The Denver Nuggets have a chance to score some measure of revenge against the team that eliminated them from the 2024 NBA Playoffs, as they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves this Saturday. Will the Nugget get their third win in a row at the expense of the host team? Or, will the Timberwolves continue their recent dominance of Denver?
Catch this game live on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 9:30 AM, Manila time
Away: Denver Nuggets (2-2 / 2-0 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- Jamal Murray
- Christian Braun
- Michael Porter Jr.
- Aaron Gordon (Probable)
- Nikola Jokic
Don’t look now, but the Nuggets have apparently found their groove. After losing back-to-back games to start the season, Denver has gone 2-0 straight up. The Nuggets defeated the Toronto Raptors to start a three-game road trip last Tuesday via a 127-125 score before coming away with a 144-139 victory at Barclays Center over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.
Now, Denver looks to finish its journey away from Mile High City with another win against a recent playoff rival. Of course, Nikola Jokic will be huge for the Nuggets, who are averaging 115.5 points per game through four games this season. Jokic is putting up 31.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per contest so far in the 2024-25 NBA regular season and he could surpass those numbers against the T’wolves, whose frontcourt got smaller than the last time the three-time MVP last faced Minnesota.
Home: Minnesota Timberwolves (2-2/ 2-1Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- Mike Conley
- Anthony Edwards
- Jaden McDaniels
- Julius Randle
- Rudy Gobert
The Timberwolves seek to get their form back after suffering a 120-114 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks last Wednesday. Against the Mavs, the Timberwolves struggled with ball security, which Dallas capitalized on. Minnesota turned the ball over 20 times, leading to a massive 25-5 discrepancy in terms of points off turnovers generated in favor of the Mavericks.
When they’re not giving away the leather, the Timberwolves find lots of ways to score. They are averaging 111.5 points per game, which is just 20th in the league, but are sixth overall with a 56.5 effective field goal percentage and fifth in both made 3-pointers per game (16.5) and 3-point success rate (39.5%). A lot of that has something to do with Anthony Edwards. The former Georgia Bulldogs star has been unreal of late, as he is averaging 30.0 points with a 41.5 3-point shooting percentage.
Picks
Spread: Minnesota Timberwolves (-4.5)
Over/Under: Under (219.5)
Blue Techker