The Denver Nuggets have lost four of five, but a game against Minnesota is a good opportunity to right the ship. Here are 3 things to watch.
Well, there’s no excuse now.
The Denver Nuggets are coming off three days rest after having a busy schedule since the All-Star break. They’re also facing a Timberwolves team sitting 11th in the West after a tough loss to the jauggernaut Golden State Warriors — though the Nuggets seem like just about the only team struggling to beat the Warriors lately.
The Nuggets — much like the Warriors — have been out of whack the past couple weeks, dropping four of their last five.
The main problem over that stretch has been the bench. But in the Warriors contest it was the starters that let Denver down — granted they did spend most of their time against Golden State’s own starters.
But Tuesday they face a Minnesota team that has sat outside the playoff race for most of the season. And they will potentially be without Karl-Anthony Towns after he suffered a knee injury against the Wizards on March 9.
Here are 3 things to watch.
Will Karl-Anthony Towns play?
KAT went down with a non-contact injury to his right knee against the Wizards.
https://twitter.com/now_hoops/status/1104603897006559232?s=21
Scary at the moment, but later realized to be just a reaggravation of some knee soreness. Still, KAT was held out of the Timberwolves game against the Knicks as a precaution.
So, as a gametime decision, most signs point towards KAT making his return against the Nuggets. But if he does, it is unknown if he will be on any minutes restriction.
The Nuggets will be hoping so, as Towns scored 31 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and dished out seven assists — a very Nikola Jokic-esque statline — when the two teams faced off Feb. 2.
The Timberwolves may also be without Andrew Wiggins, who has missed the past two games with a bruised left thigh — though his abysmal play throughout the season may have something to do with Minnesota giving him ample time to relax.
Who knows whether the Timberwolves are better with or without him. The former No. 1 overall pick has been especially dissapointing this season after signing a max deal in 2017.
How will the Nuggets starters look?
The main conversation as of late has been the bench unit. But the bench finally broke through against the Warriors.
Unfortunately the Nuggets starters — a group putting up ridiculous numbers in the short time they’ve shared the court — suffered a letdown.
Will Barton had a plus/minus of -30 — and the rest of the starters weren’t too far behind.
Likely it was just a blip on the radar, because otherwise the starters have ran over just about everybody in their path — granted in limited time together.
The Nuggets started their opening-day five against the Pelicans on March 2 for just the third time all season — and the first since just the second game of the season when Barton went down with hip and core issues.
When Barton returned, it was Gary Harris, Jamal Murray and Paul Millsap missing time.
Hopefully Denver’s starters will get back on track against Minnesota.
Can the Nuggets end this skid?
Losing four of five isn’t great. But things seemed a lot more dire before a win over the Lakers on March 6. The loss to the Warriors wasn’t expected, but they are still the Warriors.
The Timberwolves — and even moreso the Mavericks on Thursday — are a great opportunity to right the ship once and for all.
Denver is 2-0 this year against the Timberwolves, but have only won the two by a total of three points.
If the Nuggets want to hold on to the No. 2 seed, these are the games they will need to win down the stretch.