so I'm more optimistic than I was when I picked Denver in 5. I almost see it closer to a tossup right now.

But one thing that has bothered me more and more in the past two days is the stupid comment Jaden made about Denver's defense...I'm concerned it may come back to haunt us in a pivotal game 3. Denver is saying all the right things..."if you can't get up for the playoffs, there's something wrong with you", etc. But I suspect they are pissed, and it might lead them to find another gear. Rudy clearly found another gear on defense in game 2 after his DPOY snub, so I don't think we can conclude Denver won't do the same. And oddly, the guy I'm most worried about finding another gear on defense is Jokic. He has been incredibly bad around the basket...Ant, Ju, and Jaden have gone at him like he isn't even there, sort of like opponents do to Naz. Jokic is big, but he doesn't seem to have any sense of urgency on defense. If that changes, the paint is no longer going to be as open as it has been in the first two games. I think we will find out quite early, because after a disastrous first quarter last game, the light bulb went on. I just wish Jaden hadn't announced it to the world.

I don't think it matters that much FNG. I fully expect Denver to win one of two games in Minnesota simply because they have the best player in the NBA and overall are higher IQ than us. Finch and Co. need to play the long game and stick with the plan of being physical, attacking the basket, putting Jokic and Murray in action over and over again, etc. Then we just hope that they wear out by Game 6 or 7 and we beat them physically.

Of course Ant's knee deteriorating further or Gordon getting knocked out of the series are distinct possibilities that could also tilt the odds in a material way.

I don't know...guess we'll find out. I kept asking myself in the first two games "Is Jokic really this bad at protecting the rim?". I had never noticed it before to this degree. That's why I'm concerned he might come out inspired just to show Jaden.

There's another way of looking at it though. Jaden isn't the brightest bulb on the team (and I suspect he may have been called into Finchy's office for a spanking), but he wouldn't have said something like that so strongly unless it was something everyone was saying in the locker room. And that means we are confident on offense, and all of us that have played some hoops know that offense is a lot easier when you're confident. Dane and Kyle talked a little about the difference between confidence and arrogance. Arrogance was the reason we lost games like the Nets game. But confidence is okay...I think they just think they are better than Denver, and can beat them if they stay focused. I'm not so sure.

[Coolbreeze44]

Who are the cretins that had the Nuggets in 4?

[60WinTim]

Who are the cretins that had the Nuggets in 4?

Well, Q already fessed up with an early post. But he was trying to represent other pessimists who felt the same way, and acknowledged there was only a "miniscule" chance of a Denver sweep.

I think he was using some form of reverse psychology!

I don't know who the 2nd sweep guy was...

I chose Wolves in 6, because the momentum Denver thought they had with their 12-game win streak was a farce, and doomed once they started playing a "good" team.

[Coolbreeze44]

Who are the cretins that had the Nuggets in 4?

Well, Q already fessed up with an early post. But he was trying to represent other pessimists who felt the same way, and acknowledged there was only a "miniscule" chance of a Denver sweep.

I think he was using some form of reverse psychology!

I don't know who the 2nd sweep guy was...

I chose Wolves in 6, because the momentum Denver thought they had with their 12-game win streak was a farce, and doomed once they started playing a "good" team.

I had the Nuggets in 7, but I'm starting to think the Wolves might do it.

[Wolvesfan21]

Who are the cretins that had the Nuggets in 4?

Someone switched from Denver in 6 to Denver in 4 after game 1. Made sense. Not me, I'm stuck with Denver in 7.

[Wolvesfan21]

Nuggets are still a huge favorite (-230) to win the series, but my homerism kicked in after game 2, so I'm more optimistic than I was when I picked Denver in 5. I almost see it closer to a tossup right now.

But one thing that has bothered me more and more in the past two days is the stupid comment Jaden made about Denver's defense...I'm concerned it may come back to haunt us in a pivotal game 3. Denver is saying all the right things..."if you can't get up for the playoffs, there's something wrong with you", etc. But I suspect they are pissed, and it might lead them to find another gear. Rudy clearly found another gear on defense in game 2 after his DPOY snub, so I don't think we can conclude Denver won't do the same. And oddly, the guy I'm most worried about finding another gear on defense is Jokic. He has been incredibly bad around the basket...Ant, Ju, and Jaden have gone at him like he isn't even there, sort of like opponents do to Naz. Jokic is big, but he doesn't seem to have any sense of urgency on defense. If that changes, the paint is no longer going to be as open as it has been in the first two games. I think we will find out quite early, because after a disastrous first quarter last game, the light bulb went on. I just wish Jaden hadn't announced it to the world.

I see two likely outcomes after that, Denver blows us out or it's a close game. I'd be most shocked if we blew them out. I don't see that happening. I hate to say it, I feel like a Denver blowout is coming.