Getty Image / Matthew Stockman
The Denver Nuggets had a very good regular season as the defending NBA Champions. Nikola Jokić is going to capture his third MVP in four years, and they captured the 2nd-seed in the Western Conference.
And, they beat the Lakers in a close five-game series that showed they still had some guts. That has not been the case through the first two games of their Western Conference Semifinals series, and things look bleak.
After dropping a back-and-forth Game 1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Nuggets found themselves needing to win Game 2 at home to avoid going to Minnesota down 0-2. They caught a break before the game, as Timberwolves star center Rudy Gobert was ruled out after his wife gave birth to their first child.
They couldn’t take advantage of Rudy Gobert being out, to say the least. The Nuggets got absolutely punked on their own floor, losing 106-80 in a game that was truly as big of a blowout as the score reflected.
Worse than the score was how they played. Make no mistake, the Timberwolves were fantastic. Their defense was incredibly active and swarming. Their length is really bothering the Denver Nuggets, especially around the rim. And, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored efficiently and effectively.
But, the Nuggets look lifeless out there. Jamal Murray was 3-18 from the field, and if it wasn’t for his two game-winning shots against the Lakers, he would be having horrific playoffs. Plus, after he threw a heat pack onto the court during live action in the second quarter, he could be suspended for Game 3, depending on that discipline NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hands down.
The length of the Timberwolves seems to be really bothering Nikola Jokic. He had just 16 points on 5-13 shooting. Simply put, he’s going to have to score a lot more in the series than that if they want to rescue this thing. He did have 16 rebounds and 8 assists, but 16 points when Murray is struggling is not going to cut it.
Ultimately, the young Timberwolves may simply be the better, deeper, and tougher team. But, the Nuggets are better than getting swept, something that looks like a real possibility right now.