Despite being underdogs entering the series, the Minnesota Timberwolves had an advantage that nobody could deny in their opening round matchup against the Denver Nuggets. They are the better defensive team.
They used that advantage to eliminate their rival in 6 games, even while being undermanned in the last two contests. Jaden McDaniels certainly had no qualms about letting the world know what he thought about Denver’s defenders after Game 2. With the series now over, Chris Finch brought up that defensive advantage that the Timberwolves had during his postgame press conference on Thursday (quote courtesy of Dane Moore via X).
“I thought we had a defensive component that they didn’t have. That was the advantage we had” Finch said.
It was essentially a nicer way of calling out the Nuggets when compared to McDaniels' calling them all bad defenders.
Timberwolves faced little fear of taking it to the hole all series
Entering their first round matchup, most in the media were picking the Nuggets, albeit mostly in a long series. How would Minnesota stop an offense featuring Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray that easily finished the regular season first in offensive rating?
What Finch stated is correct, though, and an advantage that the Wolves used throughout the series. In the regular season, the Timberwolves had the eighth-best defensive rating, while Denver was down in 21st. That’s the worst defense amongst the 16 teams that reached the postseason.
The Nuggets were without arguably their two best defenders for much of the series. Aaron Gordon played in just three of the six outings, while Peyton Watson missed the whole series.
For all of Jokic’s superpowers, he’s not an elite rim protector. Neither is Jonas Valanciunas, their backup center. It was something that Minnesota capitalized on in all series. 64 of their 110 points in their Game 6 victory came in the paint. Both McDaniels and Terrence Shannon Jr. created easy opportunities in the series-clinching win in a game where they were missing Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, Kyle Anderson, and Ayo Dosunmu.
One the flip side, McDaniels and Rudy Gobert proved to be the perfect kryptonite for Jokic and Murray.
There isn’t that defensive advantage in the second round matchup against the San Antonio Spurs featuring the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year in Victor Wembanyama. Finch’s team will still be undermanned, but doubt Minnesota at your own peril.
Whether or not Ant-Man comes back at some point during the series, Finch deserves the credit for coming up with ways to make the opposition realize Minnesota isn't a cakewalk even without their top scorer.
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