Fresh off a tough win against division rival Portland on Monday, the No. 4 seed Timberwolves are on the road to play fellow division foe Denver Nuggets Wednesday.
The Nuggets came into the season with a wealth of expectation, and even hopes of gaining home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
This level of optimism began to really transpire after the signing of Paul Millsap. The idea of pairing him with future All-Star hopeful Nikola Jokic was an appealing big combo for a few reasons.
They’re both noted defenders, noted passers, and can stretch the floor. They’re both modern day bigs; a perfect combination, especially for a deep Northwest Division.
But as of right now, they’re both injured.
Millsap has been out for nearly a month with a torn ligament in his left wrist, and is expected to be out another two months. Jokic got hurt in late November as well, but has been back – albeit coming off the bench – for the past week.
But despite the absence of their two star players, the Nuggets have held their own on the floor. They stuck around the top six in the Western Conference for the overwhelming majority of the season, due in large part to the contributions of team scoring leaders Gary Harris and Will Barton.
Both have scored at efficient clips and are shooting at nearly 40 percent from 3-point land. While their struggle to find a reliable starting point guard is ongoing, their two go-to off-guards have taken much of those duties off of guys like Emmanuel Mudiay and Jamal Murray.
Like the Timberwolves, the Nuggets thrive off scoring in bunches – as evidenced in the featured video above – and sit seventh in offensive rating.
Also, like the Timberwolves, the Nuggets struggle to stop anyone, and sit 23rd in defensive rating.
Like the Wolves’ Monday opponent, the Nuggets struggle to get going early, and sit in the bottom seven in net rating in both quarters of the first half. This is the point of the game where the Wolves generally thrive, and could be a good time for them to build an early lead.
They’ll need to, as the Nuggets are statistically one of the best second half teams in the NBA, especially in the third quarter.
All of these numbers will change as Jokic gets reacquainted with his team, and will change again when Millsap returns. This is a team that will compete with the Wolves for the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, and they won’t be an easy matchup Wednesday.
Final Notes:
- Obvious note incoming: Jimmy Butler is incredibly good at basketball. In the month of December (9 games total), he’s averaging 25.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, all while shooting 49.4 percent from the field. He’s only 32 percent from deep, but his efficiency is unquestioned at this point. He’s the clear leader of this team.
- Justin Patton got more G League minutes on Tuesday night, though it wasn’t his best effort. He finished 3-of-8 for eight points, four rebounds, three fouls, and four turnovers. For a full-scale look into his play so far, click here.
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