The Denver Nuggets will host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
On Saturday, the T-Wolves went on the road and picked up a big win in Game 1 against the Nuggets.
Will the defending champions be able to make a comeback with a win in the second game? Or will Minnesota continue to turn heads around the league and secure a commanding 2-0 series lead on the road?
Dive into the matchup and make your choices.
Timberwolves vs Nuggets odds
| team | spread | money line | total |
|---|---|---|---|
| T-Wolves | +5.5 (-108) | +198 | o207.5 (-108) |
| nugget | -5.5 (-112) | -240 | u207.5 (-112) |
Timberwolves Analysis
Anthony Edwards was otherworldly Saturday night. He scored an incredible 43 points on 17-of-29 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and one steal.
Edwards, who averaged 33.4 points per game on elite shooting splits of 53-43-86 this postseason, is a phenom rising in rarefied air on his second trip to the playoffs.
I expect the Nuggets to double-team and trap Edwards even more in Game 2, as they had no answer for Edwards one-on-one.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope doesn't have the power to hang with Edwards down low, while Aaron Gordon doesn't have the foot speed to be with Edwards on the perimeter.
The Nuggets have to get the ball out of Edwards' hands.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished Game 1 with 20 points in 31 minutes, but foul trouble limited his overall impact.
However, Naz Reid had an incredible 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting off the bench, and the Timberwolves really had depth in this series against a Denver team whose weak point was their bench. It's a luxury.
Towns and Reid will need to continue to score efficiently to support Edwards.
nugget analysis
Nikola Jokic appears to be aiming for his third MVP award this season. Despite facing Rudy Gobert, who is expected to be the Defensive Player of the Year, he scored 32 points on 11 of 25 shots in Game 1, as well as 8 rebounds and 9 assists.
He will need more help from his teammate, Jamal Murray, in Game 2. Murray finished with just 17 points after being held scoreless in the first half due to incredible defense from Edwards, Jayden McDaniels and Nickell-Alexander-Walker.
Murray is still dealing with a calf strain that has made him questionable in recent games and will need to continue to battle it.
Michael Porter Jr. has improved his game this postseason, averaging 22.3 points on 54-50-74 shooting. Despite his family's struggles, Porter is focused on the court and playing the best basketball of his career.
With Gobert on Jokic and McDaniels on Murray, Porter should continue to get chances against smaller defenders after scoring 20 points in Game 1.
Timberwolves vs Nuggets prediction
(10 p.m. ET, TNT)
Last year, the T-Wolves were without Reed or McDaniels, losing in five games to the Nuggets in the first round, but both made a big impact in Game 1.
McDaniels missed all seven shots from the field and was scoreless, but had eight rebounds and played great defense. Reed scored 16 points off the bench, and his efforts late in the game were key to securing the victory.
However, the hope is that the Nuggets will make the necessary adjustments to emerge victorious in Game 2.
After losing Game 1 as the favorite, the home favorites went 50-35-1 (58.8%) against the spread in Game 2, with a good ROI of 12.2%. Currently, that trend continues with 8 wins and 2 losses in the past 10 games.
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This tells us that the line for Game 1 closed with the Nuggets -4.5, and Denver is favored by 5.5 points in Game 2 after the loss.
I think that's because the Timberwolves shot 71% in the second half and only won by seven points, but I'm sure the bookmakers are hoping for an upset on Monday night.
I will buy the defending champion at this location every time and accept the results.
