There was a lot not to like for the Nuggets on Monday night, as the team blew an early 19-point lead, and lost to the Timberwolves, 113-108, to even their first-round series, 1-1. While it was disappointing, we knew this was going to be a tough series, and for a round one opponent, the Wolves are no joke.
Adjustments will be made, and Denver has the chance to bounce back in Minnesota. There’s no need to overreact to one bad showing.
Where there is reason for concern is the way that the Nuggets lost this game, appearing to run out of gas and wear down in the fourth quarter. The eye test was bad enough, but it was even more damning to hear David Adelman confirm as much in his post-game press conference.
Adelman admits Nuggets were “really tired” in fourth quarter
He was asked specifically about Jamal Murray looking fatigued bringing the ball up and pointed out that they tried to get him rest by having Aaron Gordon bring the ball up, but then AG got “spent” too. He went on to admit:
“He definitely was tired. I thought most of the people out there were really tired. Jamal has a ton of responsibility. I tried to get Aaron to bring it up a lot. And that’s a wear and tear thing for him as well.”
It’s understandable given the pace and physicality of this game, but at the same time, this is only the second game of the playoffs. The hope is that this will be a long run that includes bloodbaths with the Wolves, then Spurs, then Thunder, before the NBA Finals. If the team is wearing down in Game Two of round one, that’s a pretty horrifying sign.
Same old Nuggets?
This season was supposed to be different, with an emphasis on depth in the rotation and keeping the stars fresh and healthy. But now that we’ve reached the playoffs, the team looks tired just as we’re supposed to be getting started.
For all the talk of added depth, Murray played 42 minutes, Joker played 40, and AG played 36. They all looked beat by the end, and Gordon didn’t look 100% for much of the night. Jonas Valanciunas was played off the floor after just 2 first-half minutes, with the team forced to resort to a familiar old tactic of using Gordon as the backup center.
Tim Hardaway Jr. gave them 27 good minutes off the bench, and Bruce Brown was solid for 16, but other than that, it was Spencer Jones for 9 forgettable minutes, and that was it. The starters were mostly run into the ground, just like we’ve seen in years past, and they ran out of gas with the Wolves looking far fresher and pulling away in crunch time.
Missing Peyton Watson certainly hurts, and if they can advance and get him back, that would be a big help. But that’s a lot to bank on, and he doesn’t seem on the verge of a return for this series. It’s alarming and concerning to see this happening so early in the playoffs, and the Nuggets need to find a way to avoid this going forward and make sure their clutch performance is on point, or this is going to be an extremely short and demoralizing playoff run.
Add us as a preferred source on Google