“Nuggets vs Timberwolves: Thrilling Second Game and the Emergence of Bubble Murray”

After beating the Minnesota Timberwolves by 29 points in Game 1, the Nuggets and Timberwolves, the No. 1 and No. 8 series in the West, were also commented by many fans as the most unspectacular series in the West.

If you are also a fan who holds this view, then maybe you will change your mind after watching the second game, because the gray wolf is not as helpless as everyone thinks, and the problem of the gold nuggets is obviously more serious than expected many.

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There is not much to say in the first half. The defense strategy of the first game of the Nuggets has received great results, so it will continue to be used in this game. But the Gray Wolves played fast with the Nuggets in the first game, and gradually ran out of energy in the second half, so they slowed down the pace at the beginning of the second game, trying to compete with the Nuggets in a positional battle.

But the Nuggets are best at positional warfare. Compared with the Nuggets’ half-court offense, which has a wide range of weapons to choose from, the Timberwolves are still in a sluggish situation in Towns. Apart from relying on Conely and Gobert’s pick-and-roll cooperation, only Edwards is left. Singles breakthrough is a more effective offensive method.

Fortunately, the state of Gobert and Edwards has improved compared to the first game. Otherwise, given the gap in offensive talent between the two sides, the Timberwolves were only 15 points behind at the end of the first half.

Just when everyone thought that the Gray Wolves had no other moves and that the Nuggets were going to take the game away in a wave in the third quarter, the situation of the game suddenly changed dramatically.

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At the beginning of the third quarter, the Timberwolves, who had been slow in the first half, suddenly picked up speed, which caught the Nuggets, who were a little slack on the defensive end because of their 15-point lead, caught off guard.

First, the Timberwolves caught a few gold nuggets on the outside and hit a few three-pointers, including Edwards’ hot fast-break three-pointer. The Nuggets tried to fight back, but the hasty attack was blocked by Gobert and Towns in the penalty area several times, which gave the Timberwolves a chance to switch offense.

When the Nuggets realized that the outside line of the Gray Wolves had stabilized and started to attack, the Gray Wolves began to use the cutting and tearing Nuggets’ defense system, especially Edwards’ breakthrough like a sharp knife, which made the Nuggets’ defense in the penalty area guarded by Jokic useless.

In a blink of an eye, the Nuggets took a 15-point lead in two quarters, and the Timberwolves tied the point difference in only half a quarter. The Nuggets deserved to be the worst team in the league.

Facing the Timberwolves’ revived outside touch and Edwards who is one-handed, head coach Malone did not respond immediately in terms of defensive strategy. Instead, Porter, who had been sitting on the bench in the first half due to foul troubles, and his touch from the first quarter Murray, who has always been good, jumped out one after another to save the team.

Porter, whose touch has continued to improve since the second half of the season, is still the most stable shooter in the Nuggets. Although he didn’t take many shots in this game, every shot helped the team to bite the score. There is nothing to say about his performance.

And Murray is full of confidence every time he takes a shot, as if those past injuries have no longer affected him.

How to distinguish Murray in the regular season from Murray in the bubble zone two years ago? Murray in the regular season will give the ball to Jokic after the pick-and-roll with Jokic to get a mismatch isolation opportunity, and Murray in the park will use Jokic as a tool to open the space, and then take everything he can with long shots and close cuts. score.

The Nuggets in the third quarter are undoubtedly a disaster regardless of offense and defense, but if this disaster can call Murray in the bubble zone for us, then I believe that no Nuggets fan will feel that it is not worth it.

In the end, when the Golden Nuggets’ offensive triangle jumped out one after another, the Nuggets reversed the score again in the fourth quarter, extinguishing the momentum of the Gray Wolf’s counterattack, and also made Edwards’ good performance come to naught, and won the second home game victory.

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If you want me to say, although the game was thrilling, it is beneficial and necessary for the Nuggets to win the championship in the long run.

There is no disrespect to the Gray Wolves, but with the Gray Wolves missing two important rotation players, the Nuggets shouldn’t be struggling in the series. Instead, they should have some leeway for the next playoffs.

If this game can bring back more confidence for Murray and Porter, and even bring back Murray, who has been a big hit in the park in the past, it will be a big plus for the Nuggets.

The Nuggets will go to Minnesota for an away game in the next game. It is conceivable that the Timberwolves will do everything they can to grab the victory. It is not too much to say that the next game will be a key game for whether there will be suspense in this series.

Edwards this time is a bit like Mitchell scoring against each other in the bubble zone and Murray. Maybe the defensive system with Jokic is just unable to deal with this top shooting guard, but he has accumulated some experience in playing the Jazz in the past. Malone should play in the next game. Some way should be found, Edwards shouldn’t be allowed to continue playing so comfortably.

Looking forward to the next game, the Nuggets will be more active on the defensive lineup to step on Edwards’ cutting path, and don’t let him start. After all, the Timberwolves’ perimeter is not as stable as the Jazz back then. I believe that such a strategic adjustment will definitely get good results. .

Then Malone should also think about how to schedule rotations. After Jokic rested, Gordon carried Towns until he almost graduated with six fouls, but is there really no one available on the bench? I want to be able to play Nnaji, who is flexible in defense, and DeAndre Jordan, who wants to carry tonnage and has a good figure. Malone’s habit of employing more conservative players when he is more critical is no longer news. Of course, this scheduling method has his reasons, but if no one is available in the fourth quarter, the loss outweighs the gain.

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Further reading: Where is the gap of 29 points in the first game of the “Golden Nugget Gray Wolf Series”?
2023 NBA Playoffs Analysis: Denver Nuggets – Title challengers with no excuses