JJ Redick, Nekias Duncan, and Steve Jones Jr. discuss the improvements that the Wolves have made this season and how Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Rudy Gobert make them a real contender.
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23 Comments
Any decently competent big and athletic team with an easy schedule is huge threat to the Nuggets.
I think there is a lot of meat on the bone offensively. They will only get better and probably add a shooter in a trade. I’m just happy we have a shut down defensive identity.
Maybe only a season ending injury to Nikola Jokic is the Denver Nuggets biggest threat off reaching the NBA Final again
Things are finally clicking but Rudy is still overpaid. Hopefully McDaniel's stays healthy and we can figure out defensive rotations for the playoffs where Rudy's perimeter D gets exposed
Waiting for the Wolves to put KAT, Gobert, Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels, and Luka Garza on the floor all at once.
Minnesota are the only team in the league that can have different guys that can guard Jokic, Gobert, Towns, Reid, and even Garza
Some of the guys here might not know how good Garza is, he won MVP in the GLeague avg 30 points per game
And they have 3 guys in their starting line up that plays tough defense
Also Towns is the best shooting big in the league right now
On the bench you have Kyle, Naz, and Melton
Super deep
What does that points per switch even mean? Seems like a pretty irrelevant cherry picket stat, also I get the spacing argument if that was the wolves only option, it’s what makes naz so valuable come playoff time which was not a option last season, also why is a knock on this team a top 5 offense when all we hear is in the playoffs defense wins
They are the last team against points per position when it comes to switches but is a chengable thing, playoff time they will be in another level tough team & this year is way better than last year and they keep proving doubters or basketball geniuses wrong.
Defensively, yes.
For starters, Denver is a huge team with a ton of length. Their starter's avg. height is 6 ft 7.6 inches. Murray is the shortest at 6'4.
Minny's starters are the exact same avg. height.
Apart from Conley (whose buy-in on defense has been huge this year), everyone who gets meaningful minutes is 6'4 or taller, which applies a ton of soft pressure to an offense
Gobert, Towns, Naz Reid, and even Kyle Anderson form a list of long bodies you can throw at Jokic to tire him out and wear him down.
Defensively, both Jaden and Ant are mobile enough to handle Murray's switching.
Offensively it remains to be seen whether they can make it work for a full season, and playoff basketball is a different beast. But so far, when the lights are at their brightest, Ant's been meeting the moment over and over and over.
The wolves are a flash in the pan, hot start. Unsustainable, they’ll be in the playoffs but I highly doubt they’ll keep the top spot in the west
The ONLY thing we really are “missing” as a team is a real deal backup point guard to Conley (or a young one to overtake him) and a Joe Harris/Kyle Korver/Klay Thompson 3PT specialist on the wing
They are definitely the worst matchup for the Nuggets, especially in the west.
The thing that scared me most about the Wolves when they played the Nuggets in playoffs last year, was knowing that Anthony Edwards would be even better this year. And he is.
I'm happy for the Timberwolves success so far this season, however if they're in a series against the Nuggets, Lakers or Suns, most people will pick the other team to win.
Come on, you're getting fooled by regular season goebert. I thought you knew sports.
The biggest threat to the Nuggets are the pelicans. I promise you the wolves have no shot. That’s the problem nowadays a lot of y’all think these guys like Anthony Edwards are superstars, they’re not. Ask yourself are they better than Scottie Pippen? The answer is no. Funny enough Kevin Durant he’s a two man. there’s only a few superstars.
How is this podcast so insightful and eloquent but ESPN still puts PERK on the air who barely speaks English?!
People forget the suns exist
Don’t forget about the impact Mike Conley Jr. has had on this team.
As a Nuggets fan, they scare me the most in terms of ending our chances at a repeat. They match up against us super well, and for some reason KAT always plays his hardest against the Nuggets.
The wolves can thank “trader Danny” Ainge for golbert
The only thing with the gobert trade id wish.
We got Conley in the deal
Dlo refused to play with Rudy’s strengths
I mean it's looking likely they meet up in the WCF if both teams finish at the top of the standings. Phewww that'll be a hell of a series