When Game 1 tips off late Sunday night, in many ways, the Nuggets will be flying blind.
But that lack of familiarity cuts both ways against a Timberwolves team that revamped at the trade deadline and got Karl-Anthony Towns back from injury ahead of the postseason.
Towns wasn’t available for any of the four matchups against the Nuggets due to a significant calf strain. When Minnesota landed guards Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker on Feb. 8 in a blockbuster trade involving the Lakers and Jazz, its season series against Denver (2-2) was already finished.
“No, not really,” reserve guard Bruce Brown said Saturday when asked whether much could be gleaned from the season series. “They’re a new team.”
Furthermore, it was only late Friday night that the No. 1 vs. No. 8 matchup was secured. According to Brown, once the Nuggets knew it would be Minnesota or Oklahoma City earlier in the week, Denver prepared for both accordingly.
But Saturday marked the Nuggets’ first practice with a definitive opponent. Brown said there was an eagerness in the gym, including a focus on Minnesota’s play calls, tendencies and offensive intentions.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone corroborated Brown’s assessment. He said he wasn’t just saying it because the postseason was on their doorstep. He felt Saturday’s practice was sharp. Instead of having to run through defensive coverages multiple times, Malone said his team generally picked it up on the first try.
Given how different this iteration of the T-Wolves looks, with a healthy Towns and without Jaden McDaniels or Naz Reid due to injuries, Malone agreed that not much could be taken from the season series. But he and his coaching staff stayed up late Friday night developing a game plan anyway.
“It’s more about how are they playing recently, how do they guard, how are we going to defend them?” Malone said.
The keys, according to Denver’s head coach, were to mitigate Anthony Edwards in transition, limit Minnesota’s interior presence and not fuel their chances with turnovers. And then he got into the weeds on matchups, which is generally where playoff series are won.
Everyone, including Malone, was surprised Friday night when Minnesota opted to start Walker-Alexander on All-NBA candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The rangy guard was fantastic against his cousin, opening the possibility for Minnesota to try a similar ploy against Jamal Murray. If that happens, that would mean versatile wing Kyle Anderson would come off the bench.
Regardless of how Minnesota plays it, Malone raved about Anderson’s potential impact, referring to him as an X-factor in the series.
“I mean that guy’s IQ, unselfishness and ability to make others better and his versatility to guard … one through five,” Malone said. “I think he’s going to be a really important part of this series.”
And whether he starts or not, Malone added that they expected him to guard Nikola Jokic at some point in the series. That would free up Rudy Gobert to play “free safety,” roaming and intimidating any Nugget who considered attacking the paint.
But on Saturday afternoon, at the conclusion of a lively practice on the eve of the postseason, Malone only had his assumptions. The answers, to who would start for Minnesota and to how they’d handle the two-time MVP, would be here soon enough.
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