Nuggets vs. Timberwolves Series Preview: Battle Of The Bigs

The Denver Nuggets have been one of the most underwhelming playoff teams over the past few seasons. Barely scraping by inferior opponents, the team struggled against the likes of Portland and Utah in recent years. When put up against legitimate powerhouses such as the Warriors, Suns, and Lakers, they’ve been eliminated with ease. Denver only has one win in their last nine playoff games.

But now, the team is better than ever, finishing first in a stacked Western Conference for the first time in franchise history. They are set to face a motivated Minnesota Timberwolves, who are coming off a dominant win over OKC.

The division rivals split their season series with two wins a piece, but the Nuggets come in as -500 favorites to advance to the Conference Semis on the FanDuel Sportsbook.

The Denver Nuggets are coming off their best-ever season, led by Michael Malone. The team finished with a 53-29 record in the regular season and dominated inter-conference play with a 34-18 record against the West. They were the second-best home team in the NBA, winning 34 games and only losing seven in the Mile High City. The Nuggets finished the year as the third most clutch defensive team in the league and had a 13-4 record against the rest of the top six in their conference.

Minnesota had higher expectations heading into this season but was stunted by an injury to Karl-Anthony Towns. The 27-year-old only appeared in 23 games for the Wolves this season. Despite that, Minnesota still managed to sneak past the play-in tournament, making just their second playoff appearance in 19 years. Finishing as the eighth seed, the Timberwolves had a 42-40 record in the regular season.

These two teams have only faced each other once in the postseason, occurring in the first round of the 2004 NBA playoffs. Minnesota won that series 4-1 thanks to an outstanding Kevin Garnett.

Denver has a plethora of players as game-time decisions on the injury report but should have most of those players available come Sunday. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the only real threat to miss the game, as he is recovering from an illness. That being said, Jamal Murray has admitted to be dealing with an uncomfortable thumb injury.

Conversely, Minnesota will still be without Jaden McDaniels as he recovers from a hand injury. Karl-Anthony Towns is listed as probable due to a strained calf but will likely play through the issue once again.

The biggest matchup between these two teams will take place in the paint as Nikola Jokic and Rudy Gobert match up yet again. A battle between these two is always box office worthy, as they have played each other 28 times before, including seven times in the playoffs. Gobert has the edge in the head-to-head matchup with a 16-12 record. Nonetheless, he has historically struggled to contain Jokic, who averages 21 points, nine rebounds, and seven boards against the Frenchman.

Another matchup to watch is the battle between the other big men on the floor – Aaron Gordon and Karl-Anthony Towns. Denver had a bottom-ten defense down low, allowing 52.5 points per game in the paint. With Jokic busy trying to limit Gobert, it will be up to Gordon to slow down Towns, who is in his best form of the season.

At -500 to proceed to the next round, it’s hard to bet against Denver. I don’t see a world in which the Timberwolves can pull off an upset.

Denver was the best team in the West this season and are hungry to prove their legitimacy in the title race. Finally healthy for the first time in years, the team is looking to build off their 2020 run, where they lost in the Western Conference Finals.

• Series Spread: Nuggets -1.5 (-170)
• Game 1/Series Double: Denver Nuggets/Denver Nuggets (-240)

Currently, there isn’t much value to be found when betting on this series. However, I would still take the Nuggets on the series spread at -170 for what should be free money.

Denver is phenomenal at home and has a chance to sweep this series. The last time these two teams met, the Nuggets won by over 30 points. It wouldn’t be crazy teasing the series sweep at +490.

Furthermore, Denver’s starters have had a whole week to rest while Minnesota grinded out the play-in tournament. It’s hard to see the Timberwolves winning more than one game.