Meltdown against Minnesota: Why Denver is in serious trouble against these Timberwolves

DENVER — Michael Malone knew one thing like this was doable, that Minnesota was hungry sufficient to punk his Denver Nuggets in the event that they didn’t present the right stage of combat.

He didn’t come proper out and say he was anxious on Sunday afternoon, if solely as a result of that’s no strategy to speak about your squad sooner or later earlier than they’re going again into the basketball battle. But with these relentless Timberwolves having taken Game 1 of the West semifinals the day earlier than, and along with his workforce’s unhealthy behavior of wanting lifeless in the beginning having formally develop into a troubling postseason development, the fiery 52-year-old who prides himself as a truth-teller gave a Game 2 forecast that might show prescient in essentially the most painful of the way for the defending champs.

“At some point, man, you’ve got to stop doing the same things,” Malone had stated after spending the morning poring over recreation movie along with his workforce. “We must do a greater job — and our stars, in specific — must do a greater job of being able to play, of setting the tone early. What are we ready for?

“Now, we’re down 0-1 — like, what are you waiting for? We all know that going back to Minnesota down 0-2 is not the ideal situation, so I think (on Monday) night to start the game, you’ll have your answer. And if we come out the same way — lackadaisical, not physical, not urgent — well, then there’s an issue there, a deeper lying issue than just stopping Anthony Edwards. Where is our mental (state) at? And I fully expect our guys to be ready to go tomorrow night. I’d be shocked if they weren’t.”

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Malone was shocked after Game 2, all proper, and he was hardly alone. Let us rely the Nuggets’ deeper points that have been uncovered like recent wounds when Minnesota embarrassed Denver 106-80 at Ball Arena on Monday night time.

Murray’s well being, hellacious Wolves protection and his heat-pack hurl

Jamal Murray has each purpose to be pissed off.

His physique is failing him, because the left calf pressure that he has been coping with for fairly a while now is clearly limiting his capacity to be at his greatest. The Timberwolves are hounding him, with the trio of Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker taking turns making his life depressing whereas taking full benefit of the whistle that has been rather more lenient for the reason that league’s midseason officiating shift. This might have been the worst recreation of his illustrious postseason profession, as he missed 15 of 18 pictures and completed with simply eight factors and two assists in 36 minutes.

But his resolution to throw a warmth pack on the ground whereas sitting on the bench halfway via the second quarter was simply downright foolish, and never changing into of a participant who has sometimes been an unbelievable professional, on and off the ground, throughout his eight-year profession. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was spot-on when he referred to as it “inexcusable and dangerous.”

Jamal Murray throws a warmth pack pic.twitter.com/JDADMojQgp

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 7, 2024

Now we wait to see if the league chooses to easily tremendous Murray, or even perhaps droop him for Game 3 on Friday in Minnesota. Worse but, Murray compounded the terrible optics by deciding to not converse with reporters after for the second consecutive recreation.

When it involves the thoughts video games which are at all times part of this time of 12 months, Murray is giving the Timberwolves each purpose to consider that they’re residing hire free in his head. Even if it’s the officers, and his incapacity to be wholesome, which are the actual root of his issues.

The reality about Murray is that he hasn’t been taking part in as much as his lofty requirements for a while now. It didn’t matter a lot in the primary spherical, as his spectacular game-winners in Game 2 and Game 5 saved the day and helped Denver transfer on with relative ease. But check out Murray’s total numbers in these playoffs as in comparison with his final…

This postseason (seven video games): 20.4 factors (37.5 p.c taking pictures total; 28.6 p.c from 3-point vary on six makes an attempt per recreation), 6.0 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 0.4 steals, 2.4 turnovers per recreation

Last postseason (20 video games): 26.1 factors (47.3 p.c; 39.6 p.c from 3 on 7.5 makes an attempt per), 7.1 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 2.5 turnovers per recreation

Doth protest an excessive amount of: Malone and Gordon lose their cool

When it involves the questionable dealing with of all these laborious occasions, Murray wasn’t the one one who failed miserably. Malone went ballistic on official Marc Davis late in the primary quarter, when he screamed on the veteran referee and one way or the other didn’t get a technical foul. (Davis would later inform a pool reporter that he didn’t hear Malone say anything unsportsmanlike.) As Malone would later clarify, he was indignant a couple of no-call moments earlier when Karl-Anthony Towns barreled over Murray down low en path to a bucket that put Minnesota up 20-17.

