Timberwolves (2-2) vs Nuggets (2-2) recap and reaction

I decided against doing the Magic vs Cavaliers recap because of the injury to Paolo Banchero. The game was not close, however, the night cap lived up to the hype. The Nuggets come in after playing two straight overtime games escaping the Raptors and Nets, while the Timberwolves were coming off a close Tuesday night loss to the Mavericks. Both teams looked to gain a signature win early in the year. 

Recap

The Nuggets opened with their signature lineup of Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic. The Timberwolves matched up with Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, Jalen McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert. The stylistic matchup between the two teams has changed a lot since their playoff series from last year. The Wolves has made it an emphasize to get more three point attempts up. Their defense also is not as good as it was last year. They are giving up the second most points in the paint as opposed to last year, where they lead the NBA in that category. The Nuggets still have similar problems to last year. The bench scoring still is lacking some pop and the team shooting overall is still not great. The game started off well though for the Nuggets. Noticeably Braun was initiating the offense as opposed to Murray. The Wolves have constantly pressured Murray in the past and having Braun run the point would help open up Murray off the ball. The Nuggets also pushed the pace well in the first quarter. The Wolves have not been great this year in transition defense, but the Nuggets have not been great in pushing the pace either. Jokic did a good job early on of pushing the pace and getting some easy looks in transition for Denver. The Nuggets also went to Julian Strawther earlier than in games in the past. His shooting really can provide a spark off the bench. Minnesota played well in the first quarter and Anthony Edwards started to get things rolling along with Randle. When Reid and DiVincenzo entered the game for the Wolves you felt the momentum switch towards Minnesota. Reid, like he has been doing well this year, switching on pick and rolls caused some issues for the Nuggets offense.  The Wolves finished the quarter strong and took a 33-29 lead.  The second quarter looked pretty similar as the first with Edwards and Randle really dominating. With no Gobert in the game, the Nuggets decided put Jokic on Randle instead of Reid. Randle, isn't as quick as Reid, but overall the Nuggets struggled guarding the wolves with Gobert out of the game. I liked the spacing from the wolves offense with this lineup and it should be something they go to more in the future when needed. Russell Westbrook entered the game for the Nuggets. I like the pace he brings to the Nuggets I just think he gets going too fast sometimes. Most of the time he's having some younger guys with him so getting them organized can help put them in better spots. Westbrook is not a good shooter at this point in his career, so it's important he starts to cut more. Dario Saric entered the game for the Nuggets and this is where the Wolves made their run. Saric is just not good. He doesn't provide any paint protection for the Nuggets defense and if he's not hitting threes he cannot help the Nuggets. They got outscored by 11 points in just 5 minutes with him on the floor. Donte DiVincenzo also gives the wolves a level of playmaking they haven't had before. Him and Randle give Edwards some help in getting others good looks. DiVincenzo had a couple nice lobs to Gobert to help push the lead to 16 for the Wolves. However, Aaron Gordon helped bring the Nuggets back along with Porter Jr. Porter jr. has struggled a little bit shooting to start the year and Nuggets need him to get going. Aaron Gordon had a great first half he hit 3 threes to get the Nuggets back in it before Jokic checked back in. Denver closed the half strong as Minnesota entered the break with a 64-61 lead. Gordon had 19 points on 7/9 shooting, Porter Jr. had 15 points and Jokic had 9 points 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Braun also had 12 points. The Nuggets only got 2 bench points in the first half. Edwards had 18 points and Randle had 15 points for Minnesota. The Wolves outshoot the Nuggets from three going 11/21 vs 5/17 for Denver. The third quarter started well for both teams. Gordon played very well hitting two threes, while Edwards and Randle carried the Wolves. Jamal Murray went into concussion protocol in the third quarter for the Nuggets.  For the Nuggets I like they went to Hunter Tyson more. He's a second year player from Clemson who can really shoot the ball well. I like playing him and having Gordon at the 5 when Jokic is out of the game better than Saric in the game. For the Wolves, the top 7 play really well together. McDaniels did not have his best game but Nickel Alexander-Walker had a very good game and stepped up for Minnesota. The entire top 7 for Minnesota had a good game overall. The Wolves took a 91-85 lead into the fourth. The fourth quarter got very exciting. The Wolves took an 11 point lead before Jokic checked in back in the game. The Wolves lead 96-85 when he checked back in. Aaron Gordon was still able to keep Denver afloat while Jokic was out. Julian Strawther did not play well in the 4th quarter. He was a little out of control on drives and fouled a lot on defense. Both teams were in the bonus with over 7 minutes left in the quarter. The Nuggets stormed back to take a 104-102 lead their first of the game and even stretched it out to a 110-102 lead at one point. The Wolves offense looked super stagnant with Randle handling it most of the time. I'd like to see more two man game between him and Edwards, instead of Edwards playing off the ball. This is also where playing a lot of isolation ball can get them in trouble. The Nuggets had a very good offense in the 4th. They used Jokic setting some off ball screens and Gobert helped way too much away from Jokic. This allowed him to get some easy layups and looks for other guys on the team. The Nuggets mostly used the Murray and Jokic two man game with Jokic screening, but having him screen away from the ball caused Gobert some problems. The game seemed to really jump when Christian Braun dunked on Rudy Gobert. Both guys got into it after the play and received a technical foul. After this, Alexander-Walker and Edwards hit back-to-back threes to cut the lead from 7 to 1. with the Nuggets up 116-115 Alexander-walker got a huge stop on Westbrook. Edwards was able to get Porter Jr. on a switch and made a floater to go up 117-116. The Wolves were able to get stop and Gobert hit two free throws before Gobert stopped Jokic from hitting a three to tie it at the buzzer. The Wolves able to escape the Nuggets with a 119-116 win. Jokic finished with 26 points, 13 assists, and 9 rebounds. Porter Jr had 26 points on 11/18 shooting and Gordon added in 31 points on 11/18 shooting. Edwards finished with 29 points on 11/23 from the field and 7/13 from three, Randle had 23 points 7 assist and 6 rebounds, Gobert had a double-double and DiVincenzo added in 6 assists and 8 rebounds. The Nuggets drop to 2-3, while the Wolves improve to 3-2. 

