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Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Preview

By Tyler McKellips

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The Matchup: Denver Nuggets (10-14; Away 5-7) vs Minnesota (9-14; Away 3-9)

Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN

Time: Tuesday, December 15 at 7:00 pm CST

How To Watch: Altitude

Betting Line (Bovada): MIN -5.5

Projected Starting Lineups:

Denver: PG Jameer Nelson, SG Randy Foye, SF Danilo Gallinari, PF Kenneth Faried, C JJ Hickson

Minnesota: PG Ricky Rubio, SG Andrew Wiggins, SF Tayshaun Prince, PF Kevin Garnett, C Karl Anthony-Towns

Denver and Minnesota are very similar teams with one major difference. Both teams have a blend of older players and young talent, allowing for the development while also competing against any team in the league. The big difference is when you take in the fact that Minnesota has two of the best seven young players in the NBA.

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Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns are going to be monster talents for the next ten years and if they continue to develop on the path that they have started, may end up in a situation like the Oklahoma City Thunder with two transcendent super stars. Luckily for the Nuggets this season though, they haven’t quite met this potential.

If Emmanuel Mudiay plays, he’ll really need to make sure to take care of the ball with Ricky Rubio hounding him all night. Rubio nearly averages two steals a game and is an extremely underrated defender. This may be a good precautiounary sit for Mudiay, allowing him to rest up for the long stretch of the season and let Jameer Nelson take the reins tonight.

The Randy Foye vs. Andrew Wiggins matchup is incredibly one-sided against the Nuggets and if Denver wants to stay in this game, Foye may have to run Wiggins through extra screens tonight to potentially ware him down.

The front court matchup is decidedly in Denver’s favor. Tayshaun Prince and Kevin Garnett are seven years removed from the end of their primes, while Danilo Gallinari and Kenneth Faried are just now entering it. Yes, Prince and Garnett are some of the savviest veteran players in the league, but Gallinari and Faried will take advantage of their age and loss of athleticism.

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    • Karl Anthony-Towns is a major upgrade from J.J. Hickson, but Hickson has quietly had a phenomenal season. Towns is very good on the low post, especially for his age, but this is about the time of year where rookies begin to get tired and slowly break down from the constant grind of the NBA. Towns probably has a couple of great games left in his year and it wouldn’t be surprising if this was one of them.

    This game will probably come down to each team’s best bench player. Will Barton has had a career year and should be a favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award, but Kevin Martin always seems to have great games against Denver. Locally, he seems to be the most disliked player to come to the Pepsi Center. Watch for Martin to further his lore in Nuggets infamy. Also, Denver is on the road on the second part of a back to back, don’t set expectations too high tonight.

    Prediction: Minnesota 95 Denver 88.

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