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Dwight Howard thinks the Minnesota Timberwolves will eliminate the Denver Nuggets from the second round of the NBA Playoffs in five games. He explained why Minnesota is designed to end the reigning champions' hopes for a repeat.
"Minnesota in 5! They got the total package. They have great coaches, they have depth, and they have three bigs that can match up against Jokic. They got a dawg, a leader of the pack in Anthony Edwards."
Howard explained why he thinks this Wolves team is similar to the 2020 Lakers, the last team to beat a healthy Nuggets squad in the playoffs.
"That's why I was making the comparison to that (2020) Lakers team. They have an athletic team that can move and is agile with Naz Reid. They have Rudy Gobert, who's playing the best defense out of all his Defensive Player of the Year's. A LeBron-type prototype with Anthony Edwards. He's cold."
Howard thinks the Nuggets are under pressure after losing Game 1.
"When you watch their games, they're making everyone extend their offense. They won Game 1, and now the pressure is on."
Facts❗️ https://t.co/W4ZdzRo2a8 https://t.co/98PRTGZz6F pic.twitter.com/diXj0gGZcY
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) May 6, 2024
The Timberwolves stole home-court advantage from the Nuggets by handing them their first home loss of the Playoffs with a 106-99 win in Game 1.
Anthony Edwards proved he can be the best player in the series with a 43-point outing in that win. It was an incredible showing, as the Wolves look to be the team best equipped to beat the Nuggets.
The Timberwolves Could Eliminate The Nuggets
The Wolves are built specifically to outpace a team like the Nuggets over a seven-game series. Their biggest advantage is their robust big rotation with two of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid on the court to deal with Nikola Jokic. Even Howard alluded to how the 2020 Lakers stopped Jokic through multiple athletic bigs like Howard and JaVale McGee in addition to the DPOY-caliber defense of Anthony Davis.
The Timberwolves have a similar recipe, with Reid and KAT as big bodies to disrupt Jokic while Gobert locks the defense together as the likely winner of the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year. Even if Jokic is unstoppable, this three-ma rotation will be the best shot any team in the NBA has at slowing him down.
The Nuggets showed plenty of vulnerabilities in the first round but managed to win the series in 5 due to their tactical and personnel advantage over the Lakers. The Wolves are a better-organized team and have the perfect personnel to beat the Nuggets.
The Wolves also have a stifling perimeter defense with Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards. Edwards is the biggest differentiator of the series, as the Wolves offense has struggled all season. That hasn't been the case through the first five games of the playoffs, as Edwards is averaging 33.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, single-handedly injecting offense into the team during cold spells.
The Nuggets have the championship pedigree, greater continuity, and the likely league MVP, so it won't be easy to beat them. But if there's any team that could do it, the Timberwolves are designed to do just that.
More must-reads:
- Key Knicks forward ruled out for Game 7 vs. Pacers
- Watch: Thunder go on 24-6 run to close out first half of Game 6 vs. Mavericks
- The 'Most triple-doubles in the postseason' quiz
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