Anthony Edwards leads Minnesota to a hard-fought victory over Denver in Game 2, evening the first-round series at 1-1.
• Download the NBA App
So now it’s 15-15. That’s the W-L breakdown over the past four seasons + postseasons in head-to-head meetings between Denver and Minnesota.
But if we had our druthers, that would be the current record of the longest first-round mega-series in NBA history, a best-of-41 affair promising us lots more of what we’ve already seen from the Nuggets and Wolves since Saturday.
The first two games have been full of highlights and talking points. Stars – Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Anthony Edwards – have been stars.
There have been plenty of scoring runs, an absurd number of 3-point and-1 plays, some compulsory postseason officiating criticism and as much entertainment as we’ve seen in any two or three of the other series combined.
There’s no reason that it should change Thursday when they shift to Minneapolis for Game 3 (9:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video).
Both teams are into their adjustments, confident they can zag to the other guys’ zigs.
Here are three things to watch in Target Center’s latest taste of the thriving rivalry:
1. Did McDaniels’ poke the bear or skin it?
By tipoff, both teams will have had several opportunities to distance themselves from, shrug off, endorse or get worked into a lather over the post-Game 2 comments Monday night by Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels. Now we get to see what their impact will be.
In talking about the Wolves’ shift in offensive tactics that triggered their 119-114 victory, McDaniels shared that an obvious strategy was to drive the ball at a team full of “bad defenders.”
“Go after Jokić, Jamal, all the bad defenders,” said McDaniels, who has credibility as one of the NBA’s top defensive players. “Tim Hardaway [Jr.], Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team, just go at them. … Yeah, they’re all bad defenders.”
There has been no matching salvo from the Denver side, with Gordon blowing off the potential war of words entirely. “Brother, I don’t care,” he told one reporter.
But two things will have McDaniels’ remarks resonating in Game 3. First, there’s some truth in what he said. And second, these guys are all human and proud.
Denver ranked 21st in defensive efficiency during the regular season, its 116 points per 100 possessions worse than every other playoff team. The Nuggets are vertically challenged, too, finishing 28th in blocked shots with no 7-footers and only backup center Jonas Valančiūas joins Jokić (both 6-foot-11) as a rotation Nugget taller than 6-8.
“They don’t got people that can defend the rim,” McDaniels said. “We’re still more athletic than them and just got to be able to finish when we do.”
Disparaging comments can work two ways. If the Wolves have their way, especially in the paint and in isolation, the Nuggets’ confidence could dwindle with their chances of recovery. If Denver stiffens and pays McDaniels’ back on the court, there could be some serious regrets in the Wolves’ locker room.
2. Faster scoring start by the Joker
It’s hard to take issue with Jokić’s familiar pattern of easing into games and putting a priority on getting his teammates going offensively. He’s a three-time Kia Most Valuable Player (and a finalist for the award again this year). His places in the Hall of Fame and the NBA’s Top 100 (assuming that tradition continues in 2047) are assured.
But the disparity in the Denver marvel’s first- and second-half scoring performances through two games raises questions. Jokić’s combined first-half stats: 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting with no free throws in about 40 minutes. His second halves so far: 37 points on 14-for-29 shooting and 8-for-8 free throws in 41 minutes.
A quicker scoring star by Jokić in Game 3 could have a couple of benefits. It could get Wolves center Rudy Gobert into foul trouble or at least out of the defensive groove he’s had so far in the series. And it relieves some pressure on Murray and their Nuggets teammates to carry the scoring load in a hostile road environment.
Early and often is the way for Jokić to put up points in this one.
3. Edwards’ and Gordon’s injuries worth monitoring
It wouldn’t be late-season/early postseason NBA basketball without some injury concerns. This is the time of year players are most eager to play through assorted dings, and their bosses are most prone to sign off on it. Right now, the two most concerning health situations belong to Denver’s Aaron Gordon and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards.
Gordon has been playing through tightness in his left calf and was listed as probable heading toward Game 3. But he also took a shot in the back from Wolves power forward Julius Randle in Game 1, visibly grimacing as he got to his feet.
Keep in mind, Gordon played in only 36 games during the season because of two separate strains of his right hamstring. His production through two games this week is down, from career numbers of 16.4 ppg on 49.7% shooting (38.9% on threes) to 12.5 ppg while shooting 42.1% (22.2%).
Edwards missed 11 of 14 games at the end of the regular season with a sore right knee and is listed as questionable for the third straight game of this series. Don’t put much stock in that, then – he has averaged 39 minutes in two games, along with 26 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Having anything less than full command of both legs, however, has shown up in Edwards’ accuracy. He has made only 38.6% of his 44 shots, including 5-for-20 from the arc.
* * *
Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
