After a bizarre lead-in to the final day of the regular season for the Nuggets, it seemed like everything worked out in a way where they could largely have their cake and eat it too. They just needed to lose to the Spurs on Sunday, and have the Lakers beat the Jazz, and they would fall to the 4-seed.
That would have given the Nuggets a great first-round playoff matchup against a Rockets team that has been extremely underwhelming this season and is missing two key veterans in Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams.
But instead, despite the Nuggets resting their top eight players and pulling Nikola Jokic after just 18 minutes, they defeated the Spurs in San Antonio, 128-118. The Spurs wanted to win and played just about everyone other than Victor Wembanyama until the final buzzer, but they were defeated by Julian Strawther, David Roddy, Bruce Brown, Curtis Jones, and company.
Nuggets will face Timberwolves in round one of the playoffs
It was a fun and impressive win for Denver, but it may cost them as they’ll now draw a familiar foe in round one, the Minnesota Timberwolves. The T-Wolves have had an underwhelming season themselves, but they are proven playoff risers and have great comfort with the Nuggets.
They match up well with their wing defenders and big men, and they shocked the world by beating the Nuggets in seven games two years ago. Jaden McDaniells and Anthony Edwars appear to be getting healthy at the right time, and while the Nuggets will surely still be favored, this matchup will be a bloodbath and far from a pushover.
Regardless of their seeding, the Nuggets were going to have to face the Spurs and Thunder in some order (assuming both advance). Falling to fourth would have allowed them to face OKC a round earlier, theoretically fresher and healthier after what could have been a quick, painless series win over the Rockets.
Instead, they’ll have to go through two absolute wars with the Wolves and Spurs, while the Thunder most likely coast through two rounds against a non-competitive 8-seed (either the Suns, Blazers, Clippers, or Warriors), and then either the aforementioned Rockets or the Lakers, who are missing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Path in West was going to be difficult no matter what
At the end of the day, maybe it’s negligible. But the Nuggets are going to need all the help they can get to make it through the gauntlet that is the West playoffs, and they didn’t do themselves any favors on Sunday.
Perhaps the good karma of not tanking the game for matchup purposes will be on their side in the postseason, but on the surface, this feels like a pretty tough break. Regardless, you knew you were going to have to likely go on the road to beat the Spurs and Thunder in some order, and nothing has changed. Maybe you get lucky along the way. Who knows?
The regular season is over, and outside of the play-in games, the top six seeds are set, which means we know four of the first-round matchups, including the 3-seed Nuggets against the 6-seed Timberwolves. Time to get this rivalry heated up again with another installation. Bring it on, Minnesota.