When the Timberwolves and Nuggets faced off in the second-round of the playoffs in 2024, they deployed a defensive strategy on the three-time MVP that worked out well. In that series, they would have Karl-Anthony Towns guard Nikola Jokic one-on-one, and they would have Rudy Gobert help him, floating around the rim similar to a free safety in football.
They ultimately won the series in large part because of it. This worked because Gobert's matchup in the series was Aaron Gordon.
Gordon would often be in the corner, but he was left wide open because his 3-pointer didn't demand much respect. Much like the rest of the Nuggets' team, though, Gordon has improved as a shooter, so the Wolves can't rely on this strategy.
Aaron Gordon can't be ignored from 3-point range anymore
The season that the Wolves deployed this strategy, Gordon was shooting 29 percent on 3-pointers. That is even more jarring due to the fact that the majority of those shots were wide open. This year, though, it's a different story. This season, Gordon is shooting 38.9 percent from 3-point range, almost a 10 percent increase from two seasons ago.
In the first game of the season, Gordon put his improved shooting on display in a major way. He completely torched the Warriors for a career-high 50 points, while also having a career-high 10 made threes.
He's only played in 36 games this season due to lingering soft tissue injuries, but he's healthy going into the postseason.
If he's knocking 3s down at the rate that he did during the regular season, the Wolves will lose the series if they don't adjust.
They may be able to deploy a similar strategy on Christian Braun
While Aaron Gordon shouldn't be ignored anymore, a solution to this could be to put someone like Anthony Edwards on Aaron Gordon and stick Gobert on Christian Braun.
Braun and Gordon have essentially flip-flopped their shooting. Gordon was a poor shooter, but has improved. Braun started his career as a 37.8 percent 3-point shooter over his first three seasons, but this year he's down to 30.1 percent.
If the Wolves are going to use Gobert as a primary help defender in this series, Braun is the guy that you live with taking open 3s. Still, the Nuggets will make it tough; they have four extremely good shooters in their starting lineup, and Tim Hardaway Jr is a sniper coming off the bench.
The Wolves will need to be more disciplined in their off-ball defense in this series than they were in the regular season. If they get lazy, the Nuggets will certainly bury them.
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