Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Game Preview
By Evan Wheeler
The Matchup: Minnesota Timberwolves (1-0) at Denver Nuggets (1-0)
Location: Pepsi Center
Time: Friday, October 30th at 7 p.m. MT
How to Watch: Altitude
Betting Line (per Bovada): Denver by 4.5
Projected Starting Lineups:
Denver – PG Emmanuel Mudiay, SG Gary Harris, SF Danilo Gallinari, PF Kenneth Faried, C Joffrey Lauvergne
Minnesota – PG Ricky Rubio, SG Andrew Wiggins, SF Tayshaun Prince, PF Kevin Garnett, C Karl-Anthony Towns
The Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves both look to keep the ball rolling after the teams won their season debuts.
Denver started off the year with a 105-85 beating of the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night in Houston. The Nuggets had six players finish with double figures while shooting a whopping 48 percent from the three-point line in the win. Minnesota, on the other hand, edged out the Los Angeles Lakers 112-111 to start the season with a win. Ricky Rubio led the way with 28 points and 14 assists. The Timberwolves were playing with heavy hearts, learning the devastating news of their head coach, Flip Saunders, passing from Hodgkin’s lymphoma just three days prior.
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The Nuggets will be without center Jusuf Nurkic (knee) and forward Wilson Chandler (hip) for the second straight game.
The point guard match-up will be one to watch, as rookie Emmanuel Mudiay faces off against Ricky Rubio. Mudiay had a very promising debut against the Rockets, finishing with 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds.
Mudiay did, however, commit eleven of the Nuggets 21 turnovers against Houston, something that can’t happen if Denver expects to beat Minnesota. Rubio was the complete opposite, embodying efficiency against the Lakers, shooting 59 percent from the field to go along with 14 assists and only one turnover. This is a far cry from the struggles Rubio has had against the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center throughout his career. Rubio has only managed an average of eight points per game on 31.3 percent shooting from the field in four career games at Denver.
Another crucial match-up for the Nuggets will be at the 2-guard spot, where Gary Harris takes on reigning Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins is looking to bounce back from a rough shooting night in L.A., making only 20 percent of his shots from the field in his season debut. The Nuggets might be just what the doctor ordered for Wiggins, as he averaged 23.3 points per game against Denver last season.
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Harris will look to make sure that doesn’t happen, coming off a performance where he really pestered James Harden. The Board finished with 22 points on 21 field goal attempts and shot only 16.6 percent from three against Harris Wednesday night. I expect Wiggins to get the better of the match-up here, but Harris should at least make him earn his points all night long.
Player to Watch: Karl-Anthony Towns – In Minnesota’s season-opening win over the Lakers, the former Kentucky star made his presence known. Towns finished with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds on 60 percent shooting from the field. He should have plenty of opportunities to showcase his offensive versatility against a fairly weak defensive frontcourt in Denver. Watch for Towns to hit multiple jumpers off pick and pop situations with Rubio. While also finding great success in one-on-one post up situations against Kenneth Faried or Joffrey Lauvergne. Denver can limit this year’s number one pick by getting him into foul trouble early on.
However, I think Towns will protect the paint and rim well for Minnesota here, potentially finishing with three to five blocks against the Nuggets Friday night.
This should be a fun game between Northwest division rivals and two of the more underrated teams in the Western Conference this season. Denver should have some similar success offensively against Minnesota as they did against Houston. Look for the Nuggets to capitalize on some missed defensive rotations by the Timberwolves with good ball movement and finishing with open weakside threes.
Mudiay and Rubio will be the most fun match-up to watch for me personally in this game. It’ll be very interesting to see how Rubio deals with Mudiay’s size and speed, as the rookie point guard could be the difference for Denver’s defense in this game.
Ultimately, this game will come down to offensive rebounding and which team commits fewer turnovers, which should favor the Timberwolves. I expect Faried and Lauvergne to battle on the glass all game long, but in the end get severely outplayed by the Timberwolves frontcourt duo of Kevin Garnett and number one pick Karl-Anthony Towns (who should finish with another double-double and maybe five blocks in this game). I think the Nuggets will turn the ball over way too frequently again, which will be their downfall against a very athletic Timberwolves team who will make them pay in transition.
Final Score Prediction: Timberwolves 115, Nuggets 101
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