Reaction 

I did like the way the Nuggets looked tonight, but they have to find a way to get production from the bench. I do not like Saric as a center with the second unit. I would rather have Gordon fill in at the 5 or keep more of the starters in with Saric in, but his 5 minutes looked horrible for Denver. Overall, the shooting isn't too bad. I think if Porter and Strawther get going it'll help them out, but Gordon and Jokic have outshoot their coverage so far this year and I do not think it is sustainable for them this year. If the Nuggets aren't going to shoot well they need to find over ways to get an advantage over opponents. Whether it be playing faster in transition or getting some more offensive rebounds they need to find a way to create more opportunities for their offense. They also desperately need to get some production from the bench as well. Whether it's from Westbrook, Tyson, or Strawther they need one of them to step out and help out the starters. 

The Wolves are lucky to win this game. It reminded me a little bit for their poor end of game offense from last year. I think Edwards needs to have the ball in his hands more than Randle towards the end of the game. I also really love the lineup with DiVincenzo and Reid in for Gobert and Conley. I think defensively they can switch everything and can play really fast on offense with shooting everywhere. The Wolves really made it difficult on Jokic, where he constantly found himself on Randle in space. This lead to them being able to space the floor really well and put the Nuggets in some tough rotations. I definitely think their is still some added layers of chemistry between DiVincenzo and some other lineups, but him and Gobert connected on three lobs throughout the game. He looked more comfortable even after having a poor shooting night. I think in the long run the Wolves can still get a top 4 seed even after close calls early-on. Overall, it was a good win for Minnesota.