The Nuggets know they won’t win every game of their first-round series against the Timberwolves by 29 points. Well, probably not.
So Denver heads into Wednesday night’s Game 2 expecting several adjustments from Minnesota. The most significant of those tweaks? A more aggressive mindset from the Timberwolves from the opening tip, which Michael Malone expects his team to be ready for
“When you lose by 29, we all know what’s about to happen,” Malone said. “Some coaches will say, ‘We have to match it.’ Screw matching it. Exceed it.”
Here’s what else Malone expects from the Timberwolves in Game 2, which he outlined following the Nuggets’ practice on Tuesday.
More Karl-Anthony Towns post-ups
Seven of Towns’ 15 shot attempts in Game 1 came from 3-point range. He sunk just one of those tries from beyond the arc. It wasn’t a typical shooting night from the career 40% 3-point shooter and self-proclaimed “greatest big man shooter of all time.”
NBA.com tracking data recorded only three post-ups for Towns in Game 1, which isn’t a huge number but it’s still above his season average of 2.2 per game. Increasing his post touches could help generate more scoring opportunities for a Timberwolves’ offense that managed just 80 points. It could also lead to more foul trouble for the Nuggets’ bigs. Both Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic dealt with foul trouble in Game 1.
Anthony Edwards in the pick-and-roll
Getting Edwards going is probably Minnesota’s best chance at a Game 2 win, and the Nuggets expect a heavier dose of pick-and-rolls featuring Edwards to try and make that happen. Minnesota actually found some success with that action in Game 1.
Edwards scored out of the pick-and-roll on three of four-straight Timberwolves possessions in the second quarter. Getting him going might be the most effective way to ignite Minnesota’s offense.
The Mike Conley-Kyle Anderson two-man game
This was another action from Minnesota that was effective — for a short stretch — in Game 1. Anderson scored out of this look two times in a row in the second quarter.
Malone called Anderson the Timberwolves’ “X-factor” before the series started, and after Game 1 that take still holds. Anderson is a smart and cerebral player who can impact a game and this series in a number of ways. Getting the ball in his hands more can help Minnesota’s attack.
Overall, the Nuggets were ready for most of what the Timberwolves threw at them in Game 1. Denver was so prepared for Minnesota’s offense that Towns admitted after Timberwolves’ 109-80 loss that the Nuggets “knew their plays.”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was asked by DNVR on Tuesday about Towns’ comment and what the preparation was like in the lead-up to Sunday’s Game 1.
“We did know all their plays,” Caldwell-Pope said. “We knew exactly where they were going to be and how they were going to do it.”
Of course, Denver will introduce its own adjustments ahead of Game 2. The Nuggets want to play more aggressively as well, continue to limit their own turnovers, and cut down on the 12 points that the Timberwolves scored off of Denver’s giveaways.
The Nuggets also ran too much “random offense” per Malone. He wants more discipline and focus from his team on that end of the floor in Game 2.
But the most pressing item of concern for Denver ahead of Wednesday’s rematch is on the injury front. Jokic aggravated the right wrist injury that he’s dealt with and played through at points during the last couple of seasons in the first half of Game 1.
He’s officially listed as questionable with a right wrist sprain. I’d be shocked if he didn’t play.
