The Denver Nuggets are having an incredible start to the season. They’re defending the 2023 NBA Championship brilliantly.
Denver has begun the season 4-0 and has the chance to tack on another win versus the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. A 5-0 start would tie the 2009-10 Nuggets for the third-best start in franchise history. Second place is the 1985-86 Nuggets, who started the season 6-0. The 1976-77 Nuggets’ 8-0 start is the best opening record in franchise history.
Minnesota projects to be a difficult matchup for the Nuggets, but before we get into that, here’s a look at the injury report.
Minnesota:
Clark, Jaylen Clark — OUT (Right Achilles Tendon Rupture)
Jaden McDaniels — PROBABLE (Left Calf Strain)
Leonard Miller — OUT (G League Assignment)
Shake Milton — Probable (Left Foot Soreness)
Wendell Moore Jr. — OUT (G League Assignment)
Denver:
Vlatko Čančar — OUT (Left Knee Surgery)
Wednesday’s matchup features a rematch of the 1 vs. 8 first-round series from last year’s playoffs. Denver disposed of Minnesota in four games, but it was a tougher series than the sweep might indicate. Former Nugget, Bruce Brown, called it the “toughest series” Denver faced in the playoff run.
The Timberwolves have started their season 1-2, but 2023 All-Star, Anthony Edwards, looks exceptional. He’s averaging 25.3 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists on 44.4 percent shooting, 60 percent from three-point range, and 88.9 percent from the free-throw line.
‘Ant-Man’ was a problem for the Nuggets in the 2023 postseason—maybe the toughest player Denver’s defense faced during the run—and averaged 31.6 points, 5.2 assists, and 5.1 rebounds on 48.2 percent shooting and 34.9 percent from three in the first round series.
Rudy Gobert has had a quietly excellent start to the year: 14.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 57.1 percent shooting. His backup, Naz Reid, has also performed well in Minnesota’s first three games by averaging 16 points on 52.9 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from three. Reid’s absence was certainly felt the last time these two teams met up; he missed the 2023 postseason with a broken wrist.
Denver’s excellent start to the year has featured victories over the Los Angeles Lakers on Ring Night, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Utah Jazz, and a 33-point blowout against the Oklahoma City Thunder. More impressively, the Nuggets have trailed their four opponents by just 4 combined minutes and 33 seconds. They’ve simply dominated the competition.
The entire starting five is averaging double-digit points, and Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray are turning in averages of 20 points or more. Jokić won Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday and is averaging a double-double of 26.5 points and 12.3 rebounds, along with 8.5 assists. He’s also been ludicrously efficient with 64.7 percent overall shooting and 42.9 percent from deep.
This could very well be the toughest game on Denver’s schedule in its first five games.
TUNE-IN: Wednesday 6:00 p.m. MT, Altitude TV and 92.5FM
