The current NBA champions might find themselves exiting the playoffs early if they don’t step up their urgency and physical game against Minnesota.
While Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s effective offense, their trio of big men – Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid – gave MVP candidate Nikola Jokic a tough time, causing him to miss 14 shots and commit seven turnovers in their 106-99 victory in Game 1.
Jokic will need to find a way to deal with this formidable trio in Game 2 to even out the series before heading to Minneapolis. Finding solutions won’t be easy.
Jokic jokingly mentioned the idea of having a clone of himself to handle the challenge. However, the reality is, there’s only one Nikola Jokic, and his unique skills are hard to replicate.
Coach Michael Malone acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, highlighting Jokic’s irreplaceable contributions on both ends of the court. Asking someone else on the team to fill his shoes would be a tall order.
“But it’s not unreasonable for anyone to come into the game with more physicality, urgency, and discipline.” All of these qualities were lacking as the Nuggets experienced their first Game 1 loss in two years.
“Now we face a new challenge,” Malone stated. “Let’s accept it. We’re behind, which wasn’t the plan, but that’s where we are. So, let’s give it our all tomorrow night and leave everything on the court.”
The Nuggets wish for a healthier Jamal Murray, their point guard, who struggled with a strained left calf in Game 1, remaining scoreless in the first half and becoming a target for the Wolves’ pick-and-roll plays in the second half.
Murray acknowledged that injuries are common at this time of year, and he’s no exception. He reassured that he’ll be ready for Game 2 after playing 35 minutes in Game 1.
In the second half, the Wolves shot an impressive 71% and used an 8-0 run to seize control of the game in the final minutes, taking a page from Denver’s playbook.
“Throughout the season, Denver has been the best team at closing out games,” noted Wolves guard Kyle Anderson on Sunday. “They execute so well. It’s almost unbelievable how good they are in those situations. So, our ability to execute both offensively and defensively was remarkable because we’re accustomed to seeing Denver secure the win.”
Also on Monday night, the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks will renew their historic rivalry as they begin their Eastern Conference semifinal series at Madison Square Garden.
