After a two-day layoff, the Minnesota Timberwolves get back to work against the Denver Nuggets on the heal of an impressive road win over the Clippers last time out.
The Timberwolves will host the Denver Nuggets without the services of starting point guard Ricky Rubio, a he’ll be out due to personal reasons — not because of the recent trade rumors.
The Wolves have a relatively “friendly” schedule coming up starting with this game, as 10 of their next 13 games are at home. In addition, they’ll be playing against eight sub-.500 teams during that span and against only five teams that would make the playoffs if they started today, although they get Cleveland twice.
The Nuggets will be playing the second half of a back-to-back after grabbing a win against the Clippers on Saturday night. Both teams seem to be rolling in the right direction with the Wolves winning four of their last six games, including impressive wins over Houston and Oklahoma City and a nice comeback win against the Clippers.
For the Nuggets part, they have won four of their last five games, highlighted by a convincing win over the Indiana Pacers.
All games are important in the NBA, but this one may provide a little extra motivation for the Wolves as the Nuggets currently sit in the eighth and final spot in the West and with the Wolves being only a few games out, this game can go a long way in them finally getting back into the playoff mix.
So with that, lets take a look at both teams and determine how the outcome may go.