Both Ant and Michael Malone are irate on the similar ref on the similar second. Amazing. pic.twitter.com/dilV46gHUN

— Zack Pierce (@ZPathletic) May 7, 2024

Arguing calls will at all times be part of the sport, however the depth with which these Nuggets protested throughout Game 2 appeared to mirror a deeper sense of helplessness and desperation when it got here to this Minnesota matchup. Malone, nonetheless, defended his selection.

“You know, as a coach, when you ask your players to go out there and fight and to compete at a higher level than you did in Game 1, when you have a player go out there and do that and try to do what you’re asking of them, and he’s not rewarded, that’s very frustrating,” Malone stated. “When (Murray) is out there battling a guy like Karl-Anthony Towns, and trying to take a charge and what I thought was an easy call, and he’s not rewarded, you know, I owe it to Jamal Murray, or anybody else in that situation, to, to voice my opinion, to voice my concern to my disagreement. And that wound up being, I think, a big play because things kind of after that did not go our way.”

Nuggets ahead Aaron Gordon earned a weird technical foul with 5:03 left in the third quarter when he marched over to official David Guthrie throughout a timeout and was T-ed up for his chosen message not removed from the place the Nuggets dancers have been in the center of their routine.

So, I requested Gordon, what was the precise grievance that he deemed so worthy of a mid-timeout stroll to go share when your workforce was trailing by 28 factors?

“They’re just draped all over Joker,” Gordon, who had a team-worst plus-minus of minus-33, answered of the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić. “I believe they’re simply hacking him — they’re hacking him. Yeah, and simply not having the ability to talk with the officers is irritating as effectively. When you need to ask them a query and so they don’t even have a look at you, they don’t even acknowledge you, it’s very irritating.

“And I think they’re hacking Joker. I think he’s been getting fouled all year. I don’t think he shoots nearly enough free throws (compared to) what he should shoot. So yeah, it was just frustrating. I don’t like seeing my big fella be hacked with no calls.”

You know what’s even worse for the Nuggets to see from the “big fella,” although? Jokić wanting nothing just like the man who is possible about to win his third MVP award this week.

A giant (man) downside: Jokić struggles once more

As deeper Denver points go, it doesn’t get any larger than the prospect of Jokić struggling. And for the second straight recreation — this time with out Timberwolves middle Rudy Gobert down low— Jokić was pedestrian (by his requirements) but once more. He completed with 16 factors (5 of 13 taking pictures), 16 rebounds, eight assists, 4 turnovers and a minus-16 mark, this after he shot simply 11 of 25 in Game 1 whereas giving up seven turnovers (he had 32 factors, 9 assists and eight rebounds).

With Gobert lacking Game 2 due to the beginning of his first little one, standard knowledge would have one suppose that it could have been a lot simpler for Jokić to work his magic this time round. But Towns (two blocks and a plus-21 mark to go along with his 27 factors and 12 rebounds) wasn’t having it, because the 28-year-old performed the sort of bodily protection that ought to change the best way we speak about his recreation. Naz Reid (4 blocks) did the identical. Kyle Anderson, who began for Gobert, was efficient as effectively (six factors, 9 rebounds, eight assists, one block, two steals and a plus-13 mark).

Jokić has seemed uncomfortable, and out of kinds, in each video games of this collection. And for the primary time for the reason that 2022 playoffs, when the Nuggets fell to Golden State in 5 video games in the primary spherical, Jokić is failing to resolve a postseason puzzle.

“If you guys watch (Minnesota’s) previous series against the Suns, they’re doing the same thing,” Jokić stated. “They’re really into the body. They play really good defense. They played really good defense the whole season. That’s why they’re the No. 1 defense. They’re aggressive. They’re pushing the spot, all five (players) are aggressive. They know what they’re doing, and that’s why, probably, it’s hard to score.”

Just like Malone the day earlier than, Jokić was requested to look forward and predict what may come subsequent for this Denver workforce that is in such serious trouble in this collection. His reply, it’s secure to say, will do little to make Malone or any of the opposite Nuggets really feel higher about their stage of perception at this one-sided juncture.

“I mean, I don’t know,” Jokić stated with a telling shrug. “We’ll see in three days — four days.”

Required Reading

(Photo of Michael Malone: AAron Ontiveroz / The Denver Post by way of Getty Images)