Jamal Murray was “in and out” of the Nuggets‘ two practices in the days leading up to Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals vs. the Timberwolves on Saturday, head coach Michael Malone said today. As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes, Murray was able to play through a left calf strain on Monday when the Nuggets closed out the Lakers, but the injury hasn’t fully healed.
“Just trying to be smart with that calf,” Malone said on Friday. “Knowing that tip-off at 5:00 tomorrow night is priority No. 1.”
When the Nuggets released their initial injury report for Game 1 on Friday, Murray was listed as questionable. However, as Durando tweets, neither the Nuggets’ messaging nor the guard’s comments have suggested that he’s in real danger of missing Saturday’s game unless he experiences a setback.
The news is even better on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who suffered a sprained left ankle on Monday. According to Durando, Caldwell-Pope was a full participant in both Thursday’s and Friday’s practices. He’s not listed on Denver’s injury report.
Here are a few more notes on the upcoming matchup between the Nuggets and Wolves:
- There’s plenty of shared history between the two Northwest clubs, as Jon Krawczynski and Tony Jones of The Athletic detail. While it’s no secret that Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly spent years running Denver’s front office, it’s also worth noting that current Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth used to work for Minnesota. The familiarity between the Nuggets and Wolves, who are meeting in the playoffs for a second straight year, could help create the NBA’s next great rivalry, The Athletic’s duo suggests.
- Referring to the Timberwolves as a “really dangerous” team, Nuggets star Nikola Jokic heaped praise on Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards (“He’s a really talented player who can do everything, who has everything in his arsenal”) and lauded former Denver executive Connelly for the job he has done building the Wolves, according to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link) and Durando of The Denver Post. “I think they’re built really well,” Jokic said. “Hopefully we are not going to get swept. I think Tim Connelly, when he made that (Rudy Gobert) trade, everybody was laughing at him and what he was doing. But he made a great team. And I think he deserves great credit for doing that.”
- Aaron Gordon will be a crucial X-factor for the Nuggets in the series, according to Sean Keeler of The Denver Post, who points to the tremendous job the forward did defending Karl-Anthony Towns in the playoffs last spring. When Gordon guarded Towns during that first-round series, the Wolves’ star shot just 37% from the field and had three times as many turnovers (9) as assists (3), Keeler notes.
- Seerat Sohi of The Ringer provides an in-depth preview of the series, suggesting that how the Wolves fare against the defending champions will serve as a “true litmus test of their progress.”
Wolves will have to be at their best to win this…
Nuggets in 6…
The Nuggets play their starters heavy minutes. And it’s for this reason it’ll be nuggets in five. They don’t want to go six or seven games and 40 minutes a night anymore then they must. Five games Max here.
I don’t understand the logic here. They run their starters into the ground so they’ll win in 5? It’s not like they’re the mid 2010s Warriors or Cavs. They don’t just impose their will on teams and control the series with superior talent. I’ll take the over if the O/U is set at 5.5.
The logic is based on the foundation that the Nuggets play their starters heavy minutes. Because of that they don’t want to go seven games or six games. They’ll close it out in 5. Get it?
But yours is probably a good bet. Probably the consensus.
I understand your statement, but I still don’t see the logic in it or how starters playing heavy minutes correlates to concluding the series earlier. If anything, I think it’s the opposite.
I’m not saying you can’t be correct about it ending in 5 (although that looks unlikely now), but I just don’t think Denver is dominant enough to end a series against such a talented team in 5 games because “they don’t want it to go seven games or six games.” I think the Timberwolves made that clear today.
Fair enough. Good points and good posts. Plus it looks like I’m on an island by myself. Three thumbs up versus zero. Your Viewpoint obviously makes more sense.
I’m not too worried about the upvotes, I just like debating basketball. I can’t say I expected Minnesota to dismally Denver the way they did today. That said, definitely one thing I think you’re correct about: it’ll be over in 5 or less!
Wow the wolves are killing it. They look absolutely amazing. They’re clicking on all cylinders. Offensively, defensively, Hustle, truly a Beat down. Let’s see how Denver responds, if they are able.