Game Preview: Timberwolves at Nuggets
By Mathew Huff
The Nuggets will return home to battle the division rival Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Denver Nuggets are coming off a short road stint where they lost by one point to the Oklahoma City Thunder by one point. They will return to the Pepsi Center to battle the red hot Minnesota Timberwolves.
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The Timberwolves with their new looking core are living up to expectations this season. Jimmy Butler has been his normal super star self on both ends of the floor and Karl Anthony Towns continues to develop at an impressive rate despite already being a star in this league. Not to mention, the third part of their big three, Andrew Wiggins, has had some big moments this year in clutch moments.
On a couple of occasions, he has hit the game winner which means Denver will have to be wary of the young star small forward. The one ace up the Nuggets sleeve right now is Trey Lyles. If Minnesota does have a weakness, it would be their second unit.
Trey Lyles has been a great addition to the Nuggets rotation as of late. He has been imperative for the Nuggets’ bench and could be credited for keeping Denver a float in the standings when Jokic was out. Denver will have to take care of the ball as well as Jimmy Butler has always been a ball hawk.
When he gets hot defensively, it can often get contagious for the rest of the Timberwolves squad. As a result, Denver may have to slow the tempo down a bit to cut down on sloppy passes resulting in easy fast break opportunities for the opposition.
Next: Nuggets at Thunder player grades
It will be an intriguing match up with two division rivals who both possess growing and up and coming young cores. This should be a very fun game to watch even as a NBA fan in general.