Ryan Blackburn here, the host of the daily Locked On Nuggets podcast, with your daily Locked On Nuggets newsletter. Each day we bring you the biggest stories about the Nuggets and the NBA, including the hottest links to other stories you need to read. Plus, Josh Lloyd delivers daily fantasy notes to crush your league.
Nuggets vs Timberwolves is a new battleground
May 19, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) greets Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) following game seven of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports|Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves will meet tonight for the first time since Game 7. Both teams played each other in the preseason, and while the Nuggets played their starters, the Timberwolves didn’t play a single rotation player.
When both teams last played for real in Minneapolis, the Nuggets lost by 45 points. 115-70 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals and the precursor to Denver’s most disappointing playoff finish in recent memory. In previous years, the Nuggets had injury excuses for the way things went.
Last year? The Nuggets simply failed.
Denver’s hoping to change that this season. They let go of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who struggled to keep up with superstar shooting guard Anthony Edwards physically. Christian Braun, the best primary defender on Edwards in that series, is now Denver’s starter. Unfortunately, Braun’s presence isn’t going to help Denver’s spacing on the offensive end in an eventual playoff series.
What might help is the departure of Karl-Anthony Towns. The Timberwolves decided trading the expensive big man was in their best interest, replacing him in the starting lineup with traditional power forward Julius Randle. They also added versatile shooter Donte DiVincenzo to the mix off the bench.
That changes the way they can guard the Nuggets. While Rudy Gobert is about as good of an individual defender as there is in the NBA, his skill set is best used in help defense. That means guarding Aaron Gordon (or possibly Christian Braun) to stay close to the rim.
Can the Timberwolves do that this year with Randle instead of KAT? Can Randle guard Jokic 1-on-1 with help behind him? That was KAT’s greatest contribution to last year’s playoff series. Maybe Randle can do a similar job, but I doubt he can do what KAT did.
That means more Naz Reid, who was also great in that Nuggets series, especially in Game 7. Denver can crack that match-up though, Jokic specifically.
What they may not be able to crack is Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. being guarded by Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker specifically. Murray averaged just 18.4 points and 4.4 assists per game in the series, shooting 40% from the field and 33% from three. Porter was even worse, averaging just 10.7 points while shooting 37% from the field and 32% from three.
The Nuggets don’t have a lot of answers if Murray and Porter don’t play well. They’ve both started the season slowly, and there’s rampant concern among Nuggets fans about their ability to bounce back for a playoff match-up like this.
So, can the Nuggets crack this match-up? Different starting units. Different bench units. Different year. Different motivations.
As someone who just celebrated a birthday — a milestone birthday — I’ll admit that aging has been on my mind. Its privileges, its gifts, its expectations and assumptions (especially for women), aging can feel overwhelming, particularly wrought, even if you’ve made relative peace through the years with it.
Much of my writing is concerned with the nuances around basketball and its athletes, particularly the elements that underscore them as people. Strange to call “humanity” a nuance, but that can be the flattening of pro sports. Athletes aging is something larger fandom is pretty bad at processing, to the point where, in the NBA, anyone over 28 is considered long in the tooth and anyone over 35, ancient. The churn of the Draft, with its college phenoms and untapped prospects, makes it so we have a continually replenishing assembly line of young athletes ready to oust the old, often in a way that we don’t actually witness. Very few NBA athletes announce their retirements or make their exits from the league public, they just sort of… vanish, and with them goes our public consciousness of them.
In his postgame presser on Wednesday night, after the Warriors had beat the Pelicans for the second time on a two day back-to-back, Draymond Green touched on aging. Well, not explicitly, but his lengthy answer when asked about his impactful defensive efforts throughout Golden State’s first five contests was telling. Namely, because he brought up two of the youngest centers in the league, Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama.
Katie Heindl is a credentialed NBA and WNBA writer, her bylines have appeared with The New York Times Magazine, SLAM, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Dime, Rolling Stone, among others. She writes the bestselling Substack, Basketball Feelings and is working on a book of the same name.
Home and Away
Must Read Could the Nuggets championship window already be closed? ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne takes us inside what she calls the team’s “disconnect.”
Odds Denver heads to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves. The Nuggets are 4-point underdogs against Ant-Man and Julius Randle. (FanDuel Sportsbook)
Must Watch Every NBA player knows about The Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City. Pablo Torre needed to know more, so he sent two reporters out to stay at what’s dubbed OKC’s “most haunted hotel.”
Feel Good They’re all kids at heart. Check out how players from around the league celebrated Halloween. (ESPN)
Must Read Pure talent, or being good in the room? Inc. looks at how certain personality types are affecting roster decisions in the league.
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Paolo Banchero Injured - The Fantasy Basketball Fallout
Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (44) defends Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) during the second half at United Center.|Photo by David Banks-Imagn Images
As we dive into the latest NBA action, the fantasy landscape is ever-changing, with injuries and unexpected performances shaping our strategies. The recent news of Paolo Banchero’s injury is a significant blow for both the Orlando Magic and fantasy managers. Banchero is set to miss four to six weeks due to a torn abdominal muscle, which means a reevaluation around mid-December. This absence leaves a gaping hole in the Magic’s lineup, and the question remains: who will step up?
Orlando Magic’s Lineup Dilemma
The obvious choice might be Jonathan Isaac, but his limited minutes due to health concerns make this uncertain. Isaac’s potential is undeniable, yet his ability to sustain a starting role is questionable. Mo Wagner has been suggested as a possible fill-in, but his experience at power forward is limited. The Magic might opt for a more unconventional approach, possibly pushing Franz Wagner to the four and utilizing a three-guard lineup with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jalen Suggs, and Anthony Black. Black, although not a high scorer, could contribute across various categories, making him a viable fantasy consideration.
The situation is fluid, and while Wendell Carter Jr. should be a priority add if available, the rest of the lineup remains a puzzle. Fantasy managers should keep a close eye on the Magic’s rotations in the coming games to identify any emerging trends.
Click the button below to see who should be on your waiver radar, plus the fantasy impact of Desmond Bane’s injury for Memphis.
Don’t let these episodes pass you by — stay locked in with the latest Locked On Nuggets podcasts.
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