Team never truly know what they’re going to face in the playoffs until they actually get there.
Head coach David Adelman and the Denver Nuggets believed they were prepared. They believed they were ready for a tough matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves and everything that entailed; however, until they went through Game 1 would they actually know where that preparation was leading them.
As it turns out, it led them well. The Nuggets stayed the course and won by double digits, 116-105 to take Game 1 of their first round series vs Minnesota.
“It was physical. There were ups and downs, and runs,” Nikola Jokic shared after the game. “So I think, yeah, it definitely met the expectations.”
Jamal Murray led the way with 30 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds, shooting just 7-of-22 from the field and 0-of-8 from three but going 16-of-16 from the free throw line to compensate. The Nuggets as a whole shot 30-of-33 from the line, an important element of their margin of victory on a day when the team shot just 28% from three-point range as a whole.
The Timberwolves were unhappy with the whistle for most of the game, attempting to introduce physicality and failing early. Minnesota was simply assessed extra fouls early on, allowing Murray to get to the free throw line 11 times in the first half alone.
“I mean, four of them were technicals,” Murray stated after the game in his matter-of-fact way about why the free throw number rose so high. “I thought I got fouled on every single one of them.”
“He drew a lot of fouls in that quarter because he got fouled. A lot,” David Adelman declared.
In the regular season, the Timberwolves committed the third most fouls in the entire NBA behind only the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards. They play a very physical style and want to be as disruptive as possible.
The Nuggets matched that energy though and countered in some very smart ways, using that added physicality against Minnesota. That led to some frustration fouls for the Timberwolves and an even bigger disparity in Denver’s favor.
Denver weathered the storm, understanding what was needed in this game and responding really well. They didn’t shoot well from the perimeter, but that didn’t stop them from finding success matching Minnesota where needed on the interior scoring front.
Jokic was important in that regard with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, effectively a game where he met his per game averages in the regular season while feeling out what was needed. Jokic set the table for Murray and others, scoring occasionally against Rudy Gobert, and finding ways to generate turnovers from the Wolves on the other end of the floor.
Jokic’s rebounding in the midst of Minnesota’s athletic bigs was a big deal on both ends of the floor, allowing the Nuggets to find some easier points and prevent momentum opportunities for Minnesota on the offensive glass.
Jokic set the tone in many ways, and the torch was carried throughout by Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson, Christian Braun, Bruce Brown, and Spencer Jones. All five of those guys had moments when they made important plays battling on both ends of the floor.
Gordon’s matchup with Julius Randle will be an ongoing factor in this series with those two picking up double technicals in the fourth quarter while jawing at each other. I’d expect that to be the least of the incidents between now and the end of this matchup.
Johnson made some important glue guy plays throughout the evening, hitting the occasional jumper, switching onto Anthony Edwards and other scoring threats defensively, and making the right rotations within Denver’s scheme.
Braun battled Edwards for most of the day, hit two three-pointers (and had multiple shots with a toe on the line) and also collected eight rebounds. Adelman made special mention of his defense.
“He’s guarding one of the best players in the world…You can trust CB that what he’s doing, there’s a reason for it.”
Bruce Brown was a monster off the bench with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals. Not all of the steals were of the insane hustle and effort variety, but Brown took advantage of doing the work early and making big plays when they were needed.
Spencer Jones played in the first half alone, but I thought he played really well, battling with all three of Edwards, Randle, and Naz Reid consistently and having success in those matchups. He also hit a three-pointer and made a couple free throws. That’s all one can really ask for in Jones’ first game back from a hamstring injury.
Overall, there were a lot of heroes in Game 1. It wasn’t a situations where one player was the clear reason why Denver won, but rather a collection of solid performances across the board and a “grind-it-out” win that should be exciting for fans for this reason:
How many defensive wins did the Nuggets have in the regular season? How often were they able to trust their work on defense to hold up the offense when shots weren’t going down? During the regular season, the Nuggets had a 1-7 record in games when they shot 28% or worse. In games when Denver hit 10 or fewer three-pointers, the Nuggets had a 4-9 regular season record.
Denver won by double-digits in this game despite the poor percentages because their details were better across the board. They were ready for the physicality and battled for shots inside the arc, leveraged the Wolves into bad fouls, and kept a cool head throughout the first playoff game of the year. That shows a lot of poise and trust in what they were trying to accomplish, a good sign for the rest of the series.
Nothing is guaranteed going forward, but Nuggets fans should feel good about Denver’s start. They will shoot better in future games, and while the Wolves certainly will too, the Nuggets were the very best shooting team in the league. There’s a lot highest of a place for the Nuggets to go on that end of the floor when led by Jokic and Murray.
