Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets

This year's 2nd seed vs 7th seed matchup will arguably be the most entertaining matchup in the first round, from my perspective at least. Let's go over the number of big names between these two teams shall we? Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, Donovon Mitchell, Klay Thompsn, MPJ, Domantas Sabonis, Jonas Valanciunas. Yes, that's a lot of big names, and physically, big players. This series is gonna come down to one major X-factor for each team, and I don’t really know who’s gonna win, but I can say this. Man, I hope we get a Game 7. 

How we got here.

Minnesota Timberwolves.

Minnesota finished not only with the 2nd best record in the West, but also the 4th best record in the entire NSL. After finishing 4th in the west last season, Ethan wanted to make a move that put him at the next level and make him a true title contender. His big splash? Only going at and getting 2 way Monster Anthony “The Unibrow” Davis in a massive half the league involved a deal that had him sending out young studs Lamelo Ball and Scottie Barnes. At first even I thought it was dumb given Davis’s injury history, but man was I wrong. Having 2-way superstar Jimmy Butler control the pace and pairing Davis with Jonas formed arguably the best rebounding duo in the league. Minny comes into this series with a 3-1 record over Denver, having dropped the first meeting between the 2. If the season series says anything, this may be a cakewalk for the Wolves, but never say never when it comes to the NSL. 

Denver Nuggets.

Denver started out the season strong, Steph was averaging 40 a game, and finished the season second in scoring. The only issue? Steph didn’t finish the season as a Nugget, but as a Laker. In an out of left field blockbuster trade, Denver sent out Steph MF Curry and in return, got a package of role players and picks built around superstar SG Donovan “Spida” Mitchell. Spida is no consolation prize here, averaging 34ppg, if it wasn’t for injury, Spida would have finished 4th in scoring officially, only 2 spots behind Curry. Denver wanted to secure a more long term future around Sabonis and MPJ, and Spida’s definitely a great matchup for them. Now Denver may have had an up and down season, but this team is no slouch, having the size and shooting to fight with the best. The big question is what do you do if Denver gets hot from outside? The Answer: P R A Y. 

X-Factors. 

Denver: Shooting. 

Denver shot more 3s than anyone else per game this season. Actually the gap between them and 2nd is about 6 3s per game, with Denver shooting a whooping 27.8 3spg. The issue? The issue is that Denver finished in the bottom 5 of 3pt% this season, making about 44% of their 3s. Now that may not seem bad, but when you;re taking 28 3’s a game and only making about 12-13 in a league where the average rate is about 46% on significantly lower volume, it’s pretty easy to shoot yourself out of a game. For Denver to win this series, they need to be on point when they let it fly. If Denver wants to win this series against a team like Minny, I'd say they need to shoot near 50% from 3 for the series. 

Minnesota: Defense. 

Minnesota finished 4th in blocks per game, 2nd in steals per game, and 2nd in rebounding this season, making them arguably the best defensive team this season. With Jimmy and Davis leading the way, this team is a two way force. AD, Jonas and Looney cover the paint while Butler, Donte and DFS cover the perimeter. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to see multiple wolves get all defense honors this season, they are just that damn pesky. But they are going up against a top 3 offense in Denver. If they let guys like Klay, MPJ and Spida stroke it from the outside, it’s gonna be hard for even these wolves to bite down and put a stop to them. 

Key Series Matchup. 

Jimmy Butler vs Donovan Mitchell. 

This is going to be the clear A1 matchup in this series. Both are excellent offensive players, both are excellent defensive players. The big question that it comes down to is who is more of both, who’s the bigger leader. Jimmy will most likely be guarding Spida this series, so it’ll come down to if Spida gets clamped up by Jimmy Butler, or will Donovan spin his web and get Butler stuck in his tracks as he blows right by him. 

Series Prediction: Minny in 6. 

This is gonna be a fun series, it’s got the best of both worlds. But in the end I think Minny’s defense and presence in the paint will be too much to handle. Donovan will try his damndest to carry this Denver squad to the second round, but i’d expect this Minny to be ready and waiting for the winner of San Antonia and Houston come round two.