For the first time in 20 years, the Minnesota Timberwolves are playing in the second round of the NBA playoffs, this time against a familiar opponent, Northwest Division rival and defending champion Denver Nuggets.
This is the second straight postseason in which the two teams have met, with the Nuggets winning last year’s series in five games. The Timberwolves were without Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid for the entirety of the series along with losing Kyle Anderson to an eye injury in Game 4.
This year’s series is likely to be much more competitive with the Timberwolves completely healthy and the Nuggets’ bench thinner after the offseason departures of trusted veterans Bruce Brown and Jeff Green.