Nuggets' brazen late-season strategy blowing up in their faces already

Everything was hunky-dory for the Nuggets after their Game One victory over the Timberwolves. The team and fans were feeling good after beating their rivals, and it felt like a sort of vindication for not “ducking” the Timberwolves when they had the chance to do so down the stretch of the regular season.

By now, you know the story. Denver could have fallen to the 4-seed with a loss, which would have meant a first-round matchup with the Rockets, but they infamously don’t duck anyone, won the game, and set up a matchup with a much tougher opponent that also knows them better than anyone.

That bold strategy is looking a lot more questionable after a disastrous Game Two loss in which the Nuggets blew a 19-point lead and fell flat in the fourth quarter, losing 113-108. The series is now knotted up, 1-1, as it heads back to Minnesota with the Wolves having all the confidence, momentum, and homecourt advantage.

Nuggets could have been cruising past Rockets

This series is obviously far from over, and the Nuggets still could, and should, win it. But it’s already extremely clear: this isn’t going to be easy. Denver is in for an absolute battle that’s going to put serious tread on their tires.

This game felt like something out of a conference finals matchup, and it’s only Game Two of round one. This is going to be a war, and it could easily go six or seven games. The Wolves cranked up the pace and physicality, and had the Nuggets looking exhausted in crunch time.

Meanwhile, the Rockets are missing Kevin Durant, who hurt his knee in practice, and they lost Game One of their series to a Lakers team that’s missing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, while failing to crack 100 points. There can no longer be any question about what would have been the easier matchup.

Denver showed major flaws down the stretch

The exhaustion in the fourth quarter was seriously concerning. The Denver stars looked very tired from keeping up with the frenetic Minnesota pace. Every shot was coming up short, and they were struggling to get to loose balls and to keep the Wolves from getting to the bucket.

Aaron Gordon was mostly a non-factor late in the game, and Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic combined for just 4 points on 2-12 shooting in the fourth quarter. The Wolves, on the other hand, seemed to get fresher as the game progressed, and they looked like they could have happily played another quarter of basketball.

Again, this is only the second game of the playoffs, so that’s a major problem. This should all be very concerning, and this is exactly the kind of mileage that Denver needed to avoid in round one, with upcoming showdowns with the Spurs and Thunder likely looming.

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