There's no sugarcoating it -- with the stage set for another playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves drew an unfavorable first-round matchup. Facing a Los Angeles Lakers team with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves injured would have been a dream scenario. The Wolves now face an uphill battle to put together another deep playoff run. Early betting lines indicate that Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets are heavy favorites in this matchup.Â
Nevertheless, if we've learned anything over the past two playoffs, it's that you can't write the Timberwolves off. Likewise, the Wolves still have some noteworthy advantages over the Nuggets. Unsurprisingly, Minnesota's biggest advantage centers around Anthony Edwards and the Nuggets' lack of a natural matchup for him.
The Nuggets finished the season as a bottom-10 defense; their on-ball defense, rim protection, pick-and-roll defense, and transition defense are all areas that Ant can expose. In four regular season games against Denver, Edwards averaged 30.3 points, and in the 2024 playoffs, he averaged 27.7 points against the Nuggets. As such, it's clear he feels comfortable in this matchup.
The Nuggets' lack of a natural matchup for Ant could tilt the series
Peyton Watson is the Nuggets' best chance to defend Ant-Man. However, he is dealing with a week-to-week hamstring injury, which clouds his playoff availability.
Beyond Watson, Christian Braun, and Spencer Jones are the Nuggets' next best options to defend Ant. Braun is a much better defender than the average NBA fan might expect, but he doesn't have the ideal length to truly disrupt Ant. It's a small sample size, but Ant shot 57.1 percent against him in the regular season. Jones offers more size and length, but he is dealing with a day-to-day hamstring and entering his first playoff series as a rotation player.
Aaron Gordon is a fantastic help-side defender and more than capable of guarding opposing forwards, but he isn't quick enough to shut down Ant. Bruce Brown is a quality all-around defender who excels at making disruptive plays, but he is an average isolation defender.
You get the point, the Nuggets don't have anyone whom they can count on to guard Edwards. Truthfully, figuring out a way to contain Ant is a brutal task for any defense, but the Nuggets are terribly equipped to defend against him.
Undoubtedly, the Nuggets have numerous advantages in this series, and we will chronicle them throughout the week. Likewise, the Lakers would also have no solution to guarding Ant, and overall would have been a far better matchup.
Regardless, the Nuggets' lack of a natural matchup for Edwards should give Wolves fans a clear reason to be optimistic. Ultimately, if the Timberwolves pull off a first-round upset over Denver, it will surely be paired with a monster series from Ant.