The Denver Nuggets began a five-game road trip with a near 30-point loss, going down 133-104 vs the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Minnesota won every quarter, and there was no point in time outside of the first quarter when a Nuggets win seemed possible. Anthony Edwards, who was questionable with an illness entering today, made sure of that. He had 34 points and nine assists, shooting 14-of-23 from the field and 3-of-8 from three against a porous Nuggets defense.
Rudy Gobert also won his matchup with Nikola Jokic in definitive fashion. Jokic shot efficiently and created plenty of points for teammates with 20 points and 11 assists, but it was the turnovers (seven), rebounding (three total) and poor defense that lost this matchup for Jokic. Gobert was a big part of why Jokic struggled, not the only part but certainly a major factor. The French center had 14 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and four steals. He didn’t log any blocks but also altered several shots.
While Jokic was a -24 in his 32 minutes, Gobert was a +26 in his 30 minutes. It’s very rare to see Jokic lose the matchup that absolutely, but that might be an indicator in Denver’s weaknesses in this matchup.
Jamal Murray had a strong game while being guarded by Anthony Edwards and Nickeil Alexander-Walker for the majority of it. Murray finished with 25 points on 10-of-16 from the field to go with five assists and two turnovers.
There were some good defensive possessions from Murray, but he was still overwhelmed at times physically when switched onto Edwards and Julius Randle, who finished with 21 points on 20 shots and was probably the weak link in Minnesota’s system.
Still, it’s difficult to point to anything good defensively when Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, and Mike Conley combined to score 36 points on 19 shots, including 4-of-4 from three-point range. The Nuggets didn’t do a good job on Edwards or Randle, and they did an even worse job of helping each other defensively when the ball got in rotation to a Timberwolves role player. It was an embarrassing defensive performance from the Nuggets starting unit.
Off the bench, Peyton Watson was a bright spot with three steals and a block. he can play in this matchup and probably needs to be as involved as possible with his defensive skill set. Aaron Gordon had some positive moments but also had some inexcusable lapses. DeAndre Jordan only played six minutes, but he was extremely helpful with four offensive rebounds and two dunks in that short time, hustling well against the Timberwolves bench. Julian Strawther appeared overwhelmed on both ends of the ball though and really struggled to handle his responsibilities in this matchup.
Overall, not a great way for the Nuggets to start their road trip.
Do the T’Wolves own the Nuggets?
Denver hasn’t defeated Minnesota since Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Game 6 was a 45-point blowout. Game 7 saw the Nuggets give up a 20-point lead on their home floor.
In the first matchup between these two teams earlier this year, Anthony Edwards scored 29 points and helped propel Minnesota to a clutch win in Minneapolis. And now today, the T’Wolves took it a step further and eviscerated Denver.
The physicality the T’Wolves play with against the Nuggets emphasizes just how much confidence they have in this matchup. I wrote about it today. The Nuggets were either going to match that physicality or they were going to lose. They lost emphatically.
Denver’s starting group won’t include Michael Porter Jr. at power forward for much longer. Aaron Gordon will be out there at some point, and he’s an essential element for the Nuggets. As long as he makes enough outside shots to keep Minnesota honest, his all-around skills et helps Denver. Porter made his shots today, but he had zero rebounds in 31 minutes. Jokic had three rebounds. Those two numbers for Denver’s starting power forward and center are simply inexcusable.
I don’t know how to parse this matchup as a reflection of Denver’s ability to win a championship this season. During Denver’s championship season, it was often them imposing their physical will on other teams who weren’t willing to play that way. Denver has done that reasonably well this year, but against Minnesota, it fell apart.
Much like how the Nuggets simply own the Lakers, the T’Wolves are making a case that they own a serious advantage over Denver. Could they simply avoid Minnesota in the playoffs and be much better against other teams? Sure. Could this lack of physicality from Porter, Strawther, and others be a sign that Denver may not handle the pressure well when the playoffs roll in? Perhaps.
Could this have just been a bad game? Sure.
Whatever the case, this is a nice reminder that the Nuggets still have a long way to go. During their 12-3 stretch, they won games against teams with winning percentages in the NBA that ranked 14th, 29th, 18th, 21st, 10th, 25th, 13th, 20th, 17th, 24th, and 15th. There were no wins against elite teams, and until the Nuggets prove they can win against the top brass, it’s fair to remain skeptical of their chances at the highest levels of competition.
Final Rotations